Motor City Appreciation: The Roulettes

THE ROULETTES-The Tracks Of My Tears/Jackpot U.K. Parlophone R 5419 1966

The Roulettes have always been a fave of mine since stumbling upon "The Long Cigarette" on an EMI compliation album called "My Generation" which soon sent me off to purchase their archtype compilation LP on Edsel "Russ, Bob Pete and Mod". No strangers to Motown (they'd previously tackled "Stubbon Kind Of Fellow on their 3rd Parlophone single back in December of '64 as R 5218), this would be their seventh and next to last 45 for the label.  You can read a bit about them after Parlophone here.

"Tracks of My Tears" faithfully follows the pace of the original but is interpreted in the two guitar/bass and drums formula with special use of the band's talent for harmony vocals.  It's soulful but still punchy enough to keep their "beat group" tag and no one can accuse them of attempting a Smokey Robinson & Co. carbon copy that's for sure.

It's flip, "Jackpot" is another guitar vs electric piano number in the vein of "Junk", the B-side to "The Long Cigarette". Not as gritty (or as good) as "Junk" but still pretty interesting.

Both sides are on BGO's CD reissue of their rare as hen's teeth LP "Stakes And Chips" as bonus cuts (which covers their entire Parlophone output).

Hear "The Tracks of My Tears":

http://youtu.be/VDoL0VJoQTo