A few thoughts about the album:
It is indeed a great quad showcase, and so it's a pity that its release was so limited. Motown was very tentative about quad, unfortunately. On the positive side, at least they did some titles, and who could argue they were an unlikely company to even bother, given their history?
"Papa" remains one of the great 45 edits in rock history. The 'long' album take doesn't seem long at all, does it? And yet the trimming of almost five minutes distilled the song to its essence, trimmed the fat and noodling about, and if anything, heightened the impact of the story and the unique, spooky atmosphere. AM radio, seldom keen on lengthy radio hits, embraced this one warmly. Why? Well, if you were like me back then, you were stunned and impressed by it--this was a very special record, and arguably, one of the very last truly great Motown hits not made by Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye. It was also released at a remarkable time for soul and R&B music, which had grown from its earthier, rootsier sources to become something fueled by a mixture of gospel, psychedelia (more Hendrix than you might expect)--and reality. Love songs were still out there, but many seemed simplistic, even dated. "Back Stabbers," "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "Me And Mrs. Jones," "Why Can't We Live Together," "Papa" and others were staking out new territory, and I'm not sure there was ever a better creative period for music heard on the radio. So many artists were capturing the pulsebeat of life and all the strangeness and joy that went with it, without ignoring the dark side.
And, so typical of Motown, "Papa" was not first recorded by the group that made it a hit. The Undisputed Truth's ("Smiling Faces Sometimes") version was issued just months before. A good one, but without the magic or broad sweep of this definitive rendering.
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Written by British folkie Ewan MacColl, this one was covered throughout the '60s by, well, a lotta folkies!
But IMO, none of the versions I'd heard had done the song justice, until an unknown gospel-tinged pianist, Roberta Flack, covered it on her debut Atlantic Lp, FIRST TAKE, issued in the fall of 1969. That version was riveting, and spare: piano, acoustic bass and guitar--and Flack's voice, so strong, so vulnerable, so direct and pure. Clint Eastwood was so impressed that he used it as background music in one of his films, PLAY MISTY FOR ME (his first as director, IIRC), and by early 1972, Atlantic had edited and rereleased the 45, which eventually went to #1. My #2 favorite version is the one included here, which very obviously references Flack's.
Ever notice how "I Ain't Got Nothing" references the Flamingos' 1959 classic version of "I Only Have Eyes For You"? Fans will understand....
"Do Your Thing": the Isaac Hayes hit, and another homage. Hayes' work in 1969 and 1970 set the groundwork for the more sophisticated Motown sounds of this period, so it was a fitting closer.
Finally, the genius of Norman Whitfield, who recently passed away. After the departure of Holland/Dozier/Holland, Whitfield--who had apprenticed with them--became Motown's 'go-to' producer. Not only was he prolific as producer, but with Barrett Strong, co-wrote just as many hits, and could seemingly make any act sound and look good. The proof of that was in the marginally talented bar band Rare Earth, who finally clicked with a raffish version of "Get Ready" (1970), which was followed by an absurdly psychedelic cover of "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (the album version sounds ridiculous, but the mono edit/remix kicks serious ass). I find it very ironic that, after these white-boy molestations of two Temptations classics, that Whitfield was not only producing the Tempts, but apparently exerting major force on their style, as one can hear with "I Can't Get Next To You" (1969), "Psychedelic Shack" and "Ball Of Confusion" (1970) and "Just My Imagination" (1971). "Papa" can be heard as the magnum opus of the Whitfield/Temptations collaboration (one can think of "Masterpiece" as a pale sequel of sorts, though its concerns are different).
Quad mixes like this one are what a boutique label like Hip-O Select could and should be releasing amongst everything else in their catalog. Sales might be limited, but a CD/DVD-A package would surely sell enough to justify pulling the masters for the stereo and quad albums, and the few single sides mixed to mono. Instead, the quad mixes of so many albums are left to float around between collectors.
ED
