That intro to that song is just fabulous.
I love that song, along with almost everything that was on the radio when I was growing up. Really miss Dan Ingram and Cousin Bruce (Morrow).
I never noticed the similarities to Issac Hayes “Shaft” until now. He’s right. The bass line, pace and full orchestra do create a sense of drama and tension. He was right to insist that the lead singer not ‘over-sing’ the lyrics. That level of banal delivery served almost like a narration, now detached after the passage of time.
The LONG intro is just amazing. Like a pot simmering. I love that song. I saw it live many years ago—one of those concerts where the hits just kept coming.
I have something like an eleven minute version of the song (temptations of course) with a very long opening. Fantastic. Don’t know where I downloaded it from. I have so much music from wax recordings to yesterday’s hits! Today’s music sucks for the most part==but I found a great track called “Everything is Bulls###” done by Willie Nelson’s son at last years Farm Aid. Lyrics are bland—but the melody is very Airplaneesque.