Glladys Knight & The Pips "Standing Ovation" lp revisited

[BayouMotownMan]

I bought this lp in its first release, in fact it was the first GK&TP album I ever bought. I enjoyed it immensely then and it still holds up 52 years later. Their debut Motown album is also excellent but for me this set was their best Motown lp.

Starting with Clay McMurray's glorious Make Me The Woman You Go Home To, the album is off and running. I never understood why this great record didn't do better as I feel it is superior to If I Were Your Woman. Deep bass with chimes and swirling strings just make this song a standout. The guitar work here is outstanding. At one point in the middle Gladys is put in reverb behind some clever guitar licks. This deserved to be a bigger hit.

Johnny Bristol continues the quality with Can You Give Me Love With A Guarantee. Another beautifully orchestrated track with knockout family vocals, this was scheduled to follow Help Me Make It as the third single from the album that had several single possibilities. Apparently Motown waited for Neither One Of Us.

McMurray is back with another winner, Master of My Mind, featuring better backing vocals by the Pips. An interesting medley of He Ain't Heavy and Bridge Over Troubled Water closes Side 1 with a rather maudlin Gladys Knight monologue that maybe doesn't fit the mood, but the idea of combining these two songs worked well.

It Takes A Whole Lotta Man For A Woman Like Me starts off Side 2 with some soulful colorings. Motown chose the outstanding Gladys Knight solo of Kris Kristofferson's Help Me Make It Through The Night as the second single. Gladys was at her emotive best, again with a bit of a corny opening monologue segueing into her soft vocals that crescendo after about 3 minutes into a powerful vocal worthy of a grammy. Johnny Bristol was in his element here backing Gladys with a soft guitar and soaring strings.

If You Gonna Leave [[Just Leave), a track done by other Motown artists is highly listenable but the best track on this album and an overlooked obvious hit record was Johnny Bristol's No One Could Love You More. The Funk Brothers are on fire and backed again by the Detroit Symphony with great interplay between Gladys and her Pips [[you said I do..TOOO) just make this song a real standout. I just assumed it would be a single.

Some covers are here, a nice version of Fire and Rain and a rare vocal by a Pip [[don't know which one) on the Beatles Long and Winding Road.

Although there are two producers here, their sounds were so similar that one would think the whole lp was done by a single producer. It is one of the best early 70s Motown albums, done not long before the company vacated Detroit.

If you don't have this album, get it!

[mysterysinger]

"No One Could Love You More" was big on the Northern circuit after it was released as the 'B' side to a re-issued "Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me" in the UK. I entered a competition in the Record Mirror to win a copy of "Standing Ovation" - sadly I didn't but I got a couple of Gladys Knight & The Pips sew on badges as a consolation. When I saw GK&TP at Manchester Odeon - "Help Me Make It Through The Night" had not long been released as a single. Gladys wasn't the big draw back then and they condensed 2 houses on the same night into one - and still it wasn't full. Nevertheless it was a great show.

[reese]

This is probably my favorite of their Motown albums, along with IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN. I honestly don't think there's a dud track on it, except for perhaps THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD.

My faves:

MAKE ME THE WOMAN THAT YOU GO HOME TO [especially when Gladys wails "Ooh Good God Almighty, boy!" during the last chorus]

CAN YOU GIVE ME LOVE WITH A GUARANTEE [although I like the alternate hoarse vocal used on the A LITTLE KNIGHT MUSIC album]

FIRE AND RAIN

IT TAKES A WHOLE LOTTA MAN FOR A WOMAN LIKE ME

NO ONE COULD LOVE YOU MORE [This one can't be topped. I love when Gladys sings "Not even your own mother!" near the end]

[BayouMotownMan]

I didn't realize there was an alternate vocal on Can You Give Me Love, I'll have to listen again

[gman]

I have a DJ 12" Foxton Whores issue of Glady's HELP ME MAKE IT THRU THE NIGHT...doesn't appear to be too common...

[Philles/Motown Gary]

"No One Could Love You More" has always been my favorite track from the "Standing Ovation" album. However, I never liked the title of the album, as "Standing Ovation" implies a live stage-performance album rather than the studio album that it is..

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I'm with you, Reese. That "Good God Almighty, Boy" from Gladys is powerful!

[reese]

I'm with you, Reese. That "Good God Almighty, Boy" from Gladys is powerful!

You can't top that moment, IMO.

But I must confess that I was less impressed with the live version I heard them do on the tv show SOUL! It is a good performance but they do it in a lower key than the recording and I think it misses that urgency. I guess it was one thing to record it in the higher key but to do it night after night onstage was another.

[sliebler]

Was wondering what the lead single was off this album: Can You Give Me Love with a Guarantee or Help Me Make It Through the Night? Per the Complete Singles boxed set, it appears to be Can You Give Me Love, but Wikipedia names Can You Get Me Through the Night as the single b/w If You Gonna Leave [[Just Leave). My Motown Encyclopedia does not offer any information about the single. Small detail, but I’m curious which is correct for a project I’m working on. I share little-known Motown recordings on Threads as part of something I call Forgotten Motown and I like to share the right info with my followers. Thanks to anyone who can help!

[danman869]

Was wondering what the lead single was off this album: Can You Give Me Love with a Guarantee or Help Me Make It Through the Night? Per the Complete Singles boxed set, it appears to be Can You Give Me Love, but Wikipedia names Can You Get Me Through the Night as the single b/w If You Gonna Leave [[Just Leave). My Motown Encyclopedia does not offer any information about the single. Small detail, but I’m curious which is correct for a project I’m working on. I share little-known Motown recordings on Threads as part of something I call Forgotten Motown and I like to share the right info with my followers. Thanks to anyone who can help!

The lead single was "Make Me The Woman That You Go Home To," which was released November 18, 1971, followed by the album in December 1971.

[bradsupremes]

“No One Could Love You No More” is a gem. A lost hit record and it’s a shame it’s not more widely know. I actually prefer the mix that appeared on A Little Knight Music. That mix is more balanced and allows of the instrumentation to shine.

[reese]

“No One Could Love You No More” is a gem. A lost hit record and it’s a shame it’s not more widely know. I actually prefer the mix that appeared on A Little Knight Music. That mix is more balanced and allows of the instrumentation to shine.

Interesting. I much prefer the mix on STANDING OVATION. The mix on A LITTLE KNIGHT MUSIC sounds muddy to me.

[sliebler]

The lead single was "Make Me The Woman That You Go Home To," which was released November 18, 1971, followed by the album in December 1971.

Boy I was way off — thank you!