The Undisputed Truth - Face To Face With The Truth (1972)

 

You have to have this.

Norman Whitfield at his very best - giving this his second string his full attention and reinventing some Motown classics in his own way as a result.  This is Motown as soul not pop but the benefit is obvious.  The man reinvented the label after Holland Dozier Holland defected in my view - not that he wasn't succesful beforehand.

 

The stand out here is the slow burn of "What's Going On" (worth it for the really crying guitar track alone)  - how can anyone do this within a year of MPG and still deliver a definitive version.  Brave or just darn mad? but so good.  Other songs are familiar in name but differ in arrangement "Take Me In Your Arms" beautiful; "Heaven and Hell Right Here On Earth" poignant; "What It Is" a funky workout; "Superstar" surpasses Norman's take with the Temps (and for me that's saying something special).

 

You've got to have this record

Bruce Willis - The Return Of Bruno (year)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

You know what? This ain't half bad!

My last days at RCA saw the release of this album and two hit singles from cover versions of "Respect Yourself" and "Under The Boardwalk". He has a fair voice although the hype that surrounded this pushed him above similar talents i'm sure - but he got to play with his heroes in Bonnie Pointer and the Temptations on the two tracks above so who can blame him - the results are pretty good for a second jobber.  I like the track "Comin' Right Up".  Released with the persona of Bruno - the everyman turned soul singer - this milked his fame from Moonlighting and Die Hard.

Produced by Robert Kraft

This is a USA orginal Cat No: 6222ML (this is the copy I used to orginate the CD Cover for the release which was shelved before issue and after my departure)

The CD is now available through Amazon.

45Cat link to Singles Released - http://www.45cat.com/artist/bruce-willis

Eddie Kendricks - People...Hold On (1972)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

Eddie Kendricks was one of the stars of the Temptations classic line-up but left the group as Norman Whitfield moved them more towards psychedelic/symphonic soul and the band became only one ingredient of the whole production with lengthy instrumental sections coming to the fore.  He made a couple of solo albums prior to this as he was moved around styles by Motown trying to find the right one for his beautiful falsetto.  Ironically some of the tracks here are more contemporary.  With the underated Frank Wilson producing, there are some real good moments with the title track, "Date With The Rain", "Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind", "Eddie's Love" standing the test of time.  There is some filler material here and whilst those songs are not so strong I think they benefit from Eddie's vocal style and sound.  I'd recommend this.  It seems to be under the radar in the UK where he is best remembered for his Temptations tenure and the later "Keep On Trucking".

This has recently been released on in a CD set of three solo albums - which is worth it for the tracks here alone.


Tamla Motown - STML 11213 (although this is a US copy)