Martha & the Vandellas - Watchout! (150g)
Martha & the Vandellas:
- Martha Reeves – lead vocals
- Rosalind Ashford – backing vocals (except A4)
- Betty Kelly – backing vocals (except A3-4)
- Annette Beard – backing vocals (A3)
The Andantes – backing vocals (A4, A6), additional background vocals (A1, A3, B5)
The Spinners – backing vocals (B1)
The Funk Brothers – instrumentation
Written-By – Holland-Dozier-Holland (A1-3), Frank Wilson (A4), Smokey Robinson (A5, B2), Ivy Jo Hunter (A6), Helen Lewis (A6), Kay Lewis (A6), Johnny Bristol (B1), Harvey Fuqua (B1), William "Mickey" Stevenson (B3-4), Ivy Jo Hunter (B3, B6), Sylvia Moy (B4), James Dean (B5), Leon Ware (B5), William Witherspoon (B5)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 150g Virgin Vinyl
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : Motown
Original Label : Gordy Records (Motown)
Recorded 1964 – 1966 in Hitsville U.S.A. Studio
Produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson, Holland–Dozier–Holland, Harvey Fuqua, Smokey Robinson
Reissue produced by Jordi Soley
Originally released in November 1966
Reissued in March 2023
Tracks :
Side A:
- I'm Ready for Love
- One Way Out
- Jimmy Mack
- Let This Day Be
- Keep It Up
- Happiness Is Guaranteed
Side B:
- I'll Follow You
- No More Tearstained Make Up
- Go Ahead and Laugh
- What Am I Going to Do Without Your Love
- Tell Me I'll Never Be Alone
- He Doesn't Love Her Anymore
Reviews :
“It's usually presented as a given that, separated from the work of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, Martha & the Vandellas were somewhat at sea. But H-D-H only had three songs on Watchout! -- albeit two of which were the hits that drove the album's sales -- and the group came off better than one could have hoped on the rest of the record. As a follow-up to Dance Party, Watchout! is usually thought of as less successful, with the H-D-H songs "Jimmy Mack" and "I'm Ready for Love" dominating. It's a little more complicated than that, however, because Watchout! is actually a very different kind of album, with ballads outnumbering the dance numbers. It's a chance to immerse oneself in the sensitive, reflective side of Martha & the Vandellas, and a very beautiful record, if not as exciting as its predecessor. Oh, to be sure, "Let This Day Be" isn't doing much more than filling up track space, but the rest is misplaced treasure from the Motown vaults, well worth hearing, and more than once. Holland-Dozier-Holland's "One Way Out" is similar to their earlier "Nowhere to Run" (and was later a single B-side), and the wrenchingly emotive "Keep It Up" (a forgotten Smokey Robinson number) shows off a more delicate side to the group's sound that was often overlooked. "Happiness Is Guaranteed" is the kind of anthemic ballad, with a big central melody, that one suspects was rejected for the Supremes; Martha Reeves and company do a wonderful job with it, even though it needed the more delicate lead vocal attentions of Diana Ross to have gotten heard more widely. "I'll Follow You," co-authored by ex-Moonglows leader Harvey Fuqua, is so sweet in its sensibilities beneath a driving beat that it's like listening to two songs in one (both of them very good). "Tell Me I'll Never Be Alone" is another oft-overlooked gem, and then there's the lost single off this album, "No More Tearstained Make Up," a slow, haunting, beautiful piece of female heartache set to music.” Review by Bruce Eder
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs :