Mary Wells – Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)
The lovely Miss Mary Wells
Listen/Download – Mary Wells – Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)
Greetings all.
Once again I’m neck deep in a busy week, but what better time for an invigorating and restorative shot of soul?
Like anyone who tuned into an oldies station in the 1970s (or 80s, 90s or 00s) Motown looms large.
Unfortunately – and I’ve spoken on this issue at length in the past – what you basically get in that format is the same dozen of so songs by the label’s biggest artists, repeated ad infinitum to the point of nausea.
It was just such a situation that turned me off to the wonders of Motown for a long time, until many years later, when the sounds of Northern Soul came into my life.
Though the phrase Northern Soul, used as a descriptive can be unbelievably wide-ranging, were you to approach it from the broadest possible angle, what you’re hearing is musicians and singers, in and out of Detroit making an effort to duplicate the soul sounds coming out of that city, in and out of Motown (and I say in and out because so many Motor City records on other labels were played by the same general group of musicians creating the magic for Berry Gordy).
One of those oft-repeated songs was ‘My Guy’ by Mary Wells. A big hit in the Spring of 1964, that song cemented Mary Wells in the minds of a generation (and beyond).
What a lot of folks don’t know, is that Wells left Motown soon after, and spent the rest of the decade bouncing to 20th Century Fox, Atco and Jubilee, making a few minor dents in the charts but nothing like her time at Motown.
Despite that fact, she continued to make great music, including today’s track, recorded in 1966 for Atco.
I first heard this tune via my man Agent 45, who had picked it up on a mispressed/labeled 45. When I heard ‘Cant’ You See (You’re Losing Me)’ I flipped my wig.
What a fucking stormer!
Not only is the song a bit of Northern Soul genius (that honking baritone sax is the shit!), with a powerful, propulsive dancer’s beat, but the song itself is a killer.
Written by none other than Barrett Strong (another tie back to Motown), and recorded in Chicago with a brilliant arrangement by Sonny Sanders, another former Detroiter who had worked on a number of classics at the Golden World label, ‘Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)’ is yet another example of a record that should have been a huge hit, yet only finds its reward in the hearts of soulies decades on.
‘Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)’ has since become a staple of my Northern Soul box, and always brings someone up to the decks to see what’s playing.
Love, love, love this record.
I hope you do too,
Peace
Larry
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Themocracy
Unrelenting funk – a shimmying stormer from the start..and those piano chops!
PS I’m using your tip off about Jorge Ben/Taj Mahal in our sound-a-likes podcast going live next Monday Larry, with full credits of course. Give you a shout when it’s up
thanks for the posting !
i do like this tune ,got it from a fleamarket ,had to pay 2€ for the atlantic issue (because of the picture cover)
https://soul.blogger.de/static/antville/soul/images/mary%20wells.jpg
the same guy ,who was a specialist for german “schlager” ,sold me about a dozend records in very clean condition ,the best find this day : “sweet darling” by jimmey “soul” clarke (soulhawk) for 1€ ! (because this 45 had no picture cover)