Gladys Knight: Greatest Hits [Curb/Capitol] : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

This is another supplement to what might be called the Motown Songbook, each volume issued in wrap-up format as "greatest hits" by Mary Wells, The Temptations, The Marvelettes, whoever, and each one becoming an instant classic soul album. Of course, the early collections were the best—and the two-record set of The Miracles' Greatest Hits from the Beginning remains one of the most important albums released—but Gladys Knight and the Pips have no trouble living up to the original standards and their own compendium is typically fine.

It opens with remakes of the group's three pre-Motown hits—a risky business at best but here brought off rather well (under the supervision, one assumes, of their current producer, Norman Whitfield). The variation on "Every Beat of My Heart" is minor enough, consisting mainly of a string background and some harps (Oh, Motown!) where in the original, the chorus carried the full weight. "Letter Full of Tears," written by Don Covay, is at first startling and unsatisfactory but given some time, it settles in as one of the best cuts on the album. The Pips are brought out front to comment and echo Gladys' beautifully lush lead, singing, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, y'all." Although strings come rushing in a little too often, they're played off to good effect against some gently biting guitar. The only disappointment is "Giving Up." Stripped of its original heavy horn punctuation and incredibly robust chorus work, the song limps along to some low-key organ movement (plus inevitable violins, etc.). Yet much of the emotional power is retained by Gladys' steady, measured phrasing and her convincing cry, "Oh Lord, he's all I got!"

The rest is more familiar, often excessively so. As with most Motown Songbook material, nearly every song included here has been done before or was followed-up by another Motown group. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"—creatively remade for Marvin Gaye but copied with all the excitement of a duplicating machine by more people than anyone but the songwriters would care to remember—is still a standout in the original, bursting with Gladys' rich, gutsy voice, vibrant male back-up voices and more rocking soul than one thought Motown capable of at the time.

With the exception of "Didn't You Know (You'd Have to Cry Sometime)," by the Ashforn-Simpson team, and a truly inspired remake of "The Nitty Gritty," all of the new material was written by producer Whitfield in collaboration with one or two others, usually Barrett Strong. Since Whitfield and Strong are responsible for all the new Temptations' work, there is a great deal of practically incestuous cross-over between the two groups. "Everybody Needs Love" and "I Wish It Would Rain" are both Temptations originals copied here as mere repetitions. The Tempts turn about and borrow "Friendship Train" and "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" for their Psychedelic Shack LP, again leaving the arrangements essentially intact. "You Need Love" is a spectacular, driving song in both versions (the Tempts, with Eddie Kendricks in the lead, have the edge on this one)—the kind of relentless dance number that put Motown where it is today, and one of the best. "It Should Have Been Me" is another neglected Motown masterpiece, with a story straight out of the love comics but a production made in heaven.

Gladys Knight and the Pips are the best thing to happen to Motown in years (Oh, yes, and there's that other group . . .). Look no further for proof.