A) - Was rather underutilised by The Hitsville Empire (i.e. His releases stopped after the company moved to L.A., albeit he relocated with them...only as a figure behind a desk in an office)
and
B) - Is an artiste that was VERY ahead of his time, as far as lyrics of Horrific Pain Over Lost and/or Forbidden Love(s) that were SO severe that There Was NO Way Out Except For The FINAL Ending...
We all are familiar with the classic "INDIANA WANTS ME", of course...
But there are *other* gems by Dean that deserve a closer look.
Verify The Hence:
"BACK STREET" - "Her own folks disowned her; Her friends all scorned her....She lived like a rat in the sewer.."...NOT a song you ca walk down the street whistling to..well-executed it may be:
"CANDY APPLE RED" - VERY disturbing when one hears this--excellently performed, mind you---but the "Can't Turn Back...Turnin' Black" lyric perforated with gunshots...and then the recital of the Lord's Prayer in the Finale...with a rather discernible flapping of a wildly rotating empty tape reel...signifying, perhaps, a life spiralling out-of-control and downward...bone-chilling.......
A pal of mine envisioned this as if "Brian DePalma and Paul Verhoeven collaborated on the lyric & production..."
Not forgetting the rather unnerving lyrical content "SHADOW"
Methinks that Dean had more than just a hand in the collaboration lyric of "LOVE CHILD" and "I'M LIVIN' IN SHAME"
For my money, Dean told of as much (if not more) pain and angst than the Much Regretted KURT COBAIN (Nirvana)...but just was too ahead of his time to be TRULY appreciated by the masses...
The only difference is that Cobain is no longer with us..
As an aside, I *do* wonder if there ARE any unreleased gems made after he & The Gordy Empire relocated to Hollywood? After all, he *did* hang tough with Motown until the Rare Earth label was terminated in 1977.
