Category: Motown

Review: Stevie Wonder

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Motown, review

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

It took 34 on-stage musicians to turn Stevie Wonder’s inner visions into reality on Thursday night at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Wonder’s band encompassed a 12-piece string section, six backing vocalists, a five-piece horn ensemble, two percussionists, two guitarists, two keyboard players and one drummer, bass player, guest singer, conductor and, of course, the man himself. Oh, and two of his grandchildren.

Performing in the same space that just three months ago was home to the Republican National Convention, Wonder and his expansive entourage spread a message of love, hope and joy to all people, regardless of background or political affiliation. With only 11 dates, Wonder’s Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart tour is aimed primarily at swing states in the weeks leading up to the presidential election.

Flanked by his son and daughter – both of whom were in the band – Wonder took the stage and proclaimed he was “here to speak to you from the heart and spread some love.” That message shined in the opening number, “Can We Fix Our Nations Broken Heart.” Released late this summer, the song was a call for unity and understanding.

For the next two and a half hours, Wonder played most of his biggest numbers, many of which happened to reinforce his message of dropping defenses and building bridges. As polarized as the nation is right now, Wonder’s dream felt a lot less naïve when delivered via “Higher Ground” or “As.”

Wonder let the crowd take over for several songs in the first set, leading the nearly sold-out arena through “You Are My Sunshine,” which segued into “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” The crowd also handled lead vocals for a trio of Wonder’s early hits: “For Once In My Life,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” and “My Cherie Amour.”

Other high points in the first set include the early one-two punch of “If You Really Love Me” and “Master Blaster (Jammin’).” One of Wonder’s most beautiful ballads, “Overjoyed” closed the opening portion.

After a dozen songs, Wonder introduced his latest protégé, Shelea, and took a short break. Seated behind Wonder’s grand piano, Shelea delivered a medley of Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and Carole King songs that were well-received. A full-band performance of her original song “Something’s Coming” was better suited for the Broadway stage than the Apollo Theater. Fortunately, a dynamite version of the instrumental “Contusion” – the first of many songs from Wonder’s acclaimed album Songs in the Key of Life – brought Wonder back out and the night back on track.

The rest of the night was a powerhouse, each song building on each other, taking the audience higher and higher. The buoyant, horn-driven “Sir Duke” led right into the joyous reminiscing of “I Wish.” Wonder wrote “Isn’t She Lovely” for his newborn daughter Aisha Morris, now a grown woman who performed with the backing vocalists and brought her own children to the show. This gave way to another singalong, the worldwide smash “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” Whatever treacly sentimentality that song held in the hearts of the cynical was quickly wiped away by “Superstition.”

A few songs earlier, Wonder briefly tabled his dream of hope with a hard dose of reality, putting the plea “Love’s in Need of Love Today” against “Village Ghetto Land,” a beautiful baroque hymn of injustice and poverty. Wonder pushed even more focus on inequality and oppression with “Living for the City.” Performed consecutively, these songs were a poignant reminder of how society can’t advance until every person is able to move forward.

An extended medley of three epic numbers ended the night. First up was “Do I Do,” a horn-infected disco number that made sure everyone stayed on their feet. That gave way to the rapturous “As,” one of Wonder’s most beloved songs. Just when “As” started to fade away, Wonder kicked the band into the bossa nova groove of “Another Star” and took the energy to another level. By the time Wonder said good night he had achieved his dream of bringing people together. Everyone rejoiced as Wonder’s music cascaded over their souls. Of course, the tougher job is achieving this feeling of togetherness away from the concert. But Wonder clearly believes we are up to the task. I do, too.

Set list: First set: Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart, As If You Read My Mind, If You Really Love Me, Master Blaster (Jammin’), Higher Ground, You Are My Sunshine > You Are the Sunshine of My Life, For Once in My Life, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours, Send One Your Love, My Cherie Amour, Overjoyed.
Shelea set: Medley: Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)/Feel Like Makin’ Love/ You’ve Got a Friend, Something’s Coming, Contusion.
Second set: Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing, Love’s in Need of Love Today, Village Ghetto Land, Living for the City, Sir Duke, I Wish, Isn’t She Lovely, I Just Called to Say I Love You, Superstition, Do I Do > As > Another Star.

Keep reading:

A survey of post-‘70s Stevie Wonder (Part One: The ‘80s)

Stevie Wonder – “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”

Stevie Wonder celebrates Michael Jackson at Starlight

A survey of post-‘70s Stevie Wonder (Part Three: The ‘90s and ‘00s)

by thedailyrecord, posted in Album review, Motown, Music history

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

After averaging nearly an album a year for the first quarter-century of his career, Stevie Wonder slowed down his output considerably in the late ‘80s, releasing only three albums in eight years.

Wonder surprised and delighted fans by dropping Natural Wonder, a double-live album, just eight months after his previous offering, Conversation Peace. With a set list that includes many big hits, deep cuts and new songs, Natural Wonder seems to have something for everyone. The concept of Stevie Wonder performing with a symphony orchestra is intriguing but the result is something less than vital. While the performances captured on Natural Wonder are strong, many of them simply aren’t that different from their studio counterparts.

The stirring new song “Dancing to the Rhythm” makes full use of the lush musical backdrop, combining a drum corps with horn section and sweeping string section. Wonder’s skills as an arranger shine on this dynamic opening number. A few songs later, the appropriately bluesy instrumental “Stevie Ray Blues” sets up an energetic romp through “Higher Ground.” The final new number is “Ms. & Mr. Little Ones,” an undistinguished Conversation Peace outtake.

The performance of “Tomorrow Robins Will Sing” shows how a little tightening could have improved the songs on Conversation Peace. Natural Wonder’s live version trims nearly a minute off its studio counterpart and is much better for it. Overall, Natural Wonder is a fun souvenir of a magical night for those who were there, but not something fans will turn to often.

Ten years after the one-two of Conversation Peace and Natural Wonder, Wonder gifted fans with A Time to Love, his last album to date. The album’s two singles set the template for much of the release: funk numbers and ballads.

“From the Bottom of My Heart” is a drippy love song that offers no surprises, including the fact that it won another Grammy. A third of the album runs in this vein. There are two more songs just as bland, plus a tribute to Wonder’s late wife and collaborator Syreeta Wright and a jazzy duet with his daughter, Aisha Morris.

The best of these songs is “Moon Blue,” a jazz number with some of Wonder’s best singing. In a better world, this would be a standard. It’s easy to imagine Robert Glasper or Erykah Badu digging into the song. The other stand-out ballad is “Passionate Raindrops,” which harkens back to Talking Book. A Time to Love would be a much better album if Wonder had kept these two ballads and excised the rest.

The upbeat numbers are an equally mixed bag. Lead single “So What the Fuss” doesn’t quite work, but Prince’s funky guitar lines almost make up for it. “Sweetest Somebody I Know” mines Wonder’s classic clavinet sound, while “Please Don’t Hurt My Baby” heads further down the path plowed by “Superstition.” On “Positivity,” Wonder’s second duet with Morris, his daughter’s sunny soprano is a nice counterpoint to Wonder’s talk box. It’s hard to believe this number was never used in an animated kid’s film. “Tell Your Heart I Love You” features Wonder’s signature harmonica, an under-utilized instrument on his later albums. Its arrival pushes the bluesy number to another level.

A Time to Love ends with the title number. Across nine minutes, Wonder, with help from India.Arie on vocals and Paul McCartney on guitars, ponders why we have time for so many other activities, but not for love. It’s not the most groundbreaking thought, but the percussion and choir sweep in and save the day. A couple minutes could easily be trimmed from the performance without missing anything. This advice applies to A Time to Love as a whole. At 15 songs and 78 minutes (only 7 minutes shorter than Songs in the Key of Life), A Time to Love would be a much better album if Wonder culled most of the ballads and brought the run time to under an hour.

Almost 20 years later, A Time to Love still stands as Wonder’s most recent album. While Wonder hasn’t been prolific in the decades since he has kept busy. In the final installment, we’ll look at 15 excellent, late-period, non-album Stevie Wonder songs.

Keep reading:

A survey of post-‘70s Stevie Wonder (Part One: The ‘80s)

A survey of post-’70s Stevie Wonder (Part Two: The ’80s and ’90s)

Social Distancing Spins – Days 15-17 (including Stevie Wonder’s Music of My Mind)

A survey of post-‘70s Stevie Wonder (Part Two: The ‘80s and ‘90s)

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Music history

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

More than halfway through the 1980s, Stevie Wonder’s output was mixed. Hotter Than July and In Square Circle were both strong releases, but the ubiquity of successful sappy singles “Ebony and Ivory” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You” cast a pall over his triumphs.

At 12 songs and more than an hour, no one could accuse Wonder of being lethargic on his 1987 release Characters. Sadly, not much works. “You Will Know” is fine, but opening the album with this ballad makes it feel like we’ve joined something already in progress. “Skeletons,” a look at political corruption, feels like an update of something we’ve heard before – and done much better – on “Superstition” and “You Haven’t Done Nothing.”

Wonder and Michael Jackson traded album appearances in 1987. After Wonder guested the Bad album cut “Just Good Friends,” Jackson repaid the favor with the single “Get It.” Like Wonder’s earlier efforts with Paul McCartney, these meetings of the Motown child stars are somehow less than the sum of their parts. Neither is bad, per se, but they don’t linger in my ears past their runtimes.

“My Eyes Don’t Cry No More” combines autobiographic verses with a resolute chorus over a swinging electronic production. Another tear-themed song, “Cryin’ Through the Night” (shouldn’t these two titles cancel each other out?) is a surprisingly up-tempo tale of heartbreak. Finally, “Free,” the closing song on the vinyl edition, stands as the album’s final moment, a rousing call for freedom. Wonder really liked ending albums with proclamations.

These five songs – less than half the album – comprise Characters’ high points. The other songs are either too maudlin or half-baked to discuss. “Come Let Me Make Your Love Come Down” earns special derision for not only its awkward title, but for squandering a rare guitar summit between B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. When critics trumpet Wonder’s lost muse, most of that reputation rests on The Woman in Red and Characters. And for those two albums, it is deserved.

For the better part of two decades, Stevie Wonder’s production defined and redefined the boundaries of music. By the time Wonder rolled into the 1990s, his fourth decade as an artist, he was now following the sound of the times rather than creating it. No one stays on the bleeding edge forever and how Wonder adapted his songwriting and arrangements to the culture reveals other facets of his creativity.

Wonder took another break after Characters, releasing his next album four years later, in 1991. The soundtrack to Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever featured programmed drums and lots of synthesizers across it’s 11 tracks. The overall aesthetic tiptoes up to the au courant sound of new jack swing, but rarely feels that urban.

Lead song “Fun Day” is an exception to this rule, featuring a lively hip hop drum track. The song soars, living up to its title and erasing any lingering doubts caused by Wonder’s previous underbaked release. Obligatory ballad single “These Three Words” is heartfelt and has a timeless feel. It is easily Wonder’s best ballad since “Overjoyed.”

The soundtrack’s final single, “Gotta Have You” combines a programmed drum track with a typically funky groove. Although it wasn’t released as a single, the title song featured prominently in the film. While it won’t win any songwriting awards it is infectiously catchy and fun. The best song is buried near the end. “Chemical Love” is an anti-drug number that dodges cliches and generalizations by looking at the spiritual and emotional cravings people try to fill with poisonous substances.

Jungle Fever doesn’t quite rise to classic status – the rest of the material is fine but not particularly noteworthy – but it is worth a second look.

Wonder went further into new jack swing on Conversation Peace, released in 1995. At 13 songs and 74 minutes, there is a good album buried among all the bloat. Excising some of the songs and trimming down the performances – most cuts hover around six minutes – would have helped immensely. For every banger like “My Love is With You,” the apex of Wonder’s new jack swing infatuation, there’s a track like “Cold Chill” that goes nowhere and takes too long to get there.

“Edge of Eternity” is an upbeat love song with a tight horn line, while “Take the Time Out” is an empathetic look at homelessness and poverty with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Deeper in the album, “For Your Love” is the requisite love ballad single. Despite winning a Grammy, the track feels pretty generic. The propulsive “Sorry” is much better, but its production sounds more like the mid-‘80s than the mid-‘90s. “Sorry” sets up the closing number and title song to end the album on a strong note.

Keep Reading:

A survey of post-‘70s Stevie Wonder (Part One: The ‘80s)

Stevie Wonder – “For Once in my Life”

The Spinners – “It’s A Shame”

A survey of post-‘70s Stevie Wonder (Part One: The ‘80s)

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Music history, review

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

Billed as a 12-year-old genius on his third LP (released in 1963), Stevie Wonder made good on that promise less than a decade later, releasing six masterworks in as many years between 1971 and 1976. Wonder’s critical acclaim was matched by popular appeal, as he won Grammys for Album of the Year three times in four years and sent seemingly everything he touched to the top of the charts.

Yet Wonder’s output after the 1970s has been derided nearly as much as his long pinnacle has been celebrated. The release of a new digital single, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” made me realize how much I missed Wonder’s voice and sent me scurrying back to his forgotten era to see what I had overlooked.

The 1980s opened strong for Wonder. Just nine months into the new decade, Wonder released Hotter Than July, an album that continued his 1970s hot streak. From the infectious reggae groove of lead single “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” to the tender ballad “Lately,” the release touches on many of Wonder’s strengths. Hotter Than July is rightly regarded as a classic, so I won’t spend much time on it here, but I’d be remiss not to point out the beautiful “Rocket Love.” The album closes with “Happy Birthday,” a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. and a plea to turn King’s birthday into a national holiday. It worked.

Two years later, Wonder gifted fans with Original Musiquarium I, an unconventional double-LP collection that paired a dozen tracks from the ‘70s with one new song on each side. Of the new material, the 10-minute “Do I Do” is easily the best. “Do I Do” has an effervescent groove that could be the cousin of “Another Star.” The expansive track has room for both a Dizzy Gillespie guest spot and an exploration of the still-young world of rap. It took nearly a decade before exploring the nexus of jazz and hip hop was considered edgy. Once again, Wonder was on the vanguard. The ballad “Ribbon in the Sky” is another key new song on this collection.

Less than a month before Original Musiquarium I dropped, a single with Wonder raced to the top of the charts, a harbinger of some musical misadventures that lie ahead. Written by Paul McCartney, the simplistic ode to racial harmony “Ebony and Ivory” sat atop the U.S. pop charts for seven weeks in 1982. “Ebony and Ivory” earns all the mockery it has received. That said, I must confess the song works better in the context of McCartney’s excellent Tug of War album, where it closes the song cycle than it does as a stand-alone single. “What’s That You’re Doing?” the pair’s other collaboration on Tug of War, is better, but still feels like less than the sum of its parts.

Wonder’s reputation really started to take a hit with his 1984 soundtrack to The Woman in Red. At eight songs and 40 minutes, The Woman in Red feels slight in comparison to Wonder’s previous albums. Two duets with Dionne Warwick, a Warwick solo track and an instrumental written by someone else comprise half the album, making it feel even lighter.

Used copies of The Woman in Red are ubiquitous at flea markets, antique malls, garage sales and record stores thanks to the single “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” which topped the charts around the world and sold millions of copies. In the 40 years since its release, “I Just Called” has been the punchline for scores of jokes and memes and served as Exhibit A for proving Wonder’s muse had departed. The saccharine ballad deserves every bit of scorn lobbed its way, but Wonder’s well was far from dry, as we shall soon see.

The album ends “Don’t Drive Drunk,” a public service announcement masquerading as a musical number. This continues the trend of Wonder ending albums with a bold social declaration. Unfortunately, Wonder isn’t able to thread the needle as deftly as he did on “Happy Birthday.” Wonder’s heart is in the right place, but “Don’t Drive Drunk” is ham-fisted. The production is interesting, but there’s not much of a song. The Woman in Red’s lone redeeming spot is “Love Light in Flight,” the only time Wonder’s innovative production lines up with lyrics that are more substantial than a greeting card.

A little more than a year after The Woman in Red soundtrack, Wonder dropped his 20th studio album, In Square Circle. The world was still very much enthralled/nauseated by “I Just Called” when In Square Circle came out and the association mars the album’s reputation. While Wonder’s peak releases have a timeless feel, his later work is very much tethered to its time. In Square Circle is a very ‘80s album, which may have hurt the release for a while, but it’s been long enough that we can now embrace the once-awkward signifiers of the era.

The platter opens with lead single “Part-Time Lover,” a fine if unambitious pop song. I’m divided over the next cut, “Love You Too Much,” which somehow feels both fun and annoying at the same time. Fortunately, the strong ballad “Whereabouts” picks up the slack. “Stranger on the Shore of Love” combines a peak-era arrangement with modern production. Wonder’s production takes another step forward on the brilliant “Never in Your Sun.”

If nothing else, this exercise has been worthwhile for bringing “Never in Your Sun” to my attention. I guess I should pay more attention to Tyler the Creator, because he shouted out this song a few years ago. You can also tell the Neptunes were paying attention.

Side two isn’t as strong, but contains “Overjoyed,” one of Wonder’s all-time best ballads and another big-statement closing song: “It’s Wrong (Apartheid).” Recorded at the peak of the Artists United Against Apartheid and the “Sun City” movement, “It’s Wrong (Apartheid)” is not subtle. Wonder compares the racist institution to slavery and the holocaust, which might be accurate, but is so heavy-handed even Billy Bragg would blanch. The production saves the song. An electronic polyrhythm propels the number and an African choir reinforces Wonder’s sentiment and injects joy into the performance.

Arriving between the half-baked (and overblown) Woman in Red soundtrack and disappointing Characters (more on this in a in the next installment), In Square Circle has been unfairly maligned as a mediocre Wonder release. In Square Circle belongs in every fan’s collection and demonstrates that Wonder was still pushing boundaries as a producer and writing strong songs in the decade of decadence.

Keep reading:

Stevie Wonder celebrates Michael Jackson at Starlight

Stevie Wonder – “Happy Birthday”

Concert Review: Diana Ross

Gladys Knight and the Pips – “If I Were Your Woman”

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Song Review

Gladys Knight and the Pips – “If I Were Your Woman,” Pop #9, R&B #1

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

Relationship fantasies were nothing new at Motown – Mary Wells’ “The One Who Really Loves You” was one of the label’s earliest singles. But Gladys Knight and the Pips’ 1971 single “If I Were Your Woman” shows how much Hitsville had grown up during the ‘60s. The song removes the concept from the realm of schoolgirl crushes and infuses it with some serious grown-up desire.

When “If I Were Your Woman” came out the Pips were on a run of three consecutive Top 5 R&B hits, dating back to 1969’s No. 3 “The Nitty Gritty.” The group was determined to keep this streak intact and also bolster their album sales; none of their LPs had cracked the Top 10. They accomplished both. The single went all the way to the top of the R&B charts, and the album – given the same name – lodged at No. 4.

Knight’s smoky, smoldering voice played no small role in that achievement. Listeners who grew up with “Baby Love” no doubt enjoyed hearing love songs that matured with them. Knight sumptuously plays the role of a woman in love with a man trapped in a bad relationship. Knight knows she can make him the man he deserves to be, if only he could muster the strength to walk away … and she could find the courage to confront him face-to-face.

Knight sings with the passion of a woman pouring out her deepest desires to the darkness, a conviction rooted in the comfort of knowing these words will never face the harsh scrutiny of daylight. As the song fades, it is easy to imagine Knight drifting off to sleep as her would-be beau lies awake in bed next to his partner, wondering how he wound up in this predicament. The next time Knight and her man meet, their only exchanges will be furtive glances across the room and brief, awkward conversation punctuated by nervous laughter.

Written by Gloria Jones, Clay McMurray and Pam Sawyer and produced by McMurray, “If I Were Your Woman” inspired several covers. The Jean Terrell-fronted Supremes recorded a version the following year, in 1972. One year later, Jones – better known as the original singer of the song “Tainted Love,” later recorded by Soft Cell, and girlfriend of T. Rex glam rocker Marc Bolan – recorded her own version for her second solo album.

Bonnie Bramlett, formerly known as half of Delaney and Bonnie, followed suit in 1976. The unfairly ignored Bettye LaVette put her stamp on the song on her only Motown album, 1980s “Tell Me A Lie.” Eight years later Stephanie Mills put the song back on the charts, where it reached No. 19 on the Hot Black Singles chart (now known as the Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart). That same year found the only male interpretation of the number, when George Michael performed it at Nelson Mandella’s 70th birthday tribute. Somehow people were still shocked when he came out of the closet a decade later.

Most recently, Alicia Keys included the song as part of a medley on her sophomore album, and gave it the stand-alone treatment on her 2005 live album “MTV Unplugged.”

The Supremes – “Stoned Love”

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Song Review

The Supremes – “Stoned Love,” Pop # 7, R&B #1

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

“Stoned Love” was the Supremes’ biggest hit of the post-Diana Ross era, and with good reason – it sounds like a throwback to the golden Holland-Dozier-Holland age of Motown.

Motown producer Frank Wilson discovered the song when it was played over Detroit radio during a talent search contest. Amazed to find such a mature work had been penned by a local teenager, Wilson worked with Kenny Thomas, the young writer, and arranger David DePitte before presenting the number to Berry Gordy and the Supremes.

In a narrative repeated so frequently it has nearly become a cliché, Gordy hated the song. The reason for Gordy’s dislike is unclear, but there was concern over the title. Thomas and Wilson insisted the title referred to love with a solid foundation, not drug use. The original title, “Stone Love” supports this claim. Somehow the single was mislabeled “Stoned Love” at the pressing plant and the new title stuck.

Just as they had three years ago when the Doors sang “we couldn’t get much higher” on the Ed Sullivan Show, CBS freaked out over the potential reference and cut the song from the girls’ appearance on the Merv Griffin Show.

As usual, the censors paid more attention to the hysteria than the work itself. Wilson’s lyrics call for “a love for each other that will bring fighting to an end/forgiving one another” and challenge for the “young at heart” to “rise up and take your stand.”

The hope-filled lyrics brim with the optimism of youth and could easily turn into treacle. Thomas and DePitte turned them into a great showcase for Jean Terrell’s talents. All elements seem to feed off her emotion, particularly the inspired backing vocals of fellow Supremes Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Wilson and Birdsong had been banished from the final recording sessions with Ross and they seem extra happy to be operating as a group again.

From the propulsive snare driving the song, down to the swirling strings and display of voices, the arrangement recalls the Supreme’s finest moments with the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. Fans seemed to agree, sending the song to the top of the R&B chart an into the pop Top 10. Again, Gordy’s steadfast, initial instinct had been proven wrong.

The legacy of “Stoned Love” lies more with its title than its tune. Angie Stone incorporated it into the introduction on her “Stone Love” album in 2004, just one of many similar titles it inspired. These include “Stone in Love” by Journey and the smilar “Stoned in Love” by UK dance pop artist Chicane. In 2006 Justin Timberlake released the single “LoveStoned.” None of these songs hold a candle to “Stoned Love.”

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – “The Tears of a Clown”

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Song Review

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – “The Tears of a Clown,” Pop #1, R&B #1

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

One of pop music’s most unique and amazing properties is its ability to wrap the most heartbreaking lyrics in a bubbly, effervescent melody.

Think about it for a moment. While there are shades and degrees to consider, and this is obviously a simplification, because other types of art usually inhabit only one medium, i.e. words or images, a sad poem or a sad painting typically going to be predominately sad. I’m not saying music is the only art form to convey multiple emotions at once; that’s a ludicrous assumption. But it seems pop music does this a lot easier than most.

Few songs handle the light/dark juxtaposition as effortlessly as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ 1970 smash “The Tears of a Clown.” The song started out as an instrumental Stevie Wonder wrote with his producer Hank Crosby. Unsure what to do with what Wonder knew was a great track, he brought it to the Motown Christmas party in 1966 to see if Robinson had any ideas. Robinson said hear head a circus in the melody and wrote the lyrics. The finished track appeared as the final song on the Miracles 1967 release “Make It Happen.”

For three years the song lay hidden as a deep cut, ignored by both the label and the band. In 1969, Robinson announced he was tired of touring and being separated from his family. By leaving the Miracles, Robinson reasoned, he could spend more time in Detroit with his family and focus on his role as Motown’s vice president. From Robinson’s perspective, it was a sound plan. The trouble was, the Miracles were one of Motown’s biggest act in Europe and the band had delivered only one Top 10 hit over the last two years. Desperate for new material, Hitsville UK scoured the vaults and back releases and stumbled upon the long-forgotten “The Tears of a Clown.” After giving the song a new mix it was released as a single in February, 1970. The song shot to No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Fortunately for music fans everywhere, the song’s success made Robinson reconsider his decision to leave the Miracles. Motown re-released “Make It Happen” with a modified tracklisting as “Tears of a Clown” – even the cover art stayed the same – and Robinson stayed in the Miracles until 1973.

Thematically, “The Tears of a Clown” mirrors the Miracles’ 1965 hit “The Tracks of My Tears.” Both songs deal with a heartbroken lover masking his/her pain in public. The subject of both songs craves the estranged, but it too proud to share those feelings in all but the darkest, quietest places. Not happy stuff. But while it was impossible to escape the anguish of “The Tracks of My Tears,” listeners could be possibly forgiven for thinking “The Tears of Clown” was little more than a happy romp on the calliope. Wonder and Cosby’s upbeat melody is a perfect antonym for Robinson’s lyrics. One moment poignantly cuts at the heart of the song, however. The arrangement briefly pauses while Robinson confesses “when there’s no one around.” In those tender seconds, his soul is laid bare.

“The Tears of a Clown” was the Miracles biggest hit while Robinson was in the group. Unsurprisingly, several other bands wanted a taste of this success. “Clown” has been widely covered over the past 40 years. The English Beat delivered one of the best interpretations with their 1979 ska adaptation of the song. At the other end of the spectrum are the version cut by LaToya Jackson for her 1995 Motown covers album, and Enuff Z’Nuff’s hair metal reading. Somewhere in the middle lie Phil Collin’s version, included on his “Testify” album, and Petula Clark’s 2000 reading. Early ‘90s Swedish pop duo Roxette also worked the “Clown” melody into their hit “Spending My Time.”

Jackson Five – “I’ll Be There”

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Song Review

Jackson Five – “I’ll Be There,” Pop #1, R&B #1

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

To say that the Jackson 5’s formula was successful would be a terrific understatement. Three upbeat, bubblegum hits, all penned and produced by Berry Gordy and his faceless Corporation, all No. 1 pop and R&B smashes.

Gordy’s decision to break from the formula for the group’s fourth hit was shocking. Not known as one to mess with a sure thing, Gordy dumped the Corporation and partnered with Hal Davis, Willie Hutch and Bob Wests to craft a ballad that placed Michael Jackson directly the spotlight, and relegated his brothers to a support role.

The result was the J5’s most successful single ever, selling 4 million copies in the United States and cementing the band’s career beyond bubblegum. “I’ll Be There” was also the group’s last No. 1 hit; three more singles ceilinged at No. 2.

Only 12 years old at the time, Jackson dumps more emotion into his delivery than many singers twice his age possess. His clarion call to give love another chance is graceful and penetrating. Gordy positioned Diana Ross as the J5’s mentor – her influence shines in Jackson’s delivery, both in phrasing and tone.

“I’ll Be There” was covered by Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz as a duet in 1992. The single was her sixth No. 1 hit, but the less said about her treacly reading the better. More interestingly, it appeared on the fourth album by Southern California punk rockers Me First and the Gimme Gimmes in 2003, who frequently recorded ironic covers. “I’ll Be There” graced two other Motown releases. The Temptations recorded a version for their 2006 album “Reflections” and sister La Toya Jackson cut it for her 1995 covers album. Many artists, including Carey, the New Kids on the Block, Jaime Foxx and Ne-Yo and Green Day performed “I’ll Be There” in tribute to Jackson after his death on June 25, 2009.

Michael Jackson performed “I’ll Be There” on all of his solo tours, frequently getting emotional and breaking down mid-song.

“T.A.M.I. Show” finally liberated

by thedailyrecord, posted in Album review, Motown, Music history

(Above: Marvin Gaye asks for a witness. He gets four go-go dancers.)

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

For the past 46 years, few have been able to see “ The T.A.M.I. Show,” the 1964 concert film that captured early performances from the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and the first major U.S. appearance of the Rolling Stones.

A tangle of legal issues sent the movie to exile almost immediately after it was sent to the theaters. The producer lost his rights and the film was never released on video rarely shown in public. For years fans would read about how incredible the “T.A.M.I. Show” was – particularly James Brown’s appearance, which Rick Rubin once said “may be the single greatest rock and roll performance ever captured on film” – without being able to see it. Thankfully this has finally been corrected. After decades of wrangling, Shout Factory has finally released the “T.A.M.I. Show” on DVD.

After a montage of all the stars arriving over one of the longest Jan and Dean songs ever, Chuck Berry takes the stage. His appearance ties the film back to “Rock Rock Rock” and the classic ‘50s rock and roll films, but halfway through “Maybelline,” the camera swings over to Gerry and the Pacemakers doing their version of the song. It’s a little disorienting at first, and doesn’t completely work, mostly because Gerry is so campy. He’s constantly playing to the camera, and the group clearly doesn’t have Berry’s talent or charisma.

Fortunately, an endless parade of go-go dancers in bikinis is on hand to distract from any lulls in the music. Constantly in motion, the dancers swarm across the stage – often directly in front of the performers – and on platforms in the back. The producers discovered what MTV perfected in the ‘90s with “The Grind:” buxom, gyrating dancers will make even the most execrable music enjoyable.

The showgirls hog the camera during the first number of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ set. Fortunately, lens eventually pulls back on the second number, and the quartet delivers the first great performance of the night. Robinson drops down, jumps up and throws his entire spirit into an extended “You Really Got A Hold On Me.” That energy carries into “Mickey’s Monkey,” that has everyone onstage and in the crowd dancing. Marvin Gaye continues Motown’s strong showing with a great “Stubborn Kind of Fellow.” For “Can I Get a Witness” he performs away from the band, flanked by two shimmying girls.

Director Steve Binder isn’t shy about cutting to the junior high and high school students in the audience screaming in delirium. One long shot accidentally allows a glimpse of policemen in helmets patrolling the aisles. There was clearly a hard line on the level of excitement that could be displayed.

It’s hard to believe Lesley Gore was the biggest star on the bill at the time, and that she didn’t become an even bigger star later. Gore dutifully performs her best-known songs, the No. 1 “It’s My Party” and its Top 5 sequel “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” but her poise, grace and presence suggest she should have had a much longer career. Gore It’s too bad she couldn’t keep up with the harder, psychedelic edge rock music was about to take.

Several of Gore’s songs are captured by a camera that looks like Vaseline has been smeared over the lens. In the commentary track, Binder said that was exactly what was done. He either couldn’t afford or didn’t have time to outfit the rigs with soft focus capability, so they went with this bargain basement substitute. Unfortunately, it looks like Gore is singing through a funhouse mirror.

Jan and Dean, the evening’s MCs, kick off the surf portion of the show, but they are outmatched by the Beach Boys, who follow. Jan and Dean’s harmonies seem thin and the skate-board-in-a-guitar-case trick can’t hold up to the Boys’ rich voices and Brian Wilson’s songwriting. The performance was filmed months before Wilson’s nervous breakdown forced him off the road. Here he looks completely at ease and happy.

After the movie’s initial run, the Beach Boys’ manager demanded his client’s four-song set be removed. When the inevitable “T.A.M.I. Show” bootlegs popped up, the Beach Boys were usually missing. This DVD finally restores the lush “Surfer Girl” and the freedom of “I Get Around.”

The film treads water through the Dakotas, Supremes and Barbarians until – finally – we get to James Brown and the Famous Flames. Honestly, there’s nothing he does here that wasn’t captured on the incredible “Live at the Apollo” album one year earlier. This, however, was his first major show in front of a white audience. It also gave fans the opportunity to see Brown work his magic in addition to just hearing it.

The Flames are razor-sharp as Brown kicks into “Out of Sight.” Showing his penchant for adventurous covers, Brown resuscitates Perry Como’s hit “Prisoner of Love.” He then directs the Flames into “Please, Please, Please” and the place goes nuts for the now-infamous cape routine. Brown’s pants, which were clean before the song, are scuffed and dirty at the knees from all the times he falls down (only to pop right back again.) During “Night Train” he does this crazy dance on one foot where he manages to wriggle across the stage. Not only does he not fall down, but he looks impossibly smooth.

In his commentary on the “T.A.M.I. Show” trailer, director John Landis, whose entire seventh grade class scored invites to the taping, said the Rolling Stones “were kind of boring after James Brown.” He’s right. The Stones open with a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around,” an odd choice considering Berry was onstage earlier. They don’t start to live up to their hype and billing until the terrific “Time Is On My Side” and “It’s All Over Now.”

It’s difficult to watch the early Stones without picturing the lazy spectacle they’ve become. There is a hunger in these songs and Mick Jagger is genuinely working to win the crowd’s approval. It’s odd to see Brain Jones so alive and so happy. It seems he was born with those omnipresent bags under his eyes that just grew sadder and deeper until the lids above closed forever.

But that was still several dark years off. The “T.A.M.I. Show” is a celebration that despite some dated production techniques and material still feels vibrant. It’s a peek behind a curtain to a world where artists from not only all over the world, as the song goes, but all genres, could party together on the same stage. In a way, it was a precursor to the weekend festivals that would pop up at the end of the decade and have resurfaced to dominate the summer musical landscape again today.

Keep reading:

Talking James Brown and King Records with Jon Hartley Fox

Talking Motown with Bill Dahl

Review – “King of the Queen City”

Review: The Temptations and Four Tops

(Below: The Beach Boys get around.)

Four Tops – “Still Water (Love)”

by thedailyrecord, posted in Motown, Song Review

Four Tops – “Still Water (Love),” Pop # 11, R&B #4

By Joel Francis
The Daily Record

The Four Tops needed this.

The departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland was a devastating blow to all of Motown, but the Tops felt it especially hard. “Bernadette” made them the top Motown act in U.K., second only to the Temptations at home. But just when they made it to the top, their songwriters and producers left.

After the HDH exodus, the Tops dabbled on the fringes of psychedelic soul (“It’s All in the Game”), the folk revival (“If I Were A Carpenter”) and covered the Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renee” to solid, but not spectacular results.

Finally, after being passed around to Ashford and Simpson, Ivy Jo Hunter and Norman Whitfield, the tops were paired with Smokey Robinson, who, with Frank Wilson, wrote and produced “Still Water (Love).”

Singer Levi Stubbs opens the track drenched in echo, inviting the listener “Walk with me/Take my hand.” The arrangement has a distinctive Motown touch, filled with a great guitar hook, clavinet and an ornate percussion figure pushed to the front of the mix. As always, the Tops’ vocals are great, and while Stubbs isn’t given much room to cut loose, he still belts a couple notes before the chorus.

“Still Water (Love)” opened the Tops’ 1970 concept album “Still Waters Run Deep,” which inspired Marvin Gaye to compose “What’s Going On.” “Still Water (Love)” was covered by the Jean Terrell lineup of the Supremes in the early ‘70s, and soul singer O’Bryan.

Four Tops – “Still Water (Love),” Pop # 11, R&B #4.

The Four Tops needed this.

The departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland was a devastating blow to all of Motown, but the Tops felt it especially hard. “Bernadette” made them the top Motown act in U.K., second only to the Temptations at home. But just when they made it to the top, their songwriters and producers left.

After the HDH exodus, the Tops dabbled on the fringes of psychedelic soul (“It’s All in the Game”), the folk revival (“If I Were A Carpenter”) and covered the Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renee” to solid, but not spectacular results.

Finally, after being passed around to Ashford and Simpson, Ivy Jo Hunter and Norman Whitfield, the tops were paired with Smokey Robinson, who, with Frank Wilson, wrote and produced “Still Water (Love).”

Singer Levi Stubbs opens the track drenched in echo, inviting the listener “Walk with me/Take my hand.” The arrangement has a distinctive Motown touch, filled with a great guitar hook, clavinet and an ornate percussion figure pushed to the front of the mix. As always, the Tops’ vocals are great, and while Stubbs isn’t given much room to cut loose, he still belts a couple notes before the chorus.

“Still Water (Love)” opened the Tops’ 1970 concept album “Still Waters Run Deep,” which inspired Marvin Gaye to compose “What’s Going On.” “Still Water (Love)” was covered by the Jean Terrell lineup of the Supremes in the early ‘70s, and soul singer O’Bryan.