Psychedelic Shack (album)
Encyclopedia
Psychedelic Shack is a 1970 album by The Temptations
for the Gordy (Motown) label, which represents the Temptations' full-blown submergence into psychedelia
. Completely written by Norman Whitfield
and Barrett Strong
and produced by Whitfield, Psychedelic Shack almost completely abandoned the "Motown Sound" formula for this LP; hard rock
guitars, synthesizer
sound effects, multitracked
drums
, sampling
, and stereo
-shifting vocals giving most of the album's songs a harder, less traditional feel than the Temptations' previous work.
, Paul Williams
, Eddie Kendricks
, Melvin Franklin
, and Otis Williams
) broke apart. During the recording of the album, Paul Williams, already possessing a fragile condition because of sickle-cell disease
, was now also fighting complications from five years of heavy alcoholism
. Williams would frequently be unable to record or perform, and the Temptations had to resort to hiring Richard Street
, an old friend of Otis WIlliams' and lead singer of minor Motown act The Monitors, as a stand-in for Paul Williams. At the same time, Eddie Kendricks' growing animosity towards Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, and the group's general frustration over their lack of creative control and their treatment at the hands of Motown, resulted in an increased amount of infighting and set the stage for Kendricks' imminent departure in early 1971.
Like most Temptations albums from the group's "psychedelic period", producer Norman Whitfield held full creative control over Psychedelic Shack. The only freedom afforded the Temptations themselves for this album was the occasional opportunity for Kendricks to arrange the vocal harmonies. The album cover, a collage
/illustration by Hermon Weems, places photographs of the Temptations in a depiction of a psychedelic shack: an establishment in urban neighborhoods where people could go to "enhance their minds" through art, music, and mind-altering drugs.
, the stranger drops the needle on the song that happened to be in the player—The Temptations' 1969 number-one hit "I Can't Get Next to You
" (one of the earliest uses of sampling
). The phonograph is heard playing "I Can't Get Next to You's" intro, reaching Dennis Edwards' interruption ("Hold on, everybody, hold it, hold on...listen!") before the album immediately segues into the first song, "Psychedelic Shack".
"Psychedelic Shack" was the only single from this album, and was a complete departure from previous Temptations recordings. Setting the tone for much of the album, "Psychedelic Shack's" vocals, guitarlines, and drums shift back and forth across the stereo spectrum, and all five Temptations trade lead vocal duties at irregular intervals. Keyboardist Earl Van Dyke
remembers "Psychedelic Shack" as one of his favorite recording sessions.
"You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth", later issued as the B-side of the 1971 hit "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
", features Edwards, Kendricks, Franklin, and Otis Williams informing the public that each individual person is responsible for their fate, and that "the final decision [to do right or wrong] is still up to you". The song would be covered in 1971 by Whitfield-groomed Motown act The Undisputed Truth
.
"Hum Along and Dance
", essentially wordless, is an example of Whitfield's growing emphasis on his production and instrumentation over the contributions of the vocalists, an issue that caused a significant amount of friction between the Temptations and their producer. While this version of "Hum Along and Dance" is the original recording of the composition, the song is better known in cover versions by Rare Earth
(from Ma, 1973) and The Jackson 5
(from G.I.T.: Get It Together
, also 1973). A crossfade joins "Hum Along and Dance" and the next track on the album, "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind". "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" is a popular Temptations album track done in psychedelic/blues style, and is an overt eight minute ode to marijuana
usage. All five Temptations trade lead vocals across the two tracks.
Side B begins with "It's Summer", the only ballad on the album. Instead of love and relationship issues, "It's Summer" explores the positive elements that come with the onset of summer, with basso
Melvin Franklin reciting the song's lyrics in spoken verse. The Temptations would later record a sung version of "It's Summer", and release it as a single for the Solid Rock album.
The next track, "War", is a serious anti-Vietnam protest sung by Paul Williams and Dennis Edwards. Motown received a significant number of requests to release "War" as a single; instead of risking the careers of the Temptations with such a politically charged song, the song was rerecorded by Edwin Starr
before Motown allowed its release as a single.
The final two songs on the album are compositions more closely associated with Gladys Knight & the Pips
, another Whitfield-produced act. "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)", led by Kendricks, was recorded simultaneously by both The Pips and the Temptations, with the Pips' version being issued as a single. "Friendship Train", the seven-minute album closer led by Edwards, is a cover of a 1969 Pips single. Tom Jones
would record a cover of "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" in 1999.
, (b) Eddie Kendricks
, (c) Paul Williams
, (d) Melvin Franklin
, (e) Otis Williams
.
All songs written by Norman Whitfield
and Barrett Strong
and produced by Whitfield.
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
for the Gordy (Motown) label, which represents the Temptations' full-blown submergence into psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
. Completely written by Norman Whitfield
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s...
and Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
and produced by Whitfield, Psychedelic Shack almost completely abandoned the "Motown Sound" formula for this LP; hard rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
guitars, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
sound effects, multitracked
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, and stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
-shifting vocals giving most of the album's songs a harder, less traditional feel than the Temptations' previous work.
Background
Psychedelic Shack was one of the last albums completed before the third incarnation of The Temptations (Dennis EdwardsDennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards is a soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of Motown act The Temptations' lead singers replacing David Ruffin. He is the father of Issa Pointer, whose mother is Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters.-Career:...
, Paul Williams
Paul Williams (The Temptations)
Paul Williams was an American baritone singer and choreographer. Williams is noted for being one of the founding members and original lead singer of the Motown group The Temptations...
, Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do The Things...
, Melvin Franklin
Melvin Franklin
David Melvin English better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, was an American bass singer. Franklin is best known for his role as a member of Motown singing group The Temptations from 1960 to 1994....
, and Otis Williams
Otis Williams
Otis Williams is an American baritone singer. Nicknamed "Big Daddy", he has also acted as a sporadic songwriter and record producer. Williams co-founded the Motown vocal group The Temptations in early 1960 as The Elgins, a group in which he continues to perform...
) broke apart. During the recording of the album, Paul Williams, already possessing a fragile condition because of sickle-cell disease
Sickle-cell disease
Sickle-cell disease , or sickle-cell anaemia or drepanocytosis, is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disorder with overdominance, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various...
, was now also fighting complications from five years of heavy alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Williams would frequently be unable to record or perform, and the Temptations had to resort to hiring Richard Street
Richard Street
Richard Allen Street is an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1993...
, an old friend of Otis WIlliams' and lead singer of minor Motown act The Monitors, as a stand-in for Paul Williams. At the same time, Eddie Kendricks' growing animosity towards Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, and the group's general frustration over their lack of creative control and their treatment at the hands of Motown, resulted in an increased amount of infighting and set the stage for Kendricks' imminent departure in early 1971.
Like most Temptations albums from the group's "psychedelic period", producer Norman Whitfield held full creative control over Psychedelic Shack. The only freedom afforded the Temptations themselves for this album was the occasional opportunity for Kendricks to arrange the vocal harmonies. The album cover, a collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
/illustration by Hermon Weems, places photographs of the Temptations in a depiction of a psychedelic shack: an establishment in urban neighborhoods where people could go to "enhance their minds" through art, music, and mind-altering drugs.
Overview
The album begins with a knock at the door, and the sound of footsteps as a stranger wanders into an unfamiliar location. Finding a phonographPhonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
, the stranger drops the needle on the song that happened to be in the player—The Temptations' 1969 number-one hit "I Can't Get Next to You
I Can't Get Next to You
"I Can't Get Next to You" is a 1969 number-one single recorded by The Temptations and produced by Norman Whitfield for the Gordy label. The song was the number-one single on the Billboard Top Pop Singles chart for two weeks in 1969, from October 11 to October 25, replacing "Sugar, Sugar" by The...
" (one of the earliest uses of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
). The phonograph is heard playing "I Can't Get Next to You's" intro, reaching Dennis Edwards' interruption ("Hold on, everybody, hold it, hold on...listen!") before the album immediately segues into the first song, "Psychedelic Shack".
"Psychedelic Shack" was the only single from this album, and was a complete departure from previous Temptations recordings. Setting the tone for much of the album, "Psychedelic Shack's" vocals, guitarlines, and drums shift back and forth across the stereo spectrum, and all five Temptations trade lead vocal duties at irregular intervals. Keyboardist Earl Van Dyke
Earl Van Dyke
Earl Van Dyke was an African American musician, most notable as the main keyboardist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Van Dyke was preceded as keyboardist and bandleader of the Funk Brothers by Joe Hunter...
remembers "Psychedelic Shack" as one of his favorite recording sessions.
"You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth", later issued as the B-side of the 1971 hit "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
"Just My Imagination " is a song by American soul group The Temptations. Released on the Gordy label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1971 album, Sky's the Limit. When released as a single, "Just My Imagination" became the third Temptations song to reach number one on...
", features Edwards, Kendricks, Franklin, and Otis Williams informing the public that each individual person is responsible for their fate, and that "the final decision [to do right or wrong] is still up to you". The song would be covered in 1971 by Whitfield-groomed Motown act The Undisputed Truth
The Undisputed Truth
The Undisputed Truth was a 1970s Motown recording act, assembled by record producer Norman Whitfield as a means for being able to experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques...
.
"Hum Along and Dance
Hum Along and Dance
"Hum Along and Dance" is a soul song written for the Motown label by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Originally recorded by The Temptations, the song was later covered by Motown acts Rare Earth and The Jackson 5...
", essentially wordless, is an example of Whitfield's growing emphasis on his production and instrumentation over the contributions of the vocalists, an issue that caused a significant amount of friction between the Temptations and their producer. While this version of "Hum Along and Dance" is the original recording of the composition, the song is better known in cover versions by Rare Earth
Rare Earth (band)
Rare Earth is an American rock band affiliated with Motown's Rare Earth record label , who prospered in 1970-1972. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members...
(from Ma, 1973) and The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
(from G.I.T.: Get It Together
G.I.T.: Get It Together
G.I.T.: Get It Together was the seventh official studio album by The Jackson 5, released in September 1973 for the Motown label....
, also 1973). A crossfade joins "Hum Along and Dance" and the next track on the album, "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind". "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" is a popular Temptations album track done in psychedelic/blues style, and is an overt eight minute ode to marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
usage. All five Temptations trade lead vocals across the two tracks.
Side B begins with "It's Summer", the only ballad on the album. Instead of love and relationship issues, "It's Summer" explores the positive elements that come with the onset of summer, with basso
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
Melvin Franklin reciting the song's lyrics in spoken verse. The Temptations would later record a sung version of "It's Summer", and release it as a single for the Solid Rock album.
The next track, "War", is a serious anti-Vietnam protest sung by Paul Williams and Dennis Edwards. Motown received a significant number of requests to release "War" as a single; instead of risking the careers of the Temptations with such a politically charged song, the song was rerecorded by Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War".-Biography:...
before Motown allowed its release as a single.
The final two songs on the album are compositions more closely associated with Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...
, another Whitfield-produced act. "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)", led by Kendricks, was recorded simultaneously by both The Pips and the Temptations, with the Pips' version being issued as a single. "Friendship Train", the seven-minute album closer led by Edwards, is a cover of a 1969 Pips single. Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
would record a cover of "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" in 1999.
Track listing
Superscripts denote lead singers for each track: (a) Dennis EdwardsDennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards is a soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of Motown act The Temptations' lead singers replacing David Ruffin. He is the father of Issa Pointer, whose mother is Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters.-Career:...
, (b) Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do The Things...
, (c) Paul Williams
Paul Williams (The Temptations)
Paul Williams was an American baritone singer and choreographer. Williams is noted for being one of the founding members and original lead singer of the Motown group The Temptations...
, (d) Melvin Franklin
Melvin Franklin
David Melvin English better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, was an American bass singer. Franklin is best known for his role as a member of Motown singing group The Temptations from 1960 to 1994....
, (e) Otis Williams
Otis Williams
Otis Williams is an American baritone singer. Nicknamed "Big Daddy", he has also acted as a sporadic songwriter and record producer. Williams co-founded the Motown vocal group The Temptations in early 1960 as The Elgins, a group in which he continues to perform...
.
All songs written by Norman Whitfield
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s...
and Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
and produced by Whitfield.
Side one
- "Psychedelic ShackPsychedelic Shack (song)"Psychedelic Shack" is a 1969 single for the Motown label performed by The Temptations and produced by Norman Whitfield. It became a hit single in 1970....
" – 3:51 a, b, c, d, e - "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth" – 2:46 a, b, d, e
- "Hum Along and DanceHum Along and Dance"Hum Along and Dance" is a soul song written for the Motown label by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Originally recorded by The Temptations, the song was later covered by Motown acts Rare Earth and The Jackson 5...
" – 3:53 b, a, d, e - "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" – 8:37 b, a, c, d, e
Side two
- "It's Summer" – 2:36 d
- "War" – 3:11 c, a, d
- "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" – 3:58 b
- "Friendship Train" – 7:49 a
Personnel
- Dennis EdwardsDennis EdwardsDennis Edwards is a soul and R&B singer, most noted for being one of Motown act The Temptations' lead singers replacing David Ruffin. He is the father of Issa Pointer, whose mother is Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters.-Career:...
: vocals (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Eddie KendricksEddie KendricksEddie Kendricks was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do The Things...
: vocals (tenor/falsettoFalsettoFalsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
) - Paul WilliamsPaul Williams (The Temptations)Paul Williams was an American baritone singer and choreographer. Williams is noted for being one of the founding members and original lead singer of the Motown group The Temptations...
: vocals (tenor/baritone) - Melvin FranklinMelvin FranklinDavid Melvin English better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, was an American bass singer. Franklin is best known for his role as a member of Motown singing group The Temptations from 1960 to 1994....
: vocals (bassBass (voice type)A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
) - Otis WilliamsOtis WilliamsOtis Williams is an American baritone singer. Nicknamed "Big Daddy", he has also acted as a sporadic songwriter and record producer. Williams co-founded the Motown vocal group The Temptations in early 1960 as The Elgins, a group in which he continues to perform...
: vocals (tenor/baritone) - Norman WhitfieldNorman WhitfieldNorman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s...
: producer, composer, lyricist - Barrett StrongBarrett StrongBarrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
: composer, lyricist - The Funk BrothersThe Funk BrothersThe Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...
: instrumentation
Singles history
- "Psychedelic Shack" b/w "That's the Way Love IsThat's The Way Love Is"That's the Way Love Is" is a 1967 Tamla single recorded by The Isley Brothers and produced by Norman Whitfield, later covered in a 1969 hit version by Marvin Gaye....
" (from Puzzle PeoplePuzzle PeoplePuzzle People is a 1969 album recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy label. Entirely produced by Norman Whitfield, Puzzle People takes the next step along the path that Cloud Nine started, and takes the Temptations further away from a classic soul sound, and more towards the realm of...
) (Gordy 7096, December 29, 1969)
Chart history
| Name | Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Psychedelic Shack | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 9 |
| Psychedelic Shack | U.S. Top R&B Albums | 1 (4 weeks) |
| "Psychedelic Shack" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 7 |
| "Psychedelic Shack" | U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 2 |