The Motown QUICK-EE Albums

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

Waiting, I have to disagree with you whole-heartedly regarding "The Temptations Sing Smokey" LP sounding like a quickly rushed affair. Not only is it one of my favorite Tempts albums, it remains among my all-time favorite Motown albums. The music arrangements and production sound top-notch to my ears, and The Tempts' harmonies on that album are among the best of all of their Motown recordings. To me, it will always be a Smokey-produced masterpiece.

HI Gary! Maybe it is stretching it to call "Sing Smokey" a Quickie Album, but to my ears, side two, while sounding great, has the feeling of all the tracks having been done in the same session. The intent isn't to say the quality of a Quickie Album is subpar, but it's more about the sameness of overall music tracks.

The six songs on side two all have a fairly bare-bones musical arrangement when compared to the hit recordings on side one. And there is the feeling that all those tunes were recorded fairly quickly and efficiently with no plans to "sweeten" the tracks later with elaborate horns and strings. That's what I'm mainly why I included "Sing Smokey" on the list.

[johnjeb]

HI Gary! Maybe it is stretching it to call "Sing Smokey" a Quickie Album, but to my ears, side two, while sounding great, has the feeling of all the tracks having been done in the same session. The intent isn't to say the quality of a Quickie Album is subpar, but it's more about the sameness of overall music tracks.

The six songs on side two all have a fairly bare-bones musical arrangement when compared to the hit recordings on side one. And there is the feeling that all those tunes were recorded fairly quickly and efficiently with no plans to "sweeten" the tracks later with elaborate horns and strings. That's what I'm mainly why I included "Sing Smokey" on the list.

It appears you may be right that "Sing Smokey" was a quickly compiled album and for the reasons that you gave.

I checked dftmc.info for recording and release dates for the songs on the "Temptations Sing Smokey" album [[G912) which was released March 22, 1965.

It appears Side 1 is mostly comprised of songs that were previously released on singles, whereas Side 2 is comprised of songs pulled from the vaults that were recorded over a couple of days almost a year earlier.

1. The Way You Do The Things You Do - Jan 9, 1964, Jan 23, 1964 G7028A
2. Baby Baby I Need You - October 3, 1963; August 20, 1964 G7035B
3. My Girl - November 17, 1964; December 21, 1964 G7038A
4. What Love Has Joined Together - Jan 12, 1965; March 18, 1965 G7040B
5. You'll Lose A Precious Love - March 2, 1964; no single release
6. It's Growing - January 15, 1965; March 18, 1965 G7040A

7. Who's Lovin' You - May 7, 1964; no single release
8. What's So Good About Goodbye - May 6, 1964; no single release
9. You Beat Me To The Punch - January 12, 1965; no single release
10. Way Over There - May 7, 1964; no single release
11. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - May 6, 1964; no single release
12. [[You Can) Depend On Me - May 6, 1964; no single release

Oct 3 1963 - #2
Jan 9 1964 - #1
Mar 2 1964 - #5
May 6 1964 - #8, #11, #12
May 7 1964 - #7, #10
Nov 17 1964 - #3
Jan 12 1965 - #4, #9
Jan 15 1965 - #6

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

It appears you may be right that "Sing Smokey" was a quickly compiled album and for the reasons that you gave.

I checked dftmc.info for recording and release dates for the songs on the "Temptations Sing Smokey" album [[G912) which was released March 22, 1965.

It appears Side 1 is mostly comprised of songs that were previously released on singles, whereas Side 2 is comprised of songs pulled from the vaults that were recorded over a couple of days almost a year earlier.

1. The Way You Do The Things You Do - Jan 9, 1964, Jan 23, 1964 G7028A
2. Baby Baby I Need You - October 3, 1963; August 20, 1964 G7035B
3. My Girl - November 17, 1964; December 21, 1964 G7038A
4. What Love Has Joined Together - Jan 12, 1965; March 18, 1965 G7040B
5. You'll Lose A Precious Love - March 2, 1964; no single release
6. It's Growing - January 15, 1965; March 18, 1965 G7040A

7. Who's Lovin' You - May 7, 1964; no single release
8. What's So Good About Goodbye - May 6, 1964; no single release
9. You Beat Me To The Punch - January 12, 1965; no single release
10. Way Over There - May 7, 1964; no single release
11. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - May 6, 1964; no single release
12. [[You Can) Depend On Me - May 6, 1964; no single release

Oct 3 1963 - #2
Jan 9 1964 - #1
Mar 2 1964 - #5
May 6 1964 - #8, #11, #12
May 7 1964 - #7, #10
Nov 17 1964 - #3
Jan 12 1965 - #4, #9
Jan 15 1965 - #6

Wow, that's excellent research work you did johnjeb! So my ears were telling me the story about side 2 after all. There is such a "sameness" of sound about those tracks. Well, it was a good way to tie in a past hit, a current hit and a newer hit [["It's Growing") into a sort of theme album. Thanks for pulling all that together!