- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- The Temptations expanded the appeal of psychedelic soul among the Motown recording artists with Cloud Nine and many other albums that followed.
The Temptations – Cloud Nine (1969): The Temptations are Motown Records’ definitive vocal group, and they have recorded an impressive variety of pop, funk, soul, and R&B music over the years. “The Way You Do the Things You Do” – written and produced by Smokey Robinson in 1964 – is the first of 37 Top 40 hit songs by the Temptations, with 15 making the Top Ten on the pop charts, including four #1 singles: “My Girl”, “I Can’t Get Next to You”, “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)”, and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”. With their new lead vocalist Dennis Edwards, formerly of the Contours, and a new record producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield, the Temptations expanded the appeal of psychedelic soul among the Motown recording artists and into the general public as well with Cloud Nine and many other albums that followed.
The Temptations went in a completely new direction on Side 1 of Cloud Nine, consisting of the title song “Cloud Nine” (a likely drug reference); the showcase song of their new sound, the 9½-minute “Runaway Child, Runnin’ Wild”; and a fresh take on “I Heard it through the Grapevine” that had already been recorded by three of the top artists at Motown Records: the Miracles (Smokey Robinson’s band), Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Marvin Gaye. Probably the earliest psychedelic soul group is Sly and the Family Stone, who released “Dance to the Music” in late 1967 and had follow-up hits like their #1 single “Everyday People” and “I Want to Take You Higher”. Their accompanying album Stand! (1969) sold three million copies and earned the group an appearance at Woodstock, where their live set is generally regarded as one of the greatest at the concert festival. Another important psychedelic soul group is the Chambers Brothers, a former gospel quartet whose 11-minute song “Time Has Come Today” (a long-time favorite of mine) hit the record charts in the Fall of 1968, with a shortened version just missing the Top Ten. “Cloud Nine”, a Top Ten hit that won a Grammy Award – the first Grammy that any Motown recording artist received, amazingly – also includes the kind of social commentary that other Motown artists, particularly Marvin Gaye would explore in the 1970’s. Side 2 is superficially more like earlier Temptations records, but the songs still sound to me like they are coming from a different group, with the best being “Love is a Hurtin’ Thing”, “Hey Girl”, “I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back)”, and “Gonna Keep on Tryin’ till I Win Your Love”. “Hey Girl”, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King (Norman Whitfield also claims a songwriting credit for the version by the Temptations), was a Top Ten hit for Freddie Scott in 1963, with Donny Osmond later reaching the Top Ten with “Hey Girl” in 1971. The Temptations would continue to develop psychedelic soul with Norman Whitfield in their later albums Puzzle People, Psychedelic Shack, Sky’s the Limit, Solid Rock, All Directions (featuring their #1 single “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” that won the Temptations their second Grammy), Masterpiece, and 1990.