244. The Contours: “You Better Get In Line”
Thin, weak, bored-sounding “dance music” that – fatally – doesn’t ever make you want to get up and dance, this is both an artistic misfire and a commercial misjudgment. (3)
Tag Archives: Motown
243. The Contours: “Shake Sherrie”
The song isn’t good, the performances aren’t good, and whatever had been magical about Do You Love Me, it’s missing here; this is just a stupid dance record, and not even a fun one at that. 3
242. The Miracles: “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”
A remarkable piece of work, a good record and a genuinely great song; this, more than any other, would become remembered as the sound of the early Miracles. (8)
241. The Miracles: “Happy Landing”
That it came coupled with one of the all-time great Motown ballads is just unfortunate, because this is a fun little single in its own right. (6)
240. Bob Kayli: “Toodle Loo”
Cringeworthy, drippy and pointless. (1)
239. Bob Kayli: “Hold On Pearl”
Is there anything in the world of music more painful than an unfunny comedy record? (1)
238. The Supremes: “Time Changes Things”
A nice set-filler, a pretty bit of enjoyable “middle of Side Two” album padding, but it’s not catchy or instant enough to cut it as a hit record in its own right. (6)
237. The Supremes: “Let Me Go The Right Way”
Certainly this isn’t a logical stepping stone in the development of Motown’s quintessential group; it feels more like a “holding pattern” release, keeping the group’s name alive while Motown figured out what to do with the Supremes. (5)
236. Mary Wells: “Operator”
Probably the weakest record Mary Wells had yet made for Motown, and not one to dwell upon. Of course, she’d already made enough truly spectacular records that fans could overlook this unsatisfying blip. (3)
235. Mary Wells: “Two Lovers”
A perfectly good Mary Wells single, perhaps even a “typical” Mary Wells single; me, I think it’s extremely disappointing without ever being noticeably bad.
234. The Temptations: “Slow Down Heart”
Not for nothing would Smokey Robinson forge a reputation as the Temptations’ master craftsman: first time out, on a supposedly throwaway B-side, a frothy, fun little sketch that wasn’t going to pull up any trees, his ideas on how to best play to the group’s strengths were already years ahead of anyone else they had worked with up to this point. (7)
Motown Junkies 