179. Hank & Carol Diamond: “I Remember You”
It was surely a decidedly dangerous tactic, releasing MOR fluff aimed at middle-class whites to launch a new credible jazz offshoot. (3)
Previous articles
178. Hank & Carol Diamond: “Exodus”
Few serious jazz aficionados were likely to rush to the shops to get their hands on a record with a writing credit by Pat sodding Boone, of all people. (4)
177. The Supremes: “(He’s) Seventeen”
A blot on the CV of everyone concerned, this was still – incredibly – selected for inclusion on the Supremes’ first album Meet The Supremes later that year. They might have been better off simply leaving that space on the record blank, or printing up a bunch of speaker test signals or something. (1)
176. The Supremes: “Your Heart Belongs To Me”
Pretty much the only good Supremes record to come out between their tentative, nervous first step I Want A Guy and the beginning of the HDH era towards the end of 1963. (7)
175. Marvin Gaye: “Taking My Time”
It’s good, but it’s a case of a few great bits balancing out a few awful bits, rather than the whole thing being the enjoyably lightweight romp it apparently thinks it is. (5)
174. Marvin Gaye: “Soldier’s Plea”
I really rather like this. Your mileage may vary. Certainly, though, for me at least, this is the first good Marvin Gaye record, and in no small part because it’s also the first one that actually sounds like a Marvin Gaye record. (6)
173. Eddie Holland: “What About Me”
You can almost feel the frustration of its creators, being so close to greatness and yet so far away. All in good time, Eddie Holland, all in good time. (4)
172. Eddie Holland: “(If) Cleopatra Took A Chance”
Definitely worth listening to for that excellent middle section, but the massive drag factor of the terrible two minutes either side of the really good bit mean the quality of the whole thing is brought crashing downwards. (4)
171. Lee & The Leopards: “Trying To Make It”
If anyone out there was ever listening to a Henry Lumpkin record and thought “You know what? This is good and everything, but I wish it featured more quacking“, well, they’re in luck. Everyone else can safely skip this one.
170. Lee & The Leopards: “Come Into My Palace”
A dated, thin doo-wop dancer, another failed Motown attempt to re-do the Marcels’ Blue Moon and about half as charming.
169. The Marvelettes: “All The Love I’ve Got”
It’s not awful, but it’s highly nondescript. Helpfully, though, this record marks a sort of staging post for the Marvelettes: the end of a digressionary, dead-end period. 3
Motown Junkies 