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Gordy G 7001 (A), March 1962
b/w Isn’t She Pretty
(Written by Berry Gordy)
Oh, man, I love this record.
The first-ever release on the brand new Gordy Records imprint, and right out of the gate, its first chart hit (going Top 30 R&B), this was also deservedly the first of many (many!) chart hits for the Temptations.
It was also the first solo lead vocal on a Tempts record for Eddie Kendricks, who had previously done his best to ruin the group’s début single, Oh Mother Of Mine, with a series of falsetto shrieks and yelps – but who sounds strangely at ease here.
I say “strangely”, because this is an eerie, almost other-worldly record, apparently constructed by Berry Gordy out of moonlight and shadows; it’s full of strange chord changes, unusual noises, unexpected harmonising and – of course – Gordy’s wife Raynoma, “Miss Ray”, parping away on her primitive Ondioline synthesizer, as she had done on so many previous Motown releases. Yet, somehow, it all works. Actually, no, it doesn’t just work, it sounds fantastic.
I love it.
Opening with a hesitant-yet-strident burst of Ondioline, guitar and drums together, all playing the exact same notes one at a time to produce a kind of weird early-60s orchestra hit (and a reprise of sorts of one of the instrumental breaks of the Temptations’ previous single, the genuinely strange multi-part experiment Check Yourself, oddly enough), the record then settles down into a sort of dreamlike, cascading series of overlapping soundscapes. It’s mesmerising, and it’s so different from anything else available at the time that you can’t help but perk up your ears – what IS that?.
In a good way, though, not just baffling and avant-garde like Check Yourself, but genuinely beguiling. There’s a conventional romantic ballad buried somewhere in there, but it’s buried very deep, Eddie Kendricks only barely keeping within sight of the tune as he swoops around the top of his high tenor range. As I said earlier, he’d previously been seriously at fault on Oh Mother Of Mine, but his strange, otherworldly tenor warble suits this song down to the ground, resulting in one of his best lead vocals before going solo years later.
Eddie and the band spend the verses playing two almost completely different tunes, yet somehow they end up in the same place just as the record gets to the chorus. It’s the chorus that really makes this record, Eddie timing out a descending lead-in – “Yes – you’re – my” – before the rest of the Tempts, anchored by Melvin Franklin’s resonating bass, pull out a rich, layered descending harmony – “DREAM – come – truuuuuuue”, starting with a weird chord change out of nowhere and resounding with a warm and enveloping sound that makes your hair stand on end.
Indeed, all the weird stuff that goes on on this record – and there’s a lot of it, it must be said – just fits in perfectly, it’s never experimentation just for the sake of it. There’s a lengthy Ondioline solo in the middle, a long instrumental break which would ordinarily stick out like a sore thumb, but which somehow works with just the right touch. On the rest of the record, the Ondioline takes what would on later Motown records be the role of a lush string section, and it’s done very well, so drawing attention to the instrument’s artificial nature by giving it a long, parping, buzzing solo should be a mistake – but it works. The whole record works.
I’m really heartened that this was a hit, as it might well have proved too uncommercial for either radio or record shoppers – but it’s one of those things that reaffirms your faith in the American record-buying public, because this was almost in the R&B Top Twenty, and set the Temptations up for a long and successful career as one of the world’s premier R&B vocal groups. Even with all of the great records they’d go on to make, though, I still have to rank this among my favourite Temptations singles; it’s just magical.
Possibly the best song Berry Gordy ever wrote, and therefore fitting that it should appear on the first release on the label bearing his name. But huge credit is also due to both the band and to the group; it is, after all, what’s in the grooves that count(s).
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in The Temptations? Click for more.)
Little Otis “Baby I Need You” |
The Temptations “Isn’t She Pretty” |
Paladin said:
Outstanding review. Your explanation of the Ondioline synthesizer was dead on point. The Temptations background vocals were simply mesmerizing. They did this on quite a few of their early tunes from “Meet The Temptations” and “Temptations Sing Smokey”. Eddie up high, Melvin bringing up the bottom and Paul & Otis providing the filler just under Eddie.
The Temptations were still in their doo-wop period and this record reflects that fact, however they would soon leave a lot of those traits behind as the music world around them changed. The Temptations were very good during this time frame but they were not perfect, for that we need look no further than The “Temptin Temptations” Lp, where they hit their stride and there was no turning back.
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Steve Robbins said:
Strongly disagree on multiple points. Being anywhere near #20 on the R&B charts isn’t a hit. #10 would be.
The song…never heard it before. I fell asleep listening. We’re talking the Temptations here, guys. Somebody go get Ruffin!! We need some life support. 2/10
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The Nixon Administration said:
Say what you like about the song (though to my mind, you’re wronger than a bottle of hammers… 😉 ), but the notion that an R&B chart hit somehow only “counts” if it goes top ten is complete codswallop.
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Landini said:
Wow! I’m totally with you on this one. Absolutely love it. Still sounds fresh today.
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Landini said:
Amazing how this song keeps popping up these days on whatever I am listening to – Be it a random playlist on my computer, a mix tape (yes I still listen to those things!) or a Tempts collection. Great great great song!
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Paladin said:
Landini, you’re a true music lover and Tempt fan, I got hundreds of tapes myself, just cant throw then out, Its like an historical record of the times, Love vinyl as well.
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Landini said:
Thanks buddy!
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Paladin said:
You’re as cool as the other side of a pillow my friend.
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Anonymous said:
I dont know exactly what “codswallop” is but I agree…lol…..
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Rupert Kinnard said:
I have always loved this song. I still think it is rather shocking to give it a 10 out of 10, which would make it a perfect song, but…go figure. Nixon, I presume you’ve heard Stevie Wonder remake of this song? It is great because it respectfully sticks to the original arrangement so well…down to the Tempts singing the background!
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The Nixon Administration said:
Ten means it’s one of my personal fifty favourites, rather than the perfect gold standard. Though a few of my 10s are that too! There’s some more rather idiosyncratic choices coming up in the next few months, anyway.
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Rupert Kinnard said:
Ah! That makes so much more sense to me. Keep rockin’ us, dude!
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Robb Klein said:
I agree that giving this 10 is a bit too generous. I’ve always liked it a lot. But, I’d give it an “8”.
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Rupert Kinnard said:
Personal favorite-wise…I’m all over the Tempts version of What Love Has Joined Joined Together as a 10, rather than this one. But I have mad respect for you, Nixon!
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The Nixon Administration said:
Different strokes for different folks – there are definite similiarities between the two records, and I think Mary Wells’ original of “What Love Has Joined Together” kind of spoiled me for the Tempts cut. But this is a record that makes my spine tingle every time.
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Rupert Kinnard said:
Well…it is yet another example of a great song simply being a great song!
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Roy M said:
Once again, I must disagree with you on this tune. I have NEVER liked Dream Come True!! I find that I am alone in my displeasure; for instance, Damon Harris, who took Eddie’s place, and Ron Banks of the Dramatics ABSOLUTELY LOVED Dream Come True. In my opinion, it does not deserve a “10”; I might be persuaded to give it a “5”. I don’t like the chord progressions; the lyrics are just passing. To rank this tune with “My Girl” and the other truly great tunes you have given a “10” to downgrades the rating! People who like this tune state it is “different” from what the Tempts had put out. Well, that’s true. But I don’t think this tune is better than “Since I Lost My Baby” and “It’s Growing”, tunes which in my opinion deserve more than the ratings you gave them!
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BT Ruyack said:
Roy, I’m with you. This song just comes across as weird to me, although I respect the musical experimentation, it doesn’t coalesce into a strong record. More like a 6 on my unofficial scale. Thanks, Nixon for making me discover a new song!
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Kevin Moore said:
So, in early 1962, I’m looking everywhere for more Motown influences on the Beatles, but the main beneficiary of this track (which I agree is other-worldly and beautiful) is Donald Fagen. The harmonized beginning of the chorus sounds like something off of Nightfly or Kamakiriad.
If 10/10 means 50 personal faves out of (how many tracks in the whole collection? 1500?) I don’t know if this will make my list – maybe – I’m still in the blissful “growing on me” phase. Also curious about the afore-mentioned Stevie Wonder cover. Is that going to be in this survey?
On an unrelated topic, I received my 14-CD HDH Invictus-Hot Wax boxset today. Still waiting on the first of that Cellarful of Motown series and still eager to hear everyone’s opinions on both of those. (I realize that most of the conversation here happened years ago and that I’m largely talking to myself here, but … better late to the party than never, right? At least Big Joe Moe hasn’t 86ed me yet.)
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The Nixon Administration said:
We’re still here, but the lack of new entries (sorry, ladies and gents) means that the flow of visitors is more occasional at the moment.
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Paladin said:
You have a point about Fagen………
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Slade Barker said:
Thank you for alerting me to this great Temptations song, which I had never heard before. Smokey always said the Tempting Tempts reminded him of being in church, yet he never gave them such a churchy sound as Gordy did here. Not sure if we hear this much otherworldly harmony on one of their hits until the era of “I Wish It Would Rain.” Wonderful stuff, and fully deserving of a 10.
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Paladin said:
Well culturally speaking that’s a sound assessment. But this track doesn’t remind me of church but rather a group of young men harmonizing under streetlamps. For Church Tempts please play “: I Heard It Through The Grapevine”…….
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