Keep on Truckin: The Motown Solo Albums 1 [Original recording remastered, Limited Edition]

Eddie Kendricks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 13, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered, Limited Edition
• Label: Hip-O Select
• ASIN: B000BPGIZ0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,218 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

As Motown groups such as The Temptations and The Supremes moved into the Seventies, their lineups proved to be fluid, and members left to establish solo careers. Three years after David Ruffin was gone from the Temptations' lineup, co-lead singer Eddie Kendricks followed him into a solo career. His departure was certainly less acrimonious than Ruffin's had been, as evidenced by the fact that all the Tempts gave warm testimonials on the sleeve of All By Myself, his solo debut. Keep On Truckin': The Motown Solo Collection, Vol. 1 collects four of Kendricks' early albums - All By Myself, People... Hold On, Eddie Kendricks, and For You - produced by Frank Wilson. All of them feature both Eddie's classic high tenor and his natural voice in beautifully sympathetic settings. It's part of a plan to see all of Kendricks' catalogue reissued; these albums were digitally remastered in 2005 from the original master tapes to bring out every last measure of soul goodness. Incredibly, only People... Hold On was ever issued on CD - a disc that has long been out of print. This set contains not only Kendricks' pop- and R&B chart-topping "Keep On Truckin'," but also his No.1 R&B smash "Shoeshine Boy" and the influential dance cuts "Date With The Rain" and "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind." Other treats hidden in the middle grooves of these records are some unexpected surprises, such as covers of Bread's classic "If," and Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle." Less unusual, perhaps, but beautifully rendered, is his cover of Chuck Jackson's "Any Day Now." Like his former Tempts partner David Ruffin, Kendricks exited the scene far too early, dying of cancer in October 1992 at the age of 52. Fortunately, he left behind a rich legacy of recordings. As liner note writer Brian Chin observes, "In these four albums, a great artist, surrounded by other great artists, is called again to greatness, and responds like a champion."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word - EXCELLENT!!, March 11, 2006

By 

The Fancy One "blackprincess" (Westchester County, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keep on Truckin: The Motown Solo Albums 1 (Audio CD)

For years, we fans of the legendary Eddie James Kendricks (1939-1992) have prayed, written Motown endless letters and even waged an online petition to have this come to pass - to have all of Eddie's original albums reissued on CD. I've always felt that Eddie's career as a soloist was never given its proper due because in the eyes of the industry, his work with the Temptations seemed to supercede everything he did on his own, and that was truly not fair. They wanted to boil his career down to two hits - "Keep On Truckin'" and "Boogie Down" - and like nothing else he did was worthwhile. Motown continued to contribute to this mode of thinking as well. Please! That is as far from the truth as you can get!

But finally, after so very long, some of Eddie's original albums are now available on CD. In this collection, we have four remastered EJK CDs from the 1970s:

ALL BY MYSELF (1971)
PEOPLE...HOLD ON (1972)
EDDIE KENDRICKS (1973)
FOR YOU (1974)

These four albums are chock full of quality material by Eddie, all produced by the team of Frank Wilson and Leonard Caston (except Eddie's debut LP, which was produced by Wilson alone). Looking for early popular cuts by EJK like "Can I", "This Used To Be The Home Of Johnnie Mae", "If You Let Me", "Girl You Need A Change of Mind", "Keep On Truckin'" and "Shoeshine Boy"? Well, like the compilation of hits CDs that Motown has issued previously, those songs are all here...but these are the albums where those choice cuts came from. Chronologically, the album BOOGIE DOWN from late 1973 - early '74 was completed and issued before FOR YOU. But due to the timing of the tracks on that album, BOOGIE DOWN couldn't be included here...but it will be in the next volume of Eddie's works, which will be released later on in '06. Be on the lookout for it.

I am very happy with this collection, and the remastering is nearly flawless. Only complaint I have is the treatment of the seven-minute plus ballad "Each Day I Cry A Little" from the EDDIE KENDRICKS album. Filled with spoken passages and an emotionally devastating message, it's so heartbreakingly beautiful, it has to be one of the very best in the entire EJK catalog. For those who have never heard this masterpiece, IMO, its closest comparison would probably be the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' magnum opus "I Miss You" from 1972 - not so much by the sound, but because both these songs feature spoken passages and anguished vocals revealing men in emotional pain. However, the way it's mixed here has too much echo, the background singers' vocals are brought so far to the front at times you don't hear much of Eddie, and the strings are a bit overpowering, especially halfway through and towards the end of the song. I have the original vinyl LP and the mix is different. But other than that, this is a perfect collection of four of Eddie's excellent Motown solo albums. For anyone who has only brought Eddie's greatest hits CDs in the past and craved to have more, this is an absolute MUST for you to own!! Want to know why Eddie is one of the greatest R&B legends of all time and why he will never be forgotten? Song after song on this set shows the listener that this was no ordinary singer - here's the proof. Listen and enjoy.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars R.I.P. Eddie...Thanks for the great memories!!, August 28, 2006

By 

S. Castellano "DJ Lady Maverick" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keep on Truckin: The Motown Solo Albums 1 (Audio CD)

Now whoever said that Eddie was all ballads and no funk surely hasn't heard this wonderful set of 4 of his albums: ALL BY MYSELF, PEOPLE...HOLD ON, EDDIE KENDRICKS, and FOR YOU. It brings a tear to my eye just to relive the wonderful moments I remember as a child in the 70s when my mum used to play these in the house almost on a constant basis!

ALL BY MYSELF, released in April 1971 (#6 R&B, #80 Pop) was Eddie's first solo album after leaving the Temptations. LET'S GO BACK TO DAY ONE is a funky opening with Eddie's vocal multi-layered ala Marvin Gaye! THIS USED TO BE THE HOME OF JOHNNIE MAE was the B-side of IT'S SO HARD FOR ME TO SAY GOODBYE (#37 R&B, #88 Pop) and I DID IT ALL FOR YOU, a popular Quiet Storm tune, was the B-side to CAN I (#37 R&B, #101 Pop), another popular Quiet Storm staple also performed by Brenda Holloway and most recently covered by Phil Perry. SOMETHING'S BURNING starts off slow and ends with a funky ending and the Jimmy Webb composition, DIDN'T WE close this set! What's wonderful is that the Temptations' notes to Eddie originally printed on the back of the album are reprinted for this release!

PEOPLE...HOLD ON, with its eye-catching photography by Weldon A. McDougal III, was originally released in May 1972, which fared better on the charts (#13 R&B, #131 Pop). According to the liner notes, Frank Wilson said in an interview for Eddie's ULTIMATE COLLECTION (1998) that it was a concept album dedicated to black America. It opens with IF YOU LET ME (#17 R&B, #66 Pop), originally performed by Jimmy Ruffin. LET ME RUN INTO YOUR LONELY HEART is the funky B-side to EDDIE'S LOVE (#35 R&B, #77 Pop) while on DAY BY DAY, Eddie's vocals are once again multi-layered. GIRL YOU NEED A CHANGE OF MIND is the biggest hit off here (#13 R&B, #87 Pop) with its innovative use of multi-drums throughout the track and still a favorite among club goers. SOMEDAY WE'LL HAVE A BETTER WORLD has a gospel feel to it and reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's HEAVEN HELP US ALL with Eddie singing in his natural register. MY PEOPLE...HOLD ON is a major highlight here with African drums opening the song and on the break and DATE WITH THE RAIN is another dance favorite among today's club goers. I'M ON THE SIDELINE has Eddie's voice once again multi-layered throughout the song and the album closes with JUST MEMORIES, the B-side to IF YOU LET ME and with it's operatic opening, remains another highlight to this album.

EDDIE KENDRICKS (#5 R&B, #18 Pop), released in May 1973, charted higher than the above, especially on the strength of the #1 R&B/Pop hit KEEP ON TRUCKIN', most recently resurrected and remixed by DJ Spinna for the MOTOWN: REMIXED compilation (2005). ONLY ROOM FOR TWO opens the album and the Caribbean-sounding DARLING COME BACK HOME (#26 R&B, #67 Pop), was another hit off here. EACH DAY I CRY A LITTLE is IMO Eddie's finest performance and also a Quiet Storm favorite while CAN'T HELP WHAT I AM is a light tune on being who he is. ANY DAY NOW (originally performed by Chuck Jackson) and NOT ON THE OUTSIDE (originally performed by the Moments) are underrated remakes of soul classics and Eddie makes it his own on both selections and the album closes with WHERE DO YOU GO (BABY), a beautiful Pam Sawyer/Gloria Jones composition about Eddie wondering where his woman is when he isn't there.

This compilation doesn't include BOOGIE DOWN which followed EDDIE KENDRICKS, but according to the liner notes, it will be released in another double-disc set! In the meantime, we get to hear FOR YOU, released November 1974 (#8 R&B, #108 Pop). It opens with the laid-back PLEASE DON'T GO AWAY, while ONE TEAR (#8 R&B, #71 Pop), originally for Marvin Gaye and SHOESHINE BOY (#1 R&B, #18 Pop) became the biggest hits off of this album. DEEP AND QUIET LOVE is an underrated Quiet Storm performance while LET YOURSELF GO is another underrated funk performance. I played this one at one of my parties and the response was amazing! IF YOU THINK (YOU CAN) has great word play throughout the song. IF is a great remake originally performed by Bread and TIME IN A BOTTLE is just as good, originally performed by Jim Croce, which ends the album.

Folks, if you are not by now, this wonderfully packaged 2-CD set will make or renew your interest in Eddie Kendricks, IMO the greatest tenor that ever graced a record!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Compilation on 2 cd's!, October 18, 2005

By 

rollo (usa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Keep on Truckin: The Motown Solo Albums 1 (Audio CD)

Here we have another prime example of the Hip O Select Motown music. Eddie Kendricks first 4 albums. Super hit songs with fine arrangements sung by the greatest R&B falsetto that ever lived. He is accompanied by the funkiest of brothers in the band. The 24 bit stereo remastering is super solid. Only 5000 sets available. What more can I say? Some people say that they like Motown music.