The Underdogs - S/T

After three singles on Hideout Records in 1965 and 1966 that went nowhere, Detroit garage rockers The Underdogs probably thought they were finally going to break out in 1967 following the group's signing to Motown's V.I.P. imprint.

In January 1967, V.I.P. released their single "Love's Gone Bad" (b/w "Mojo Hanna"). The band recorded more tracks as well for what I assume was to be their debut album. However, according to the Both Sides Now website, V.I.P. Records only scheduled eight albums during its short life (and two of those were never released), and there's no mention of an Underdogs LP.

The band's newest single didn't sell any better than their previous ones, V.I.P. lost interest and the band faded away.

Then in 2016 and 2017 the collections Motown Unreleased 1966 and Motown Unreleased 1967 came out respectively and included a combined 12 Underdogs tracks. There's also one other track that can be found on the album Motown Sings Motown Treasures. Add the failed single and we've a nice 15-song album:

SIDE A

1. You Hit Me Where It Hurt Me
2. Come on Up
3. If You Don't Want My Love
4. Come See About Me
5. The Way You Do the Things You Do
6. One of These Days
7. Love's Gone Bad [extended version]

SIDE B
1. It's My Time
2. Mojo Hannah
3. I Want A Love I Can See
4. I Got A Feeling Baby
5. Bring It on Home To Me
6. Last Train to Clarksville
7. Need Your Lovin' (Want You Back)
8. Turn on Your Lovelight

This is an interesting collection, and it can be entertaining listening to a garage rock band perform Motown soul hits. A cover of the Supremes' "Come See About Me" doesn't stray far from the original. But "The Way You Do the Things You Do" is almost unrecognizable at the beginning, and the odd "na na na na" from "Land of a Thousand Dances" added in the middle is unexpected. I found an extended version of "Love's Gone Bad" online and included it here as a longer album version of the single.

I opened the second side with "It's My Time" as it seems like the obvious next single. It had actually been originally assigned to The Mynah Birds, but when Rick James was incarcerated and his band broke up, I guess the track was up for grabs.

The oddest choice is a cover of The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville." Other than some fuzz guitar, it's basically the same song. Even more odd, according to notes on Motown Unreleased 1967, the song was originally assigned to the Isley Brothers.

I closed out the album with "Turn on Your Lovelight" as it gets the full Motown horn backup and it gives the album a grand conclusion. While most of these songs are enjoyable, there's nothing here that suggests to me that The Underdogs were anything other than standard '60s garage rock.

For a cover, I took one of the two or three band photos I could find, tinted it, and added the group name and VIP Records logo.