A terrific one-hit wonder for Austin Roberts in the 70's. Smooth. Romantic. Heartfelt. Reminds me of the (apologies) Partridge Family (x) Bread (x) Lobo. Kidding aside, this was one of my very favorities from the early 70s. Key of D major, with a twangy tremolo guitar lead-in. Ahhhhhh. Refreshing.
For some reason, "Everybody Plays the Fool" received tremendous airplay on all of the the pop radio stations in the early 1970's. It won tremendous accolades and has since been covered by numerous artists (Aaron Neville actually did a high rock tenor version with a slight reggae lilt to it, and audiences followed him as if he were the the Pied Piper).
The Main Ingredient (with Cuba Gooding, Sr. singing the lead and fronting the band) has since been best known as either 1) that "soul" band that Cuba Gooding, Jr's father sang with 'back in the day,' (in fact, Sr. looks very much like a slimmer, slightly more masculine afro-toting version of his son, who is a terrific actor) or 2) the band that played "Everybody Plays The Fool."
Well, before you do anything rash, dig this - In my opinion, this song, "I Just Don't Want to be Lonely," is even more powerful and more sincerely soulful than the other smash hit, and it truly showcases Gooding Sr.'s voice in clear and classic style. It is not as "pop" or as overproduced (heavy instrumentation in C) as "Everybody Plays...," and it has some fabulous and distinctive effects -- a popping, melodic and memorable bassline (in the key of F) which lays down a great foundation (just listen to the vamp at the beginning, when the changes are F: to D Minor; to G Minor 7th; to C 9th sus 4, over and over), and a resounding, distorted. buzzy and sustained "F' note on the guitar, followed by a counterpoint harmony to the bass. So musical. I even like the lyrics better. Nice vibes (literally) and lush harmony.
Gooding Sr. always had a bit of a dialogue with an unseen third party at the beginning of his songs...in "Everybody Plays the Fool," it was his friend ("Okay...so your heart is broken..."), and in "I Just Don't Want to be Lonely," it's his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend ("Hey....Where you goin' with that suitcase?....").
Let's see what you think of The Main Ingredient and "I Just Don't Want to be Lonely."
