Customer Reviews

The Thin Man: The Motown Solo Albums, Vol. 2

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If there are any Temptations fans who appreciated the tenor voice of Eddie Kendricks and continued to enjoy Kendricks solo endeavors, then this collection is for you. His last 3 albums for Motown make up the bulk of this collection. This is the second volume of the complete Kendricks on Motown, carefully remastered in 24 bit. Great musical performances, nice liner notes and packaging. Only 5000 or so will be printed.

...for finally giving this man the RESPECT he so richly deserved. You did this up right! THE THIN MAN: THE MOTOWN SOLO ALBUMS, VOL. 2 completes the entire Eddie Kendricks' Motown catalog that was initially released in 2005. For those of us who have been long time EJK lovers and new fans alike who have been clamoring for more of his music other than greatest hits collections, this was a dream come true. To hear this in its remastered glory is a treat for the ears!

This digitally remastered three CD collection picks up where KEEP ON TRUCKIN': THE MOTOWN SOLO ALBUMS, VOL. 1 left off. It features the remainder of Eddie's Tamla material: BOOGIE DOWN (1974), THE HIT MAN (1975), HE'S A FRIEND, GOIN' UP IN SMOKE (both 1976), SLICK (1977) and eight "new" cuts that have been in the vaults for years. Plus the photos, individual LP info and the liner notes are packaged very well, so as you're listening, you'll be sure to be looking through that booklet.

BOOGIE DOWN, in my opinion, is probably the best of all the Kendrick LPs recorded on Motown, with PEOPLE...HOLD ON (featured in VOL. 1 and my personal favorite) a very close second. With tight lyrics, consistently beautiful and romantic melodies - and not to mention hot dance jams, this is the album that defines the easy-going style of the former Temptations' lead vocalist. He effortlessly goes from crooning warm and heartfelt ballads (the gorgeous bossa nova-like rhythms of "Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need" - painful lyrics that tell of a man afraid of commitment...the tale of a lost love who craves fame in "Honey Brown", the gentle Caribbean beat that supports "You Are The Melody Of My Life", and the 1950s pop ballad style of "Girl Of My Dreams") to laying down his silky falsetto tenor on fun, deliciously infectious disco/funk tracks ("The Thin Man", "Son of Sagittarius", "Boogie Down"). Frank Wilson, who had produced all of the Kendrick Motown albums except for three, certainly knew how to utilize the best in the late singer. If you had not had a taste of Eddie's work other than "Keep On Truckin'", then this is a CD worth hearing.

THE HIT MAN is one of Eddie's less stellar efforts on Motown, but the songs which were the hits from this album ("Happy", "Get The Cream Off The Top"), plus the album opener, the throbbing "If Anyone Can", the Earth, Wind & Fire-styled "Fortune Teller", the soothing "Skippin' Work Today" and the pop ballad "You Loved Me Then" more than makes up for whatever else is lacking.

HE'S A FRIEND is excellent, from beginning to end - not a bad cut in the bunch. The pairing of Eddie with the Philly Sound was truly a match made in Heaven, and apparently I was not the only one who felt this way - they went back and hooked up again for the follow up, GOIN' UP IN SMOKE. Although most of GOIN' UP IN SMOKE sounds like outtakes from the HE'S A FRIEND sessions, it is still pretty solid.

The SLICK LP, Eddie's final for the label was released in 1977 - but was actually recorded two years before and was put in the vault. Apparently the people at Motown didn't feel like this album was in the same league as the ones produced by Frank Wilson, who had left the label by then (SLICK was produced by Leonard Caston, Wilson's partner) and put it on the shelf. In its wake, the "Philly connection" was made. However, the highlight of this album is the seductive ballad, "Intimate Friends", which was yet AGAIN sampled - this time most recently by Alicia Keys in 2005 for her song "Unbreakable" that was on her UNPLUGGED CD. Being biased, I have to say that I would rather listen to the Kendricks' original.

For me, a Kendrick completist, the best part of this collection are the eight never-before-released tracks, which were all recorded between 1971 and 1975, my favorite being "That's All Behind You". This set is a bit pricey but well worth the purchase, one you will not regret putting money down for.

Disc One:

BOOGIE DOWN

1. The Thin Man

2. Tell Her Love Has Felt the Need

3. Son of Sagittarius

4. Boogie Down

5. Hooked on Your Love

6. Honey Brown

7. You Are the Melody of My Life

8. Trust Your Heart

9. Girl of My Dreams

10. Loving You the Second Time Around

THE HIT MAN

11. If Anyone Can

12. Happy

13. Get the Cream Off the Top

14. Body Talk

15. Fortune Teller

16. Skippin' Work Today

17. You Loved Me Then

18. I've Got to Be

Disc Two:

HE'S A FRIEND

1. He's a Friend

2. A Part of Me

3. I Won't Take No

4. Never Gonna Leave You

5. Get It While It's Hot

6. Chains

7. The Sweeter You Treat Her

8. It's Not What You Got

9. On My Way Home

10. All of My Love

GOIN' UP IN SMOKE

11. Goin' Up in Smoke

12. The Newness Is Gone

13. Sweet Tenderoni

14. Born Again

15. Don't You Want Light

16. Music Man

17. Thanks for the Memories

18. To You From Me

19. Don't Put off Till Tomorrow

20. Skeleton in Your Closet

Disc Three:

SLICK

1. Something Shady (Is Going On)

2. Baby

3. I Want to Live (My Life With You)

4. You Got It

5. Intimate Friends

6. Diamond Girl

7. Then Came You

8. I'll Have to Let You Go

9. California Woman

BONUS TRACKS: MOTOWN LOST & FOUND (previously unreleased)

10. Let Now Be Now, Let Love Be Love

11. I Need You More Now Than Ever

12. That's All Behind You

13. Go On with Your Bad Self

14. Johnny Faraway

15. If I Can't Love You Then I Can't Love Me

16. Nothing Is Real

17. I'll Be Your Servant

great to see most of Eddie's album's now on cd-alot of 70's dance material that still holds up-why didn't Motown do something with these to promote them?living in the DC area I got to hear alot of his music on the radio & in the clubs!!-a great collection of music from "THE THIN MAN!!!

What can I say about "The Thin Man: The Motown Solo Albums, Vol. 2"? This by far is the best complilation of Kendricks works aside from volume 1. Eddie Kendricks hands down is the most profound tenor past or present. Mr. Kendricks sang with conviction and heartfelt soul; a definite rarity in music today. His songs tell stories, The Thin Man, how great gifts come in small, "thin" packages, or how "Honey Brown" was lured away from a real love to seek fortune and fame and how he'd still be there when it didn't work out. I could go on, just listen to the sample cuts and you'll see why Eddie Kendricks is a must have! I've got to get volume one and I don't care what's on it as long as it's Eddie Kendricks!

I WROTE A REVIEW ON THIS AND ONLY GAVE IT 3 STARS. I SAID VOLUME 2 WASN'T AS STRONG AS VOLUME 1. I TAKE THAT BACK. I LISTENED TO DISC 2 EARLIER TODAY AND I NOW HAVE A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR IT. I SAID EARLIER THAT "HE'S A FRIEND" WAS THE ONLY GOOD SONG ON DISC 2. I WAS WRONG, THAT IS NOT THE ONLY GOOD SONG ON THERE. I THINK THE MOTOWN-PHILLY COLLABORATION WAS GREAT. EDDIE REALLY DELIVERED ON THE TRACKS PRODUCED BY NORMAN HARRIS. I SAID(WRONGFULLY) THAT THE COLLABORATION SOUNDED A LITTLE OFF. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I WAS TALKING ABOUT. EDDIE'S SILKY SMOOTH FALSETTO REALLY BLENDED WELL WITH THE LUSH SOUNDS OF THE PHILADELPHIA MUSICIANS. HERE ARE MY FAVORITE SONGS FROM DISC 1: "SON OF SAGITTARIUS", "GET THE CREAM OFF THE TOP", "FORTUNE TELLER", "BOOGIE DOWN", "HONEY BROWN", "IF ANYONE CAN", "HAPPY", "THE THIN MAN", AND "SKIPPIN' WORK TODAY". MY FAVE'S FROM DISC 2 ARE "HE'S A FRIEND"(WELL-WRITTEN AND WELL-SUNG),"A PART OF ME"(REMINDS ME OF THE O'JAYS), "NEVER GONNA LEAVE YOU"(EDDIE REMINDS ME OF THE LEAD SINGER OF BLUE MAGIC ON THIS ONE), "THE NEWNESS IS GONE", "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GOT", "MUSIC MAN", "THE SWEETER YOU TREAT HER"(A GREAT SONG IN THE LESSON OF LOVE), AND "GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT". MY FAVORITES FROM DISC 3 ARE:"SOMETHING SHADY(IS GOING ON)","CALIFORNIA WOMAN", "INTIMATE FRIENDS", "LET NOW BE NOW, LET LOVE BE LOVE","I NEED YOU MORE NOW THAN EVER","I'LL BE YOUR SERVANT", "IF I CAN'T LOVE YOU THEN I CAN'T LOVE ME", "NOTHING IS REAL", AND "I'LL HAVE TO LET YOU GO". I THINK THE CD IS WELL WORTH THE PRICE BECAUSE IT HAS THE LOST AND FOUND TREASURE CHEST ON HERE. DON'T LET THE PRICE SCARE YOU AWAY, VOLUME 2 IS WORTH EVERY SINGLE DIME. I TRULY APPRECIATE GREAT MUSIC LIKE THIS(I WISH TODAY'S "ARTISTS"WOULD TAKE NOTES). EDDIE WAS SPECIAL AND MAY AHAYAH(THE LORD)REST HIS SOUL.

This 2006 limited edition 3CD set by Universal's HIP-O SELECT mail-order label is the companion volume to the 2CD set "Eddie Kendricks - Keep On Truckin': The Motown Solo Albums, Vol.1" also issued in late 2006 (see separate review).

Here's the breakdown:

Disc 1 (79:40 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 10 make up his 5th US album "Boogie Down!" issued February 1974 on Tamla T-330V1

Tracks 11 to 18 are his 6th US album "The Hit Man" issued June 1975 on Tamla T6-338S1

Disc 2 (79:04 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 10 make up his 7th US album "He's A Friend" issued January 1976 on Tamla T6-343S1

Tracks 11 to 20 are his 8th album "Goin' Up In Smoke" issued September 1976 on Tamla T6-346S1

Disc 3 (73:53 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 9 are his 9th and last album for the label, "Slick", issued August 1977 on Tamla T6-356S1

Tracks 10 to 17 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED bonus tracks called "Motown Lost & Found" with the bulk of them (10 to 16) being outtakes from the 1972 "People...Hold On" album sessions

PACKAGING:

All 3 CDs are Brown & Yellow with the Tamla World logo - aping the way the US LP labels would have looked, The 32-page booklet pictures both the LP sleeves front and rear in full colour, gives detailed notes on the song-writer and session players involved, lists US singles and their B-sides that came off each album (details from the actual Motown session logs) and there's a continued essay on Hendricks' career by noted Motown writer BRIAN CHIN. In between the exact reproduction of album sleeves are high-quality colour pictures of Kendricks from the mid to the late Seventies - in fact the booklet like the silver digipak that houses the whole thing - has an overall classy feel about it. But the best bit - as always with HIP-O SELECT - is the wonderful SOUND...

SOUND:

As per the 1st volume, all tracks have been digitally remastered with great care and affection by one of Universal's top tape engineers SUHA GUR - a name that has turned up on countless superb Motown compilations to date - especially the excellent 2CD "Gold" series. Starting in 1974, this set's material begins with soulful funkiness and ends up with slightly cheesy disco. The sound on "Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need" is typical of so many tracks - a funky backbeat, falsetto vocals, Bacharach-type brass fills - all of it sounding CLEAR, WARM and WELL BALANCED. What a fantastic listen and very reminiscent of Marvin circa "Let's Get It On". The music and lyrics do dip a bit by the time we reach the disco sets, but then the whole package redeems itself with the excellence of the unreleased material on Disc 3 from the 1972 "People...Hold On" album sessions. "I Need You More Now Than Ever" is as lovely a soul song as ever graced the charts of the time - astonishing that its languished in Motown's vaults until now.

To sum-up, I can only add to the excellent and informative reviews that went before this - this is a great Motown set.

A job well done by HIP-O SELECT - and one that will have you referring back to Volume 1...

He's a great singer, but this is far from his best material. A few of these albums were made with Philly soul veterans.

Unfortunately the only worthwhile album off of Eddie Kendricks late 70's Motown catalog is "Boogie Down!" which is not worth paying $50 for. Although there are some decent songs from other albums basically the disco sound had taken all the soul and the songs pretty much sound like the standard cliches one would expect from the majority of disco. Pretty Awful.

Standout songs are Boogie Down, The Thin Man, Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need, Trust Your Hear, and Intimate Friends.

On The flip side Volume One, "Keep On Truckin", is quite good and has a lot of great songs on it!