MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS/WATCHOUT! GLP 920 (-66) US MONO

I bet most music lovers have heard or danced to some version of their biggest hit "Dancing In The Streets". As public memory faded through the years they are today often seen as a one hit wonder because of that, but there was a lot more going on at the time. Between 1963-67 the combo recorded a string of hits for Motown's Gordy label, including six top ten on Billboard and twelve on the US R&B list, some of them also reaching high in UK and other parts of the world. Much of their success was due to the talent of songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland and mentor/producer William "Mickey" Stevenson, but after both H-D-H and Stevenson left the label 1967 sales started to drop and they disbanded 1972. This album was the last with the old gang. Following a common Motown pattern at the time it has equal parts uptempo dance music and emotional ballads. Most outstanding tracks are the three H-D-H melodic uptempo numbers starting side one - "I'm Ready For Love", "Jimmy Mac" and "One Way Out". The rest also high quality with the familiar Motown magic, but to my taste a little more ordinary. The mono audio on this US press is top notch - big and clear with fine separation - making it as suitable for tranquil listening as for dirty dancing. US Gordy stereo (S-920). UK 1967 issue on Tamla Motown (TML/STML 11051). Premiere US had label as shown here and glossy cover. (TÖMÖ*) (YZÄ*) (ÖXCÅ*)