1. Please Mr. Postman (2:29) - This moderate-speed song features handclaps, which are common among songs on this anthology. The narrator misses her boyfriend who has been far away for a long time; she is desperate to receive a letter or postcard from him. So desperate, in fact, that she begs the mailman to check his bag thoroughly for anything addressed to her. This song was later remade by the Beatles.
2. So Long Baby (2:51; Wanda) - This slow, 12/8 song was the B-side of the previous one. The narrator thought the guy would love her, but all he did was make her cry. Having had enough of his mistreatment, she tells him goodbye. When Wanda sings the word "so," her voice bounces up and down. I don't care much for the high pitch in which Wanda sings here, but I do love anything else on which she sang lead.
3. Twistin' Postman (2:28) - This fast sequel to "Please Mr. Postman" has a slow 13-second intro. Shortly after 1:30 I hear a few measures of handclaps and crash cymbals. Just when the narrator was about to give up on her boyfriend, she receives the letter from him for which she had anxiously waited before. "I'm so glad he came in time / To ease this aching heart of mine," she says.
4. I Want A Guy (2:38; Wanda) - Once again, a Wanda lead was the flip of a Gladys lead. The tempo is moderate. As the title indicates, Wanda's character longs for a boyfriend who's different from previous guys who left her sad. He need not give her rings or other material goods; if he just embraces her and treats her gently, she'll never let him go. The Supremes recorded this song earlier, although I don't have their version.
5. Playboy (2:47) - The tempo is moderate. Handclaps are featured in the first few measures and in the last 20-plus seconds, when the narrator tells other girls to look out for the Casanova. For the rest of the song she sings to him, telling him to keep his distance from her. She knows about the girls whose hearts he broke before, so no way will she fall for him.
6. Beechwood 4-5789 (2:11) - The narrator of this fast song is open to dates from the guy to whom she's singing. She'd like to know him better, so if he wants to dance with her or ask her for a date, he's welcome to at any time. She even gives him her phone number. This song might have inspired the writing of Wilson Pickett's hit "634-5789."
7. Someday, Someway (2:36) - This moderate-paced song features an organ, which I hear especially in the beginning. The song begins and ends with "wo wo wo's" musically similar to those in Tammi Terrell's "Hold Me Oh My Darling." As in "Playboy," Gladys' character is wary of the guy she's singing to, except that here she's considering accepting his love at a later time. First she has to determine how true his love is; once she's sure he'll stick around forever, then she'll give him her heart.
8. Strange I Know (2:37) - This song, slightly slower than moderate, could be an alternate sequel to "Please Mr. Postman," for here the narrator has given up on her faraway boyfriend. While he was away, she met a new man whom she now intends to marry. "Strange, I know, but that's the way it goes," she says. Yep, love is fickle sometimes.
9. Locking Up My Heart (2:21; mostly Gladys, Wanda on some parts) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, features horns. The narrator has been hurt by love so many times that she has made up her mind never to love again; she's "locking up [her] heart and throwing away the key."
10. Forever (2:21; Wanda) - This version has the same music track as the one by Marvin Gaye.
11. My Daddy Knows Best (2:28) - The tempo is moderate. Instruments include a tambourine. The narrator's father has warned her that many guys out there would steal her heart and then treat her bad unless she was careful. Money may not buy love, but the guy to whom the narrator sings had better "get out and get a job," for "romance without finance can be a nuisance." As long as the young man is employed and can provide for the narrator, her father will approve of him.
12. Tie A String Around Your Finger (2:50) - This moderately slow song features chimes. As the narrator prepares to go on vacation, she tells her boyfriend that she'll still love him; in return she asks that he stay true also. A string would make a good substitute for a ring to remind him of her.
13. As Long As I Know He's Mine (2:31; mostly Gladys, Wanda on some parts) - My favorite feature of this moderately fast song is the backup scat singing "ba-da-loo, ba-da-loo." As long as the guy loves the narrator, she doesn't what the weather is or how much money he has. Even if he's broke, she makes him feel rich.
14. Little Girl Blue (2:30) - The tempo is slightly slower than moderate. For the first 46 seconds, Gladys sings few words while the other gals sing that it's no use to wait for a phone call from a guy who won't be faithful. Gladys sings in a tone matching the sadness of the character she plays, who, despite her sadness, resolves to wait patiently by the phone until he calls.
15. THE DARNELLS: Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye (2:16) - The pace is moderate. Is that a tambourine shaking? The narrator is hurt after seeing her boyfriend kissing and embracing another woman. Tears won't come to her eyes to wash her hurt away, yet she loves him too much to dump him. Motown apparently hoped to make this song a hit by giving the group a pseudonym, but the ploy didn't work; fans recognized Gladys' voice.
16. He's A Good Guy, Yes He Is (2:36) - The pace is fast. The narrator's boyfriend is the sweetest and most ambitious guy she's ever met. No matter what other people, including her parents, say about him, she'll love him through thick and thin.
17. Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers (2:26) - The tempo is moderate. The narrator sings to her boyfriend's previous girlfriend, who apparently didn't treat him right but obviously wants him back. But now that the narrator has found the guy, she's gonna keep him; the other girl will be left to weep.
18. You're My Remedy (3:02; Wanda) - The pace is moderate. When the narrator is sick or sad, she needs only the guy to whom she sings. Medicine, doctors and nurses can't do a thing when she's in pain; instead she needs caresses and kisses from the guy.
19. A Little Bit Of Sympathy, A Little Bit Of Love (2:25) - This moderately slow song features chimes and a percussion I can't identify. The narrator advises another girl what to say should her boyfriend leave her. She should kneel before him and tell him, "Have a little sympathy / Have a little love for me." The sooner she does it, the better, for it's easier than finding a new love.
20. Too Many Fish In The Sea (2:27) - This fast song features a tambourine. Everyone cries at one time or another, but it's no use to cry forever over being dumped by a lover. Gladys opens the song with, "Look here, girls..." but this goes for guys also: stop crying and start looking for a better love. The gals take turns singing during the line "Short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones."
21. A Need For Love (1:55) - This song, slightly slower than moderate, features horns. Some people may need to cry, to feel important, or to feel tall, but the narrator needs love. She needs someone to kiss and embrace her and keep her from being lonely. Don't we all!
22. I'll Keep Holding On (2:26; Wanda) - This moderately fast song features horns and a tambourine. The guy may think that he doesn't need love and no gal can catch him, but the narrator will keep pursuing him until he gives up his pride and accepts her as his girlfriend.
23. No Time For Tears (2:37; Wanda) - The tempo is moderately slow. The theme here is similar to that in "Too Many Fish." Now that her boyfriend has dumped her, the narrator resolves not to cry but rather to "pick up the pieces" and move forward with her life. She'll find some other guy with whom she can be friends, if not more.
1. Danger: Heartbreak Dead Ahead (2:24) - This and the next four songs all have a moderate pace. This song features a tambourine. When a gal gives love and doesn't get it in return, she'd better dump her guy or get heartbroken, for "It's vanity, insanity" to play a losing game. Evil does lurk in the hearts of many men, giving the rest a bad name.
2. Your Cheating Ways (2:57; Gladys) - The narrator won't be hurt if the guy leaves, for he has been untrue before. One of these days, he will pay for his treatment of her.
3. Don't Mess With Bill (2:49) - Wanda's character may have cried 1000+ times when her boyfriend Bill ran around on her, but whenever he apologizes for his behavior, her love for himself increases. She tells other girls to leave him alone and concentrate their energies on other men. This song has proven prophetic; nowadays Hillary Clinton could be the protagonist! If a guy were to sing this song, "Bill" would become "Jill" and one line might be "There's Tiffany and Amber and Jennifer, just to name a few."
4. Anything You Wanna Do (2:23; Gladys) - All the guy need do is tell the narrator she's his soulmate for eternity. In return, she'll let him embrace her, kiss her, whatever he wants to do; he need never worry that she'll find a new guy.
5. You're The One (2:47) - No, this is not the same "You're The One" that the Vogues sang. This song features an organ. The narrator doesn't care if the guy has fancy cars, a huge bank account, or dancing skills. She doesn't need trips around the world or other guys. The only guy she needs is the one to whom she's singing.
6. Paper Boy (2:13; Gladys) - This song, somewhat fast, begins and ends with the lines "Extra, extra, read all about it! / Lost love needs affection, can't live without it." This is the last thing I'd consider worthy of front-page coverage; it belongs in the classified section instead! Anyway, the narrator is broke but is dying to read the story, for it might be about the guy she left some time before. She fears he might have found a new woman who treats him better than the narrator did. The paper may be the Free Press, but it's free in the sense of not subject to government censorship, not in the sense of not costing money.
7. The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game (2:48) - This moderate-paced song features a harmonica and is my favorite Marvelettes song. Wanda purrs all the way as her character tells her boyfriend how she pursued him, yet she was the one who got caught. Before she knew it, she was in his arms and he kissed her. Her plan may not have worked, but at least she got what she wanted--the guy's love.
8. When You're Young And In Love (2:39) - The tempo here is slightly faster than in the previous song. Drums roll for the first 15 seconds. Dick and Dee Dee sang a different song with the same title, but the idea here is similar: every night seems like Independence Night. No words can better describe young couples' bliss: "Though many teardrops are bound to fall / True love can conquer all."
9. The Day You Take One (You Have To Take The Other) (2:43) - This song has a moderate swing tempo. Instruments and sound effects include chimes and finger snaps. The narrator didn't want heartaches, misery, nights without sleep, or other bad aspects of romantic relationships. But then she met the guy she sings to; now she realizes that she must accept that every good comes with some bad.
10. My Baby Must Be A Magician (2:33) - This song, somewhat faster than moderate, features the twangs of a guitar (to represent magic tricks). The song opens with one such twang and the bass voice of Melvin Franklin of the Temptations: "You are under my power; it is the power of love." The narrator's boyfriend is not the kind of magician who pulls rabbits out of hats, reads card decks, or looks in a crystal ball. But his eyes do hypnotize her, and his kisses cheer her up when she's down.
11. Here I Am Baby (2:48) - This moderately slow song features a tambourine. Purrs galore from Wanda serve as frosting for the storyline of a girl who used to want nothing to do with love and men, but now she's surrendering her heart to the guy to whom she's singing. Something in him must've melted her heart.
12. Reaching For Something I Can't Have (2:46) - This moderate-paced song is sung from the viewpoint of a socialite girl in love with a poor boy. He believes that he's not the right guy for her simply because of his poverty. Yet her love for him is so strong that she can't help but continue to reach for him. She wants him more than all the material goods in the world.
13. Destination: Anywhere (2:37) - This moderate, swing-tempoed song features a tambourine. Having been dumped by her boyfriend, the narrator goes to a train station and buys a ticket. When the conductor asks her where she wants to go, the title is her reply; she's too heartbroken to care where the train takes her. But a passenger does have to choose a specific city, and if I were in such a situation, I'd choose Philly, the resting place of Tammi Terrell.
14. What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One (2:40) - Some years before, this song had been sung by Mary Wells. Her version is good, but with the speed up and Wanda purring, this version is wonderful.
15. I'm Gonna Hold On As Long As I Can (2:32; Ann) - Horns and a tambourine are among the instruments in this moderate-paced song. Ann has a voice similar to Martha Reeves and sings some lines softly during the first half-minute. The guy may not love the narrator, but she loves him so strongly that she'll stay attached to him for as long as possible.
16. That's How Heartaches Are Made (2:57) - This slow song features orchestral string instruments. The narrator didn't believe her friends when they warned her that her boyfriend would treat her badly. A lovesick girl and a deceptive guy sure do make a recipe for heartaches. Though the guy disobeys all of love's rules, she still loves him desperately. This song had previously been sung in 1963 by Justine "Baby" Washington.
17. Rainy Mourning (2:52) - The tempo is somewhat slower than moderate. When listening closely, I can hear the shaking of a tambourine, which could at least slightly resemble the sound of rainfall. The narrator wonders the cause of her boyfriend's departure, for the result is a raincloud that always hangs over her. Whether she's asleep or awake, she always hears thunder and rain in her heart.
18. Marionette (3:38) - The anthology's final two songs were released on a 1971 album titled The Return of The Marvelettes, but they were really Wanda solos. No other Marvelettes were on any recordings or photos for the album. The tempo here is somewhat slower than moderate. The girl to whom the song is sung is heartbroken because her boyfriend has deserted her. She had allowed him to control her like a puppet and treat her heart like wood. Heartaches are the price she's paying for having been so foolish as to fall for him.
19. A Breathtaking Guy (2:50) - Here's another Supremes song of which Wanda sang her own moderate-paced version. In fact, the working title was "A Breathtaking, First-Sight Soul-Shaking, One-Night-Lovemaking, Next-Day Heartbreaking Guy." That's the description of the guy to whom the song is sung. His love is the kind that's here today and gone tomorrow. The narrator wonders why he treated her like that, whether she did something to him or if he just enjoys breaking girls' hearts.