343. The Marvelettes: “He Won’t Be True (Little Girl Blue)”
If the Marvelettes’ sales figures weren’t getting better, this is ample proof that on their day the group still deserved to be counted among Motown’s best. Remarkable. (9)
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342. The Marvelettes: “As Long As I Know He’s Mine”
The song is good, but the record isn’t. If they’d had another couple of weeks to work on this, it might have been spectacular; instead, it’s a missed opportunity, and showbiz never allows you too many of those. (6)
341. Liz Lands: “Trouble In This Land”
Still not really one to dwell upon, and hardly a pleasant experience, but it’s far from being completely unlistenable. (3)
340. Liz Lands: “We Shall Overcome”
It’s a featureless musical soup masquerading as a powerful message and a great vocal performance. (2)
339. Marvin Gaye: “I’m Crazy ‘Bout My Baby”
I’m Crazy ‘Bout My Baby would have made a perfectly decent follow-up single to Pride And Joy, and could have made a much bigger chart splash if it had been released under its own steam. It’s just difficult to get away from the fact that this is a good song, but one that’s been cut from the cloth of an even better song. (6)
338. Marvin Gaye: “Can I Get A Witness”
The best record Marvin Gaye had yet made, his career was now set irreversibly on the right track, such that not even Marvin himself could argue against this kind of evidence. (9)
337. Little Stevie Wonder: “Monkey Talk”
Definitely an improvement on the A-side; ironically given the title and Stevie’s jokey opening spiel, this is actually one of the more mature records he’d been associated with so far, and all the better for it. (6)
336. Little Stevie Wonder: “Workout Stevie, Workout”
A strange miscalculation – the first of a great many such miscalculations for Little Stevie over the next two years – it’s difficult to know who would be satisfied by this. (4)
335. Mary Wells: “What’s Easy For Two Is So Hard For One”
This is a record full of ideas for the future career of Mary Wells, none of them fully-realised yet, to the extent that it sounds like four or five different songs all smooshed together with no great care – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in itself. (6)
334. Mary Wells: “You Lost The Sweetest Boy”
It’s still a fun, vital record which still sounds fresh and young today, and it shows a side of Mary Wells that audiences across America had forgotten she even had. (7)
333. LaBrenda Ben: “I Can’t Help It, I Gotta Dance”
Not a masterpiece, but a fine showcase for a clearly talented individual who should have had a better crack of the whip once she arrived at Motown. (6)
Motown Junkies 