The Marvelettes - Plak

ENGLISH

Having landed their very first top hit, 'Please, Mr. Postman' on the new Motown label, the girl group known as The Marvelettes should have achieved great things. But the bitter memories of the lead singer Gladys Horton read like a day of reckoning with Berry Gordy and co: While The Supremes got kitted out with all sorts of snazzy outfits and were given the benefit of superb songwriters and arrangers to transform them into a sophisticated girl group, The Marvelettes – even after their shooting-star debut – didn't even know how they should dress and wear make-up. It is a tribute to their professionalism that the ladies managed to produce the present album in an atmosphere of sheer ignorance and bitchiness. The choice and preparation of the numbers shows that the producers had great confidence in their protégés. This is a delightful collection in which a light bluesy sound ('Barefootin'') is placed alongside a harmonically spiced-up melody ('Message To Michael') sung crystal-clear, or a classical vocal style ('I Know Better'). The purposeful distribution of the lead parts between Horton's earthy soul voice and Young's trendy diction emphasises the diverse yet perfectly rounded nature of this studio recording.

Production: James Dean and William Weatherspoon