Eddie Kendricks
Band members Related acts
|
line up 1 - Edie Kendricks (RIP 1992) -- vocals
|
|
|
Genre: soul Rating: 3 stars Title: All By Myself Company: Motown Catalog: TS
309 Country/State: Union Springs, Alabama Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: SOLD Catalog ID: SOLD 1677 Price: SOLD $10.00
|
Stepping away from The Temptations (the break up seemingly amiable given the rest of the Temps wrote nice little tribute blurbs for the liner notes), 1971's aptly-titled "All By Myself" found Eddie Kendricks working with producer Frank Wilson. Kendricks instantly recognizable voice was in fine form, but as you'd expect, as a non-writer he was largely dependent on Wilson's guidance and help in song selection. The good news was that about two thirds of the choices were good and the really bad choices came at the end. Known for his falsetto and handling many of The Temptations' best ballads, Wilson didn't dare stray too far from that identity. That meant the album was ballad heavy - five of the six tunes were ballads; the lone exception being the opener 'Let's Go Back To Day One'. It also happened to be the album's standout performance. That would have been okay if Wilson had picked out quality tunes for Kendricks. Side one was fine, but Wilson seemingly ran out of ideas on side two where he saddled Kendricks with bloated MOR tunes by Hal David ('can I' and Jimmy Webb ('Didn't We').
The album hit # 80 on the US pop charts, and # 6 on the R&B charts.
"All By
Myself" track listing: 1.) Let's Go Back To Day One (Leon Ware - Patrice Holloway) -3:30 Eddie
wasn't the Temptation I normally associated with up-tempo, funky
performances. Shows you what I knew since this was a great tune.
It actually sounded a lot like a Temps number. Always loved the
opening fuzz guitar. Should have been a single. rating:
**** stars A
big, big ballad, 'This
Used To Be the Home of Johnnie Mae' was
interesting for a couple
for a couple of reasons, notably, it was one of the rare tunes where
Kendrick's ditched his trademarked falsetto for hit natural range.
Originally the flip side to his 'It's
So Hard for Me to Say Good-Bye' single, radio stations started playing this
song instead. rating:
*** stars 'I Did It All for You' was more in keeping with what you would have expected from Kendricks - a pretty, heavily orchestrated ballad that showcased his instantly recognizable falsetto. Tamla tapped it as the second single:
- 1971's 'I Did It All for You' b/w 'Can I' (Tamla catalog number T 54210 F) YouTube has a clip of Kendricks performing the song on Soul Train. The performance sounds live, with Kendricks singing over a pre-recorded track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=565-MHQ17j0 rating: *** stars 4.) It's So Hard for Me to Say Good-Bye (Pam Sawyer - Frank Wilson) - 2:59 Again, that voice was instantly recognizable and when set to this smooth and slinky Motown ballad the results were special. That said, the icing on the cake was the fantastic drumming (Richard Allen ?), that kicked the tune along. Tapped as the leadoff single and his first solo hit, inexplicably radio stations started playing the flip side 'This Used to Be the Home of Johnnie Mae'.
- 1971's 'It's So Hard for Me to Say Good-Bye' b/w 'This Used to Be the Home of Johnnie Mae' (Tamla catalog number T 54203) # 37 pop; # 88 R&B rating: **** stars
(side
2) Hum, a Mac Davis tune ... Seemingly less than promising, but as it turned out, this was actually one of the album standouts with Kendricks turning in a great performance on this slinky soul tune. Always loved the call and response sections. Who would have ever expected that from a Mac Davis tune? rating: **** stars 2.) Can I (Hal David - Herman Griffith) - 6:12 Always loved the jazzy opening guitar section (Dennis Coffey?), though the rest of this big, sappy, and heavily orchestrated ballad was just a little too MOR-ish for my tastes. Naturally it was also the album's longest tune. YouTube has a simply dazzling clip of Kendricks doing the song a cappella on Soul Train: In spite of a couple of flubs, it beat the crap out of the original studio version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXK6UwDkuNU rating: ** stars 3.) Didn't We (Jimmy Webb) - 3:09 Jimmy Webb ? As much as I'd like to say something nice about this one, 'Didn't We' was simply MOR pap with a touch of Broadway schmaltz, seemingly intended to endear Kendricks to top-40 radio. Horrible. rating: ** stars
|
|
Genre: soul Rating: 3 stars Title: For You Company: Tamla Catalog: T6-335S1 Country/State: Union Springs, Alabama Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1725 Price: $10.00
|
Tux and all - lookin' pretty slick there Eddie ...
The fact Eddie Kendrick's catalog is in such disrepair is a sad reflection of the public's memory and current buying tastes. Released in 1974, "For You" stands as one of those albums that seems to have been completely forgotten. Co-produced by Frank Wilson and Leonard Caston, Kendricks follow-on to "Boogie Down" should have provided him with another massive seller. It didn't happen. In retrospect there was plenty of blame to assign. As a non-writer Kendricks was largely at the mercy of his producers. Wilson and Caston responded with what could best be termed a mixed bag of songs. Way too many sappy ballads and their choices of outside material, including dreadful covers of David Gates' 'If' and Jim Croce's 'Time In a Bottle' were just short of criminal. For his part, on tunes like 'Please Fdon't Go' and 'Deep and Quiet Love' Kendricks seemed content to coast on earlier successes, turning in bland and uninspired performances. Admittedly not his best post-Temptations release, this set still had a couple of dandy performances on it. Among the highlights were Caston's funky 'One Tear', the breezy 'Shoeshine Boy', and the polished slice of funk 'Let Yourself Go'. A top-10 R&B tune, the album peaked at # 108 of the US pop charts.
"For You" track listing: 1.) Please Don't Go Away (Leonard Caston) - 4:57 Hardcore fans rave about this one, but to my ears 'Please Don't Go Away' simply missed the mark - the fist half of the song didn't have much of a melody and Kendricks sounded uncomfortable and fragile on this ballad. The second half of the tune improved, but at that point Kendricks faded into the background with the song sounding like something off the Caston & Majors album (not surprising since Leonard Caston wrote the tune). rating: ** stars 2.) One Tear (Leonard Caston) - 4:00 Another Leonard Caston tune, but with an upbeat, funky arrangement that showcased Kendricks' instantly recognizable voice, 'One Tear' stood as one of the album's highlights. It would have been even better with a bit of judicious editing. Tamla tapped it as the leadoff single:
- 1974's 'One Tear' b/w 'Shoeshine Boy' (Tamla catalog number ) # 71 pop; # 8 R&B rating: **** stars 3.) Shoeshine Boy (Harry Booker - Linda Allen) - 3:14 The breezy ' Shoeshine Boy' was one of the sweetest tunes Kendricks ever recorded. I can remember hearing his one at a roller skating rink and seeing the crowd pile out to skate to it. Released as a single, this one should have been a major pop hit for the man:
- 1974's 'Shoeshine Boy' b/w 'Hooked On Love' (Tamla catalog number T 54257F) # 18 pop; # 1 R&B rating: **** stars 4.) Deep and Quiet Love (Frank Wilson - Kathy Wakefield) - 5:34 'Deep and Quiet Love' was one of those big, heavily orchestrated, and bland ballads that sounded more like a Broadway tune than anything else. rating: ** stars
(side 2) 1.) Let Yourself Go (Leonard Caston - Harold Clayton - Sigidi Mbaji) - 5:45 'Let Yourself Go' was one of the funkiest things Leonard Caston ever wrote; made even better by Kendricks' slinky lead vocals. Interestingly the refrain sounded like it was the inspiration for B.T. Express' 'Do It Til You're Satisfied.' They were lucky not to have been sued for copyright infringement. rating: **** stars 2.) If (David Gates) - 3:09 The Bread original was pretty sappy, but Kendricks' cover was even more over-the-top. Not only did he sound uncomfortable with the tune, but it brought out the shriller side of his voice. Avoid. rating: ** stars 3.) If You Think (You Can) (Leonard Caston - Barbara Dickerson) - 3:59 The album's strangest tune, 'If You Think (You Can)' seemingly couldn't make up its mind with respect to genre and direction. With Kendricks chirping out some of those patented inspirational Motown lyrics, it made for one of those breezy pop tunes that you either loved, or found completely insipid and cloying. Based on the sweet melody, I'm going to go with the former. rating: **** stars 4.) Time In a Bottle (Jim Croce) - 2:59 If possible, Kendricks cover of the Jim Croce hit was even worse than the earlier Bread tune. Shame. Sad way to end the album. rating: ** stars
|
BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
