Just Read It

In the UK in recent years, we have experienced many an unprecedented upheaval to our way of life from Brexit to the pandemic to the ever revolving door of Conservative party leaders. So much so that even situations like the cost of living crisis, soaring energy bills, a failing healthcare system and inflation at a 40-year high, feel less unprecedented and, dare I say it, just another a day in the UK.

It’s thinking about the current context in which we live, that led me to the subject of this week’s post. ‘Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)’, is a 1970 hit single by The Temptations, and I feel that never did a song more accurately sum up the spirit and mood of the times than this one.

After firing singer David Ruffin in 1968, replacing him with Dennis Edwards in their lineup, The Temptations, aided by their producer Norman Whitfield began moving from their traditional light, soul-pop vocal sound to “psychedelic soul”, which was a fusion of soul music with psychedelic rock, and a precursor to disco.

This new sound had a much more darker, topical and political edge to it which was unusual for Motown artists because their songwriters, encouraged by Berry Gordy, tended to shy away from political themes in their music. But as the lyric goes, the times were a-changing, and later into the 1970s, more Motown artists, such as the Supremes, Edwin Starr, Stevie Wonder, The Undisputed Truth, influenced by the Civil Rights movement, would follow suit and incorporate social and political themes in their songs.

‘Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)’, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, is one example of the psychedelic soul sound that would come to define The Temptations’ music in the late 60s and early 70s. It can also be seen as an early example of rap, as Dennis Edwards speaks or intones certain lines in a rapid fire trajectory instead of singing them.

The song tries to make sense of the chaos and disorder pervading the times while noting that “the band played on”, implying that nobody was paying proper attention to the problems of the world. It also makes me think of the band playing while the Titanic sank. Intentional? Maybe.

The sale of pills are at an all-time high
Young folks walkin’ ’round with their heads in the sky
Cities aflame in the summertime
And oh, the beat goes on
Evolution, revolution, gun control, the sound of soul
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growin’ up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything
And the band played on

‘Ball of Confusion’ was by far not the only song to address these issues during this period of major upheaval. But for me what singles it out, is that it is one of the few explicit protest records that came from Motown, which in my view makes it delightfully subversive. Expecially coming from a band that were on the outside quite conservative and clean cut (behind the scenes it was very different). A bit like when someone you view as being ‘good’ and ‘proper’ drops an ‘F’ bomb and you’re just not expecting it.

I was in university when I first heard the song and I couldn’t believe it was The Temptations I was listening to. What happened to the sweet boys who sang ‘My Girl’, ‘Just My Imagination’ and ‘Ain’t Too Proud to Beg’, who made you think of sunshine, first love and sadly Macauley Culkin getting stung to death by bees (RIP Thomas J Sennett)? Who were these cynical hard guys, with the rough vocals (hello Dennis Edwards) calling out the empty promises of policitians (“vote for me, and I’ll set you free”)?

The opening lines to the first verse alone goes hard, making reference to ‘white flight‘ which had devasting economic consequences to major cities, still felt today, because of the dependence on tax revenues from middle- and upper-class white residents who had now moved to the suburbs. When they left, the large populations of poorer minorities remained, subjected to racist federal housing policies, low incomes, crime and poverty. The Temptations would return to the topic of white flight in their 1972 song ‘Run Charlie Run‘.

People movin’ out, people movin’ in
Why? Because of the color of the color of their skin
Run, run, run, but you sure can’t hide
An eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth
Vote for me and I’ll set you free

At the same time, despite the significant gains made by the Civil Rights movement, systemic and institutional racism as well as racial violence and police brutality persisted in the lives of Black Americans. Consequently many felt that the movement had not achieved enough. In addition, there was growing resentment that swathes of young Black American men were being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War (“obligation to our nation”). The question being how can you expect a man to wholeheartedly fight for a nation that doesn’t value or even see his humanity?

Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation

The countercultural optimism of the 1960s, that the world was changing for the better, was quickly coming to an end at the decade’s close. Disillusionment and confusion, undercut by anger and frustration was now the spirit of the times as the 1970s, began. The communal sprit of brotherly love was rapidly disappearing, giving way to a more cynical, selfish and individualistic ethos.

Black Americans criticised the government for spending millions of dollars of taxpayers money to send men, white men, to the moon while millions of citizens lived in poverty in ghettos and other poor communities. This sentiment was highlighted in Questlove’s excellent documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) about the Harlem Cultural Festival. And unsurprisingly, in 2020, a group of billionaires decided to undertake their own trips to the moon in the middle of a crippling global pandemic, the same criticisms were made once again. Will we ever learn?

Round and around and around we go
Where the world is headed nobody knows

‘Ball of Confusion’ accurately sums up this age of discontent by painting a picture of a world spinning out of orbit and out of control. The whole feel or even message of the song is one of impending doom, gloom and despair. And indeed, the 1970s wasn’t not known for being the most cheerful or optimistic of decades. When Dennis Edwards yells (ok sings loudly and emphatically) “Great Googa Mooga / Can’t you hear me talking to you?”, that is the call to wake up and to stop ignoring what is going on around us. Action must happen, change, more change must to take place or else we are done for.

I want to pause for a moment and look at the phrase “Great Googa Mooga”. I don’t know about you, but I have never heard this phrase outside the context of this song. I actually thought it was made up, maybe a line of scat improvisation or something. But no, “Great Googa Mooga” is actually African-American slang used to express either, shock, dismay or great appreciation. I’ve been trying to think of other phrases, Dennis Edwards could have sung instead, and “Good God Almighty” is probably the closest but doesn’t rhyme as well and also has been used a lot. Plus there’s something so random and original about “Great Googa Mooga”, that what else could it be? Also, not gonna lie, it’s the one part of the song that actually makes me smile and not want to crawl into a dark room and lie down in despair.

The timelessness and relevance of this track is evident in the fact that numerous musicians have returned to it to sample or cover including The Neville Brothers, Tina Turner, Duran Duran and er, Anthrax. Yes, you read correctly, thrash metal band Anthrax covered this track. And it’s not terrible – that is if you like your thrash metal infused with a bit of Motown, and it’s much better than Duran Duran’s offering.

So there you have it ‘Ball of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)’, a song for all ages and all seasons. Have a listen here:

Sources:
The Temptations – Wikipedia
Ball of Confusion (That’s What The World is Today) – Wikipedia
The Temptations – Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today) – Genius lyrics

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