Thanks for this wonderful essay Robert, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I’d heard of The Undisputed Truth but really was only aware of Smiling Faces Sometimes. They clearly released some fantastic music. That version of What’s Going On is excellent, so different than the Marvin Gaye version!
Thanks. Whoops on typo - I've corrected - thanks for pointing it out. I've written a few essays on Motown and more will come as well on the jazz musicians from Detroit at some point.
Thanks so much, Michael. It was interesting to hear the records that Whitfield made of the Undisputed Truth with the expanded lineup - I liked them but found them somewhat jarring compared to how I had always thought of the group. It guess it just reinforces how the group was truly a vessel for Whitfield's productions.
The only Temptations I have are from the Whitfield era - they are uniformly excellent though would love to come across the albums from the David Ruffin era.
I imagine some substances were ingested on those later UT albums - they are something else.
Norman Whitfield was a stone cold genius, and the Truth strongly benefitted from his songwriting and his place in the producer's chair.
Absolutely - there is some really interesting music here, especially their second album which is a classic, in my opinion.
Thanks for this wonderful essay Robert, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I’d heard of The Undisputed Truth but really was only aware of Smiling Faces Sometimes. They clearly released some fantastic music. That version of What’s Going On is excellent, so different than the Marvin Gaye version!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Mark! Appreciate it!
Nice article. I'm sure (old Detroiter) that you mean Woodward Avenue, not Woodwind Avenue! A nice musical slip tho! More on Detroit music please!
Thanks. Whoops on typo - I've corrected - thanks for pointing it out. I've written a few essays on Motown and more will come as well on the jazz musicians from Detroit at some point.
Thanks so much, Michael. It was interesting to hear the records that Whitfield made of the Undisputed Truth with the expanded lineup - I liked them but found them somewhat jarring compared to how I had always thought of the group. It guess it just reinforces how the group was truly a vessel for Whitfield's productions.
The only Temptations I have are from the Whitfield era - they are uniformly excellent though would love to come across the albums from the David Ruffin era.
I imagine some substances were ingested on those later UT albums - they are something else.