Search - Brenda Holloway :: Motown Anthology

Quite A Few Surprises Here

T. A. Shepherd | Palmdale, Ca. 93550 | 02/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"During the spring of 1964, there were a number of soul ballads that were quite stirring. Among them were Irma Thomas' Wish Someone Would Care; Dionne Warwick's Walk On By and Brenda Holloway's Every Little Bit Hurts. Although Walk On By was the biggest of these, Brenda's song became the most enduring. This brand new two-CD set gives us the entire first album in its entirety and in stereo for the first time! The unreleased album, Hurtin' and Cryin' follows. As if this isn't enough, the British-only release, "The Artistry of Brenda Holloway" is included, also in its stereo mix. We are then treated to many unreleased first-rate recordings under the direction of Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier, Henry Cosby, Hal Davis, et al and the excitement doesn't stop there, either. For many familiar with Brenda's singles having purchased "Greatest Hits and Rare Classics" (1991), will be thrilled to hear many of these in their stereo mixes for the first time. Operator, I'll Be Available, I'll Always Love You, Together Till The End Of Time, I've Got To Find It and the power pop thriller Where Were You are all true to their original mono counterparts. Only How Many Times Did You Mean It (the B-side of You Can Cry On My Shoulder) remains in mono. As many as 21 rare and unreleased songs grace the two discs and most of them recorded at Hitsville rather than Brenda's native L.A. Stevie Wonder's All I Do Is Think About You and I Prayed For A Boy Like You are nothing short of spectacular (the former was re-assigned to Tammi Terrell and that version can be found on A Cellarful of Motown!). The Supremes' Who Could Ever Doubt My Love was given an excellent reading, as was their "Come Into My Palace" where Brenda is joined by her sister Patrice. You Need Me is a wonderful peice of power pop written by Berry Gordy. Writer Ed Cobb (Every Little Bit Hurts, I'll Always Love You) turns up the tempo on You Are Very Much A Part Of Me. Here Brenda sounds like she's backed up by Cobb's group The Standells (Why Pick On Me, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White). I See A Rainbow (written by Helen & Kay Lewis) is a re-working of the Trade Martin hit Take Me For A Little While. Brenda's soft velvet vocals are reminiscent of Sarah Vaughan, but at times her playful patter is a throwback to Dinah Washington and even Ella Fitzgerald, revealing she was more influenced by the earlier jazz and R&B vocalists than the singers of her own era.

This is especially indicated on the last track on disc two when she tackles the Gershwin classic "Summertime", a live recording from 1966. Not only is her vocal confidently jazzy, but to everyone's amazement, Brenda plays a violin solo, after which the tempo comes up swinging like crazy. Earl Van Dyke's band follows behind her to a dramatic close. So there are quite a few surprises here, but let this go on record that Berry Gordy gave Brenda his greatest song ever: You Can Cry On My Shoulder (1965). This should have been a monster and I'll never know why it wasn't. I disagree to an extent that Brenda was not a favored act at Motown because everyone I met loved her records. She was truly one of the most talked about artists at our school and in our circles. Timing is everything and even the greatest performers miss out. Blame belongs to no one. I'm grateful that I had a part in collecting first of all, Brenda's singles and now these fine recordings left behind in the Hitsville vaults.

(Tom's note: This set along with The Velvelettes, Barbara McNair, Billy Eckstine and Jimmy Ruffin are available only on the Tamla/Motown imprint, Great Britain. Look for the new Chris Clark anthology next month.)"

Keep it coming

Larry Jones | San Francisco ,Ca | 04/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It still baffles me why Berry Gordy switched gears and abandoned promoting female soloists until Diana Ross emerged from The Supremes in 1970. Brenda Holloway had the same charm to make songs sparkle with a certain something (sure she doesn't have the same vocal purity of labelmates Kim Weston or even Barbara McNair)that Diana Ross did. What suprises me the most, the more unreleased Motown material comes out the more aware I am they were thinking in a singles minded market and put little care into LP's. These Anthologies show that every artist on the label had at least one if not 5 albums worth of critically acclaimed material, just sitting there. I think Motown did a great disservice to Brenda Holloway (and to all it's artists, in general even The Supremes, over 40 or so LP's have 3 that are continually listenable) by keeping stunning, often brilliant Material locked away for 40 years. Thankfully Mrs. Holloway is still here to bask in her accomplishments. one listen of "I Don't Want Nobody's Gonna Make me Cry" should show you."

She should have been a major star...

Henando DeSoto | New York City | 01/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Motown and many of it's sixties artists including Brenda Holloway are enjoying a sort of rennaissance thanks to the labors of the folks at Tamla/Motown in the U.K. What a shame that here in the U.S. Motown execs are paying little or no attention to their back catalogue! Brenda Holloway was a strikingly beautiful girl with perhaps the loveliest female voice I have ever heard this side of Ella Fitzgerald and, I do not exaggerate! Brenda broke through with her first Motown release "Every Little Bit Hurts" and it looked as though she was on her way to stardom with all that talent and the most popular indie in the U.S. in back of her. It's impossible to say why she didn't catch on. Dick Clark obviously adored her, having her on his show many times. It's all speculation at this point but my memory tells me that the problem was poor promotion. Her records simply didn't get any airplay. I remember searching for Brenda's 45's in the cut-out bins. Most of the time, I didn't even have a title in mind. I just looked for the yellow Tamla Label and if it said "Brenda Holloway" (or Kim Weston), I knew enough to buy it. I should have bought everything. I could retire on the proceeds. Anyway, for years there was little or nothing available from this great Soul Diva but now, there's this collection and, take it from me, Brenda never cut a bad side for Motown. Her hits are here: "Every Little Bit Hurts", "When I'm Gone" & You've made me so very happy" along with her chart records: "I'll Always Love You", "Operator", "Just Look What You've Done" and even her financial failures (But critical successes): "You can cry on my shoulder","Together 'Til the end of time" and "Hurt a little every day". You'll be hard pressed to tell the A-sides from the B-sides without the included discography. "Where were You", "How many Times did you mean it?","Starting the Hurt All Over Again" & "Sad Song" all sound like Top Ten (If not Number One) Records. For the first time, Brenda's "Every Little Bit Hurts" LP is included in it's entirety, In STEREO (Okay, a few tracks are rechannelled). Want more? Brenda's unreleased LP "Hurtin' and Cryin"" is also here in it's entirety. If you're old enough to remember, it's like going back to the 60's and buying a new unheard LP by a favorite. The second disc contains non-album b-sides and unreleased tracks. Most are good (Brenda could make almost anything sound good), some are forgettable but even so, this set has to be the most important Soul/Motown/R&B re-release of 2005. Brenda's still singing and still sounds good. Let's hope some Class A Producer/Arranger gets hold of her and produces a straight ahead album of R&B Classics and Standards. Is Peter Matz still around? Richard Perry? Don Costa? Burt Bacharach! Hey, Smokey! She's BACK!!!"