Edwin Starr hailed from Nashville, Tennessee and is best remembered for his rasping Vietnam protest song War from 1970. After a stint as vocalist for Bill Doggetts touring band Starr was able to secure a solo recording deal with Detroit's Ric-Tic Records in 1965 and immediately gained chart success with his self-penned hit Agent Double-O-Soul (R&B #8/Pop #21). More Ric- Tic hits followed before Berry Gordy bought out Starr's contract in 1967 and took him and his music to the fabled Motown imprint, making the James Brown and Stax influenced singer the rawest vocalist on the celebrated label. Involved was Starr's fifth LP for the Gordy imprint on Motown Records and was released in 1971. Reaching #45 R&B and a respectable #178 Involved was guided by legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield who, along with song writing partner Barrett Strong, contributed the majority of the cuts on this album. Whitfield has both Starr and the session musicians playing as hard and explosive as he can, marking this album out as one of the rawest recordings ever released under the Motown banner.
- 1 War
- 2 Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)
- 3 Funky Music (Sho' Nuff Turns Me On)
- 4 Stop The War Now
- 5 Cloud Nine
- 6 Stand
- 7 Way Over There
- 8 My Sweet Lord
- 9 Stop The War Now (Single Version)
- 10 Funky Music (Sho' Nuff Turns Me On) (Single Version)
- 11 Cloud Nine (Single Version)
- 12 Take Me Clear From Here
- 13 Who Is The Leader Of The People
- 14 Don't Tell Me I'm Crazy
- 15 There You Go
- 16 You've Got My Soul On Fire
- 17 Love (The Lonely People's Prayer)
- 18 Ain't It Hell Up In Harlem
- 19 Big Papa
- 20 Who's Right Or Wrong
- 21 Lonely Rainy Days In San Diego