Motown Two - McDonald, Michael (CD 2004)

After the surprisingly strong success of his tribute to Motown, Michael McDonald returns with more from Barry Gordy and company s vast vault of classic songs. Like the first offering, Motown Two doesn t stray far from the original songs nor does his obvious love for the material. Michael McDonald may have been the Doobie Brother who made the band pop but he also had a distinguished Lite FM career before dropping off the map throughout most of the 1990s. What has never left the white haired vocalist is just that: his unique and identifiable baritone that can reach places most baritone vocalists only dream of.

On Motown Two McDonald mines the vaults for songs penned by Holland/Dozier/Holland, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Ashford And Simpson among others. In fact where the first Motown record mined songs that were covered by other non-Motown artists, for the most part, these songs are more well-known as Motown classics. In fact, between the two records, is there any instantly recognizable Motown tracks left for a third record (Should this one do as well as I expect it to)? I bet there are. I mean, over half of the songs on this incarnation of Motown love were only noticeable to me via actually hearing them. They re so good it s shameful.

Ashford and Simpson s You re All I Need To Get By leads off the record. Popularized by Marvin Gaye (who s the primary influence for this record it seems), Michael keeps the song to its core sound and gets the record off to a great start. Stevie Wonder s I Was Made To Love Her is next and from the opening notes it sounds like a Stevie song because of the harmonica. When reading the credits I noticed that it is Stevie playing the harmonica on the song. It s a classy touch because anyone else trying to ape that harmonica sound would just be wrong. Anyone who hasn t heard Reach Out, I ll Be There obviously has either never listened to oldies radio or watched American Idol: It s a staple of both the radio and that show. Despite the over exposure of the song Michael and his band of professional musicians update the song nicely, especially with the soulful, sing-your-heart-out vocals of Michael.

A nice touch to this record is a duet with the beautiful Toni Braxton on the lovely Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart). Toni s been gone from radio for far too long and it s great to hear her back (and with a new record contract with Blackground/Universal too boot). Toni and Michael sound great together and I have no doubts that AC radio (and possibly pop) stations will play this one to the hilt. Baby, I Need Your Lovin is another tastefully updated cover that doesn t stray far from the original classic. The Four Tops original Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever is done tastefully while The Track Of My Tears goes down smoothly. What s Goin On sounds more vibrant than ever. The lyrics are as poignant now as they were when they were written by Marvin Gaye years ago.

Who doesn t remember Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Second That Emotion? I thought so. Here Michael gives it a modern update with steady production from Simon Climie (Eric Clapton s longtime producer) augmenting McDonald s strong vocals. Marvin Gaye s After The Dance is a sultry little track that features a lyric that is as plain and simple as any lyric ever written:"I want you/And you want me/So why don't we/Get together after the dance." Nowhere To Run is a classic by any measure and Michael s take on the Martha And The Vandellas track is one of the better remakes of the song, even if it stays close to the original. I guess it s Michael s voice that does it. Tuesday Heartbreak is a seldom heard song from the deep vaults of Stevie Wonder. Michael does a nice job with it (although I must admit that I ve never heard Stevie s original). Perhaps the best track on this record, Mercy Mercy Me (another Marvin Gaye song) also is one of my all time favorite songs. It s a socially conscious song that, like What s Goin On is lyrically poignant many years after it was written. Michael s voice again shines on it. The final track on the CD is another Marvin classic, the burnin hot love ballad Baby I m For Real. This is where Michael really belts out the songs and if you didn t hear it in the other songs, he shows his true love for the songs that he s singing.

While the album doesn t re-invent the wheel, or change the arrangements of the songs all that much, Motown Two is still a very good album by a man who s back at the top of his game. Like Rod Stewart has done with his American Songbook albums, Michael McDonald has found a new niche to record in, one that brings light to both him and the great songs he sings. I am sure that his hope, in addition to liking the album, is to get people like me, those of us under 30 years old (too young to remember much, if any of Motown), to check out Motown s classic artists. While I was exposed to the great stuff Motown has to offer, I know there many my age who don t know of the songs unless some rapper samples an old song or lyric. So I thank Michael for making a tasteful collection of CDs that showcase what a great legacy Motown left.