Mary Wells' career began in late 1960, when she met Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., at a sock hop. She handed him a song, "Bye Bye Baby," for Jackie Wilson to record. Berry told Mary to sing the song; once she was through, Berry had an idea: instead of giving the song to Jackie, he would sign Mary to a record contract at Motown and have her sing the song herself. Thus at 17 she became a star. Two of her backup groups, the Temptations and the Supremes, later became stars on their own; the Temps sang behind her on many of the songs on the 2-disc anthology reviewed immediately below. She was one of Marvin Gaye's many duet partners; two of the songs they sang together are listed here. Once she turned 21 in 1964, she left Motown. A movie career fell through, but subsequent recordings for 20th Century Fox, Atco, and Jubilee had modest chart success. She died of throat cancer in 1992.
1. Bye Bye Baby (2:53) - Mary's throaty vocals on this song must have been her ticket to stardom. Her character is saying goodbye to the man after he "took [her] love and threw it away."
2. Come To Me (2:16) - The vocals aren't quite as throaty here, but the tempo is fast and lively. The narrator tells the man to come to her so she can kiss him and do whatever else that would satisfy him.
3. (You Can) Depend On Me * (2:53) - I like the original version by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, but I like Mary's version even better; better late than never for this to have been released. Mary sings more tenderly here; her character tells the man he can depend on her for comfort and reassurance when life becomes unbearable for him. The slow tempo is an apt match for such a theme.
4. I Don't Want To Take A Chance (2:49) - The narrator has been hurt by at least one previous lover, so she tells the man that he may really love her but she hesitates to accept his love lest he hurt her later.
5. Bad Boy (2:23) - In the first verse, the only instruments are a bass guitar and, on every even-numbered beat, the double-cymbal drum. At the second verse, horns are added; after that verse an electric piano comes in. The narrator's boyfriend is bad "because he wants to be free." By the third verse she decides that since he is breaking her heart she must dump him.
6. I Love The Way You Love (2:24) - The tempo is somewhere between moderate and fast. What I like best about this song is the piano rolls during the first 12 seconds. When the man holds the narrator's hand or comforts her when she is down, he reinforces her love for him. In one verse, she says people tell her to dump him, but she doesn't care what they say; as long as he satisfies her, she will stay with him.
7. Strange Love (2:40) - The tempo is slow, in 12/8 time. In the verses the narrator talks TO the man, whereas in the chorus (sung only once) she talks ABOUT him. In the first verse, the man's aim in doing his funny things apparently is to keep her away; in any case they just attract her more to him.
8. The One Who Really Loves You (2:27) - The narrator warns the man that the other girls he is seeing don't really love him; sooner or later they won't want him anymore. "Love, you'd better wake up / Yeah, before we break up and you lose me," she warns.
9. When Your Lover Comes Back * (2:29) - I've heard songs before in which the narrator is the one cheated on, and I've also heard songs in which the narrator has cheated or is tempted to cheat, but this is one of only two songs I've heard that is sung from the perspective of the person with whom one cheats on a spouse or lover (the other is "Come A Little Bit Closer" by Jay and the Americans). Mary's character warns the man that his fling with her has become more than a toy; she asks him what he will do when his lover comes back.
10. The Day Will Come (2:07) - The day will come when the man will want a love like the narrator's; the narrator is waiting for that day to come, for him to fall in love with her. During most of this moderate-tempoed song, every second beat is sounded by a drum that sounds similar to the tick of a clock.
11. You Beat Me To The Punch (2:43) - When the narrator first saw the man, she wanted to ask him what his name was and if he wanted to be her man, but she couldn't find the courage to. But the man sensed what she wanted to say, so he asked to know HER name and if SHE wanted to be HIS. Things between them went fine for awhile, but now she has learned that he has a playboy reputation; she decides she had better dump him before he hurts her.
12. Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right (2:47) - The narrator has returned to her man after taking his love and leaving. She begs him not to hurt her back, citing the adage in the title. Each time the title is sung, the drums divide the fourth beat into three.
13. I've Got A Story * (2:45) - The narrator is telling another girl a story about a girl who lost her man after being untrue. She uses third person at first, but later surprises us by saying she is the girl in the story. By telling the story she is advising her friend to be true and good any lover she may have.
14. You're My Desire (2:17) - Mary starts this song by speaking, "Darling, there's something I'd like to say." As in "I Love The Way You Love," the narrator names the things the man does that makes him her one desire. Musically, this song is like "Strange Love" because it has the same slow, 12/8 tempo.
15. She Don't Love You (2:31) - The narrator warns the man that the model for whom he has left her does not know how to satisfy him like the narrator does. The narrator will be ready to resume her relationship with the man once the model is gone.
16. Two Lovers (2:47) - The song I like best by Mary. The narrator tells her man that she loves two men: one who treats her good, one who treats her bad. To reassure him that she is not being unfaithful, she explains that sometimes he is one, at other times he's the other. The tempo is slow and Mary's voice is tender and breathy.
17. Operator (2:46) - The narrator is glad that she is about to hear from her lover who has been far away for a long time; she tells the telephone operator to put him on the line so she can talk to him. On the even-numbered beats, I hear a drum similar to the tick of a clock, although it doesn't sound quite like the drum in "The Day Will Come."
18, To Lose You * (2:12) - In the first 38 seconds, Mary's character tells her man that to lose him would be tantamount to losing her ability to breathe. But in the rest of the song she warns him that since he has cheated on her, she will have to dump him before he causes her any further misery.
19. Laughing Boy (2:56) - The narrator was the laughing boy's girlfriend at one time. He found someone new, who later dumped him. Behind his smile the narrator can see the hurt that the other woman caused him; the narrator wants to become his lover again.
20. Looking Back (2:32) - In the title song of this anthology, the narrator looks back on the wrong she has done her man. She is sorry and resolves never to make those mistakes again. The piano roll at the end impresses me.
21. What Love Has Joined Together (2:57) - The narrator compares people's ability to tear her apart from the man to whom she is singing to impossible things like drying water, warming snow, cooling fire, and changing the seasons.
1. I Want You 'Round (with Smokey Robinson) * (2:21) - In this slow song, Smokey and Mary sing all lead vocals simultaneously. Mary's voice stands out more than Smokey's does. I like the "wo-bo-bo-do's" sung by the backup singers.
2. Your Old Stand-By (2:46) - The man's girlfriend has left him, so he asks the narrator to stand in for her. But the narrator wants to be more than a standby; she wants to be with him permanently.
3. Forgive And Forget * (2:32) - The narrator and her boyfriend have quarreled lately, and she is seeking reconciliation. At one point in this song, Mary sings the adage, "To err is human, to forgive is divine."
4. What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One (2:53) - Hand-clapping is featured in this moderate-fast song. In the first verse the narrator begs her man to accompany her on a walk in the park; in the second verse she tells him to show love for her as she does for him; and in the third verse she urges him to marry her. The title is never sung exactly, but the following lyrics come close: "What two can easily do / Is so hard to be done by one."
5. You Lost The Sweetest Boy (2:31) - The tempo is fast. The narrator is singing to another girl, who lost her boyfriend to the narrator. The other girl slighted the boy by expecting every other boy to pass her by. This and the next song are the two on which the Supremes sang behind Mary.
6. My Heart Is Like A Clock * (2:26) - This time the tempo is slower. The narrator urges her man to kiss her so her heart can start beating again. Here double meaning is used: "So come on and wind it up before I wind up broken-hearted."
7. My Guy (this version 2:49; 1980s stereo version 2:48) - Mary's biggest hit reached #1 on both the R&B chart and the Pop chart. Her character tells the man that he can do nothing to tear her apart from her boyfriend. The boyfriend is not an actor, but they are still happy with each other. The newer version is slightly faster than the original.
8. He's The One I Love (2:38) - This song has the same idea as the previous one, only this time the narrator is talking to a few of her buddies. She is telling them that they can pursue tall, talkative hunks if they want to, but she will stay with her average-looking boyfriend.
9. Does He Love Me (2:49) - After a new girl has moved to a house across the street (from the narrator, or her boyfriend, or both, if they're living together?) the man started acting differently; the narrator wants to know if he still loves her.
10. My World Of Dreams * (2:50) - The narrator uses sleep as an escape from the miseries the world sometimes causes her. I like how the flute plays in this song.
11. Once Upon A Time (with Marvin Gaye) (2:31) - This song is Track 1 on Marvin and Mary's album Together.
12. Whisper You Love Me Boy (2:40) - It has been so long since the man last held the narrator in his arms or whispered sweet things to her, she urges him to whisper right now that he loves her. Fingers snap on every second and fourth beat.
13, Can You Fix It (My Broken Heart) * (2:35) - The narrator in this fast, swing-tempoed song has been hurt by at least one untrue lover, so she hesitates to trust the man to whom she is singing. She tells him that she will accept his love only if he can fix her heart.
14. What's The Matter With You Baby (with Marvin) (2:22) - This song is Track 9 on Marvin and Mary's album Together.
15. Guarantee (For A Lifetime) (2:16) - Interestingly, the backup singers sing, "Won't you take Mary's love? / It's guaranteed for a lifetime." Anyway, the narrator promises the man that her love is true and can help him overcome any hurt he may have suffered from someone who either was untrue or turned out to be a boy.
16. One Block From Heaven (2:57) - Except during the first 11 seconds of this fast song, hands clap on every second and fourth beat. Heaven to the narrator is being in her boyfriend's arms.
17. Goodbye And Good Luck (2:30) - The man has repeatedly run around on the narrator, so she won't let him back into her heart this time. What I like best in this moderate-tempoed song is the saxophone from 0:49 to 1:04.
18. Prove It * (2:04) - This time the tempo is slow. The man tells the narrator that he will give her true love, so she urges him to prove it by holding her tight. From 1:19 to 1:35, Mary speaks: "You see, my darling, I just can't take a chance / My love for you is so real, don't lose it. You see, all you gotta do is . . ." How lovely she sounded when she talked, too! Too bad she's gone, but at least she's not forgotten.
19. (What Are You Gonna Do) When I'm Gone (2:15) - After the man has made advances at other women, the narrator has had enough of him. She asks him what he will do, whose shoulder he will cry on, when she leaves him. The tempo is moderate and fingers snap on every even-numbered beat.
20. Honey Boy (2:55) - Here's another song in which the narrator praises her boyfriend, only this time she's talking ABOUT him. "He's sugar, he's spice, he's everything that's nice," she says of him. Hands clap on every second and fourth beat.
21. Teach Me Tonight * (3:08) - The slow tempo and Mary's tender vocals are the highlights of this song. The narrator apparently is asking her boyfriend to teach her how to reinforce his love for her. The sky is the blackboard and the shooting star is the chalk with which she writes "I love you."
22. Everybody Needs Love (2:54) - The narrator is singing to a man who has been so hurt by love that he is reluctant to fall in love with her. She urges him to "try love once more" because he cannot live without love no matter how hard he tries. I like the horn-playing, the swing tempo, and Mary's breathy voice.
1. Ain't It The Truth (2:57) - This moderate swing song is the one I like best from this compilation. It features a piano, finger-snapping, and horns. The narrator's ex-boyfriend may be feeling bad about how he used to treat her and hoping that an apology will win her back, but the truth is that she no longer wants him.
2. Stop Taking Me For Granted (2:12) - Horns play softly throughout this moderate-tempoed song. Just before she starts singing, Mary says, "Hey, boy, I've got some talk for you." The narrator warns her boyfriend that if he continues to slight her, she will end their romance. At the 1:23 mark, backup singers twice sing "Boy, you'd better stop takin' that girl for granted."
3. How Can I Forget Him (2:27) - The narrator of this moderately fast song cannot push from her mind the memory of the only boyfriend she ever had, the guy whose love seemed genuine until he left her. Despite the way he treated her, "Every time I hear his name / I wish that I had him back again." Hands clap on every second and fourth beat. The key changes from E to F during the middle instrumental.
4. Use Your Head (2:08) - This song has a moderate swing tempo. The narrator tells her boyfriend to watch out for another man who is trying to tear them apart and claim her for himself. The boyfriend should "use [his] head" to see through the other guy's claims that the narrator has been unfaithful.
5. Everloving Boy (2:22) - This song, featuring chimes, horns and strings, is somewhat slower than moderate. The narrator and her boyfriend must have spent some time apart due to summer vacation or something. When they reunite at the setting of this song, she finds that his love for her has stood the test of time; she bestows on him the title of the song.
6. Jive Guy * (2:30) - Studio chatter and counting fill the first 13 seconds; the actual song opens with a bass horn. The tempo is moderately slow. The guy here is the opposite of the previous song's title character; the narrator of this song rejects the man's advances because she has heard about his love-and-leave tactics from her friends who loved him before.
7. My Mind's Made Up (2:28) - The tempo is moderate. Horns are the featured instruments. Despite the guy's cynicism toward romance, the narrator is determined to win his heart and will do anything to convince him she really loves him.
8. We're Just Two Of A Kind (2:20) - This song, featuring horns, has a swing tempo slightly slower than moderate. The narrator and the guy are "two of a kind" because they both like blue more than any other color, they both like slow music and dancing, and "a quiet date for two." So she proposes that they become boyfriend and girlfriend. However, I would caution that all of these common interests don't guarantee that the relationship will last forever.
9. He's Good Enough For Me (2:27) - This song has a similar tempo to the previous one, but this time I hear a sax. The narrator's boyfriend treats her rough sometimes. But since at other times he treats her like a lover should, she will stay with him. I know that "perfect he will never be," but I think this gal needs help, like millions of other battered women do!
10. Never Never Leave Me (2:44) - Orchestral strings and horns fill this song. The time is 4/4 except during the several measures in the chorus before the backup singers sing the title. Apparently the narrator's boyfriend wants to leave her. She begs him on her knees to stay, for she loves him "more than anyone should ever be allowed to love anyone or anything." But why would she want her own feelings to be a sin?
11. Why Don't You Let Yourself Go (2:22) - Hands clap on every second and fourth beat of this moderate, swing song. The narrator can tell just by the man's facial expressions that he wants to start a romance with her. So she tells him that he should stop being nervous and tell her how he feels.
12. He's A Lover (2:37) - The tempo is moderately slow. As in three songs back, we hear a familiar phrase from Mary's Motown days--"my guy." He may seem shy to other people, but the narrator sees a side of him that no one else sees--a loving side. He dims the lights for her and holds her in his arms.
13. Me Without You (2:30) - This moderate-tempoed song features chimes and hand-clapping. As the narrator cries over her broken romance, she compares herself without the guy to "day without sun, stars without night" and many other absurdities.
14. I'm Learning (2:37) - A tambourine seasons the moderate tempo. Initially the key is G, but it lowers to F just before Mary starts singing. Like babies crawl and cry before they walk and talk, the narrator learns about love one step at a time. That's just the pace at which she wants the guy to teach her.
15. I'm Sorry (2:12) - The tempo is somewhat slower than moderate. Male backup singers play the part of the narrator's ex-boyfriend. The situation here is similar to the one in "Goodbye And Good Luck" from the Motown days.
16. Say What You Gotta Say * (2:22) - The first 21 seconds consist of a false start and Mary clearing her throat. While male backup singers sing "Say what you gotta say to me, boy," female ones sing "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon." The narrator tells the guy that he should stop telling other people his feelings about her before he tells them to her. She should be the first to know, not the last. After all, HE is the first to know whatever SHE has to say about him.
17. Memories Keep Creeping Up On Me * (3:12) - During the first 9 seconds, Mary clears her throat and a male voice counts for the song to start. This song, somewhat slower than moderate, features a tambourine and subdued horns. The memories that keep creeping are those of a boyfriend who dumped her. No matter how hard she tries, she can't get over him.
18. Time After Time (2:57) - This slow, jazzy song has the opposite mood to the previous song. The narrator often tells herself how lucky she is to have for a lover the guy to whom she is singing. So now she will tell him too. And "time after time," I feel lucky to have found these precious gems from Mary's post-Motown days.
1. Dear Lover (2:11) - This moderate-tempoed song was Mary's post-Motown Top 10 R&B hit. In a letter to her boyfriend, the narrator tells him that she misses him a lot and hopes he will write back. She begs him to stay faithful to her while they're apart; in return she promises she will love him eternally.
2. Can't You See (You're Losing Me) (2:47) - Hands clap on every other beat of this fast song. Plenty of bass vibrates from the speakers. The narrator begs her boyfriend to stop cheating on her and making her cry. She asks him if the other woman will give him a truer love than the narrator's, but I think she's sure the answer is no. She is giving him one last chance before he loses her.
3. Me And My Baby (2:02) - The tempo is moderately fast. The narrator and her boyfriend know how to be happy: they have many common interests, they take their time in making decisions, they keep no secrets from each other, and their love is 50-50 instead of 60-40.
4. Fancy Free (2:12) - A horn solo opens this moderate-tempoed song. Some people enjoy being free, but the narrator, "a lonely girl in a big big world," wishes she could have a boyfriend. She had one before, but he left her. Her self-esteem is so low, I think she'd immediately accept the next guy to be interested in her, which tends to lead to more trouble.
5. Such A Sweet Thing (2:42) - The tempo is slightly slower than moderate. This song and the next one must have been mastered from a vinyl, as plenty of feedback emanates when Mary sings "s" sounds. The title of this song is how the narrator describes her boyfriend.
6. Keep Me In Suspense (2:45) - This song, somewhat slower than moderate, features a tambourine. The man keeps the narrator guessing what his feelings for her are. She hopes he will make up his mind and embrace her.
7. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (2:30) - This version is fast, faster than the hit version by the Rolling Stones. Various instruments play here, including horns, a sax, and a tambourine (commonly heard from now on). Turn the volume down, as this song is louder than all the previous songs. No matter how hard the narrator tries, she can't satisfy her appetite for whatever she desires.
8. Love Makes The World Go Round (2:55) - This song, with a moderate tempo, opens with a few drum rolls. The opening notes sound as if they'd been borrowed from the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart Of Mine." This song was written and previously sung by Deon Jackson.
9. In The Midnight Hour (1:55) - This version is fast, somewhat faster than the original by Wilson Pickett. That explains it having a shorter timing than the original.
10. My World Is Empty Without You (2:49) - Interestingly, Mary covers one of the hits of Diana Ross and the Supremes, who are often accused of derailing the careers of many other Motown women, including Mary Wells. This version has a similar tempo. The piano is very audible in the opening bars.
11. Good Lovin' (3:19) - This version is fast but somewhat slower than the hit version by the Rascals.
12. Love Letter * (2:33) - The tempo is swing and slightly slower than moderate. The situation here is similar to that in "Dear Lover" except that here the narrator is singing ABOUT the man she loves. She does receive a letter from him, but he wrote to tell her goodbye, that he had found a new woman. She cries as she looks back on the happy moments they used to share.
13. Hands Off My Baby * (2:32) - The tempo is moderate. This song is the one I like best from this disc. The situation here is the same as in "Your Old Stand-By" from the Motown days, except here she is confronting the man's previous girlfriend. The other woman is now reaping the consequences of her behavior toward the man; the narrator warns her not to even try to get him back.
14. (Hey You) Set My Soul On Fire (2:28) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, opens with background vocalists singing the word "say" a few times. Whether the narrator is telling the man to ignite her soul, or saying that he already does, she is definitely very much in love with him.
15. Coming Home (2:26) - The tempo is moderate. The narrator is tired of being far away from her boyfriend, so she writes to him that she is on her way back to him, ticket in hand. Now this album too is "coming home"--to its finish.