LP Review: Ridin' High
Released: 1968
LP Charts: #13 R&B, #167 pop
As was typical with Motown groups in the late 1960s, we got some personnel changes to go over. Martha Reeves and Rosalind Ashford were still hanging in as original Vandellas; but Betty Kelly, who had been around since 1964, was dismissed from the band and replaced with Martha’s sister, Lois Reeves.
In any case, the Vandellas only sang backup on five of Ridin’ High’s 12 songs mirroring a similar demise in the role of the Supremes on their own albums in this period. Instead of Ashford, Kelly, and the Reeves sister, it was the Andantes increasingly assuming the role of backup singers for Martha Reeves.
Furthermore, Ridin’ High was the first album credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, not simply Martha and the Vandellas. You can tell that Martha Reeves assumed greater importance because her image on the album cover is like 20x larger than her groupmates’.
Even with all that churn, this was yet another really decent album from the Vandellas.
Ridin’ High opens with “I Promise to Wait My Love” (#36 R&B, #62 pop) an unexpectedly funky attempt at Muscle Shoals soul… and it works. This song was clearly imitating the rise of Aretha Franklin… and it worked. Now Martha Reeves didn’t have the full power and range of Aretha… but she makes the song work. Plus who knew the Funk Brothers could switch on a dime from their usual dance-pop R&B to Southern Soul… but they make it work.
Anyhoo, the context of the song was familiar territory: a woman promising to wait for her lover to come back home. HOWEVER, with the Vietnam War escalating, the song assumed a broader cultural meaning to not just any departure, but going off to fight a war. Another song on the album, “Forget Me Not”, was far more explicit. It opens with a military-style trumpet and marching drumbeat as Reeves sings “now we kiss goodbye, you’ll be off to war”. No subtlety on that one. It’s pretty straightforward.
A song that is absolutely not straightforward is the psychedelic-pop soul of “Honey Chile” (#5 R&B, #11 pop). This song is filled with cliches and plays on words that almost overwhelm your brain as you try to keep up with the cleverness. I can’t be mad, though. The string chart is amazing and Reeves delivers the lines about the “sweet cake that grandma used to bake”, walking a country mile “just to be with you now, honey chile”, and “Sally who lives across the alley” with such seriousness that I have to embrace the silliness of it all.
“Leave It in the Hands of Love” is another psychedelic-pop soul selection. Not as good as “Honey Chile”, but I can dig it well enough.
Ho boy, we get a third psychedelic-pop soul cut. “Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone” (#14 R&B, #25 pop) was written by Sylvia Moy and Richard Morris, who also did “Honey Chile”, and it is a fuzz guitar fest. It also ably incorporates Motown’s classic stompin’ beat into the mix.
That classic Motown Sound is all over “(We've Got) Honey Love” (#27 R&B, #56 pop). Another pretty darn good song contributed by Moy and Morris. In fact, Richard Morris did produce the album, but he and Sylvia Moy did not write every song. Based on the contents thus far, they should have written every song, cuz their stuff was generally the cream of this crop.
Some Filler
“I’m In Love (And I Know It)” — classic Motown Sound, but with discounted production.
“I Say A Little Prayer” — an unremarkable rendition of the Bacharach and David classic.
Couple Songs that Stink
“(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me” — absolutely and brutally pedestrian.
“To Sir, With Love” — who greenlit this crap? Reeves’s vocals are pretty disinterested, as am I.
As the album comes towards its end, the peppy “Without You” floats in and out… and then comes the stone cold floor filler “Show Me The Way”, yet another Moy and Morris contribution. Somehow “Show Me The Way” was never released as an A-side and it is easily the best thang on this album. The menacing horns, heavy bass, and prancing piano are all reminiscent of their mega dance hits “Nowhere to Run” and “Dancing in the Street”. It’s not as good as those songs, but it gets appreciably close.
ALBUM GRADE: C+
Another year, another Vandellas album that is on the cusp of being genuinely good, but instead gets handicapped by a couple turds. This kind of nonsense happened too often in the 1960s.
Every song, to one degree or another, is worth hearing except the two stinkers I identified earlier. And it has FIVE songs that can be considered anywhere from very good to classic. Not bad.
Song Scores
I Promise to Wait My Love: 8/10
Honey Chile: 7.5/10
(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me: 3/10
Leave It in the Hands of Love: 6.5/10
Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone: 8/10
I’m In Love (And I Know It): 6/10
To Sir, With Love: 3/10
Forget Me Not: 6.5/10
(We've Got) Honey Love: 7.5/10
I Say A Little Prayer: 6/10
Without You: 6.5/10
Show Me the Way: 8.5/10