Morning Aural: The Contours
We absolutely love when Motown acts adapt to the changing times. We don’t have an exact date on this footage of The Contours singing “Ready Or Not, Here I Come,” but it’s the perfect blend of soulful and synthesized sound.
We’ve also included the classic “First I Look At The Purse,” after the jump. The video doesn’t feature The Contours. It’s actually The Nicholas Brothers doing a tap-dance routine. We’re not entirely sure why, but the song’s long been one of our favorites.
Proof positive that Smokey Robinson could write a comic song as well as any other novelty writer of the time and, without him, the Contours might have only been known for “Do You Love Me.” One record earlier, on “That Day When She Needed Me,” he actually managed to mellow this group down enough they sounded as broken-hearted in mis-managed devotion as the Temptations on “Since I Lost My Baby,” or the Miracles on “The Tracks of My Tears.”
I think the Nicholas Brothers are in the video for the song because their moves see to be perfectly synched with the song. It’s like the song was composed, arranged and performed just for that video.
Awesome.
Great song too!!