509. The Contours: “Can You Jerk Like Me”
I’ve given it many, many listens and I still don’t know what to make of it, or where it fits into the Contours’ story. Your mileage may vary. Mine certainly does. (5)
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508. Carolyn Crawford: “My Heart”
It’s hardly Carolyn’s fault that Robinson opted to give the song another go after two more years of polishing, with two more years of experience, and that the singer he chose went on to become one of the label’s most beloved and skilful interpreters. It’s just bad luck, I suppose. (4)
507. Carolyn Crawford: “When Someone’s Good To You”
This is pleasant enough, and it’s nicely done, but it isn’t really the farewell Carolyn’s Motown career deserved. (5)
506. Martha & the Vandellas: “Dancing Slow”
Even for fans who prefer Martha in this lower-key mode, the mix still wasn’t right; there wouldn’t be another midtempo Vandellas A-side for over a year, by which time they’d really mastered the art. For now, this pretty little scribble would have to do. (5)
505. Martha & the Vandellas: “Wild One”
A kind of half step in a new direction, while driving twenty miles down the same road as before. Sure, it’s inescapably very similar to (and rather less good than) Dancing In The Street. That can’t stop it being fun. (7)
504. Kim Weston: “Go Ahead And Laugh”
Fine work, and if it’s too slow-paced and melodramatic for radio, it’s still probably the best thing Kim Weston had yet recorded for Motown. That she even had room to improve at all is a credit to her, rather than a mark against this record. (8)
503. Kim Weston: “A Little More Love”
I don’t know why Motown pulled it so abruptly before it had had a chance – maybe they were cutting back on the big ballads, following the failure of Brenda Holloway’s recent similar efforts? – but it was America’s loss, because there’s nothing much wrong with this record at all. (8)
502. Marvin Gaye: “Forever”
The song itself hasn’t got worse, it’s still superb, and this is still a fine record. But yet again, I’m left wondering what I might have made of a Motown recording if I’d heard this version first, because as things stand, as lovely as Marvin sounds here, I’d go for the Marvelettes’ version every single time. (7)
501. Marvin Gaye: “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”
It’s not terrible, and unlike the last Four Tops single, I can see how this could be someone’s favourite Marvin Gaye song. But, honestly, this feels like an artefact from some other, cheesier version of the Motown story, and I can’t open up and love it. (5)
500. The Four Tops: “Love Has Gone”
It’s the sound that makes this work, the sound of the Four Tops and the Andantes hooking it all up, turning base metal into gold. Even the most hackneyed, hoary old material could sound angelic in their hands, and so this – buffed up to a fine sheen by its writer-producers – turns out very well. (6)
499. The Four Tops: “Without The One You Love (Life’s Not Worth While)”
It’s not all that good, and if I didn’t know that they’d dust themselves off and make some of the best records in history, I’d be worried. As it is, I’m just really disappointed – this could, and should, have been fantastic. (4)
Motown Junkies 