157. Singin’ Sammy Ward: “Everybody Knew It But Me”
There’s simply no reason to seek out and listen to this one, not when there’s a superior version of what is for all intents and purposes the exact same song already out there. (4)
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156. Singin’ Sammy Ward: “Big Joe Moe”
Still, best not concentrate on what this record isn’t, and just enjoy it for what it is. And what it is, really, is a lot of fun. It’s just not quite “there” in terms of everything clicking into place. (6)
155. The Downbeats: “Request Of A Fool”
Just about the most out-and-out enjoyable number out of the eight sides Motown had released in 1962 so far. […click title to read more]
154. The Downbeats: “Your Baby’s Back”
Appealing in its way, but it’s more of an album track, or an intimate, contemplative number for live shows; it’s never a hit single. (5)
153. Mary Wells: “I’m Gonna Stay”
A sweet little song, but it’s really very slight, and by the time of its release Mary Wells had definitely already moved on to bigger things and better material. (6)
152. Mary Wells: “The One Who Really Loves You”
Paired for the first time with writer/producer Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells turned in her best single so far. Not coincidentally, The One Who Really Loves You landed Mary her biggest hit to date (Top Ten pop, and just missing out on scoring Motown’s third R&B Number One). (9)
151. Henry Lumpkin: “Don’t Leave Me”
A disappointing waste of both a good song and a good vocalist, paired together wholly inappropriately and satisfying no-one. (3)
150. Henry Lumpkin: “What Is A Man (Without A Woman)”
A bluesy, slinky R&B number, much in the vein of the stuff later cut by Shorty Long for the Soul Records subsidiary. (6)
149. Marvin Gaye: “I’m Yours, You’re Mine”
Considerably less traumatising than the horrific A-side Mr Sandman, this is probably the most commercial thing Marvin Gaye had yet recorded. (5)
148. Marvin Gaye: “Mr Sandman”
The resounding failure of this single, Marvin Gaye’s worst Motown release, and the rethinking of basic concepts which resulted, should be widely celebrated by all music fans worldwide.
147. The Twistin’ Kings: “Congo (Part 2)”
If the technology and Motown’s budget had allowed for an EP or a 12″ 45 single, this might have been one of the great early Motown treasures; instead, hacked peremptorily in half and parcelled into chunks too small to sate the appetite, it ends up little more than an unsatisfactory promo for an album you can’t now physically buy. (6)
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