![]() 2 R&B hit, is a funky message song with some of the dirtiest, fuzziest guitar tones ever to occupy a Knight release.īy the dawn of the 70s, psychedelic music had largely exited the rock realm, but it was in full locomotion on the soul side. Somebody’s getting their money’s worth out of an electric sitar on “Aint No Sun Since You’ve Been Gone” and a cover of The Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You.” Even the non-LP single “Friendship Train,” a No. Released the same month as Puzzle People, Gladys Knight & The Pips’ Nitty Gritty put a greater emphasis on the gritty and the groovy than the group ever had before, thanks to Strong and Whitfield. 1 hit “I Can’t Get Next to You” doesn’t boast any psych trappings, but its lyrics are among Strong’s headiest. Another Strong/Whitfield brainchild, it features extended, issue-oriented tracks like “Message from a Black Man” and “Slave.” Musically, the No. On their next LP, Puzzle People, they were all in on psychedelic soul. The Temptations were reportedly nervous about altering the sound that had served them so well in the past, but by 1969, the shift’s success seems to have allayed their uncertainties. It followed “Cloud Nine” into the Top 10. There was no moss growing on Motown – the next single was “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” a fuzz guitar-laden track with another socially relevant theme. The Cloud Nine album came out in February of the following year, complete with a cover depicting The Temptations in an appropriately head-swirling setting. The record leaped into the Top 10, and the Strong/Whitfield psych sojourn was underway. It arrived loaded with wah-wah guitar and lyrics addressing social issues. In October of 1968, Motown released the Temptations single “Cloud Nine,” penned by Strong and Whitfield and produced by the latter. Producer/arranger/composer Norman Whitfield and singer/songwriter Barrett Strong had long since been involved in hits for the label, from the smash “ I Heard It Through the Grapevine” to Strong’s own single “Money (That’s What I Want),” the Tamla-Motown gang’s very first success. But the psychedelic soul era at Motown began thanks to two men who had practically been part of the label’s crew from day one.
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