Released: January 1975
A Song For You featured a slew of finals in Temptations history.
Final album with Damon Harris, a member since 1971
Final #1 R&B singles
Final #1 R&B album
Final top 20 pop album
Final top 40 pop hits
Not that anybody at the time knew all that. What they did know? This was the first Temptations album since 1969 not totally produced by Norman Whitfield. And the first since 1967 to not be majority-produced by Whitfield.
We were in store for a new Temptations sound. It was pretty awesome.
Side 1: The Funk
This album’s main producer was Jeffrey Bowen since he oversaw seven of the nine tracks, but the contributions were still manifold from many.
The opening song is “Happy People”, which was written by Bowen, Donald Baldwin, and Lionel Richie. Yes, that Lionel Richie. The song was originally gonna be for Motown label-mates the Commodores and even incorporates part of an earlier song of theirs, “Superman”.
Don’t know how or why, but the Temptations hijacked the song, which is basically a vampin’ funk jam. The happy people are partygoers ready to get down and the song provides all the energy they need. A fairly good track, it rose to #1 R&B and #40 pop. It also reached #11 on the newly created disco charts.
SIDENOTE: Longtime Commodores producer James Carmichael arranged “Happy People” as well as the entire album, except the finale “Firefly”
Next on the album was another club jam, “Glasshouse”, which combines the social commentary of their Whitfield years with the grooves discotheques were now copiously demanding. Naturally it's another funky jam and even better than “Happy People”. When it had its turn as a single release, “Glasshouse” reached #9 R&B, #37 pop, and #4 disco.
Props to “Glasshouse” for being the only song I'm aware of able to rhyme pill-popping with wife-swappin’.
Next it’s time to break out the meal money for “Shakey Ground”. Co-written by P-Funk guitarist Eddie Hazel, who thankfully plays guitar on the song, “Shakey Ground” is a gospel-funk-blues church revival stomper. The lyrics are just one misfortune after another as Dennis Edwards laments being on “shakey ground ever since you put me down”. And this is Edwards’s song. The first two tracks had the classic Temptations vocal interplay or harmonizing. This one allows Edwards to go all the way to church and testify. The group vocals serve to amplify his angst with growls and grunts instead of harmonies.
I will find it hard to believe any human on earth would not approve of this song. And praise be to another P-Funker, Billy “Bass” Nelson for holding it down something fierce on, what else, the bass guitar.
“Shakey Ground” delivered the Temptations their final #1 R&B hit and also rose to #26 pop.
That’s the album’s high point, but it’s not like we’re going down into the doldrums cuz “The Prophet” keeps the funk rolling in War-like fashion. War-like as in the band War. The bass and percussion here woulda been right at home on The World Is A Ghetto. Anyways, Melvin Franklin gets the spotlight on this track as the lyrics hope for deliverance from sorrow. A gospel-funk song, basically.
We need more gospel funk seems to be the message of this album.
Anyhow, this side concludes with an instrumental reprise of “Happy People”.
Side 2: The Ballads
After working up a sweat on the first half of the album, things slow down starting with “A Song For You”. This song has been over-recorded and the lyrics are incredibly lame. Leave it to Edwards, though, to unlock whatever palatable juice there is inside this overripe fruit. He’s allowed to fully stretch out his vocals and squeeze every last ounce of feeling he can find in the song’s lame words.
“Memories” serves up more of the same, although it is not as good as “A Song For You”.
Now here’s a long-awaited song: “I’m A Bachelor”. Well, the song itself isn’t long-awaited, but the process is. The Temptations finally got to write and arrange their own music! Produced by Carmichael, the song again has Edwards on lead, but the harmonies and background vocals are pretty good. This is also a funky ballad not a syrupy love song. I can dig it.
The album does close on a syrupy love song in “Firefly”. Franklin and Richard Street get the leads here and don’t waste no space. The track also has a delightful electric piano.
ALBUM GRADE: A-
This is the third album in a row where the Temptations had upped their game artistically. A Song For You of course reached #1 R&B and also #13 pop. Even if they didn’t deliver gigantic pop smashes, the Tempts had outlasted all their Motown contemporaries… except for Diana Ross.
Hard to believe that just 18 months later the mightiest vocal group in R&B history would be unceremoniously thrown into the trash heap by Motown.
Song Scores
Happy People: 7.5/10
Glasshouse: 8/10
Shakey Ground: 10/10
The Prophet: 8.5/10
A Song For You: 7.5/10
Memories: 6.5/10
I’m A Bachelor: 7.5/10
Firefly: 7.5/10