Edwin Starr had "Way Over There", "You Beat Me To The Punch" and "Mighty Good Loving." Marv Johnson had "Bad Girl" and "Everybody's Got To Pay Some Dues". Listening to these, I've always wondered if there was some proposed Smokey Robinson themed album planned for someone along the lines of "The Temptations Sing Smokey" and "The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland".

What gave me the thought was that all of these songs [[except Marv's "Bad Girl") have the same sort of "slushy", everything-but-the-kitchen-sink backing track. They all feature 2 drummers [[and on "Mighty Good Loving", man, those drummers are really going at like full-out warfare!), and what sounds like just about every Funk Brother they could cram into the studio at one time.

What's really strange is that there were multiple producers on these tracks and yet they all have a very consistency in sound. Was there a plan to record more Smokey songs in this vein? I do know about the unofficial Barbara McMair Sings Smokey collections of tunes, but the bulk of those were recorded in L.A. I think, and they don't have the same sonic sound as the Edwin and Marv recordings.

Just something to ponder.