It seems to be intended as a gentle bit of comedy, but Strong delivers it deadpan and without flair so that it falls flat on its arse, preachy and unfunny. Unusual for all that songwriting talent to miss the mark so comprehensively; a case of too many cooks, perhaps. (3)
Hardly a million miles away from Who’s Lovin’ You, it’s a sweet, slow-paced ballad that doesn’t really go anywhere, but it’s pretty all the same, well sung by Smokey at the very top of his register.
The Miracles’ singles had been getting progressively less good with each single since Way Over There, to the point where this sounds like a B-side cut by some forgettable act, not a follow-up to a smash hit single by Motown’s flagship group. (4)
Really rather lovely; a slowie, but a break from the barely-modified standard doo-wop structures that had been used on almost every Motown slowie to date – this is an early Sixties pop record all the way.
The Miracles themselves provide the backing vocals on this, essentially a note-for-note remake of Shop Around with new lyrics. (6)
Neither this song nor the A-side went on to do anything at all in the charts, but Lumpkin was so clearly One To Watch that like other excellent male vocalists who started their Motown careers with early-Sixties commercial flops – a club which would also include Marvin Gaye and Jimmy Ruffin – he didn’t find himself summarily dropped, instead being given further chances and going on to record two more singles with Motown. None of them, though, are quite this good. (8)
It’s not exactly Marvin and Tammi, but nobody’s claiming that; what it is is plenty of fun, and there’s extra satisfaction to be gained from knowing this is the record that started Motown down the duet path. (6)
Unintentionally funny ending aside, I find the record pleasant but unremarkable. Nothing particularly special to these ears, but hey, your mileage may vary.
Not as good as some of their previous singles – Bad Girl and especially Way Over There are better than this one, all told – but it’s great fun nonetheless, quite aside from it being Historically Significant both for the Miracles and in the grand scheme of the Motown story. (7)
Ward’s achievement in scoring an important early Motown hit record seems to have been largely overlooked by history, so I’m going to put one in the “win” column for him here and now. Well done, Singin’ Sammy.
There’s always the nagging feeling that everyone on the record was having more fun making it than you are actually listening to it – but not by very much. It’s good to let your hair down once in a while. (6)
Motown Junkies 