It Was The Third Of September

September 3rd, 2008 by ikiro

With its heavy intro, a fine smooth groove, and very slick lyrics, Papa Was A Rolling Stone has always been a favorite of mine. Most well known in its Temptations incarnation, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield wrote the song originally for The Undisputed Truth. And as for most Undisputed/Temptations songs, my favorite lies in the Truth.

The Original
What can I say? This is Psychedelic Soul with a capital Freak. The Undisputed Truth’s sound is usually way more gritty and raw than that of The Temptations. And Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone is no exception to the rule. Joe Harris puts so much grit in his voice and Billie Rae Calvin and Brenda Joyce throw that much energy in their lines. And the lyrics are of course the most defining part of the song. And that it sounds so much different than the other versions makes it a keeper.

The ‘When You Got Time To Spend’ Twelve-Minute Version
But then again, there is little wrong with polished and shiny ingenuity in heavy production. Especially when performed by such masters of the genre as The Funk Brothers (instrumentation) and The Temptations (vocals). See the wiki for more info about the music and the recording hassles.. And check out Law Of The Land, if you fancy another face-off between Truth and Temptation. I call it a draw.

The Bass
With a theme based around drifters, loans, dealin’, and another wive, and with a bass that deep, we’re on a crash course to a reggae cover. And The Pioneers deliver in full effect. It’s amazing how so little has to be changed to instrumentation and vocals to make this a true reggae song. All basic ingredients remain: the bass, the wah-wah, the handclaps, the funk. Great cover imho and expect some more reggae covers at Och.

The Break
With a song that funky, it is inevitable that someday someone somehow extracts and builds on its break. However, in this case it’s not by the likes of AL Green-aficionado DJ Premier or Donald Byrd-fanatic Pete Rock, but by the eccentricities of David and Don Was of Was (Not Was). Though I’m still not convinced by G Love E’s rap, this is 90s funk at its best and serves the song right.

For some sake of completeness, you might want to listen to the covers by George Michael and the South Central Cartel and the sample in Papa Crazy by Run-D.M.C. Plus, you might want to dig into the story behind that other Strong & Whitfield song.