Customer Reviews

Ma

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What is wrong with motown??? And what are they waiting for. I've been a big fan of Rare Earth music for a long time. I will be so glad when they release....Get ready,Ecology,, Back to earth. Motown finally release..MA.. And i am real happy and grateful with that...so come on Motown give up the good..............

Check out this release and you will discover one of the best bands of the seventies. This rocking and soulful group from the Motown hitmaking stable had no equals at the time. Their turn on the classic "Smiling Faces Sometimes" is a treasure and the exceptionally long "Ma" (earlier recorded by The Temptations) is a tour de force.

These boys didn't need to take a backSTREET...OOPS! I meant "BACK SEAT" to anyone.

I first heard "Ma" on an LP in 1973. Considering the times I was blowed away. The title song was 17 mins of serious rock funk. The reverse side was also a great suprise with songs like Big John and Aint no words to this song. I did not really hear these songs until I bought this CD. Long live the sound of Rare Earth!

I'm ordering this CD because I have the album and played it so many times I wore it out. Get Ready and Hey! Big Brother,from other albums, were great dance songs of the era. But this album, my favorite Rare Earth collection, is for listening, dancing, groving and leading up to making love with someone special or would you believe someone exciting. Really a mellow, yet rocking group of tunes. This is one of my all-time favorite albums. It's also perfect for baby boomers in that it will bring back memories and is a little less intense than some of the other music we used to listen to. This is a sure thing. You'll love it.

It's a shame that Rare Earth is seldom mentioned with other 70s classic rock bands, because this band rocked with the best of them. After the commercial failure of 1972's WILLIE REMEMBERS, the first Rare Earth album to include all original material, Motown paired the blue-eyed soul rockers with staff producer Norman Whitfield (The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and The Pips), who wrote or co-wrote all five songs presented here. The end result is blazing rock/funk/soul that sticks with you long after the cd ends.

The 17-minute title track flies by due to Pete Revera's emotional singing and Ray Monnette's slashing guitar chords. Whitfield's lyrical tribute to Ma is both humorous and poignant. Other highlights on this stellar album includes the stompin' "Big John Is My Name", the super-funky "Dance and Hum Along" and the sensual album closer "Come With Me", featuring romantic guitar playing and female moaning that would put Donna Summer to shame. The band's version of the r&b chestnut "Smiling Faces Sometimes" is okay, but it pales in comparison with the Undisputed Truth smash.

Rare Earth was a blue-eyed soul band that naturally blended musical styles to make its own statements. This is definitely a "don't miss" album!

This was released while I was in the navy off the coast of Viet Nam. This was the only band that I remember that was liked by both blacks and whites.This the funkiest stuff you will ever hear. This is also a band that is liked by my sons and their friends, who are now young men. So it has been able to span the generation gap. Be warned that the last song - come with me, is not suitable for public listening.

So if you're going to dip your toe into the Rare Earth catalog I'd suggest looking for a 'best of' package, or this 1973 collection ...

After giving Rare Earth creative leeway to record an album of original material and watching the results tank commercially (1972's "Willie Remembers"),, Motown insisted on some adult supervision for the next Rare Earth release. That supervision took the form of having Norman Whitfield step in as producer Whitfield also wrote, or co-wrote all five tracks with long time collaborator Barrett Strong. Unexpected the band's sixth studio collection "Ma" turned out to be one of their most consistent and enjoyable releases. Not perfect by any stretch, but still worth tracking down since you can find affordable copies. As an in-demand commodity, you couldn't fault Whitefield for having decided to recycle some of his earlier product, including the title track (previously recorded by The Temptations and 'Smiling Faces Sometimes' which The Undisputed Truth had scored a major hit with. The revamped versions were both pretty good. In contrast, two of the new numbers were forgettable throwaways. 'Hum Alone and Dance' was an aptly titled and forgettable rock-oriented numbers. 'Come with Me' was mostly notable for serving as a blueprint for Donna Summer's forthcoming chart successes as a moaning diva.

- Sporting Whitefield's patented blend of pop, soul, and psychedelic moves, I'd be hard pressed to name another side long track that's nearly as good as 'Ma'. Yeah, any song going on for over seventeen minutes is bound to have a bit of fluff in it and this is no exception, but with Michael Urso providing the amazingly propulsive bass line, Ray Monette adding waves of fuzz guitar, and drummer/singer Peter Hoorelbeke sounding more soulful than any white guy had the right to, this was simply one of Whitefield's crowning achievements. Their version simply crushed The Temptations earlier stab at the song (and that version wasn't bad). rating: **** stars
- Certainly a bit short in the originality department, 'Big John Is Me Name' was still suitably funky for a bunch of white guys ... beats the hell out of Wild Cherry. rating: ** stars
- I grew up with The Undisputed Truth's version of 'Smiling Faces Sometimes' so that colors my opinion a bit. The opening Spanish snippets were interesting reminding me a bit of something out of the War catalog. It took awhile for this one to get going and when it did this version wasn't bad. Still, when all was said and done, it couldn't match the original. rating: *** stars
- A throwaway number, 'Hum Alone and Dance' sported the album's most rock-oriented feel. Forgettable and hard to figure out why it was tapped as a single. rating: ** stars
- I'm guessing the instrumental 'Come with Me' was fairly risqué when it came out in 1974. If you've ever heard Donna Summer's 'Love To Love You Baby', you'll know exactly what to expect on this one ... four minutes of listening to a woman fake ecstasy amidst a forgettable, pseudo-jazzy slice of elevator music. yeah, it was pretty lame and about as much of a turn-on as changing the oil in your Jeep. rating: ** stars

Elsewhere the album was tapped for a series of three singles:

- 1973's 'Ma' b/w 'Ma (instrumental) (Rare Earth catalog number R 5053)
- 1973's 'Hum Along and Dance' b/w 'Come with Me' (Rare Earth catalog number R 5054)
- 1973's 'Big John Is My Name' b/w 'Ma' (Rare Earth catalog number R 5056)

"Ma" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Ma (Norman Whitfield) - 17:17

(side 2)
1.) Big John Is Me Name (Norman Whitfield) - 4:06
2.) Smiling Faces Sometimes (Barrett Strong - Norman Whitfield) - 6:20
3.) Hum Alone and Dance (Barrett Strong - Norman Whitfield) - 5:15
4.) Come with Me (instrumental) (Norman Whitfield) - 4:30

I feel this is without a doubt the best music from Rare Earth I have heard.

"Ma" In my opinion is one of Rare Earth's best recordings, the sound quality is excelent and the music superb! If you want to go back and visit some good old memories just give this one a listen, most excelent!

I heard this album when it first came out in the 70's and had not heard it again since. So I went looking for this long ago forgotten album and found it listed on Amazon. So I purchased it and it brought back all the memories. The opening track "MA" is about 17 min. of fine rock that stands along, the long version of Get Ready!
This is a great album to listen to...go ahead, turn up the volume. A great follow up to their first album..Get Ready.