Friday’s first groove (and 2 bonus tracks). I could never write anything about this track that hasn’t been better covered by others. It’s Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone, this most famous version recorded by The Temptations for Motown in 1972. It was included on their All Directions album.
I strongly recommend you listen to this 12 minute version from start to finish with headphones or loud on good speakers. It’s worthy of active listening and focus.
I remember the first time I heard this song and how the groove immediately grabbed me and pulled me into its narrative lyrics. It tells a great story. It’s not from a movie soundtrack, but it could have been. It could be a movie in itself.
For me, the hihat groove, the bass line, wah-wah guitar, strings, and more combine to evoke two other great tracks that were composed for film soundtracks: Isaac Hayes’s Theme From Shaft (released a year earlier in 1971) and Curtis Mayfield’s Freddie’s Dead (also from 1972).
You should absolutely know all three of these great tracks.
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