Gold Record [Level 7]
Hi guys, I just wanted to go over some facts from 2 monster hits from the 60's.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Gladys Knight & Pips #1 6 weeks (Soul) #2 3 weeks (Pop)
Marvin Gaye #1 7 weeks (Soul) #1 7 weeks (Pop)
Gladys version is funky fresh with a nice break in the middle that rocks!!!
Marvin's version is silky smooth and an all around great record that apealed to everyone.
Now my question is. Which one do you like better?
I like the pips version best because I really like my music funky 1st over silky smooth. :D
Gold Record [Level 7]
It's very hard to choose between those two versions but since Marvin's has been played to death the last 30+ years, I'll go for the Gladys Knight version.
However my all time favorite rendition of Grapewine is definetely the one Roger Troutman did in 1981 on his "The Many Facets Of Roger" album.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I Heard it Through the Grapevine is a very good song & Marvin's version had a brilliant atmosphere but I'm soooo sick of hearing it! Why doesn't Marvin's brilliant 70's stuff like 'I Want You', 'Trouble Man' & 'Distant lover' receive more attention from the media?
...ya gotta beat the street......
Gold Record [Level 7]
Steely, I thought it would be the other way around. I originally tried to make this a poll, but I screwed up.Originally Written by Steely Dan
Maybe the media is sick of bringing up "Grapevine" and wanted to concentrate on some of the lesser hits. I want to say that his LP "I Want You" a classic. The songs pretty much are in the same vein, but awesome.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
i think c.c.r. is better than both of them. i never did like that song until my older brother let me hear the credence version.
carmine
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I've always preferred the version by Gladys and her family. Marvin's is nice but I can remember the first time I heard it played at a party waaaayyy back when and I yelled, "Put the other one on!" Gladys' is a killer dance track. Marvin's captures your mood before it makes you wanna move your feet. That's ok, but I like the edge in Gladys' original. Even the Temptations couldn't out do her and they covered it in her style, not Marvin's.
Gold Record [Level 7]
Nicknack, the segment in the middle is what makes this track so outstanding... Starting off with the Sax solo... and beyond.... so funky :D I bought a motown CD compilation with that song on it... but it sounds like crap :( . I've got to find a mint copy on 7" and master it on CD... I'm sure that I could do a better job.
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
Although I like Gladys's version...the definitive version is Marvin's, IMHO. That seductive voodoo-ish beat combined with his great vocal just wowed me the first time I heard it...and continues to do so.
from all-music....
"Motown producer Norman Whitfield had recorded "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" on two other acts on the label's roster, the Isley Brothers and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. None of those recordings were issued. Whitfield wanted to have a hit with Gladys Knight & the Pips because he enjoyed working with them. Co-written by Whitfield and Barrett Strong, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" stayed at number one R&B for six weeks while going to number two pop for two weeks in late 1967. About a month later, Whitfield recorded another version with Marvin Gaye, giving him a number one R&B/ pop hit in early 1968."
Norman Whitfield RULES!!!!!
BTW, I like the CCR version also...but at 11:07-- it does go on a tad too long, no????!!!!
As far as the "I Want You" LP...the killer track to me has always been "After The Dance". Not really a dance tune...but soooo sexy!!!!
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
This is why I love "Standing In The Shadows of Motown" on DVD. The Funk Brothers explain how it took three drummers to obtain that sound for Marvin's song.
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
At least 2 sources claim "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye as "the best single of ALL TIME":
1) Rolling Stone's critics poll of the Top 100 singles published circa 1989 or so
2) Critic Dave Marsh's book "The Heart & Soul Of Rock & Roll"
and allmusic proclaims it as Motown's crowning achievement:
AMG REVIEW: Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is Motown's greatest record — really, what's better? Even obscured by years of oldies radio overkill and Big Chill nostalgia it retains a hypnotic power unmatched by any of the label's other classics, articulating the turmoil and anguish of a soul torn apart at the seams with a clarity unmatched in the annals of popular music. On its surface a desperate plea to salvage a relationship gone terribly wrong, "Grapevine" progressively probes much deeper to convey complete emotional free-fall: haunted by lies, taunted by gossip and shattered by loss, Gaye's torment is palpable, and his performance — the signature sophistication and elegance of his voice ravaged by fear and doubt — is devastating. The repetitive electric piano figure and voodoo rhythms which open the song ominously foreshadow the troubles on the horizon; sinister and serpentine, Norman Whitfield's production twists the knife even further into Gaye's back, orchestrating a rumor-mill chorus of whispers and echoes which reiterate the singer's shame and humiliation over and over again. — Jason Ankeny
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
No Longer Charting
Marky: I'm sure Norman Whitfield had all of this on his check list when he made the record. Some critics do tend to climb up their own asses, don't they?
That aside, I'll side with you on this one.
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
I misspoke on a couple things.
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" was #4 on the Rolling Stone "100 Best Singles if the Last 25 Years" published in Sept. 1988.
(#1 = "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
#2 = "LIke A Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
#3 = "I Want To Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles)
Also, Dave Marsh's book was titled "The Heart Of Rock & Soul"--NOT "The Heart & Soul Of Rock & Roll".
Otherwise, I stand firmly by all my comments.
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Gold Record [Level 7]
I hate to be picky but, A Day In The Life is much much better than that song. I don't think top 40 radio wasn't ready for such brilliance. :-?
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
"A Day In The Life" was never a single; hence, ineligble for the poll.
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Gold Record [Level 7]
I'm very aware of that Mark but I can't believe they picked that one :-? I just like the song enough to mention in the thread :P
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
Probably "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was chosen because of it's impact on the music industry. This was thier first big single in the US; the Ed Sullivan show appearance; the beginning of the British Invasion.
It was HUGE. Landmark status single; surely, not their most brilliant song.
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Gold Record [Level 7]
I would love to see the entire top 100.... then we can discuss other songs.... I see their point tho
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
Oh no...NOT ANOTHER LIST TO TYPE!!!!
OK, well I pulled it out...so I'll bring it in and transcribe....later.
It's pretty good, I think. Rolling Stone did an updated version of this in the 90's...but RAP & BRITNEY!!! had curiously crept into it. So, I didn't pay it much attention.
I made a series of tapes (5 or 6) of the 1988 Top 100--counting down from #100 ("People Get Ready" by The Impressions) to #1. I then duped them and gave them as Christmas gifts to all my co-workers!!! That was a lotta duping, dude!!!
Someone broke into my car and stole my tapes, so I lost my copies. Maybe I'll redo them from CD. I used all vinyl the first time, so I could blend one song into another with the mixer. Hmmmmm..... Yeah, I guess I should reuse the vinyl. DUH :roll:
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Gold Record [Level 7]
Oh Marky, you know I just love those lists... :D :D
Besides, it's not just for my entertainment... the whole community will enjoy. Peace
Acetate [Level 1]
"I Want You", the song, every time I listen to the start of it... I somehow end up wondering if I've put "Theme From Shaft" in the record player by mistake...
Lovely song, though!
Gold Record [Level 7]
Has anyone here heard the new “Grapevine” version by Ralph McDonalds?
It's playing in my local smooth station, he did a pretty good job covering this one; it is off a new Motown tribute CD of his.
I like the CCR version as much as Marvins’, for some reason I though Fogerty wrote the song but Marky set me straight on that a while back… I need to check on Glady’s version I think it’s on a ‘Best Of” LP around here…
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