A tremendous little album from Jimmy Ruffin – as "ruff" as the title implies, with a much deeper groove than you might find from other Motown releases at the
time! The style here is really wonderful – rich, heartfelt vocals from Jimmy that easily match the best of the Detroit underground of the
time – a style that's a bit like Darrell Banks or JJ Barnes, with echoes of the southern sound of the 60s – but produced to perfection with all the best that Motown could muster! Jimmy gets lots of heavy help from Norman Whitfield – who produced about half the tracks on the set, and gives Ruffin a sound that's somewhere between his righteous
soul with the Temptations, and the best Motown grooves of his earlier work for the label. Other production is by Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier, William Weatherspoon & James Dean, and Richard Morris – all of whom follow Whitfield's lead nicely – and although the album's got few runaway hits,
it's a rock-solid effort throughout – just the kind of album that makes us love the Motown full-length scene even more than the label's singles! Titles include "Lonely Lonely Man Am I", "
It's Wonderful (To Be Loved By You)", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "Everybody Needs Love", "Sad & Lonesome Feeling", "Love Gives Love Takes Away", and "Farewell Is A Lonely Sound".
(Purple label pressing – a nice clean copy! Cover has a small cut corner, and a cutout mark, and one very small spot – but looks very nice overall.)