Mary Wells: The Definitive Collection

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Mary Wells was one of the first artists to be successful on the label and she laid huge foundations for groups like Diana Ross & The Supremes and Martha & The Vandellas to follow. 

Mary had a strong and versatile voice and her biggest hit, My Guy, is by no means representative of her material overall. She also, perhaps unadvisedly, left Motown in 1964-65 over a contract dispute and her career never recovered, which was a crying shame. 

I have covered this compilation plus a few extra tracks that I have as well. I'll begin with the gritty bluesy upbeat soul of Bye Bye Baby as this is a song that finds Mary's voice far more growly, earthy and robust than it was on a love song like My Guy. Tragically, this throaty voice contributed to her early death, aged just 49. 

My Guy is an all-time classic, of course, full of great brass and a totally irresistible rhythm. I love that bass-vocal interplay bit at the end. Some early rarities are Guarantee (For A Lifetime) which is a melodic, catchy soulful love song and Have A Little Patience And Wait, a fast-paced and lively number with a toe-tapping early rock 'n' roll vibe to it. It has a Northern Soul feel too and the same groove is found on I Don't Want To Take A Chance, which merges rock 'n' roll with r 'n' b perfectly. 

Smokey Robinson's I'll Be Available is a jaunty song most typical of that writer's output from the period - archetypal early Motown. I'm Gonna Stay has a feel of the early Drifters to it and a sumptuous bass and percussion backing. The enjoyable Two Lovers was a successful song and it also has a fine stereo version along with an an adventurous lyric for the period. 

You Lost The Sweetest Boy is a marvellous bopping Motown stomper and Your Old Stand By is an attractive ballad with a good sound quality. Two good tracks sung with Marvin Gaye are Once Upon A Time and the excellent What's The Matter With You Baby. While many Motown fans love the original mono single versions, I find the stereo versions that this compilation includes to be far more satisfying - warmer and fuller.

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