The Contours "Just A Little Misunderstanding" Rare & Unissued Motown 1965-1968

The Contours are one of the greatest second-tier Motown acts: a dynamic, versatile soul group characterized as a one- or two-shot wonder, best known for "Do You Love Me" and, in some quarters, the rampaging "First I Look at the Purse.".....Ace Records has done its fair share of restoring and adding luster to the group's reputation, releasing Dance with the Contours, a 2011 collection of unreleased tracks recorded between 1963 and 1964 that was so successful it spawned this 2014 sequel. Rounding up rare and unissued tracks recorded between 1965-1968 -- including no less than 11 solo sides by Dennis Edwards -- Just a Little Misunderstanding trumps its predecessor largely due to its diversity. Where the cuts on Dance with the Contours followed the early-'60s Motown playbook pretty precisely, there's a greater variety of sounds here: hard-driving dance in the vein of "First I Look at the Purse," plenty of richly orchestrated uptown soul, and songs that sound pitched halfway between the Temptations and the Four Tops. Some of these different sounds are due to the group's ever-shifting lineup. The group's first lead singer, Billy Gordon, left in 1965, Jerry Green took the lead on occasion, and toward the end of their run, Motown put in Dennis Edwards -- a signee who had specialized in supper club soul -- at the front of the group. Edwards continued to cut solo sides in 1967, after he added overdubs to "Baby Hit and Run," which became a U.K. hit posthumously in 1974, and those are collected here; they're all enjoyable, particularly the songs that aren't covers. While it's generally true that the music here simply couldn't compete with what was released -- and, apart from four cuts, every one of the 26 tracks was dug out of the vaults in the new millennium, with most of them debuting here -- they're nevertheless all potent and joyous, proof that among the second-tier Motown groups, the Contours were one of the best, no matter who was singing with them.(Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic)

trax:

01 Just A Little Misunderstanding 02 First I Look At The Purse 03 I'ts Growing 04 Baby Hit And Run 05 It's So Hard Being A Loser 06 Determination 07 A Weak Spot In My Heart 08 Girl Come On In 09 I Can't Help Loving You Baby 10 You're Love Grows More Precious Everyday 11 I'm Here Now That You Need Me 12 What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted 13 Sunny 14 Keep On Tryin' ('Til You Find Love) 15 Ain't That Peculiar 16 Can't Do Without Your Love 17 I Like Everything About You 18 What's So Good About Goodbye 19 Which Way To My Baby 20 I'll Turn To Stone 21 Need Your Lovin' (Want You Back) 22 Our Last Rendezvous 23 Sometimes I Have To Cry 24 I Grow Deeper In Love Every Day 25 Come See About Me 26 When A Man Loves A Woman

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