August 3, 2010

Tempting Groovers Everywhere


The Temps doing Bill Withers' classic. This song has been covered over 100 times by folks ranging from MJ and Al Green to Akon and Ja Rule. The Temps covered it less than a year after the original release, and were nevertheless the tenth group/artist to do so. I like this version because they approach a slowly-dying state similar to what Still Bill does in his original. It just drags on when there ain't no sunshine (when she is gone).

Ain't No Sunshine - The Temptations, Solid Rock (1972)

Next up, the Temps sort of redoing their classic War, already popularized by Edwin Starr's cover (both from 1971), in a much slower and more psychedelic (as I understand the word) version. It is a little repetitive, but only because it goes on for so long. Much more serious than the first version, it involves chanting, drums coming in and out, and rising and falling emotions: an austere audio anti-war rally that still grooves hard as a toned bottom.

Stop the War Now
- The Temptations, Solid Rock (1972)