"One By One: The Best Of The Solo Years" by THE TEMPTATIONS Featuring David Ruffin, Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams with Guest Siedah Garrett (March 1996 UK Motown 2CD Compilation of Erick Labson Remasters) A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...We're Groovin' Together..."

The Temptations are one of the truly great Motown gems and I suspect that their solo material is just as much a magnet for fans. So up steps this forgotten peach.

 

Part of the famous Soul label's "Anthology" series – and while Hip-O Select (of the USA) has subsequently reissued the complete Solo Motown output for lead vocalists David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks - the Dennis Edwards and Paul Williams entries on here are rare by comparison. Here are the groovy details...

 

UK released March 1996 - "One By One: The Best Of Their Solo Years" by THE TEMPTATIONS on Motown 530 615-2 (Barcode 731453061521) plays out as follows:

 

Disc 1 (77:33 minutes):

1. My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) – DAVID RUFFIN

2. I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved – DAVID RUFFIN

3. I'm So Glad I Fell For You – DAVID RUFFIN

4. Which Way To My Baby – DENNIS EDWARDS

5. The Double Cross – DAVID RUFFIN

6. It's So Hard For Me To Say Good-Bye – EDDIE KENDRICKS

7. This Used To Be The Home Of Johnnie Mae – EDDIE KENDRICKS

8. Can I – EDDIE KENDRICKS

9. If You Let Me – EDDIE KENDRICKS

10. Girl You Need A Change Of Mind – EDDIE KENDRICKS

11. Date With The Rain – EDDIE KENDRICKS

12. Eddie's Love – EDDIE KENDRICKS

13. Feel Like Givin' Up – PAUL WILLIAMS

14. Once You Had A Heart – PAUL WILLIAMS

15. I Miss You – Pt. 1 – DAVID RUFFIN

16. Common Man – DAVID RUFFIN

17. Darling Come Back Home – EDDIE KENDRICKS

18. Keep On Truckin' – EDDIE KENDRICKS

19. Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need – EDDIE KENDRICKS

NOTES on CD1:

Tracks 1, 2 and 5 from the January 1969 US album "My Whole World Ended"

Track 3 is from the November 1969 US album "Feelin' Good"

Tracks 4 and 14 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Tracks 6, 7 and 8 is from the April 1971 US album "All By Myself"

Tracks 9, 10, 11 and 12 from the May 1972 US album "People…Hold On"

Track 13 is from "Motown Year By Year: The Sound Of Young America 1973"

Tracks 15 and 16 from the February 1973 US album "David Ruffin"

Tracks 17 and 18 from the May 1973 US album "Eddie Kendricks"

Track 18 from Disc 1 and Track 1 from Disc 2 from the February 1974 US album "Boogie Down!"

 

Disc 2 (75:36 minutes):

1. Boogie Down – EDDIE KENDRICKS

2. Shoeshine Boy – EDDIE KENDRICKS

3. Happy – EDDIE KENDRICKS

4. Get The Cream Off The Top – EDDIE KENDRICKS

5. Walk Away From Love – DAVID RUFFIN

6. Heavy Love – DAVID RUFFIN

7. Statue Of A Fool – DAVID RUFFIN

8. He's A Friend – EDDIE KENDRICKS

9. When The Lights Come Down On Love – DENNIS EDWARDS

10. Everything's Coming Up Love – DAVID RUFFIN

11. Just Let Me Hold You For A Night – DAVID RUFFIN

12. You're My Peace Of Mind – DAVID RUFFIN

13. Don't Look Any Further – DENNIS EDWARDS feat SIEDAH GARRETT

14. (You're My) Aphrodisiac – DENNIS EDWARDS

15. Coolin' Out – DENNIS EDWARDS

16. Soulmate – DENNIS EDWARDS and THE TEMPTATIONS

NOTES on CD2:

Tracks 1 and 2 from the January 1975 US LP "For You"

Tracks 3 and 4 from the August 1975 US album "The Hit Man"

Tracks 5, 6 and 7 from the October 1975 US LP "Who I Am"

Track 8 from the January 1976 US LP "He's A Friend"

Track 9 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Track 10 is from the May 1976 US LP "Everything's Coming Up Love"

Tracks 11 and 12 from the December 1977 US LP "In My Stride"

Tracks 13 and 14 from the January 1984 US LP "Don't Look Any Further"

Track 15 from the August 1985 US LP "Coolin' Out"

Track 16 is an unreleased 1974 session released on the 1986 2LP set "The Temptations 25th Anniversary"

 

The 20-page booklet has liner notes by noted writer and music historian A. SCOTT GALLOWAY while the top class remastering is by one of Universal's most revered tape engineers ERICK LABSON (has over 1,250 credits to his name). The Sound quality is great – especially on the predominantly Seventies material.

 

Highlights are many as you can imagine - I especially love the Van McCoy written "Everything's Coming Up Love" with its irrepressible uptempo message and mid-Seventies strings and vibes (lyrics above). I've always loved the whole "People…Hold On" LP by Eddie Kendricks and its leadoff track "If You Let Me" is another gem. David Ruffin had such a Soulful way - whether he was getting his larynx around a 1969 pleader like "The Double Cross" or the 1977 Disco Dancer "You're My Peace Of Mind".

 

The duet with Siedah Garrett "Don't Look Any Further" was a huge hit for Dennis Edwards and even now I get a kick out of the sheer funk of Kendricks' "Keep On Truckin'". The Three Previously Unreleased tracks by a combo of Dennis Edwards and Paul Williams are surprisingly good too - especially "When The Lights Come Down On Love". 

 

"One By One - The Best Of Their Solo Years" has become something of a rarity across the years – and at times very pricey indeed. But it's worth seeking out – and for Motown fans – an absolute must buy…

"Lie Back And Enjoy It" by JUICY LUCY (2010 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This review is part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

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"…Ain't Going Down That Lonesome Road All By Myself…"

Released in September 1969 – JUICY LUCY’s self-titled debut LP was only the second album on the then new progressive rock label VERTIGO Records. And on the back of their blistering UK 7” single “Who Do You Love” which was lifted off the record and released in February 1970 - the "Juicy Lucy" album finally charted in the UK in April 1970. And that’s where this cool little CD reissue kicks in. "Lie Back And Enjoy It" was their hurriedly recorded follow-up LP (featuring a radically altered band line-up) – and it’s mid-price expanded CD reissue by the renowned Esoteric Recordings Label (part of Cherry Red) is a welcome boogie blast from my distant past…

UK released August 2010 (reissued June 2015) – "Lie Back And Enjoy It" by JUICY LUCY on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC2216 (Barcode 5013929731646) is an ‘Expanded Edition’ CD Remaster and breaks down as follows (39:08 minutes):

1. Thinking Of My Life

2. Built For Comfort

3. Pretty Woman

4. Whisky In My Jar

5. Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

6. Changed My Mind, Changed My Sign

7. That Woman’s Got Something

8. Willie The Pimp/Lie Back And Enjoy It Medley

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Lie Back And Enjoy It" released October 1970 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 014. The album charted at number 53 on the UK LP charts for one week in November 1970. Their next two albums were on the 'Bronze' and 'Polydor' labels ("Get A Whiff A This" from 1971 and "Pieces" from 1972).

Track 9 "I'm A Thief" (Mono) is the non-album B-side to their second 7" single "Pretty Woman" (Track 3 on Side 1). It was released September 1970 in the UK on Vertigo 6059 015 (also on the Spiral label) but failed to chart.

Boasting a new 24-bit remaster by BEN WISEMAN at Audio Archiving in London (it was first put out by Repertoire in 1994) - it's also available digitally at www.losttunes.com.

The 5-piece for this LP featured PAUL WILLIAMS on Lead Vocals, Congas & Piano [ex Zoot Money’s Big Band] with GLENN ROSS CAMPBELL on Lead Guitar, Mandolin and Vocals [ex The Misunderstood], MICKY MOODY on Guitars [ex Tramline, Mike Cotton Sound - later with Snafu, Whitesnake & duet work with Paul Williams], CHRIS MERCER on Saxophones & Keyboards [ex John Mayall's Bluesbreakers], KEITH ELLIS on Bass & Vocals [ex Koobas and Van Der Graaf Generator] and ROD COOMBES on Drums and Percussion.

Building on the greasy slide-guitar boogie-band feel of their self-titled debut, “Lie Back And Enjoy It” went down the same road – only this time they’d replaced Ray Owen as Lead Vocalist with Paul Williams and Neill Hubbard’s guitar work with that of Micky Moody. Like the first album it’s a mixed batch of the great and the ordinary. The Paul Williams penned “Pretty Woman” was released as the album’s only single and you can instantly hear why – catchy as a cold in Margate. The cover of the Willie Dixon song he gave to Howlin' Wolf "Built For Comfort" is less successful as is the awful version of Zappa’s “Willy The Pimp” (although it redeems itself at about 5 minutes 34 seconds in as it fades out and suddenly turns into a lovely 2-minute long piano instrumental - not surprisingly called “Lie Back And Enjoy It”). But the track I dig the most is “This Woman’s Got Something” which was co-written by Moody, Campbell and William (lyrics above) – it’s a bluesy builder with great guitar work and has graced more than a few 70’s FEST CDs I’ve made up for shop play.

Sound - like Esoteric’s 2010 reissue of "Juicy Lucy" the audio quality is incredibly clean and crisp, full of power and a massive improvement over what I had before - a really great job done. The 16-page booklet features a really detailed account by MARK POWELL of their transition from The Misunderstood of 1966 to Juicy Lucy of 1969 and onwards into 1970 and their many line-up changes. The original album artwork was an elaborate 4-way foldout poster affair that is reproduced in parts here. There are also full-page colour-plates for each member of the band, Vertigo adverts for the group and a foreign picture sleeve of the “Pretty Woman” single. Like its predecessor, it's all very nicely done.

There are some Seventies bands I go dolally over and JUICY LUCY is one of them. And although some of the tracks on here don't quite live up to the image and promise of the elaborate sleeve - there's tunes on here that do. I've loved re-hearing this long-forgotten album.

A wicked little reissue really...

PS: Their 1st Vertigo album from September 1969 "Juicy Lucy" has also been remastered and reissued by Esoteric in 2010 with a bonus track (see separate review).