WHEN Smokey Robinson chose the wispy falsetto of Eddie Kendricks to sing the lead vocals on 'The Way.
It even goes so far as to directly reference the violence - presumably domestic as well as in Vietnam - when Kendricks pleads for a time when ".we won't have to destroy each other" and "men can lay down their guns." The project's title composition "My People.Hold On" is stunning on a completely different level as the artist reconnects with his musical heritage with a languid and methodical bed over which Kendricks raps, practically begging for sanity within the socially troubled African-American community. Eddie Kendricks, singer, born Birmingham Alabama 1940, died Birmingham Alabama 5 October 1992.
Returning to the project's thematic motif, "Someday We'll Have a Better World" is a midtempo optimistic number with a plea for a more peaceful co-existence. The record buying and radio listening public obviously agreed as the song was edited and issued on a 45 rpm that made it to the Top 15 R&B Singles survey. The nearly eight-minute "Girl You Need a Change of Mind" is nothing short of an epic precursor to the extended four-on-the-floor numbers that would soon be christened as "disco." In addition to providing an above average R&B groove, Kendricks' new band - the Washington D.C.-based Young Senators - are joined by the unmistakable touch of Eddie "Bongo" Brown's rhythmically limber congas. The sacred influence of "Day by Day" is underscored by some stellar keyboard with organ and piano runs that could just as easily have been heard in a Sunday morning prayer meeting. All the while, Kendricks shows off his range-free tenor as he effortlessly vacillates in and out of his trademark overdrive falsetto. Things get downright funky on the sanctified "Let Me Run into Your Lonely Heart." The mercurial beat is bathed in distortion and wah-wah guitar that trades back and forth with a syncopated clavinet. Among them is "If You Let Me" that kicks off the disc with a bright groove, custom-made for the vocalists' sanguine lead.
As he had done for Kendricks solo debut All by Myself (1971), producer Frank Wilson contributes several tunes. For his second outing People.Hold On (1972), former Temptations leader Eddie Kendricks expanded his horizons, dabbling with communally conscious soul and making initial forays into dance music that would predate disco.
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