A fan's comment about how she loved the Jimmy Ruffin tune put me in giving mood, so here's a tip. Download Joan Osborne's version of said song (or her HEATWAVE). Both have been covered ad nauseam, so what makes Joan's treatment so great? In addition to her abundant talent, she's backed by the Funk Brothers, those Detroit session musicians who were the operating system for Motown's hit factory. The CD is Breakfast in Bed. Worth owning.
Embedding disabled on request so click the link to hear and see the song.
But here's a sort of behind the scenes look at the LP coming together in the studio which quickly goes into a more or less into her full blown version of Midnight Train to Georgia.
I think it's amazing how she can bring different vocal timbres to her delivery as homage to the various greats she's covering. Note how smooth and silky her voice is on Midnight Train to Georgia (weird hearing it without the Pips or at least someone doing back up vocals, isn't it?) and the rasp she's able to bring to some of the coloration in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.
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