266. The Marvelettes: “Forever”
Remarkable, and wholly excellent. (9)
Tag Archives: Motown
265. The Marvelettes: “Locking Up My Heart”
Neither a travesty nor a masterpiece, it’s a decent pop single with a somewhat irritating lead in the choruses; for a pop group who’d so recently specialised in the extraordinary, this just doesn’t hit the spot. (5)
264. Kim Weston: “Love Me All The Way”
Nowhere near as interesting as the A-side, lyrically or musically, this is nonetheless much better suited to Kim’s raw, powerful vocal delivery. (6)
263. Kim Weston: “It Should Have Been Me”
A deep and impassioned début, bearing all the hallmarks of her massive later performances, but still rather rough around the edges. (6)
262. The Chuck-A-Lucks: “Dingbat Diller”
Not as objectionable as the A-side. Still, I can’t in all honesty ever see myself listening to it ever again. (2)
261. The Chuck-A-Lucks: “Sugar Cane Curtain”
Garbage of such magnitude it almost deserves a category all of its own. (1)
260. Mary Wells: “Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right”
If this was hardly an avenue that Mary Wells’ future career could follow, it’s still a very fine record, and well deserving of its (very brief) time in the chart sun. (8)
259. Mary Wells: “Laughing Boy”
Smokey Robinson tries to freshen things up by adding some newer elements – but the mix still isn’t quite right, and accordingly this turns out to be the weakest of his collaborations with Mary Wells to date. (5)
258. Paula Greer: “So In Love”
I’m aware that complaining about a jazz vocalist’s caterwauling style being irritating probably marks me down as a “square”, but I’m no jazz aficionado and I just find it annoying. 3
257. Paula Greer: “I Want To Talk About You”
My reaction to this is the same reaction I have to almost all vocal smooth jazz – it’s just not my cup of tea. Your mileage may vary. (5)
256. Linda Griner: “Envious”
There’s no reason this couldn’t have done well in 1963 as an A-side, but the single sank without trace and so radio never really got the chance to flip the record over and find it. A pity; between this and the topside, this is a fine single that really deserved better. (7)
Motown Junkies 