Review:

on 2011-05-20 CharlesMartel Said:

Opening with a single bass guitar and a hi-hat, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" kicks off one of the last truly great Motown soul singles. And, in spite of the musical links between the three verses, it is also one of the simplest, having only a single chord running throughout. The four post-Ruffin Temptations take turns with the lines and play the role of four sons questioning their mother about the dissolute father they never met.

The song, naturally, references the great Muddy Waters track but turns the term from one of an endearing drifter into an irresponsible good for nothing bum. In itself, that provides an interesting take on the development of black culture as portrayed in music, with the post Martin Luther King take being very different from that of the fifties. But never mind the theorising and the social commentary, just listen to the Temptations' last, truly great single.
Rating: 7/10