Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
Ridin' High/Sugar 'N' Spice
Universal/Motown 2 on 1 CD
Released in the UK on 13th May 2002

This review should be read in conjunction with my on-line interview with Martha Reeves of which a number of songs from these two albums are featured in conversation, and are a useful source of information for Motown enthusiasts. Furthermore at the bottom of this page you will find the link to the interview in question, as well as a link to some amazing footage of this great lady from the sixties.
 
 
 

‘Ridin’ High’

This is possibly the most collectable album from Martha’s sixties repertoire probably due the amount of good quality dance material contained within it. At a time when the Motown sound was beginning to slow down somewhat with artists scoring even bigger hits than they had done previously, Martha continued to record the type of songs that hard core fans wanted to hear. Whether you are a fan of her mid-tempo recordings, or a die-hard northern soul fanatic then this title will be just up your street.

Kicking off with the mid-tempo ‘I Promise To Wait My Love’ a somewhat jerky disjointed affair that perhaps is the not the best cut to open such an important album, but ‘Honey Chile’ is perhaps the epitome of the mid sixties sound of Motown, with that irresistible lazy back beat that became the hallmark of many a hit song for the label at the back end of the decade (Stevie Wonder – ‘Shoo Be Doo’ as way of an example).

Martha makes an interesting point about this song, which can be heard by clicking here.

Its back to the uptempo early sixties formulae with two cover versions of well know standards as Martha tackles Aretha’s ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ with gusto and precision and which is a song that could have easily made a single release. Her cover of Sandie Shaw’s ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’ whilst pleasant enough and in the same mould as the aforementioned, just somehow fails to have the same impact.

Northern soul fans will be delighted with the 100 mph dancer ‘Leave It In The Hands Of Love’ of which the backing track is very reminiscent of Stevie Wonders ‘Nothings Too Good For My Baby’. 1967 saw an important release in the UK of ‘Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone’ a wonderful piece of mid tempo magic but it was the flip side ‘One Way Out’ which became the dancers favourite and helped push the price up of this now in-demand item. As Martha said in her interview “Nearly all our songs were ‘A’ sides and even though many were issued as ‘B’ sides, we all felt that everything we did was good enough to have been issued as singles”

More big dance tunes are in abundance with two mid tempo tracks in ‘I’m In Love And I Know It’ which in some ways reminds the listener of ‘I’m Ready For Love’ and also ‘Without You’ which has some very clever backing vocals not too unlike the Supremes. It is easy to see why the excellent ‘Forget Me Not’ became a big hit single (albeit second time around in 1971) as it just oozes commercial appeal, and one reason no doubt that the company issued it as a 45 to gain mass radio plays. At a time when Motown was enjoying major success with re-issues of songs first issued earlier in the decade it, achieved a commendable UK chart position no doubt assisted with the inclusion of ‘I Gotta Let You Go’ on the flip.

Whilst Motown fans will be familiar with the tracks on this CD it is a golden opportunity to acquire them on one CD together with;

‘Sugar ‘N’ Spice’

Another great album from around the same era and again showcases the ladies talent to the max. Opening with ‘Taking My Love’ a heavily produced mid tempo affair that grows with each playas does the ‘Shoe Leather Expressway’. (Martha makes the point during our interview of how she was seen as a ‘one take artist’ especially by Holland Dozier Holland and was one of the reasons why the company often let her record a particular song first, and the other artists on the label later)

Martha takes on a version of ‘What Now My Love’ using a formula that had seen Dionne Warwick enjoy chart success between 1965-67 and shows her ability to sing great ballad songs as well as the popular up-beat songs. ‘I’m A Winner’ is a standout track that has a nagging piano intro before settling into a superb piece of mid sixties uptempo magic. This song will convince the listener that a lot of great potential 45’s were included as album material that never saw the light of day as a 45.

The crème de crème of this set has to be the fabulous ‘I Love The Man’ a song which has maintained popularity over the years with collectors and one that still sounds as good today as it did back in ‘67’. For those reading this review that don’t know the song please click here and treat yourself to an audio preview and if this doesn’t convince you to go out and buy this CD, nothing will.

Bonus tracks on this set include alternative stereo mixes of ‘Sweet Darlin’ ‘I Can’t Dance To That Music Your Playing’ and ‘I Promise To Wait My Love’

Rating 10/10

To check my interview on line – click here
To see Martha Reeves & the Vandellas in action – click here
Other Motown CD review from Martha – click here