Eddie Kendricks

• Eddie Kendricks [Tamla, 1974] C-
• At His Best [Tamla, 1978] C+

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Eddie Kendricks [Tamla, 1974]
Most over-extended falsetto of the year. Motown was probably right to try and keep him in the Temptations. C-

At His Best [Tamla, 1978]
Rarely has a talented singer been so ill-served by his corporate connections without failing altogether. Kendricks doesn't have the depth of a natural solo performer--the sweet clarity of his falsetto rang nice spiritual overtones against his more earthbound fellow Temptations, but it gets thin all by itself--and he needs good material to compensate. This ain't it. Most of these songs were hits, but the two uptempo smashes, "Keep On Truckin'" and "Boogie Down," are proto-disco at its most ominously one-dimensional, and except for the Tempts' "Just My Imagination" and the never-a-hit "Skippin' Work Today," the rest range from passable ("He's a Friend") to deplorable ("Shoeshine Boy"). C+