Get on Down With A Holland-Dozier-Holland Product!

The Glass House - I Can't Be You, You Can't Be Me

When Eddie and Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier broke away from Motown, where their songwriting and production skills had contributed mightily to the ascendancy of the label in the R&B and pop fields, they wasted no time setting up shop with rival concerns, Invictus Records (distributed by Capitol) and Hot Wax Records (distributed by Buddah). The trio proved, however, that you can take talent out of Motown but you can't take Motown out of the talent. H-D-H had a production line of their own, and they took the model one step further by completely manufacturing recording groups (at least at Motown, many of the groups came to the label fully-formed, with some degree of history). All of the label's main groups, including 100 Proof Aged In Soul, The Chairmen of the Board, The 8th Day and today's featured group, The Glass House, were assembled by the production team from solo artists, some of whom had worked with other groups. (Furthermore, some of the singers were in more than one of the Invictus/Hot Wax groups, most notably in the case of 100 Proof Aged In Soul and The 8th Day.) The similar story of The Glass House can be found here.

"I Can't Be You" was a minor hit for the group, as noted in the bio, but it's my favorite from the group. Naturally, the song clearly is a product of its time, with the "we all can get along, despite our lifestyles" message and the astrological shout-out at the end. The H-D-H magic is all over the record, however, as the conga-driven beat and strong singing really sells the song, especially in the mid-tune breakdown.