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By Larry, August 28, 2016 10:58 am

The Velvelettes

Listen/Download – The Velvelettes – These Things Will Keep Me Loving You MP3

Greetings all.

Writing and listening to music as much as I do, I often wonder why some groups are considered ‘major’ and others are not.

Sometimes, it’s obvious issues of quality that disqualify a group, but often it’s less objective criteria.

When you consider a group like the Velvelettes, who had three R&B hits (one a year for 1964, 1965 and 1966) only one of which grazed the Top 20, most people – at least casual listeners – would not think of including them alongside much better known acts.

However, to soul fans, who are willing to dig a little deeper and familiarize themselves with slightly less obvious facts (like who produced a record, for instance) the Velvelettes are a group worth reconsidering.

They made seven 45s between 1963 and 1966, almost all classics, and for most of that time were one of the early examples of the genius of Norman Whitfield.

Whitfield wrote and produced all but their first and last singles, and they remain among the finest things to come out of the Motown hit factory in its prime.

The record I bring you today was the group’s swan song, and though Whitfield was no longer involved, the Velvelettes were in good hands, indeed.
‘These Things Will Keep Me Loving You’ failed to chart here in the US, but it was a favorite of the soulies in the UK, where it grazed the Top 40 in 1966 and then returned to it in 1971 (another one of those records that the Northern Soul explosion brought back into the charts).

Written by Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol and Sylvia Moy (and produced by Fuqua and Bristol), ‘These Things Will Keep Me Loving You’ is one of those records whose absence from the charts is positively mind-boggling.

It is beautifully written, performed, arranged and produced, highly danceable, and with enough hooks to make an east crossover into the Pop charts, yet, bizarrely, it did not.

I always attribute these incidents to the veritable deluge of high quality music entering the market in the mid-60s, yet in this case it is especially curious and galling.

Had the Velvelettes had the opportunity to remain with Whitfield, and had lead vocalist Cal Gill not decided to leave music (at least temporarily) it’s possible that we’d be talking about the group in the same breath as the Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas (and certainly their records are at least as good as both) instead of trying to bolster their reputation.

Though their 45s aren’t incredibly hard to find, they’re not cheap, either, and this one can be a little more expensive than most. That said, all of their work is easy to find in reissue, and is, as described above, indispensable.

So dig it, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, July 29, 2012 3:17 pm

Funky16Corners Presents: All Strung Out

San Remo Golden Strings – Hungry For Love (Ric Tic) 1965
San Remo Golden Strings – I’m Satisfied (Ric Tic) 1966
Luther Ingram Orchestra – Exus Trek (Hib) 1966
Kaddo Strings – Crying Over You (Impact) 1966
Robert Walker and the Soul Strings – Stick To Me (RCA) 1967
Lebaron Strings – Now She’s Gone (Solid Hit) 1967
Soulful Strings – Burning Spear (Cadet) 1967
Soulful Strings – Soul Message (Cadet) 1968
Soul Strings and a Funky Horn – Yester Love (Solid State) 1968
Soul Strings and a Funky Horn – Think (Solid State) 1968
Soft Summer Soul Strings – I’m Doing My Thing (Columbia) 1969
Soulful Strings – Chocolate Candy (Cadet) 1969
Soulful Strings – Zambezi (Cadet) 1969
101 Strings – A Taste of Soul (Alshire) 1970 (also billed as Les Baxter and 101 Strings)
Gordon Staples & the Motown Strings – Strung Out (Tamla/Motown) 1971
Gordon Staples & the Motown Strings – Get Down (Tamla/Motown) 1971
Soft Summer Soul Strings – Theme For Soul Strings (Columbia 1969)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents: All Strung Out – 98MB Mixed Mp3/256K

Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here at Funky16Corners.

What you see before you is the result of one of my musical obsessions, taken to the nth degree.

Longtime readers of Funky16Corners will already be hip to the fact that I am a huge fan of the Soulful Strings.

I consider Richard Evans to be a genius, and the work he did for the Cadet label, with the Soulful Strings and otherwise made for some of the finest music of the 1960s.

It was a while back, while prepping a blog post about a JJ Barnes 45, that I discovered, quite by accident that two of his sides had been redone (using the same raw tracks) as string instrumentals on a Solid Hit 45, billed as the Lebaron Strings (after label honcho Lebaron Taylor).

This got me thinking about other “strings” instrumentals, and so the search began.

I dug back into my own crates, and started to look elsewhere and was surprised by much of what I found.

The “soulful string” instrumentals can be divided into pre-and-post Soulful Strings.

The first wave, starting with the San Remo Golden Strings made its way onto vinyl in 1965.

The first of these tracks, ‘Hungry For Love’ got its start as an uncredited instrumental on the flipside of Barbara Mercer’s 1965 Golden World 45 ‘The Things We Do Together’.

Reportedly, when the instrumental started to get some airplay, Ed Wingate, using the name of an Italian town that he and his wife had been to on vacation, paired the tune with ‘All Turned On’ (featuring pianist Bob Wilson) and the San Remo Golden Strings were born.

The “group” was in fact various and sundry moonlighting Funk Brothers, backed by string players from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, led by violinist/concertmaster Gordon Staples.

‘Hungry For Love’ was a minor hit, as was its follow-up ‘I’m Satisfied’. Another San Remo cut, ‘Festival Time’ buoyed by the Northern Soul scene, became a UK Top 40 hit in 1971.

The UK soul scene is an important link, especially in regard to the early string-laden instrumentals.

‘Exus Trek’ by the Luther Ingram Orchestra was released in 1966. It was an instrumental dub of that single’s A-side ‘If It’s All the Same To You’. Both sides of the 45 became popular spins in the UK.

The same can be said of 1966s ‘Crying Over You’. An instrumental version of Duke Browner’s vocal of the same name got its own 45 release, three catalog numbers before Browner’s version (both writing and production are credited to Browner. As with the Ingram 45, both sides became popular spins on Northern dance floors.

I haven’t been able to track down much in the way of info on Robert Walker and the Soul Strings. The involvement of producer/arranger Ernie Wilkins suggests to me that it was a Detroit record. The side presented here, ‘Stick To Me’ is classic Northern Soul and is one of the rarer 45s in this mix. The flipside ‘The Blizzard’ is a great, uptempo dance craze vocal.

‘Now She’s Gone’ by the aforementioned Lebaron Strings was released in 1967, pre-dating the vocal version of the tune by JJ Barnes by a year.

As I mentioned earlier, these tracks can largely be divided into pre-and-post Soulful Strings eras.

Though Detroit producers and musicians were ladling strings over all kinds of records (the classy sound of strings an important component of what would become known/collected as Northern Soul) Richard Evans work with the Soulful Strings was the first purpose-built example of the sound.

It was in Evans hands that the string aspect of the music became more than an embellishment. He integrated the sound of the string section with the more innovative aspects of the Cadet Records sound. That he had access to the finest musicians in Chicago had a lot to do with the artistic success of the records.

Their first album ‘Paint It Black’ was released in 1966, but it wasn’t until ‘Burning Spear’ charted, making it into the R&B Top 40 in early 1968 as well as having regional success on Chicago radio that the group had some success.

Not only was ‘Burning Spear’ covered many times, but the group must have been selling LPs, since Cadet released no less than seven albums, including a live set and a Christmas record.

Evans was no less than a visionary, taking what could have been a simple, easy listening concept and doing something entirely unexpected with it.

The first two Soulful Strings tracks included in this mix are the classic ‘Burning Spear’ from the 1967 LP “Groovin’ With the Soulful Strings’ and ‘Soul Message’ from 1968’s ‘Another Exposure’. Both are fantastic examples of the broad palette that Evans was working with.

The remainder of the tracks in the mix seem to have been following the lead of Evans and the Soulful Strings to varying degrees.

‘Soul Strings and a Funky Horn’, released in 1968 seems a direct attempt to capitalize on the sound of the Soulful Strings. Produced by Sonny Lester for his Solid State label, the record bears no other credits whatsoever (aside from songwriting).

The LP was a mixture of covers of obvious hits and more obscure numbers.

The two tracks included here, a cover of the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles ‘Yester Love’ and Aretha Franklin’s ‘Think’ may not be nearly as adventurous as the Soulful Strings, but the band and the arrangements are tight.

The Soft Summer Soul Strings are another mystery. Though the catalog number of the 45 seems to indicate a 1969 vintage, the music on the 45 points to a somewhat earlier time.

The first tune included here, ‘I’m Doing My Thing’ is a fairly obvious lift of the Supremes’ ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and the flip (with which we close the mix) ‘Theme For Soul Strings’ applies the same MO to King Curtis’ ‘Soul Serenade’ (both 1964 records). I haven’t been able to make any connections using the info on the labels, so if anyone knows where this one is from, please drop me a line.

The next two cuts hail from what in my opinion is the finest of all the Soulful Strings albums, 1969’s ‘String Fever’. The first of the group’s albums to be composed almost entirely of original material and featuring some of the grooviest sounds of their catalog, ‘String Fever’ is also one of the hardest Soulful Strings albums to come by.

‘Chocolate Candy’ and ‘Zambezi’ are both funky, forward thinking and leave the listener wondering why the Soulful Strings weren’t much more successful.

The next cut is an aberration of sorts, since it comes not from the world of soul, but out of Exotica. ‘A Taste of Soul’ was released a few different times, credited to Les Baxter, Les Baxter and 101 Strings and just 101 Strings.

One of the more prolific exploit-Exotica outfits, 101 Strings created albums aimed squarely at squares, especially those with ‘hi fi’ systems.

The California-based Alshire label was home to all manner of cash-in records aimed at the rock, pop, country and easy listening markets. There were dozens of albums issued under the 101 Strings name, including classical, ethnic, exotica and pop efforts.

This material, once recorded was often issued and reissued with different covers, in different collections, getting the maximum mileage out of the product.

‘A Taste of Soul’ is itself an anomaly in the Alshire catalog. Though the cut opens with waves of strings that sound like they were lifted from a contemporary movie soundtrack, once the drums come in (and they come in heavy) you begin to realize that you’re hearing something unusual.

Where Cadet may have been casting an eye at the easy/hi-fi crowd with the Soulful Strings albums, leaving them in the hands of Richard Evans and the Cadet house band took them in another direction entirely.

101 Strings, emanating from the 99 cent bins in supermarkets, gas stations and occasionally record stores had no overt musical agenda beyond basic competence, but like any broken clock that reads the correct time twice a day, they struck gold with ‘A Taste of Soul’ (which even had a 45 release under Baxter’s name).

Gordon Staples and his compadres from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra were fixtures on all manner of Detroit soul records, for Motown as well as various and sundry smaller labels. It was in 1970 that Staples and the Funk Brothers (once again, anonymously) were paired yet again as ‘Gordon Staples and the String Thing’ (aka the Motown Strings).

Of all the tracks in this mix, Gordon Staples and the String Thing meet the Soulful Strings on their own turf and come away looking (and sounding) quite good.

The 1970 LP ‘Strung Out’ features a couple of well-chosen covers, as well as a grip of excellent originals penned by Motown arranger Paul Riser. Riser, who won a Grammy with Norman Whitfield for the instrumental b-side of ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’ wrote some stellar material for the String Thing/Motown Strings.

The first cut here ‘Strung Out’ – which also saw release as a 45 – is sought out by crate diggers and is a great showcase for the Funk Brothers (dig that James Jamerson bass line).

‘Get Down’, which is a little less laid back features some excellent guitar work.

Many of the tracks from the ‘Strung Out’ album were recycled a few years later on the soundtrack to the Fred Williamson Blaxploitation flick ‘Mean Johnny Barrows’.

The last track in this mix – the only one presented out of chronological order – is the Soft Summer Soul Strings ‘Theme For Soul Strings’. As I mentioned before, it sounds as if it was written as a ‘tribute’ to King Curtis’ 1964 ‘Soul Serenade’. It’s slow, mellow, and is a great way to close out the mix.

I hope you dig this look into an often forgotten chapter of the ‘soul story’.

I’ll be back later in the week.

Until then

Keep the faith

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 6, 2012 4:17 pm

The Samplers – Beastie Boys

The Sampled – clockwise from top left – Johnny Hammond Smith, Norman Whitfield,
Jimmy Smith, The Commodores, Jeremy Steig

Listen/Download Johnny Hammond Smith – Big Sur Suite

Original release – Higher Ground LP (Kudu 1974) – Sampled on Pass the Mic (Check Your Head LP 1992)

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Listen/Download Commodores – Machine Gun

Original Release – Machine Gun LP (Motown 1974) – Sampled on Hey Ladies (Paul’s Boutique LP 1989)

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Listen/Download Jeremy Steig – Howling For Judy

Original Release – Legwork LP (Solid State 1969) – Sampled on Sure Shot (Ill Communication LP 1994)

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Listen/Download Jimmy Smith – I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More Babe

Original Release – Blacksmith LP (Pride 1974) – Sampled on Professor Booty (Check Your Head LP 1992)

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Listen/Download Norman Whitfield/Rose Royce – Yo Yo

Original Release – Car Wash OST (MCA 1976) – Sampled On Shake Your Rump (Paul’s Boutique LP 1989)

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Listen/Download Afrique – Kissing My Love

Original Release – Soul Makossa LP (Mainstream 1973) – Sampled on Bodhisattva Vow (Ill Communication LP 1994)

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Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here at the Corners du Fonque…

As has been mentioned several times recently most of what you’ve been reading here in the last few weeks was – due to necessity – prepared a few weeks in advance so as to facilitate the massive amount of commuting and other life-disrupting activities involved in my wife’s treatment (which, now that I mention it seems to be going well, so let’s keep those fingers crossed).

This weekend has been especially tiring, but the news of the passing of the mighty MCA, Adam Yauch could not be ignored, so as soon as we got home and rolled out of the Funky16Corners-mobile, I rolled into the record vault and got to work.

I have listened to hip hop, first passively (way back in the day) and then as a lightweight consumer with a focus therein on what I would consider dynamic use of sampled material.

You can’t really talk about that aspect of the game without giving props to the Beastie Boys.

Over the years the Beasties have played a big part in piqueing my interest in samples and by association the sounds sampled (why else would I have owned a copy of Alphonse Mouzon’s ‘Funky Snakefoot’) long before I was spinning (or writing about) funk, soul, jazz and rare groove.

Sampling/cut and paste is an art in which it’s not terribly difficult to separate the lazy slobs from the masters, i.e. being able to differentiate from someone who can lift a song wholesale and slap something new on it and someone who can hear a really interesting sound within another piece of music and re-purpose it in a way that makes your ears (and brain) perk up in admiration.

One of the dangers of trainspotting is that the listener runs the risk of getting lost in the component parts, losing sight of the forest for the digitally borrowed trees.

However, secure in the knowledge that good taste is sometimes its own reward, the best samples sound as good (or better) in their original form as they do when placed as a cog in another ‘machine’. Often (not always, obviously) groovy bits of sound are not sui generis, and are traceable back to an equally groovy “whole”, which is the case in the music I bring you today.

I like to think that the first time I had my mind blown by ‘Paul’s Boutique’ or ‘Check Your Head’ my crates (and ears) were deep enough that I recognized some of the coolest stuff, but at the same time I’m honest enough to admit that the ensuing years witnessed my recognition of some of that music for the first time (like the time my man Marshall down in DC dropped Jimmy Smith’s previously unknown – to me – version of ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More Babe’ and the light bulb went off over my head).

It was in those moments of recognition that new digging targets were registered and I followed them into flea markets, record stores on onto the interwebs.

The cuts I bring you today are examples of some of my favorite Beastie Boys samples (drums, bass and guitar) out of my crates.

Some of them were things I already had, others, like the bass in ‘Big Sur Suite’ and ‘Yo Yo’ or the guitar in ‘Machine Gun’, I picked up first and discovered/recognized the sample(s) after the fact.

What all of them have in common, aside from the fact that they appealed to the Beasties, is that they are all worth listening to in their entirety.

Maybe some of you will be hearing the complete songs for the first time.

I hope you dig them all, and I’ll see you later in the week.

Keep the faith

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 25, 2011 8:06 am

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson

Listen/Download – Marlena Shaw – California Soul

Listen/Download – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – California Soul

Listen/Download – Undisputed Truth – California Soul

Listen/Download – Tamba 4 – California Soul

Listen/Download – Steve Allen and Oliver Nelson – California Soul

Greetings all.

Before we get started I’d like to remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the air this Friday night at 9PM at Viva Radio. You can also pick up the MP3 download of the show here at the blog (click on the Radio Show tab in the header) the day after the show airs.

This has been another one of those exceedingly sad weeks when musical giants seem to be falling whenever you turn around.

This particular week has been an especially bad one when you take into account the loss of not one but two exceptional songwriters, first Jerry Leiber, and then the mighty Nick Ashford.

Though he’s known to a generation or two as part of the singing duo of Ashford and Simpson (with his wife and writing partner Valerie Simpson), soul and R&B fans know him first and foremost as part of the team that wrote a long list of certifiable soul music classics.

During the mid-to-late 60s, Ashford and Simpson (sometimes with the help of Jo Armstead) composed a series of hits for artists like Ray Charles (Let’s Go Get Stoned and I Don’t Need No Doctor), Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, You’re All I Need To Get By), Diana Ross (Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand), and Chaka Khan (I’m Every Woman), before hitting as a performing duo, from ‘Don’t Cost You Nothin’ in 1977 to their biggest hit ‘Solid’ in 1984.

Both Ashford and Simpson had recorded as solos in the 60s, including Ashford’s original versions of ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’ and the song we remember today ‘California Soul’.

The first time I remember hearing (and falling in love with) ‘California Soul’ was in 1969, when my Mom was playing the hit version by the 5th Dimension (also the first place I ever heard a Laura Nyro song).

Many years later, when I was digging for funk and soul and became enamored of the work of the genius Richard Evans, it was the version by Marlena Shaw that I sought, after hearing is chopped by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist.

The song has become my favorite Ashford and Simpson composition for a number of reasons, but mainly the chord changes and the lyrics.

It harkens back to a time when California held a special place in the American imagination as a spot on the western horizon filled with the promise of a new, sunshine-filled life and prosperity (though it would be very interesting to juxtapose any vocal version of this with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s less optimistic ‘Black California’).

Like Jerry Leiber, Nickolas Ashford was the main lyricist in the songwriting duo, and ‘California Soul’ is a fantastic example of his prowess in the regard, especially the following stanza:

They say the sun comes up every morning
And if you listen oh so carefully
The winds that ride on the high time
Whistle in melody
And so the people started to sing
And that’s how the surf gave birth untold
To California soul, California soul

Collecting versions of ‘California Soul’ became something of a hobby, and over the years I’ve found several, many of which I bring you today.

First and foremost is the Marlena Shaw take. I’ve spun this out at funk and soul night’s many times, and while the appeal may start with that stellar break (Morris Jennings Jr) it only grows when Miss Shaw starts singing. Hers is by far the most powerful version of the song I’ve heard, from her own voice to the brilliant arrangement by Charles Stepney and production by Evans. It simply kills from start to finish.

Next up we have a couple of takes from the Motown stable.

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s version, while not as dynamic as Shaw’s features their fantastic vocal blend, so it is definitely worth hearing.

The Undisputed Truth’s version of the song, produced by none other than Norman Whitfield is a tiny bit funkier, and most definitely more atmospheric. I really dig the bass, as well as the background vocals. This is the moodiest of the versions I’ve heard.

The most unusual take on the tune is the rare promo-only version by Brazil’s Tamba 4. Recorded in 1969 for an LP that was never issued, Tamba 4 take the tune at a brisk pace and feature the electric piano.

The last version of ‘California Soul’ that I’ll bring you today is my most recent find, from a 1969 album by Steve Allen and Oliver Nelson. While Allen’s contributions to the sessions seem to be limited to his celebrity and some keyboard noodling, the arrangement by Nelson is (as always) top notch.

It’s a fantastic song no matter how you look at it (or hear it) and it is really worth hearing it interpreted several ways.

I hope you dig it, and raise a glass in memory of Nick Ashford.

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, March 20, 2011 1:45 pm

The Velvelettes

Listen/Download -The Velvelettes – A Bird In the Hand (Is Worth Two In the Bush)

Greetings all,, and welcome to the working week.

Before I get started I want to remind you that I’ll be spinning 45s at Spindletop @ Botanic in NYC Monday night (3/21) starting at 10PM. If you’re within driving distance, try to fall by and say hello. It’s a very groovy scene that Perry Lane has going there, and you could spend your Monday night doing a lot less interesting things than getting down to rare soul with a delicious cocktail in your hand.

The tune I bring you today is one of my favorite 45s by my all-time favorite Motown group, the mighty Velvelettes.

Interestingly, though this is the very first thing I ever heard by the group (on a late 80s Motown Rarities comp) it’s the last 45 of theirs I found, picking it up on the cheap at one of the Asbury Lanes record shows.

Formed in the early 60s as the Barbees, then changing their name and releasing their first VIP 45 ‘Needle In a Haystack’ in 1964, the Velvelettes – working almost exclusively with the legendary Norman Whitfield – recorded only five 45s during their existence. That these are uniformly excellent, representing the best that the Motown girl groups had to offer explains why I dig them so much.

Though most civilians have probably heard a Velvelettes song or two (possibly via the wan Bananarama cover of ‘He Was Really Sayin’ Something’), their 45s are coveted by soul fans, who recognize a great record when they hear one.

Their material was written by a Who’s Who of Motown greats, including Whitfield, Eddie Holland, Mickey Stevenson, Sylvia Moy, Johnny Bristol and Harvey Fuqua, and though the group only managed minor hits, as I said, the few records they made are unbeatable.

The tune I bring you today, 1965s ‘A Bird In the Hand (Is Worth Two In the Bush)’ is a storming dancer with a typically fantastic vocal by Cal Gill. It’s worth checking out for the bass line alone, which pretty much drives the record. I really dig the way the intro builds its power as well.

It’s always worth mentioning how good a singer Gill was, especially since when you ask most people, the female singer on Motown they remember is Diana Ross, probably the weakest vocalist in their stable, behind powerhouses like Martha Reeves, Brenda Holloway, the alternating leads of the Marvelettes, and ultimately the mighty Gladys Knight.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

Comments (9)

By Larry, November 9, 2010 11:22 am

The Temptations (above), Norman Whitfield in the studio (below)

Listen/Download – The Temptations – Masterpiece

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here, and despite nagging fatigue, I have returned.

This is no doubt an indicator of advancing age, but whenever daylight savings time comes in, or out, I always get knocked for a loop. Maybe my circadian rhythms are especially delicate (probably the only delicate thing about me), but it takes me a week to get my shit together, i.e. feeling sleepy when I’m supposed to, and not sleepy the rest of the time instead of all bombanootz (my own misspelling of my mother-in-law’s Italian slang, which roughly translates to life akimbo) which is how I feel now.

In spite of that fact, I hunkered down on Monday and got a stack of rekkids digi-ma-tized for the blog, including a couple of hot new finds, one of which I’m itching to drop, but I have to do some more research on it before I do.

The tune I bring you today is yet another mile marker on the long journey that is my Norman Whitfield obsession.

A while back, while digging in what turned out to be a largely non-rewarding location (with a few marked exceptions, including today’s selection), I happened upon the Temptations 1973 LP ‘Masterpiece’.

As soon as I got it home and dropped the needle into the grooves on the title cut, I knew I’d heard the song before, but until I played the whole thing I had no idea what I’d been missing.

As has been said elsewhere, ‘Masterpiece’ marks the onset of an artistic period where the group itself had almost become incidental to Whitfield’s creative process. I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, since Whitfield clearly enjoyed creating music with/for the Temps, but once you give ‘Masterpiece’ (the song) a listen, it becomes clear that at least in this case the group were secondary to the recording.

If the music itself didn’t make this clear, take a look sometime at the back cover of the album where the Temps are dwarfed by a huge, godlike  picture of Whitfield’s head, looming over them.

The group isn’t heard from until the four minute mark, and then only sporadically for the next two minutes, after which they disappear into the background again.

What you’re getting is a whole lot (about 13 and a half minutes worth) of Whitfield atmosphere, but what atmosphere it is.

There are dark washes of strings, subtle lead guitar, echoed trumpet (shades of ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’) and electric piano snakes in and out of the arrangement.

The effect is cinematic, without sounding entirely like a blaxploitation soundtrack.

Unfortunately, the divide that came from Whitfield overpowering the group caused the pairing that had made so much great music to split. The Temps did one more LP with Whitfield, after which he left Motown and had success with Rose Royce.

That all said, ‘Masterpiece’ is a very groovy, late-night bit of ‘head’ music and I dig it a lot.

I hope you do too, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg