Motown 1969-1975 whats good?
Dabney_Soulman
890 Posts
I'm almost positive I asked this before but I couldn't find it in a search.Anyways I'm amazed with just about every Motown/ Tamla/ Soul album from this era. Norman Whitfield's psychadelic soul funk sound is hard as fuck. I don't think I've heard a bad Temptations album from this era. The Miracles seemed to come with the goodness at this time too and some of the lesser known albums like Gordon Staples & The String Thing deserve so much more attention.I'm sure there is a ton more goodness I am forgetting to mention or simply just don't know, outside of the ones I mentioned what other releases from this time period do you consider essential?
Comments
Has anyone ever heard of an extended version of this or is there just one version. I know it was on two different LPs. I know of the remixes from the 90s. But I was wondering if there's anything else. Re-edit maybe??
Has anyone covered this???
i have a housed-up 1990 or so remix of it that is really good...on motown.
Darling Come Back Home - beautiful! the pans! love this!
I don't doubt it, More times than not I've bought a post '69 motown LP and thought "damn I need more soul like this".
Good looking o the Eddie Kendricks I think every LP he made up til '74 is well worth having
I found this shit at wal-mart for <$7 a couple years ago, double disc DVD. awesome documentary with all of the living members of the Funk Brothers (the studio band responsible for the majority of Motown's hits).
Syreeta's albums fall under the unfortunate "see them around for cheap quite often so never picked them up" catagory.
the only ones I got are the Mowest LP and one from '77 with Leon Ware producing (absolutely underrated alnbum IMO)
which of her other albums are going to make my skull melt?
My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
That's the Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
Signed, Sealed and Delivered - Stevie Wonder
A Pocket Full of Miracles - Smokey Robinson & Miracles
All by Myself - Eddie Kendricks
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Valerie Simpson Exposed - Valerie Simpson
Music of My Mind - Stevie Wonder
People...Hold On - Eddie Kendricks
Talking Book - Stevie Wonder
Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
Eddie Kendricks - Eddie Kendricks
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
Fulfillingness' First Finale - Stevie Wonder
Live - Marvin Gaye
A Quiet Storm - Smokey Robinson
I was over at a friends house the other day, and he played a track from the '75 Eddie Kendricks LP "The Hit Man". Don't remember the name of the track, but it was a gorgeous, mid-tempo Marvin Gay-ish burner. I thought to myself: "damn, that's great, I gotta listen to that when I come home", only to find out that I didn't have it. I was sure I had it, but I guess I must have sold it
Anyway, the standouts during the mentioned period for me are (surprise) The Temps, Marvin, Stevie, The Undisputed Truth and The Jackson 5.
Co-sign on Syreeta too. I gotta give "One To One" an honourable mention even though its from '77. "Tiki Tiki Donga" is the jam. Leon Ware produced goodness.
Also post '75: don't sleep on the first 3 Mandre albums from 77-79. I'm a sucker for that freaky synthfunkrock thing.
Naturally Together - Originals
Willie Remembers... - Rare Earth
Feelin' Good-David Ruffin
Higher Than High - Undisputed Truth (P-Funk ripoff, and real good!)
Standing Ovation - Gladys Knight & the Pips
1957-1972 - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (their last live show together...really heartbreaking)
Singles:
"TLC" b/w "It Takes A Man To Teach A Woman How To Love" - P.J.
"Stone Soul Booster" - Buzzy
"Funky Rubber Band" - Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
"Shoe Shoe Shine" - Dynamic Superiors
"Don't You Be Worried" - Commodores (early single on Mowest from '72, before they had any hits)
"The Luney Landing" (Pt. 1/Pt. 2) - Captain Zap & the Motortown Cut-Up (break-in - Dickie Goodman-ish novelty record about the moon landing...uses bits from Motown records, naturally)
"Dancing Machine" originally appeared on Get It Together, which was from 1973. The following year, the song was such a hit that it was the title track of their next album. Motown always used to release the same song on more than one album if it was a hit (look at Jr. Walker), so it may have been the same version. (I said "MAY have...," in case I'm wrong!)
A couple real good cuts on this one.
Smokey (& Miracles) - Smokey, One Dozen Roses, What Love Has Joined Together
David Ruffin - Who I Am
J5 - ABC
Valerie Simpson - s/t
Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man
Marvelettes - Sophisticated Soul (maybe a little early)
Gladys Knight - Nitty Gritty
just way too many great ones.
and actually the albums that Bobby Darin did for Motown during this period were pretty decent.
As well-written as you'd expect, this is a pretty much peerless history of Motown and, in many ways, of black popular music in the US from the early days of r&b up until the 1980s. As good a book about popular music as I've ever read.
more info please
He put out two or three albums in the early '70s in a sort of introspective folkie vein. Think "Abraham, Martin, & John" era Dion, only more personal. Way more interesting than it sounds.
Albert Finney did an album for Motown in '77. I've seen it a couple of times, but I've no idea what it's like; I'm thinking "bad Richard Harris".
Also, WOAH!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ujFwO66GByA
I think Bobby had already lapsed back into a Vegas thing by the time he hooked up with Motown, although those folkish albums he did on Atlantic and Direction are surprisingly convincing.
This one at least is pretty folky:
I went through a stretch of refusing to buy any Motown stuff after 69 because I thought it would be lame, but I have started picking them up over the last couple years & there is so much good stuff. I also make a habit of grabbing the 45s when I see them now too. I have definitely seen the error of my ways.
I've been steadily buying records by lesser-known and second-tier Motown acts these past couple of years (particularly Junior Walker). However, I do "back up" whenever I see any Motown albums that have too many showtunes and pop standards...
Agreed. But that era predates the window being discussed here.
I also enjoy Motown-backed album "Joe Bataan sings soul".
Not really - actually in 1969-70 Berry Gordy was still making goo-goo eyes at Vegas.
The Tempts may have been psychedelic in the studio, but they were still a lounge act on stage (judging from Live At London's Talk Of The Town and The Temptations' Show, both from the 1969-70 era).