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Whitfield's Psych Soul - Ground Zero?

batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
edited July 2013 in Strut Central
Are there singles that pre-date his work w/ The Temptations?

Or did he develop it while working w/ them?

And do u think he sharpened his style or did it lose its ummph down the line?
Is there a pocket period or shit was hot for a long minute.

Car Wash in '76 had Zig Zag and Psych Soul influences but it wasnt smoked out like that.

  Comments

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I'm just looking at discogs.

    His writing and arranging, all for Motown, go back to 1963. Lots a hits.
    Temps - I'm Losing You - might be the first hint of whats to come.

    While he worked with lots of Motown artists, it seems he saved most of the psych stuff for the Temps. Early on I mean.
    Can't say I know every song he did for others.

    For me the best stuff is Undisputed Truth.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I'm guessing that Whitfield's psych-funk years commenced with "Cloud Nine."

    When Sly & the Family Stone had their first hit with "Dance To The Music," Otis Williams from the Tempts predicted to Whitfield that this psych-soul business might be the coming thing. Whitfield wrote it off as a temporary fad. The next time the Temptations stepped into a studio, he gave them "Cloud Nine," which was an unmistakeable cop of Sly's sound.

    Even then, he was hedging his bets. If you recall, the Cloud Nine album was one side of "psych," and another side of love ballads, as if to say that the Tempts' audience might not be 100% ready for the new sound yet.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Did Holland Doz Holland beat him to the punch w/ Reflections and maybe Frank Wilson w/ Love Child?

    Or are those joints more Pop Psych Soul like 5th Dimension vs more Funk/Sly-esque oriented?
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    batmon said:
    Did Holland Doz Holland beat him to the punch w/ Reflections and maybe Frank Wilson w/ Love Child?

    Or are those joints more Pop Psych Soul like 5th Dimension vs more Funk/Sly-esque oriented?


    I don't know about that, but I did notice he started using the heavier psychedelic production after he re-cut I'm Losing You with Rare Earth in '69.
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    Worth considering Paul Riser's input here, too. He had a lot more to do with Whitfield's sound than he's usually given credit for, especially the more lavishly-orchestrated examples of it. There was a reason Whitfield took Riser with him when he left Motown, and you can hear it all over those first couple of Rose Royce albums.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    Worth considering Paul Riser's input here, too. He had a lot more to do with Whitfield's sound than he's usually given credit for, especially the more lavishly-orchestrated examples of it. There was a reason Whitfield took Riser with him when he left Motown, and you can hear it all over those first couple of Rose Royce albums.

    I didnt know dude arranged R.Kelly's Chocolate Factory.

    No hijack.

    Its kinda cool that Whitfield just jumped right into that shit vs. tinkering until the sound solidified.
    Yeah, the '68/'69Tempts stuff is raw and its gets more "open" down the line, but still. Dude just did it (along w/ plenty of help).
  • p_gunnp_gunn 2,284 Posts
    LaserWolf said:

    For me the best stuff is Undisputed Truth.

    odd, i woke up yesterday with the Undisputed Truth's version of "Ball of Confusion" stuck in my head and i wondered if SS had ever done a "Fav Norman Whitfield Production?" thread... if not...

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    p_gunn said:
    i wondered if SS had ever done a "Fav Norman Whitfield Production?" thread.

    I found the RIP thread and there werent many songs.

    But I just discovered this today...I dont own much UTruth........



    1979...homegirl is rappin...talmbout MC'in and shit.
  • HollafameHollafame 844 Posts
    I ride hard for UT and Whitfield prods



    braekz!
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    HOLLAFAME said:
    I ride hard for UT and Whitfield prods



    braekz!

    Favourite UT track right there
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    batmon said:
    Did Holland Doz Holland beat him to the punch w/ Reflections and maybe Frank Wilson w/ Love Child?

    Or are those joints more Pop Psych Soul like 5th Dimension vs more Funk/Sly-esque oriented?

    Norman Whitfield dug deeper than those two Supremes songs did.

    And the self-contained acts like Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, Chambers Bros., Isley Bros., Curtis Mayfield, etc. dug deeper than either the Supremes or the Tempts, but that's another story.
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