WOS to Tom Jones' "Puppet Man." Embarrassing backing vox on that. Unlistenable.
Very bad, but don't fault TJ: he's crackajack til da crack o' dawn. It *is*, however, one of the most unnecessary covers EVAH, as the 5th Dimension did their perfectly fine version the year before. Oddly, the B-side of TJ's version was his take on "Resurrection Shuffle", which whould hit the 40 in a few more weeks by Ashton Gardner & Dyke. Hmmm... Tom Jones in "heavy leather" -- I'd pay to see that.
BOS2 to Gladys Knight & the Pips' "I Don't Want to Do Wrong," one of the very best cheating songs I know. PoC sent me a grand live version by New Birth, but the original is the best.
Oh my yes. BOS2 too -- I was just beginning to appreciate Gladys at this time. Tho' GK&tPs had hits from '67 to '70, they'd been upbeat numbers like the orig "Grapevine", "Friendship Train" and the like. Then came "If I Were Your Woman", their first big wrenching ballad, and my 15-year-old's ears were simply gobsmacked by its power. I remember having an epiphany of sorts hearing that one for the first time. And "IDWTDW" is nearly its equal.
And BOS3 Isaac Hayes' "Never Can Say Goodbye", even in its truncated 45 edit. Takes some kinda cojones to cover (indeed, reinvent) a song while the orig is still on the chart.