Maybe it was a masterpiece. However whose?
It was 1973 and The Temptations thought (maybe hoped) they have been at a crossroads. Their information had been rising steadily extra “far out”, which labored by way of gross sales, however psychedelic soul wasn’t a mode of music they have been essentially snug with. Their producer, Norman Whitfield, had reworked them from candy soul harmonizers into an act able to thriving within the progressive rock period. One in every of their two 1972 albums was referred to as Stable Rock, and their LPs charted strongly throughout a interval when different Motown vocal teams barely registered. Nevertheless, The Temptations most well-liked their outdated candy soul type regardless of their facility for this rock-influenced funky groove.
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Curiously, they weren’t solely competing with rock bands that weren’t related to them; they discovered themselves second in line for among the songs that Whitfield and lyricist Barrett Robust wrote. “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” had been beforehand recorded by Uncommon Earth, even when it was The Temptations that made it huge. It will need to have rankled that the track had first been given to a Motown rock band that The Temptations ought to have outranked. Issues have been getting out of hand.
All Instructions, the group’s second album of 1972, had featured a 12-minute model of “Papa…,” a storytelling ditty with a deep funky backing and a climactic mood-setting orchestra. So when Norman Whitfield started engaged on a prolonged title track for a brand new album constructed on comparable strains, the group probably thought, OK, “Papa…” was a No.1, let’s have some extra. Nevertheless, the album which turned Masterpiece was not like its predecessor. Its sleeve featured a faux marble bas aid of the group’s faces in profile. Beneath, an indication mentioned “Produced by Norman Whitfield,” which additionally appeared on the again. The implication was that The Temptations have been an art work sculpted by their producer, the extra necessary determine right here. Whereas the musicians have been credited on the again, the person Temptations weren’t. And there was a big soft-focus picture of the producer on the flip, with The Temptations rising from his head.
So, whose masterpiece was it? Mr. Whitfield’s, apparently.
Masterpiece begins promisingly with the elegant “Hey Girl (I Like Your Style),” which casts the group within the mode of their 1971 smash “Just My Imagination,” with Richard Avenue’s lead voice suitably lovestruck. Then comes the title monitor – nearly 14 minutes of it. Whereas the lyrics are suitably ghetto in latest Temptations type, Whitfield, who wrote it alone, was not the lyricist Barrett Robust was, and there’s no storyline as such, just some grim snapshots. The group get three minutes to specific their vocal expertise – simply 21 p.c of the monitor. Nonetheless, an edited model made the US High 10.
Facet Two of Masterpiece’s authentic opened with “Ma,” a extra centered track, feminizing the “Papa…” template with a optimistic spin. “Law Of The Land,” with excellent lead vocals from the late Dennis Edwards, who was underused on the album, delivers one other funky message. This time The Temptations sang it earlier than Uncommon Earth, although Motown selected the latter’s model for a US single. “Plastic Man,” the second single from Masterpiece, is a tricky tune on a well-recognized early 70s matter, that includes extra superb vocals led by Edwards. The closing “Hurry Tomorrow” turns the psychedelic aspect as much as double rainbow, with Damon Harris gently singing of a room with no flooring – it’s acid journey territory, a slowly rising wash of results ending in chaos. This time Whitfield doesn’t overdo it: the track is trippy with out dropping a sympathetic human contact.
Masterpiece is likely to be an exaggerated title, however there’s brilliance right here, a lot of it from a gaggle relegated to second fiddle on their very own album. However they delivered what they have been requested to. Arranger Paul Riser deserves credit score for orchestrations that helped understand Norman Whitfield’s imaginative and prescient. What occurs when the producer turns into the star? Masterpiece, overblown but typically excellent, solutions that query. A greater steadiness between svengali and singers might need been extra satisfying, however the early 70s have been instances of extra in music, and this fascinating if overcooked album fits them completely.
Masterpiece may be purchased right here.
