The Temptations Appreciation Thread!

Alas, no CD. Both of my Gordy copies are re-channeled stereo. I have a reel-to-reel copy of it that sounds just awful but the LP sounds pretty good! It can be downloaded from iTunes. Pono's down at the moment and I can't remember if it was there or not.

Ed

 

One of their less well known tracks - Farewell My Love

 

One of my favorites from their early Motown period:

"Baby, I Need You" - The Temptations

 

"Psychedelic Soul" 2cd set is a must have.
Great sound also.

 

I wonder how this sounds?



Darryl

 

Any love for this one? This is my favourite.

"Standing On The Top" - The Temptations featuring Rick James.

I bought it on a 7" single. Then I also bought the 12" single.

 

Yes that's one of the best latter-day Tempts tracks. I'm not saying all their later work was good but there are definitely some gems in there.

 

Poor Eddie...

Ed

 

My Favorite Motown group... my Favorite Soul group


I know to you, it might sound strange
But I wish it would rain, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

.

 

An undeservedly obscure Temptations track, one of the last Norman Whitfield ever produced for the group, from the 1983 album Back to Basics--the stomper "Miss Busy Body (Get Your Body Busy," anchored by the de rigeur drum machine and one of Dennis Edward's most lascivious fireball vocals--and dig the talking computer!


It proves Whitfield was moving with the times, but the album's commercial failure doomed his chances of a working with the Temptations again. Like all of side one, the song was written by Whitfield and Angelo Bond.

 

I am 'tempted' to check out this recently released authentic Motown bargain 5CD box, especially after seeing up-thread (post#26), the first three titles listed as the 3 most favoured Temptations albums.



5 Classic Albums - The Tempations (Motown)

Featuring the albums -

The Temptations Sing Smokey

The Temptin' Temptations

Gettin' Ready

With A Lot O' Soul

Diana Ross And The Supremes Join The Temptations

 

This LP knock me sideways when I first heard it in 1973.

It sounds just as fresh an amazing now as it ever did.

Absolutely crucial Temptations.



Masterpiece - The Temptations (Tamla Motown)

produced by Norman Whitfield

Released 1973

 

Agreed! This might be the height of the Temptations/Whitfield marriage. "Plastic Man" is pure genius!

Ed

 

Sad to hear, Eddie lost his voice fairly early, probably before he got to his 40s, still sad to hear him on Reunion...

 

I loved The Temptations. They had a string of flawless singles for almost a decade. Unusually for Motown, all The Tempts studio albums from 'Smokey' to 'Masterpiece' - bar the rotten supper-club 'Mellow Mood' - were also (virtually) filler-free.

My favourite singles? Probably 'Get Ready' and 'Can't Get Next To You'. Album-wise, a toss-up between 'Lot O' Soul' and 'Sky's The Limit'. ('Smiling Faces Sometimes', from the latter, is an exquisite tour de force.) For me, '60s/early-70s Temptations are up there with the greats, in terms of artistry.

 

I'll just leave this here...



Ed

 

Sorry I missed this thread the first time around. Grew up with these guys in the 60s and loved them through all the changes. The usual suspects have pretty much all been mentioned but here are two that no one has brought up yet. They come from the same lp though the first was a rerecording of an earlier track:



YouTube

 

Sorry again but the second song didn't take so here it is:

 

I grew up and like it all from 1963 to 1975, with two or three more in the 80s. Forget The Supremes! The Temptations paid the bills at Motown. They were consistent hitmakers for over a 10-year period, and survived many personnel changes. Losing David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks should have been the death knell for them but they kept on truckin'. The quality of every one of their singles, and many album cuts cannot be beat, even by The Beatles, IMO.

 

Question for the big fans- how are they in concert these days? I know it's just Otis and a bunch of guys (Ron Tyson is the only name I recognise as being a veteran), but I guess they have some musical worth? They've had a Spaniel and a Parliament in the last few years (Ray being the only guy I've heard who could match Melvin as a bass singer), but their recorded output seems very dull- are the gigs any better?

 

I don't Ray was as quite as good as Melvin, I don't think anyone was, he had a great swing.

The Temptations of today include Larry Braggs (TOP's ex-lead singer) Willie Greene (bass) Otis Williams, Ron Tyson and Terry Weeks.

 

Thanks - so Ron Tyson is in the Kendricks slot, and Weeks the Ruffin position? Is there any reason why Dennis Edwards isn't in the group any more?

I didn't ever hear Ray with The Temptations, but those were enormous shoes to fill. I thought he was superb in Funkadelic, but perhaps that didn't translate as well to somehing more...conventional.

 

"The Sound Of Young America"



Temptation got the better of me and I have just bought a copy of this nifty wee 5CD box!

Issued in 2017 this set includes the albums

THE TEMPTATIONS SING SMOKEY
Produced by Bill "Smokey" Robinson
Recorded 1965

THE TEMPTIN' TEMPTATIONS
Produced by Bill "Smokey" Robinson
Recorded 1965

GETTIN' READY
Produced by William "Smokey" Robinson
Recorded 1966

THE TEMPTATIONS WITH A LOT O' SOUL
Recorded 1967

DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES JOIN THE TEMPTATIONS
Produced by Frank Wilson
Recorded 1968

All CDs, which have been manufactured in the Netherlands, have been made directly from Motown master tapes and, as you would expect, have that genuine, authentic Tamla Motown sound.

The mini cardboard box is very cool looking.

All CDs are attractively packaged in mini cardboard replica LP sleeves.

Temptations fans who don't have, or have not heard these albums, will appreciate the fact this Tamla Motown (bargain priced) 5CD box has been made available and should jump at the chance to secure a copy.

"The Sound Of Young America"

 

Seems bit weird to omit Wish It Would Rain (the last David Ruffin album in the original run) in favour of that Supremes collaboration album. Still, probably a nice collection.

 

I had NO IDEA this existed!

It's a 1982 Live soundboard with David, Eddie playing with Dennis (RIP of course), Otis, Melvin, Richard, Glenn. (phew!) Not sure if Louis Price was still around.

They even perform two of David's biggest solo hits, "My Whole World Ended" and "Walk Away From Love". (According to someone in the comments they alternated between tour dates on Eddie and David's hit songs)



The vocals sometimes get a bit drowned out by the instrumentation but it's lucky that this exists at all really!