Fencewalk

"Fencewalk" is the second track on Composite Truth and runs 5:28. It was released as a single in 1973, reaching number 52 on the Hot 100 and number 19 on the soul chart, and it is generally described as the band's signature song and biggest hit. Wikipedia credits all songs on the album to Mandrill as a group; a streaming-service listing names Louis, Carlos and Ricardo Wilson, so the writing credit is not settled.

The recording was made in the winter of 1972 at Electric Lady Studios and The Hit Factory in New York. The lineup was the three Wilsons on horns and vocals, Claude Cave on keyboards and vibraphone, Fudgie Kae Solomon on bass, Omar Mesa on guitar and Neftali Santiago on drums. Setlist.fm lists "Fencewalk" five times across the 102 Mandrill setlists it holds for 1971 to 2008, the third most played song after "Git It All" and "Hang Loose."

The song gave its name to the 1997 two-disc anthology Fencewalk: The Anthology on Polydor, which AllMusic's Ned Raggett called a fine overview of Mandrill's work in the 1970s. A cover titled "Fence Walk" by Paul Ramous is mentioned on a retro blog but is unverified.