I think the Four Tops' "Are You Man Enough" is one of the finest songs to grace a Blaxploitation soundtrack, a field already crammed with killer tunes. Like most soundtracks to these movies, I remember the song long after I've forgotten the film.
Two songs from blaxploitation films that that are slightly better: "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes and "Across 110th Street" by Bobby Womack.
Any love for the Four Tops' tune? Are you man enough?
Absolutely second the motion. That 45 (and I use that term advisedly) is at the center of many a lovely childhood memory. Sensational track.
Helga, I'm not mad at you; I'm mad at the dirt.
[deleted]
"Are You Man Enough"-- yeah, good song. I think "Backstabbers" might have had some influence on it...
Excellent observation about "Backstabbers." I think you're on to something there.
shareLove the song. I even have the Quadraphonic tape of the album, "Main Street People", from which the song comes from. The Four Tops had a bit of a resurgence in popularity when they jumped ship over to ABC/Dunhill records around 1972. They had some great tunes written for them by the team of Lambert & Potter (same writing duo for The Grass Roots; Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds and others).
Some great Four Tops tunes of the era:
- One Chain don't Make no Prison
- Ain't no Woman like the one I got
- Love Music (also a bit of a bubbling-under hit for Mark Lindsay)
- Meeting of the Minds
- I just can't get you out of my mind
The O'Jays Backstabbers is one of my favorite albums. I lament that album is not available in Quad though nearly every other O'Jays album is!
Too-notch selection of Toos tunes there!
I'm curious: Is your Quadrophonic stereo system still fully operational, or are you playing records and cassettes on a regular stereo? Quad isn't a technology I experienced firsthand, and it didn't seem to catch on with many music fans, probably mostly just audiophiles. Can you explain how it sounds different from stereo? Is it akin to 5.1 systems and the like, or did each speaker produce a unique sound?
Of course my Quad system is still funk-tional. :) hehe.
Each speaker is driven independently: four separate amplifiers.
In the case of the Four Tops song "Are You Man Enough" the breakdown is:
Bass and Lead Vocals Front Center
Electric Rhythm Guitar Front Left
Electric Lead Guitar Front Right
Horns in Front in Stereo
Drums are spread across the front with kicker in the middle, snare and high hat Front Right, Toms and Cymbals Front Left and Front Center respectively.
Backing Vocals are recorded in Stereo and are in Back Left and Back Right.
Conga Drum in Back Left
Handclaps Back Center
Keyboards Back Right
Strings in Back in stereo
Lead Vocal Echo in Back Center
It's a really good mix, in fact, most of the ABC/Dunhill mixes are pretty spectacular.
Wow, that is so cool! Thanks for the details. When you play "regular" LPs on your Quadrophonic system, how do they sound? Is it like regular stereo?
I still use a variety of formats to play my old records (and yes, I still call them records), but Quadrophonic isn't among them because I've never come across a functioning system. Of course, I finally got a laserdisc player just a few years ago, so I'm still holding out hope. Maybe someday I'll find one in the thrift stores.