Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DII--The Temptations: Get Ready

This tardiness will just not do....

While I am certain that I'd heard this week's featured tune numerous times in the past, it was its inclusion in a Motown documentary (Hitsville:  The Making of Motown--well worth the watch) that my youngest son and I watched on Showtime at the height of the pandemic shutdown that made me cock my head and think, "How the hell did I never notice how great this song was?"  As the saying goes, better late than never....

I wrote about The Temptations in Jukebox, Vol. CCCXVIII and as nothing new has happened to the band in the last three and a half years, I'll let that bio stand--other than to note that founding member Otis Williams (the only surviving original member) still takes The Temptations out for a dance move or two on the oldies circuit.

"Get Ready" was the first single released from their 1966 LP, the rather elongated entitled Gettin' Ready.  The single would reach #29 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 (#1 on the R & B singles chart), while the album would peak at #12 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  The band Rare Earth recorded a twenty-one-minute cover version of "Get Ready" which was edited down to 2:46 for a single released in 1970.  Their version would climb to #4 on the Billboard singles chart--if I had a guess as to why it charted higher than The Temptations version, my guess would be that at the time, rock and roll was still king....

A man is in love, and he's absolutely, positively going to make the girl of his dreams love him, too. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson, "Get Ready" packs as much into two and a half minutes as a music fan could ask for.  From Eddie Kendricks wondrous falsetto to the rest of the band's empowering backing vocals, from the horn section (listen for a wicked, wailing short trumpet solo) to the playful nature of the lyrics, Robinson and the Temptations make musical magic, Motown style.  Another in a long line of songs that makes me go, "Yup, this is why I devoted so much of my life to music."  Just a compelling and stunning effort.

Lyric Sheet:  "So, fee-fi-fo-fum/Look out, baby, 'cause here I come..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXVIII--The Temptations: Papa Was a Rollin' Stone

 Oddly enough, my main recollection of this week's tune isn't the first time I heard it or a TV show or a movie where it suddenly struck me how great it was.  Rather, it's that after my first marriage ended the gentleman who lived above me in the apartment I rented after moving out used to crank the volume to ten on his stereo and blare the song at 5:00 AM every single morning.  Fortunately for me, I wasn't sleeping much during that time in my life, and he moved out within a few months...lest there might have been a good chance the tune didn't make it to a blog post (other than most hated songs).  

The Temptations started in the mid-fifties with various line-ups in various local bands before settling in my current home, Detroit, Michigan.  In 1961 they had a successful audition with one Berry Gordy and joined his Motown label.  They actually had some trouble in their early years having hit songs, and were jokingly called "The Hitless Temptations" by their label mates.  Eventually their silky smooth vocals and harmonies, as well as their finely choreographed movements kick started their hit making abilities and they went on to become one of Motown's most successful groups and earned a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.  They are often credited with being the progenitor of psychedelic soul (their song "Cloud Nine" is considered the first), which near as I can tell was a very short-lived, if incredibly successful, movement.  The Temptations were the first Motown act to win a Grammy, and totaled three for their career.  In all, the Temptations released 43 studio albums (four top tens on the Billboard 200, and a stunning 14 #1's on the R & B chart), and 109 singles, enjoying four number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.  The Temptations continue to perform sixty years after their start--twenty-five different men have been members of the Temptations at one time or another.  Sadly, twelve of those men have gone to the great Motown Revue in the sky, a number of them at far too young of an age.

"Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was released in 1972 on their album All Directions.  The album version runs almost twelve minutes, and was listed at #169 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.  The single version was just shy of seven minutes, and became the last #1 hit and top 40 hit the Temptations would have on the pop charts. 

Fun Fact:  The Temptations did not want to record or release "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" fearing it would be a flop.  Funny how sometimes things work out....

The surprising thing about my choice this week is that a guy who adores a good pop song...didn't choose "My Girl" or "Just My Imagination" from the pantheon of Temptations' songs.  But there's a maturity to this one, a band being pushed (successfully) past its comfort zone and creating an incredible piece of music.  Some of the credit goes to producer Norman Whitfield for the incredible instrumentation and using four different singers (each representing a different child of the father noted in the title), but the Temptations had to execute those vocals to capture the song's nuances, and execute they did.  It's a poignant and deft portrait of a man who didn't live up to his fatherly responsibilities, and of the heartbreak of the children he left behind.  A masterwork from a band at the height of its powers.

Lyric Sheet:  "Folks say Papa was never much on thinking/Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking/Mama I'm depending on you/To tell me the truth..."

Enjoy:

476,000 Dead Americans Because of Donald Trump's Incompetence

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXII--Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells a Story (Album)

It's my birthday week (hit the big six oh this year) so we have our yearly installment of "It's My Birthday So I'll Review an Album If I Want To..."

This year Rod Stewart's album Every Picture Tells a Story is the feature LP.  As these album posts tend to run a wee bit long, we'll dispense with the obligatory stolen from Wikipedia bio, and just note a few facts about the album.  In addition to having one of the truly great album titles and being one of my five favorites LP's of all-time, Every Picture Tells a Story was a number one hit for Stewart both in his native U.K. and here in the U.S. of A.  It finished a surprisingly weak #172 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time (I wondered at the time if its relatively low rank--in Rolling Stone's ten year anniversary issue the album showed up on more of their critics' best of lists than just about any other music of their first ten years save the Velvet Underground's "Heroin"--was because in the late 70's Rod the Mod decided he'd rather make money than art), but is generally considered one of the best albums of the 1970's.  Finally, as Stewart was still singing with the Faces at the time, it includes a heaping helping of their musicianship (especially Ronnie Wood on guitar and Ian McLagan on keyboards/piano).

And away we go...

"Every Picture Tells a Story":  Thanks to Micky Waller's explosive drumming this one is literally a detonation of an opening.  The story of the young Stewart traveling around Europe and trying to find himself (and coming to understand that he'd already found himself at home) is easily the best song Stewart ever did and easily one of the ten best rock and roll songs of all-time.  A masterpiece on the insecurities and the beauty of youth.  Favorite line:  "I couldn't quote you no Dickens, Shelley, or Keats/'Cause it's all been said before/Make the best out of the bad just laugh it off/You didn't have to come here anyway..."

"Seems Like a Long Time":  Stewart and a piano (with some fine backing vocals from Madeleine Bell and friends) in this introspective turn on how slowly time churns as we wait for deliverance from both the personal and the worldly.  Gospelesque at times and really showcases what a magnificent voice Stewart has been blessed with.  Favorite line:  "War time is only the other side of peace time/But if you've ever seen how wars are won/You know what it's like to wish peace time would come..."

"That's All Right"/"Amazing Grace":  Song 1:  In which Stewart gets to show off this blues chops in an old blues standard by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and the band gets to show off its chops in several different incarnations (another shout out for Waller).  Mostly just a lot of fun.  Song 2:  All I'll say is that when I was in the grips of depression in the nineties, I awoke one morning to this song on the alarm radio and though I'm not a religious man, it gave me a moment's peace at a time when such moments were few and far between.  Song 1 Favorite line:  "I'll be leaving here tomorrow/Leaving here for sure/You ain't gotta be bothered with me/Hangin' round your door..."  Song 2 Favorite line:  No need--you already know the words.

"Tomorrow Is a Long Time":  Stewart covers an unreleased Dylan tune (Dylan would record it himself some years later for his Greatest Hits II) that sure sounds like it should have come from his Nashville Skyline sessions.  Much like "Seems Like a Long Time" this one tells us the waiting is the hardest part (seems I've heard that before...).  A ballad with lots of strings, a quiet portrait of a man recalling the beauty of his missing lover and his pain of being without her.  Favorite line:  "I can't see my reflection in the mirror/I can't speak the sounds that show no pain/I can't hear the echoes of my footsteps/Or remember the sound of my own name..."

"Maggie May":  The song that made Stewart a star--and rightfully so.  A #1 hit here and in the U.K., it's smart pop for the masses as Stewart spins the tale of a young man in love with an older woman who's making a fool of him, but he just can't leave her even though he knows he should.  Great drumming again from Waller, great guitar from Wood, stunning mandolin work from Lindsay Jackson, and an impassioned performance from Stewart.  Little known fact:  there's an instrumental intro to the song called "Henry" that in some versions is treated as an intro and in others as a separate (though at 32 seconds, very short) song.  Favorite line:  "I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school/Or steal my Daddy's cue and make a living out of playing pool/ Or find myself a rock and roll band that needs a helpin' hand..."

"Mandolin Wind":  Considered by some (though not me) to be the best song on the album, Stewart weaves the tale of a prairie couple surviving the full force of nature and of the man's love for his wife for standing by him through thick and thin.  Amazingly enough, the song contains some mandolin playing (though who it was remains something of a mystery), and some more nice guitar work from Wood.  An understated vocal performance from Stewart and a compelling narrative.  A great song.  Favorite line:  "When the rain came I thought you'd leave/'Cause I knew how much you loved the sun/But you chose to stay, stay and keep me warm/Through the darkest nights, I've ever known..."

"(I Know) I'm Losing You":  For all intents and purposes, this is a Faces song as the entire band is featured and each gets to showcase their particular instrument...and does so brilliantly.  This is the song that probably took me the longest to appreciate, but it is sheer genius.  It's a cover of a 1966 hit by the Temptations about a man who knows he's losing his lover to another man and he's angry, sad, beaten, and the Faces lay it all on the line in this ominous ode.  When the band begins to hum the tune it never ceases to amaze me how perfect--and audacious--it is.  A band at its peak.  Favorite line:  "When I look into your eyes a reflection of a face I see/Oh Lord I'm losing you/I'm hurt, downhearted, and worried girl/'Cause that face doesn't belong to me..."

"Reason to Believe":  Stewart closes the album with a folk tune written by Tim Hardin.  I've never been able to figure out if the protagonist is singing to a lying lover or to God (maybe one and the same?) but it's a beautiful ballad and unsurprisingly, Stewart's vocals nail it (including a brief a cappella turn).  The song should be featured in hymnals spanning the globe--a heavenly ending to an otherworldly album.  Favorite line:  "If I listened long enough to you/I'd find a way to believe that it's all true/Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried/Still I look to find a reason to believe..."

As Youtube has fucked up album videos (to put it mildly), I'll leave you with an album cover and a link to Spotify:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LVII--Edwin Starr: War

Good God, y'all....

The first three 45s I ever owned were "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night, "Power to the People" by John Lennon, and "War" by Edwin Starr.  I'd like to tell you I was quite the politically inclined twelve-year-old, but the truth of the matter is that I brought the three of them because so many of the kids in my school thought they were cool, and I wanted to be cool, too.  Alas, that dream died a quick death, but the influence on me of "Power to the People" and "War" would be profound.

Written by Motown greats Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (click on either link--the list of hit songs they wrote is quite impressive), the song was originally recorded by The Temptations.  Fans clamored for it to be released as a single, but The Temptations were afraid of alienating their core fans so Edwin Starr stepped up and offered to record it.  And when he did, he recorded a song that could arguably be called the greatest protest song ever.

Good God, y'all....

Edwin Starr's career began in the early 1960s (and right here in Detroit, Michigan, home of one Motown records).  His first hit was "Agent Double-O-Soul" (and what a cool title that is, and also the epitaph on his gravestone).  His biggest hit prior to "War" was "25 Miles" (fans of the movie Adventures in Babysitting may recall it).  Released in 1970 on his War and Peace (if you're going to borrow a title, borrow it from the best), the song would go on to reach #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and stay there for three weeks.  Starr would eventually leave the U.S. in 1973 for greener pastures in England where he recorded and toured until his all too early death from a heart attack in 2002.  The influence of "War" is still felt far and wide on televison shows, movies, and various other media as the quintessential anti-war song (Springsteen took a cover version of "War" to #8 in 1986, as well),  For those counting at home, that's six uses of parentheses in a single paragraph which may be a Friday Night Jukebox record....

The thing that amazes me most about "War" is how much it sounds like, well, war.  From the beginning drum roll that leads into an explosion of horns and percussion right before Starr's vocals thunder the words "War, huh yeah/What is it good for?/Absolutely nothing!" all the way to the end where Starr clamors again and again at the injustice of war (and if you listen closely you can hear the drums mimicking marching boots), the song reminds us of the hell that is war.  Even when you listen to the music behind Starr's singing of the verses there's a cacophony to it that recalls helicopters and bombs exploding and gunfire and young men screaming in terror.  The song is literally an aural music video (if that makes any sense) playing out the horrors of war.  And Starr gives a truly great vocal performance with grunts and howls and an urgency that conveys the pain and heartache as well as the all too often utter senselessness of settling our disputes with guns.  "...(W)ho wants to die?"  he asks at the end, lamenting the age old existential quandary of watching too many young men and women die in battle and wondering what the hell for.

"Good God, y'all" indeed.

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee