Sophisticated Soul


Sophisticated Soul is the eighth album issued by Motown girl-group The Marvelettes. It is the first album to feature Anne Bogan who replaced Gladys Horton in 1967, although Horton's voice is featured on one of the tracks. Like many Motown albums produced in the late 1960s, Sophisticated Soul featured backing from The Andantes, Motown's premiere backing group, on certain tracks, others feature Bogan and Katherine Anderson.

Overview

Since Holland-Dozier-Holland had left the Motown label in 1967, the studio artists had turned to in-house producers such as the team of Ashford & Simpson as well as Frank Wilson. This album was considered to promote a new style for The Marvelettes with Wanda Young fronting the group, and moving them to a style closer to that of fellow Motown girl-group The Supremes. The material consists of singles "My Baby Must Be a Magician" featuring Melvin Franklin of The Temptations, Ashford & Simpson's "Destination:Anywhere", "You're the One", and "Here I Am Baby". Also on the record is "I'm Gonna Hold On as Long as I Can", which was a modest hit featuring Bogan on lead vocals, and "What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One", the B-side to "Destination: Anywhere", which charted but proved to be unsuccessful

Track listing

All songs written and produced by William "Smokey" Robinson unless noted otherwise.

Side 1

  1. My Baby Must Be a Magician
  2. Destination: Anywhere
  3. I'm Gonna Hold on as Long as I Can
  4. Here I Am Baby
  5. You're the One for Me Bobby
  6. Reachin' for Something I Can't Have

    Side 2

  7. Your Love Can Save Me
  8. You're the One
  9. Don't Make Hurting Me a Habit
  10. What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One
  11. The Stranger
  12. Someway, Somehow

    Personnel