The Raw Addict, 11.23.08.: HOLD IT-HOLD IT---Listen...Part 2
Posted by Phil Watts, Jr on 11.23.2008
"WTF IS THIS?! Norman's got to be out his damn mind if he thinks I'm gonna sing this!"
"HOLD IT, HOLD IT---LISTEN!"---PART 2:
My retrospective of Norman Whitfield and the Temptations' Psychedelic Soul era
Okay…you have one prominent lead vocalist leaving on really bad terms. You have another prominent lead vocalist put on the shelf because of years of untreated alcoholism and that sickle cell shit. What to do--what to do…
First off, Otis Williams brings in Richard Street, that guy that had been standing in the back doing Paul Williams' vocals all that time, and hands him his spot. Even though Richard was no Paul, he wasn't a newbe either, as he had been in Otis' pre-Temptation group, the Distants, and had been singing with the Monitors since then. Plus, it gives Norman Whitfield a new voice to fiddle with.
One spot filled. Now for the hard part…finding a replacement for Eddie Kendricks.
They originally chose Ricky Owens of the Vibrations to fill Eddie's shoes, and did a few shows with them, with MEH results. He dropped out a few weeks later.
Then one day, they found a new kid by the name of Otis Robert Harris, who sounded just like a young Eddie Kendricks. He had performed in a Temptation-style group called the Young Vandals (a.k.a. The Young Tempts) during the mid-late 60's through the Isley Borthers' T-Neck Records. Pretty soon, Harris broke from the group to pursue college…that is until a friend of his convinced him to join the Temptations, who were on the lookout for another falsetto-man. Otis Williams was hesitant in letting him join because of his age (Harris was 20, while all the other members were in their 30's), but Melvin, Dennis, and Richard voted him in anyway. Otis let him in under ONE CONDITION…that he would get a new stage name because they already have an OTIS!
So the line-up is as follows:
Otis Williams
Melvin Franklin
Dennis Edwards
Richard Street Otis Robert Damon Harris
Now with the new lineup in place, IT'S BACK TO WORK!!!
SOLID ROCK (1972)
This was pretty much a transitional album, if anything else. You could tell that they were just trying to get back into the gist of things, what with two big names leaving, and new voices trying to get adjusted.
While searching for Eddie's and Paul's replacement, the three remaining members tried to record another version of "It's Summer", only this time with the three men singing the vocals instead of just Melvin doing a spoken word. They tried to release it as a single…which BOMBED. Hey, anybody could've told them that that wasn't a single-worthy song. It became their first flopped single since their NO-HIT TEMPTATIONS years. At this point, people were starting to write them off. Two people in particular took no time at all to laugh at the egg on their faces: Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin!
Kendricks and Ruffin were interviewed by RIGHT ON magazine (yes, that shitrag has been around for THAT LONG!), and they let Otis and the gang have it! They went on record saying that 1) the REAL reason why Norman Whitfield gave "Smiling Faces Sometimes" to the Undisputed Truth as a single was because he had no faith that the Eddie-less Tempts would be able to pull it off, 2) to quote today's vernacular, both Otis and Melvin were just HATIN' because they were jealous of them. They also thought about starting their own Temptation-style group to counter Otis' group, with hopes of getting Dennis Edwards and Paul Williams (if he got better) to join them. [NOTE: they would wind up doing this years later…only without Paul.]
Neither Norm nor the Tempts were that pleased with Eddie and Mr. Ruffin talking reckless about them. As a result, Norm and Barrett Strong hooks up a little song that will go on to be one of the earliest examples of THE SUBLIMINAL DISS RECORD: "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)"--
Don't change your style now that you've reached the top.
Don't choose your friends by what they've got.
Remember beneath the glitter and gleam.
Like everyday people you're just a human being.
Superstar...Enjoy your champagne and caviar
And your chauffeur drivin' fancy car
But remember how you got where you are
'cause the same folks that made you, you better believe they can break you.
No you didn't make it all by yourself.
You had help from somebody else.
The truth is the light, don't let it depress you.
You just be thankful that the good Lord made you.
It's easy for you to look down.
Turn up your nose and frown.
Now that you're on top
(Bright lights) Don't let the bright lights blind you.
(Bridges) don't burn 'em behind you.
Norm wrote this with the intent of calling out a former producer friend who got a little big-headed in the industry, but with the Eddie/Mr. Ruffin interview, he though that this was a good time to pull it out and give it to the Tempts.
SOLID ROCK had some other noteworthy tracks. "Take A Look Around", an ode to the drama of street life, had a Memphis-STAX sound to it. The STAX flavor continues with their cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", which sounds a lot like an Isaac Hayes production. There's the Damon solo number, "Smooth Sailing", along with another Gladys & The Pips cover, "End Of Our Road", the funkfest "What It Is?", and some anti-war goodness, "Stop The War Now".
Here is their medley of "Smiling Faces", "Take A Look Around", and "Superstar". It's smooth the way they pieced these three songs together…and it's proof that they're far from finished! If only someone would post the rest of that show…
Just like the movie showed you, there was a lot of drama behind the recording of that song. You see, Dennis thought that Norm & Barrett purposefully wrote in that particular date (which was the actual date his own father died) to the song for the sole purpose of pissing him off. However, this charge was without merit because this song was already recorded by The Undisputed Truth a year ago. With the original version already out there, there was no way he could change the date without somebody asking questions. The Tempts were forced to do the song anyway, much to their chagrin, as they already have creative control issues with Norm as it is. It certainly didn't make Dennis feel any better to be forced to sing that line in question over and over and over again in the booth.
Another song they had issues with was the King/Forman written "Run Charlie Run", a controversial song about racist white people passing their hate on to their seeds and leaving desegregated neighborhoods because they don't want to live around them damn Negroes…hence the hook, "Run, Charlie, Run---THE NIGGAZ IS COMIN'! THE NIGGAZ IS COMIN'!" Yes…that was THE ACTUAL HOOK. The Tempts were DEFINITELY thrilled to be told to sing that!
The Tempts fought 'tooth and nail' to keep from performing these two songs, but at the end of the day, they recorded them anyway. Otis' rationale was that, if they're lucky, these songs will flop and they will be back to singing sweet love ballads in no time! He hoped that what happened during the recording of SKY'S THE LIMIT (where the political thriller "Unite the World" bombed, which led to them recording "Just My Imagination") would happen again.
Well, it didn't quite work out that way this time…
Creatively, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was the peak of the Norman Whitfield/Temptations era. In this 11-minute drama, he veers away from the psychedelic feel of the late 60's material and enters into the cinematic soul that has been popularized by such trailblazers such as Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. The sinister strings and the constant baseline reels you in as the Tempts tell you the story about a deadbeat father and the rumors that his kids have heard about him:
Hey Momma!
Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day, in his life
And Momma, some bad talk goin' round town sayin' that Papa had three outside children
And another wife--AND THAT AIN'T RIGHT!
Heard them talking Papa doing some store front preachin'
Talked about saving souls and all the time leechin'
Dealing in debt, and stealing in the name of the Lord
Hey Momma,
I heard Papa called himself a jack of all trades
Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave
Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills
Hey Momma,
Folks say Papa never was much on thinking
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking
Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth...
"…and when he died, all he left us was ALONE." How could you NOT FEEL THAT?
Even though there was a lot of drama in the making of this song (and even though the Tempts originally wanted this song to fail), in the end, they would realize the impact this song made, as it became one of their most definitive hits.
There were other song on ALL DIRECTIONS worth mentioning. They start it off with a cover of Edwin Starr's "Funky Music Sho' Nuff Turns Me On", your average funkfest album starter. You have two adequate-at-best covers in the form of Marvin & Tammi's "Love Wake Me Up in The Morning" and Roberta Flack's "The First time Ever I Saw Your Face", sung by Damon and Richard respectively. You have "I Ain't Got Nothin'", the rare moment where Otis himself has lead duties! He pretty much proves that he's the Harold Melvin of the crew: A decent vocalist, but it's easy to see why he gets outshined by everyone else. The album ends with a nothing-to-it cover of Isaac Hayes' "Do Your Thing" (nothing, and I mean NOTHING can outshine Lyn Collins' version of that song!) However, "Papa" remains the pick of the litter in this set…which is great news for Norman!
Because of the impact of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", Norman would plan his most ambitious project yet…
MASTERPIECE (1973)
In case you haven't noticed, most of the songs in ALL DIRECTIONS were covers, with only two of them written by Norm and Barrett Strong ("Funky Music…" and "Papa…"). That is because Motown was on the verge of moving out of Detroit and Barrett wasn't planning on moving with them. He left Motown to try to reignite his solo career…which would leave the Temptations entirely in the hands of Norman Whitfield.
[Cue in OMINOUS LAUGHTER and HAND-WRINGING.]
Norm would pull out all the stops to make this album an EXPERIENCE. MASTERPIECE would be an accumulation of all the things he did in the last six albums. He would continue the cinematic feel that made "Papa…" a classic. He would have the Funk Brothers work OVERTIME to make that cinematic atmosphere as WIDESCREEN as possible. On top of that, he would have more socio-political thrillers on tap, too.
"Ma" is a song about a mother who lived in a run-down shack who raised 15 kids all by herself, and sounds like a song that you would hear on "The Color Purple". "Law Of The Land" is all about the unbreakable rules of life, pretty similar to "You Make Your Own Heaven or Hell Right Here On Earth". (By the way, Norm would have the Tempts record "Law" around the same time the Undisputed Truth was recording their version…only with different hooks.) "Plastic Man" is a track people who are out there just frontin':
Well he specializes in talking trash;
Calls himself the worlds biggest spender,
but ain't never got no cash
The clothes he wears are second to none
He a jack of all trades and master of none
Agrees with everything he knows nothing about
So he doesn't feel left out
Secondary are the things in life he really wants
Being in his thing so he got to keep up his front
Plastic Man, trying to get over any way he can
He's a self preservationist--yes he is
And a super conversationalist--yes he is
Well he always borrows, never lends
He says you know me man, I'm with him let me in
Says he is willing to stick through thick and thin
But when the chips are down you can find him if you can
Plastic Man, Claim to fame he has none
Friends in this world maybe one
He may just another face in the crowd
Giving another brother five and talking loud
Plastic Man, trying to get over any way he can
"Hurry Tomorrow" is an eerie song about being strung out on drugs. Damon (who sings lead here) gets approached by some dude offering him some of that hocus-pocus and then--BOOM--Damon is entered into a world with no floors and no walls and no escape…just sitting there, all strung out, waiting for that tomorrow to come where it will all wear off. Sadly, for a lot of people, that 'tomorrow' never arrives.
Finally, there's the song that Norm saw as the centerpiece of the album, a song where each member tells their own story about the horrors of ghetto life, while the Funk Brothers' horn and string sections and bassist all work their magic. To Norm, everything about this song was so perfect that there was only one name to call it…
"MASTERPIECE!!"
However, a lot of people--including the Temptations themselves--had another name for it:
"JUMPING THE SHARK!!"
(yeah, I know--"Happy Days" wasn't even on the air yet---much less THAT EPISODE of "Happy Days". Whatever period-accurate variation of that line you could think of, put it in the comment section.)
Long-time Tempts fans were getting fed up because they wanted the OLD Tempts sound back. The Tempts were getting fed up from having to sing songs they weren't comfortable with, and being treated like guest stars on their own record. Music critics were clowning on them by calling them the NORMAN WHITFIELD CHORAL SINGERS (Ouch.) because the Tempts were playing second fiddle to Norm's musical and political whims. The fact that the aforementioned "MASTERPIECE" spanned a whopping 14 minutes long and the Tempts only showed up for 3 minutes of it (and sounded like a so-so attempt at "Papa…part 2") didn't help their case. And once again, they only got ONE BALLAD ("Hey Girl--I Like Your Style", with Richard on lead duties), which pissed them off even more…and remember--when people thought "The Temptations", they thought "SWEEPING LOVE BALLADS".
Me? MASTERPIECE is like one of those massive big budget movies that promises HUGE…but doesn't deliver nearly enough. It's not that the songs were bad ("I Like Your Style" is a decent ballad which Richard shines in, and "Hurry Tomorrow" is nothing short of brilliant). You do get what Norm is trying for, but in most cases, he's done it before and done it better in past albums.
More and more, Otis is feeling sorry for himself for ever talking Norm into changing up his musical direction. Remember Norm's original reaction: "Man, I ain't got time for all that CRAZY SHIT!" Now, Otis is finding it difficult to get him to STOP! Something's got to happen or somebody's gonna get it…
1990 (1973)
By the way, don't ask why this 1973 album is called 1990. I have no earthy idea. I will tell you that is is one of my favorites of the munch.
Motown left Detroit's Hitsville USA and has now moved to LA. This is the first Tempts album to be recorded there.
Norman gets back to planet Earth here, and brings the Rose Royce band along for the ride. Rose Royce was the backing band for Edwin Starr (who Norm also writes and produces for). Norm felt that these talented musicians have developed enough of a musical identity that he would give them a try on this record. He would have both the Funk Brothers and the Rose Royce Band working on various song here.
It starts off with the Dennis-led "Let Your Hair Down", a funky, lighthearted song telling all those white-collar workers to lighten up once in a while. Really. Note the tiny, itty-bitty drum machine in the background. Count that as another Sly & The Fam influence, as they were among the earliest artists to incorporate drum machines into their music. Then you have the sad love joint, "I Need You", in which Damon really shines. The same goes for Richard's lead-job in "Heavenly". It's good that Norman gave these new guys some opportunities to shine. Notice, it's mostly Damon and Harris doing the ballads while Dennis does the up-tempo numbers (like "Let Your Hair Down" and "You Set My Soul On Fire") and the socio-political songs.
While the light-hearted songs and ballads made up the first half, the second has the Tempts once again going political. "Ain't No Justice" is about the concept of prejudice, where people think they can tell what kind of person you are simply by looking at the melanin content in your skin. "There ain't no justice in that picture that you're painting of me in your mind/there ain't no justice, ‘cuz that face ain't mine." The title cut starts off with the Tempts getting pulled over by some racist cops ("I WANT TO SEE ASSES AND ELBOWS!!! MOVE NIGGA MOVE!!! I GOT A GUN! I GOT A GUN!!!"), which leads to Dennis getting back on the pulpit and preaching about the ills of America:
You got trouble in the White House
Problems in the ghetto
when will it end? Nobody knows
why we spend another dollar on the space race
with families home starving right in front of your face
where is your heart, America?
thousands of jobless people walking the street
with no food or place to sleep
what will become of them, America?
We won all the battles there is to win
Just let this war stay at an end
This is the peoples' prayer--listen to them
Amen…
Finally, we have "ZOOM", which starts with the Tempts having a barbershop conversation about the space program and how the government keeps shooting rockets into space ("WHAT ARE THEY GONNA FIND UP THERE?!") Then they get to the actual song…which is much better when you listen to it with a good surround system or a good set of headphones.
It's messed up that despite being a solid effort, this album had so much baggage surrounding it.
1) This was their final album with Norman Whitfield. Otis and the gang finally went to Berry Gordy to voice their disgust over the lack of creative control and Norman's methods, as well as the lack of huge hits and weakening sales. Berry would finally give Norman Whitfield the boot.
2) There was a little controversy involving a lot of radio DJ's when Berry Gordy didn't thank them during his acceptance speech during the American Music Awards in 1974. As a result, they boycotted many Motown recordings, including songs from this particular album.
3) A few months before this album's release, Paul Williams would lose his battle with sickle cell and alcoholism and commit suicide. There were some people at the time who held the Tempts responsible for his death, thinking that they could've done more to help him out…and having this album released during a time when Paul‘s tragic death was fresh on people‘s minds definitely was not a good look for them.
*****
Even though Norm got tossed out of Motown, he didn't leave emptyhanded, as he took Undisputed Truth and the Rose Royce band with him. He would then go on to great fan with the CAR WASH soundtrack (In which Universal needs to release a proper version of IMMEDIATELY…WITH ALL THE SONGS ON IT) and form WHITFIELD RECORDS, which featured other acts such as Willie "The Mack" Hutch, and Stargard. After Whitfield Records folded in the early 80's, he would work with the Tempts one last time with the song "Sailing Away" (from the BACK TO BASICS album, in which Norm provided a few songs for.) Norm's final project would be scoring the 80's movie, THE LAST DRAGON (which they plan on doing a remake of, with The RZA taking up Norm's role). Then he would be battling both bankruptcy court and diabetes until his recent death.
The Tempts would work on a new musical direction with A SONG FOR YOU, which had the help of another band that would blow up directly afterwards---THE COMMODORES. The Tempts would continue to have internal drama, as Damon would get ousted (he would be replaced by Glenn Leonard). Disgusted by the lack of success, the Tempts would leave Motown (but not before Dennis got the boot and got replaced by Louis Price) and jump to Atlantic for the albums BAREBACK (uh…) and HEAR TO TEMPT YOU (Ouch.) They return to Motown (but not before Louis took tossed) and had the much-ballyhoo'd REUNION, with Otis, Melvin, Glenn, and Richard reuniting with Dennis, Ruffin, and Eddie. Unfortunately, they didn't have the production or the material worthy of such a reunion, with the sole bright spot being "Standing On the Top", written and produced by Melvin's nephew Rick James…yes, THAT Rick James. They would pay him back by showing up for a little joint called "Superfreak". Then Eddie, Ruffin, Dennis and Glenn would leave and get replaced by Ollie Woodson and Ron Tyson for the "Treat Her Like A Lady" years. Then Ollie would get the boot for the returning Dennis (who just had a short-lived solo career with "Don't Look Any Further")…only for HIM to get tossed out for the returning Ollie, only for HIM to get replaced afterwards…
…damn, you need a FLOW CHART to keep track of all this! And some Advil. For all of Otis' rhetoric about how he was ‘the glue that kept the Tempts together', his track record doesn't exactly reflect it, does it? He should've gotten some advice from the Four Tops on how to REALLY keep a group together.
Then one by one, Ruffin (1991), Eddie (1992), and Melvin (1995) would all leave us…and contrary to the movie, RUFFIN WAS NOT RANDOMLY LAID OUT IN THE STREET! Straight from the Wiki:
David passed out, and his friend threw him in the back of the limo and drove him to the hospital at 2:55 AM. His friend only stated, "This is David Ruffin", and sped off as the nurses and doctors carried him into the hospital. Ruffin was pronounced dead on June 1, 1991, at 3:55 AM in Philadelphia. The case is considered to be an accidental overdose, although there are some questions surrounding the circumstances.
* Nothing is forever. You may be riding high with lots of success, but something can happen at any given moment that can change your whole world. Your career depends on how well you can adapt to it. In the course of 5 years, they were forced to replace three important members. Most groups don't last after losing one important member…but THREE?!
* Sometimes it pays to get out of your comfort zone. You can't stay the same for long. However, don't stray TOO FAR away from what made you.
* A good producer can bring out the best in an artist, and can even bring out capabilities that the artist doesn't even know they could pull off.
* Let your artists in on the creative process. For all of Norm's genius as a composer, songwriter, and producer, his biggest mistake was that he didn't really let the Tempts in on anything. Sometimes, it seemed like the Tempts would be the last ones to know what kind of albums they would be doing (which is why they would get pissed when they find out they only have ONE BALLAD on a record). If he would've let them in on the proceedings, they would've gained some knowledge on how things worked. Perhaps the Tempts would've been able to find a stable musical direction after Norm's firing if they would've been allowed to learned more from him.
* Finally, there are other subjects to sing about than LOVE and gettin' your fuck on! How many of today's HOT-HOT-HOT R&B singers can say that they made a hit song about a deadbeat father? Here's a hint: NONE OF THEM! To all you R&B superstars, STEP YOUR GAME UP!!
UGH!!!!! God I wish I wasn't broke!! I would be bumping both of their albums right now.
I never for the life of me expected Q-Tip to rock over J-Dilla's chop-job of the Jackson 5's "Dancing Machine". I expected someone like Redman or Ghostface over it. Props to Q-Tip for coming through. This was the shit we expected from you years ago.
Good retrospective of the Psycadellic Soul-era Tempts, Phil.
Keep up the Good Work!
Posted By: shone jones (Guest) on November 23, 2008 at 03:37 PM
Also, Ewart Abner, who was the president of Motown then, was the one who didn't thank the DJs during his acceptance speech. Berry was working on Mahogany during that period.
Posted By: Shone Jones (Guest) on November 23, 2008 at 03:49 PM
