• About Motown Junkies
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    • A
      • Alan, Lee
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    • B
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    • C
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    • D
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    • E-F
      • Eckstine, Billy
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    • G
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    • H
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    • M
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    • N-R
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      • Paul, Bunny
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    • S
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    • U-V
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    • W-Z
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Motown Junkies

~ because it's what's in the grooves that counts

Motown Junkies

Tag Archives: Motown

299. Little Stevie Wonder: “Fingertips (Part 1)”

January 8, 2011

This is the weaker of the two sides, and when the single was reissued it found itself relegated to the B-side, but it’s unfair to judge it too harshly when it’s really just being taken out of context. The real fun, though, is to be had on Part 2. (7)

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298. Billy Merritt: “I’ll Go Anywhere”

January 7, 2011

Not massively different from the A-side in any really noticeable way, and yet not even half as good. Cloying, dull and just generally not very much fun. (2)

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297. Billy Merritt: “Why Go Out Of Your Way”

January 6, 2011

A fine showcase for Freeman Cowgar’s pedal steel work, by far the most distinctive feature of this pleasantly inoffensive little record. In fact, I might even play this again out of choice. 4

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296. Eddie Holland: “Brenda”

December 21, 2010

Perfectly inoffensive, quite pleasant as background music, but that’s about it. 3

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295. Eddie Holland: “Baby Shake”

December 20, 2010

Much more dated and much less vital than the Jackie Wilson record it’s trying to copy; it’s not something I’d expect people go back to very often. (4)

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294. Mary Wells: “What Love Has Joined Together”

December 19, 2010

Too slow to be a single, this is still one of the best records of Mary Wells’ all-too-brief tenure with Motown, and it gets better each time you listen to it. (9)

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293. Mary Wells: “Your Old Stand By”

December 14, 2010

Unusually for a big-ticket Motown single, it’s a song that rewards repeated listens, rather than grabbing you by the lapels and proclaiming its greatness. (8)

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292. Marvin Gaye: “One Of These Days”

December 13, 2010

Paradoxically too catchy, too good, to be a B-side, but out of date as a viable chart single. (7)

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291. Marvin Gaye: “Pride And Joy”

December 12, 2010

He sounds so into what he’s doing, it’s positively infectious. If you’re humming it to yourself as you read this, I bet you’re smiling too. (8)

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290. The Temptations: “The Further You Look, The Less You See”

December 10, 2010

A sneakily catchy number, which after a few listens actually gets its hooks much deeper into you than the A-side. (7)

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289. The Temptations: “I Want A Love I Can See”

December 9, 2010

As a song, it’s okay; danceable, likeable, but rather flat and ultimately uninteresting. As an arrangement, a vocal showcase, a calling card for future greatness, it’s nothing short of remarkable. (6)

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MOTOWN JUNKIES

This is Motown Junkies, an unofficial track by track history of Motown: in-depth analysis and discussion of both sides of every Motown single ever released between 1959 and 1988. Enjoy!

 

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  • 691. Marvin Gaye: “When I Had Your Love”

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Motown Junkies

This is Motown Junkies, an unofficial guide to every Motown single ever released, or planned for release, on every US Motown label (or via Tamla Motown in the UK), featuring reviews of each A-side and B-side in chronological order. New reviews appear every couple of days.

Think of it as an unauthorised track-by-track companion to the magnificent The Complete Motown Singles CD box sets, and beyond, with marks out of ten.

I'm NOT Paul Nixon.

FURTHER INFORMATION

More info about the blog (and me) can be found here. If you want to leave a comment on any review, please feel free to do so - all feedback, corrections, disagreements and encouragements gratefully received. If you've something you'd rather not say in public, I can be contacted at fosse8 at gmail dot com.

(Oh, and if you arrived here looking for the Motown Junkies music group, they're nothing to do with me, I'm afraid - but they are very nice people, and they can be found at www.motownjunkies.com instead.)

HOW TO USE THIS BLOG

You can jump straight to the full list of reviews so far in the Master Index, or browse by label instead.

If you're looking for something a bit more specific, you can click an artist's name in the "Artist" menu at the top of the screen to see a little biography and all the reviews we've done for them so far. Only people whose records I've already discussed appear there at the moment - more names will be added to the lists all the time as I work my way through Motown's history, so do keep checking back!

Alternatively, the front page displays excerpts from the most recent reviews, and on the right hand side of the screen you'll see a list of the most recent entries and also a sampling of the most popular entries from the last 48 hours, as well as the latest comments left by visitors.

Dive in, explore and have fun!

LEGAL STUFF

This is an unofficial site, and is not affiliated in any way with Universal Motown, Hip-O Select or any of the artists referred to in the blog.

Where indicated, label scan images appear by kind permission of Lars "LG" Nilsson (as originally prepared for the Complete Motown Singles series).

Digital images courtesy of Gordon Frewin are supplied for use at motownjunkies.co.uk by arrangement. All applicable rights reserved. No unauthorised republication is permitted.

Many label images were kindly provided by Robb Klein, together with invaluable historical research.

All text © Motown Junkies, 2009-25. All rights reserved.

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