168. The Marvelettes: “Playboy”
If the stellar, never-to-be-recaptured magic of their début single had been something of a quirk, a statistical oddity if not an outright fluke, then in many ways the Marvelettes’ story really begins right here. (6)
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167. The Miracles: “You Never Miss A Good Thing”
Hardly a patch on the stellar A-side, this is still a very good record well worth a listen. (6)
166. The Miracles: “I’ll Try Something New”
A gorgeous song, the first truly great Miracles ballad.
165. Eddie Holland: “Last Night I Had A Vision”
This isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be; it’s very pretty but quite meandering, effectively consisting of three great bits linked with a lot of unmemorable fluff. (4)
164. Eddie Holland: “You Deserve What You Got”
Probably the best of Eddie’s three Motown singles to date, and the writing credit means it’s a Historically Significant record to boot; it shows plenty of promise and development, and it’s a good little record, but there was still significantly better to come from Edward Holland Jr. as both a singer and as a writer. (6)
163. The Temptations: “Isn’t She Pretty”
A fun, frothy, meaningless doo-wop ditty, which coming from a group like the Temptations is both highly enjoyable and maddeningly limited. (6)
162. The Temptations: “(You’re My) Dream Come True”
Possibly the best song Berry Gordy ever wrote, and therefore fitting that it should appear on the label bearing his name. But huge credit is also due to both the band and to the group; it is, after all, what’s in the grooves that count(s). (10)
161. Little Otis: “Baby I Need You”
Highly generic Fifties rock ‘n’ roll, at least five years behind the curve. (2)
160. Little Otis: “I Out-Duked The Duke”
A historical artefact and nothing more, then; not worth seeking out unless you really, really like Duke Of Earl, and even then it’ll probably just annoy you. (2)
159. Debbie Dean: “I Cried All Night”
This is barely-listenable garbage, a bad execution of a poorly thought-out idea which should never have been released. (1)
158. Debbie Dean: “Everybody’s Talking About My Baby”
Not a particularly good record, all in all, and not suited to either the singer or the direction in which Motown was now firmly headed. (4)
Motown Junkies 