Some time ago, I presented Power Of Zeus, a Detroit-based hard rock band whose sole LP was released by Motown subsidiary Rare Earth. They weren't successful. Indeed, none of the bands Motown signed on their "white" sublabel were successful, save for Rare Earth themselves. These local Detroit boys had been around since '66, but had failed to make any waves, until hitherto (almost) exclusively black label Motown signed them in 1969. Right away, they hit on the right recipe by abandoning the idea of writing their own songs (Get Ready [1969] features only one original composition) and focusing on the band's playing. Although they tried to deviate from it, by the time they recorded their 6th studio LP Ma, they had reverted to recipe of Get Ready: One epic side-long jam, and four shorter songs on Side B, all covers - in this case, written by Motown's in-house writers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Motown, and Whitfield, had an annoying habit: they'd record the same song with different bands (usually Temptations, Undisputed Truth, and Rare Earth) and release competing versions in the market. This might hurt each individual band's chances to rise in the charts, but produced more income for the label as each band had a slightly different audience, resulting in bigger combined sales. "Ma" was originally written for The Temptations as a sequel to their classic hit "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" - itself originally recorded by Undisputed Truth, but more successful in the Temptations' version. Rare Earth stretched "Ma" to 17+ minutes, making it the centerpiece of their LP. It's an excellent mid-tempo jam with soulful vocals by singing drummer Peter Hoorelbeke, and great solos especially by Ray Monette (guitar) and Gil Bridges (flute/sax).
Side Two opens with a more upbeat funk number "Big John Is My Name", also featuring another dynamite funk rocker in "Hum Along and Dance". Another song previously released by Temptations, here it benefits from an exciting organ intro and psychedelic electric guitar solos. "Smiling Faces Sometimes", on the other hand, is more subdued than previous versions by Temptations and Undisputed Truth, but also jazzier with nice piano and flute solos. Closer "Come With Me" is a slow instrumental jam featuring likewise great playing, but almost ruined by the inclusion of "sensual" female moans. It would be more appropriate for a porn soundtrack - which isn't meant as a derogatory comment; 70's porn movies often had amazing soundtracks, indeed the music may well have been their best feature. Unsurprisingly, this is the only track here never to be recorded by The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, or both. The album cover was also quite striking; usually Motown covers consisted of rather unimaginative photos of the artist(s), but this one was a sketch of a naked obese old lady riding a small rocking horse. If this was meant as a humorist rendition of the "ma" character in the same-named song, it wasn't very respectful or faithful to the lyrics. Ma remains a great showcase of Rare Earth's musicianship and a critics favorite, but didn't sell particularly well, prompting another round of personnel changes. At the time the band were a six-piece, consisting of the aforementioned players plus Mark Olson (keyboards), Mike Urso (bass) and Edward Guzman (percussion). Hoorelbeke, Urso and Olson left, to be replaced by others, including Frosty whom we met in last week's post. As of now, 30-something musicians have come and gone in the band, the only constant and last original member being Gil Bridges, until his death from COVID-19 in 2021. Despite the countless lineup changes, a version of Rare Earth is still keeping these songs alive, as they have always done during the last half century. Thankfully, I might add. No reason to let death or old age ruin a good run.
**** for Ma, Smiling Faces Sometimes, Hum Along and Dance
*** for Big John Is My Name, Come With Me
