Classic Soul Hits - The Temptations Album Review

The Temptations

Album Review

Soul troubadours lose their touch.

Considered to be as influential to Soul as The Beatles were to Pop, The Temps continue their 48 year career with a release of covers -12, and six originals. The originals * remain perennial classics; however most of the covers are quite disastrous. A vocal group as great as this should know that some things are Tonto - you don't mess with Tonto. Also, the Motown (Funk Brothers) feel has been lost, sounding more like a cabaret act. It's the arrangements that let the whole thing down. However much they try, they'll never match the Classic Five line-up. Otis Williams is the only surviving original member.

Marvin Gaye's Can I Get A Witness is totally lacklustre, lacking the punch of the original. The funked-up How Sweet...(again Marvin Gaye) lacks any of the stylish vocals, as hard a new boy Bruce Williamson tries. It's also lost its danceable qualities. Thankfully, Sam and Dave's classic Hold On I'm Comin' has retained all its edge and thrust, keeping the sumptuous swing and fever intact. This Ole Heart Of Mine (Isley Brothers) was a massive hit in 1966, and was one of the best soulful dance song ever released by Tamla Motown. Here The Temps mess it all up, turning into mid-paced ballad with dire consequences. As good as these Temps are vocally, trying to emulate Barry White's soul masterpiece Never Never Gonna Give You Up is a real no-go area. Jimmy Ruffin's bitter sweet ballad What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted is one of Motown's greatest moments. This version is horrible, as is the Jackson Five's Never Can Say Goodbye as they try to give it the urban Jazz treatment. The only two covers of this that work are by the Communards and more impressively, Gloria Gaynor. Mercifully, Jacko's I'll Be There is excellent. Having just got a Brownie point, they go and kill Don't Leave Me This Way, giving it Stock Aitken and Waterman production. The Funk Brothers would cringe. Finally, The Staple Singers' Respect Yourself gets my stamp of approval - this is seriously good.

Apart for some memorable originals, as an album, this lacks cohesion and lack of thought in terms of ideas and its mixed production and those woeful arrangements.

File under: What's going on?

Elly Roberts