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Hi all,
I just listened to a few of Paul's performances and asked myself, "What was Paul's finest collection of performances on ONE LP?" I am only counting studio LPs and not live LPs or compilations.
My conclusion..."In a Mellow Mood." The versatility and emotions are absolutely fantastic! Paul could sing the alphabet and make you sit up and take notice.
Your thoughts?
Didn't he do the lead on "For Once in My Life?" That had to have been from a later album, or maybe it was just recorded live? As I recall, he was great on that.
The studio version is on the "In a Mellow Mood" LP.Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
"In A Mellow Mood" is probably the one.
To me, Paul Williams was the heart of the Temptations. He didn't know how to sing without emotion. His For Once In My Life and his Impossible Dream are just incredible performances that are standing the test of time.
I think I just talked myself into making a cd of just songs lead by Paul.
I didn't realize that "For Once in My LIfe" was cut by the Temps that early. "Mellow Mood" seems earlier in time than the Stevie Wonder recording of "For Once." Did the Temps by any chance record it first?
If you don't have the "One by One" 2 CD set, it's really worth having. There are several previously unreleased leads by Paul. One of them is "Giving Up," the same song Gladys Knight recut for her Motown Greatest Hits package. The notes point out how heartbreaking it is listening to the lyrics of that song, knowing Paul's ultimate sad fate.
One question I have for you Paul fans. It always seemed to me that Paul's voice was very similar to David Ruffin's, except without the edge to it, and I always wondered if Ruffin's style cut in on Paul being tapped to do more leads because his voice was similar but less idiosyncratic than Ruffin's. What do you guys think?
Yes I believe that Paul's leads were cut once they hired David Ruffin. I also believe that Paul would have made an even better solo artist than David.
Paul's live performance of For Once in My Life on the TCB album has to be his best. Other great performances include Don't Look Back and The Impossible Dream [[live) with the Supremes and Tempts.
"If you don't have the "One by One" 2 CD set, it's really worth having. There are several previously unreleased leads by Paul. One of them is "Giving Up," the same song Gladys Knight recut for her Motown Greatest Hits package. The notes point out how heartbreaking it is listening to the lyrics of that song, knowing Paul's ultimate sad fate."
I think the song you are referring to is "Feel Like Givin' Up", which is not the same song by Gladys Knight. I have the set and my favorite Paul cut is "Once You Had a Heart".
As far as David having more leads, I always felt it was that the songs Paul lead on [[the pre David days) didn't sell well, and once David got a chance to lead that was all she wrote.
Agreed. I think David had more range as a vocalist than Paul, and David's voice lent itself well to the singles that were being crafted at the time. But I think the 70s sound would have been perfect for Paul as a solo. "Once You Had a Heart" is very good. I think it could have been a hit.Quote:
Originally Posted by lockhartgary
@lockhartgary, I also got a message from Nabob, who let me know that Paul's "Giving Up" is not the same as the Gladys Knight song...Paul's is actually called "Feel Like Giving Up," and is a different song entirely. Thanks to you both for the clarification.
He did have a great voice, indeed. Thanks for your opinions on this issue guys.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
Some great Paul leads are LAST ONE OUT IS BROKENHEARTED, I CSNT THINK OF A THING AT ALL, I FEEL LIKE GIVING UP, ONCE YOU HAD A HEART, I NEED YOU MORE NOW THAN EVER, THE FURTHER YOU LOOK THE LESS YOU SEE, I WANT A LOVE I CAN SEE, DON'T LOOK BACK, JUST ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT, THE WEIGHT, RUNNING AWAY AIN'T GONNA HELP YOU, DON'T LET HIM TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME.
I FEEL LIKE GIVING UP was actually recorded first by a group called POSSE on Motown's VIP label. It was released as a single on February 1 1972. Their version is on THE COMPLETE MOTOWN SINGLES VOL: 12 A which covers February to July of 1972.
If i may add my two cents worth,for me paul's best live performance is the classic[don't look back-temptations live]which i have also seen him perform live back in the day,killer performance!
Here's my imagined Paul Williams' solo albums, from the SD archives of two years ago
http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread...=paul+williams
My favorite live performance of Paul is For Once In My Life from the Live at the Copa album, and Studio performance would have to be "Don't Look Back."
Hey Kenny! Yeah, Paul's "Feel Like Giving Up" was originally released by Eddie Kendrick's group Posse on Motown's VIP label back in 1972. According to the "Complete Motown Singles [[Vol. 12A - 1972)", Eddie managed the group Posse. But the lead singer sure sounded like Eddie -- so much so, that I always thought it WAS Eddie since the day I bought the single back in the day. I probably would have loved Paul's version if Posse's version hadn't already been so ingrained in me for so long.Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
I forgot I NOW SEE YOU CLEAR THROUGH MY EYES, FOREVER IN MY HEART, TEAR STAINED LETTET from their lost and found CD.
Leave it to you to have the original single! I thought I had everything Motown until you came along!Quote:
Originally Posted by Philles/Motown Gary
HaHa! Stick with me, Kid! I'll take you to the top!Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
sure a few more on Motown males 62-63 25th anniversary etc any advise appreciated
soulwally is that everythin paul recorded lead on Tempts i see 2 more added on thread 20 i think some other songs from Motown males 62-3 and 25th anniversary to be included anybody have full discography of paul williams leads please.
Roger P i see you online do you have list of Paul Williams leads you are a mine of knowledge on Motown ,cheers mate,hope you well.
honest man, i've got all the stuff on the download only Unreleased sets and unless I'm mistaken they're all listed on my imagined PW albums. So as far as I am aware that's all Paul's leads.Quote:
Originally Posted by honest man
Those imaginary track listings are a true labor of love. I used to put those together all the time from assembled 45 B sides, or album tracks that didn't get played that much. What fun. Ace/Kent should do a spotlight collection on Paul like the one they did for Eddie Holland.Quote:
Originally Posted by soulwally
I'm obviously just one of many on this forum who are fans of Paul Williams's voice, so it was no hardship, and a bit of fun, listing those tracks as imaginary albums.Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
I'm a major baritone fan anyway - you know, Chuck Jackson, Jerry Butler, Joe Simon, Marvin Junior, Teddy Pendergrass, Freddie Scott, Freddie North et al
I think you hit the nail on the head. Paul was a great singer and performer, but his baritone voice is somewhat limited [[no disrespect to him at all). David was a natural 2nd tenor/baritone, but David had more range. David had about a 4 1/2 octave vocal range [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebKqcaVQFFg).Quote:
Originally Posted by kenneth
People really need to check out David's solo album to understand what he could do vocally.But as a Temptation the producers realized they had more to work with than Paul with David . People forget when David got into the groups the leads were pretty much even for all members. As I recall on the [[Getting Ready) album Paul got more leads than Paul. But the fans [[ as far as sales) didn't respond to Paul's leads as well as David's.
The litmus test was when "Don't Look Back" was released as a single in September 1965 . It was released as the A side and the Ruffin lead "My Baby" was the B side. For whatever reason the fans were not buying "Don't Look Back" very much when it initially was released. DJ's were flipping to the B side "My Baby" with Ruffin on lead and playing that more than "Don't Look Back." It was so obvious that Motown put out a 2nd pressing with "My Baby" as the A side and "Don't Look Back" as the B side. Many think that "Don't Look Back" was a better single, but the fans chose otherwise.
That was the beginning. When "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" hit that was the end for Paul being on lead singles. He had little leads on "With A Lot Of Soul" and "Wish It Would Rain." With "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" the producers had a once in a lifetime talent with Ruffin. You have someone who can sing smooth and rough. I think if Ruffin didn't have the power that he had Paul would of been a better choice for that song. But being able to raise the key, David being able to sing it, and it selling over 1 million records, there was no turning back with Paul.
Quiet as kept even Eddie got pushed to the background somewhat. The only singles Eddie had during that 66-68 on lead were "Get Ready, "You're My Everything," and "Please Return Your Love To Me" [[that was released in 1968 after Ruffin was fired). In the that was the producers and the fans doing. If they didn't support the Ruffin lead leads the producers would of moved in another direction quickly.
Are you sure My Baby wasn't the original top side?Quote:
Originally Posted by Encyclopedia Mack
I could possibly be mistaken but from what I read "Don't Look Back" was originally the A side.
This is from Wikipedia's "My Baby [[The Temptations Song)" entry:
"Unusually for Temptations singles, "My Baby's" B-side, the Paul Williams-led "Don’t Look Back", was a minor hit in its own right, becoming a top 20 R&B hit and serving for several years as the Temptations' live-show closing number."Don't Look Back" was actually the original "A" side of Gordy 7047, but was passed over by the nation's DJ's in favor of the Ruffin-led "My Baby",which relegated "Don't Look Back" to "B"-side status. Both sides of the single would be remixed for its 2nd pressing, adding on the following statements: "Taken from the album #G 914 The Temptin' Temptations.""
Ok. I thought I read that a few times. So that's what set the stage for Paul to be in the background as a lead singer. Had the DJ's and fans jumped on "Don't Look Back" it might be a different. Nothing wrong with the fans; you like what you like. And then when "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" hit that was it. With Ruffin they had one person who could sing smooth and raspy.Quote:
Originally Posted by lockhartgary
Been listening to my Motown unreleased collection today and We'll be satisfied and thought about this thread and this song features the 3 lead vocalists Paul-Eddie -David and wondered if Motown was trying out the leads ,tough one to choose from an exceptional song all the same,cheers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Encyclopedia Mack
There has been debate among Tempt fan as to how much solo material Paul recorded. Many believe he had an album lined up as well as a single. Being a huge Paul Williams fan myself, I really don't want to get my hopes up. On the other hand "Feel Like Givin' Up" was mixed to stereo and mono.
It was also stated he was trying to leave Motown prior to his death.