TEMPTATIONS, The Archives - Guerssen Records

Masterpiece Limited Edition

GuerssenAdmin — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 22:00:00 +0000

Limited Edition 180 Gram LP
As all of The Temptations’ “psychedelic soul”-era albums, Masterpiece was produced by Norman Whitfield. Having already produced songs for the Temptations such as “Smiling Faces Sometimes” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”, which emphasized his instrumental tracks over the group’s vocals, Whitfield went here one step further. The title track, at nearly fourteen minutes long, includes just three minutes of group vocals. Many critics, and The Temptations themselves, remarked that much of Masterpiece, and especially its title track, sounds more like a Norman Whitfield/Funk Brothers solo recording featuring supporting vocals by The Temptations than as a song by the group. Masterpiece reached #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart, and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Hey Girl (I Like Your Style)” also became a Top 40 hit in the late summer/early fall of 1973, and “Law of the Land” was released as a UK-only single by Tamla Motown, and just missed the UK Top 40, peaking at #41 in late 1973.

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The Temptin’ Temptations

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Limited edition 180gr LP
Released in 1965, Temptin’ Temptations marked the band’s third album for Motown’s Gordy subsidiary. It boasted seven chart-hitting singles, including “Since I Lost My Baby,” “My Baby,” “Don’t Look Back,” and “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue).” Smokey Robinson produced six of the tracks, while the album also introduced Ivory Joe Hunter and Mickey Stevenson’s production work on “Just Another Lonely Night” and “Born to Love You” and future producer Norman Whitfield on “The Girl’s Alright With Me,” “I Gotta Know Now,” and “Everybody Needs Love.” The LP climbed to #1 in the U.S. Top R&B Albums chart, while “Since I Lost My Baby” and “My Baby” both rose to #4 in the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles chart. The album features The Temptations’ top formation, with David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams.

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Psychedelic shack (Limited Edition)

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Psychedelic Shack (1970) by The Temptations is the album which represents the bands’ full-blown submergence into psychedelia. Completely written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield, Psychedelic Shack almost completely abandoned the “Motown Sound” formula; hard rock guitars, synthesizer sound effects, multitracked drums, sampling, and stereo-shifting vocals give most of the album’s songs a harder, less traditional feel than The Temptations’ previous work. Psychedelic Shack was the final album completed before the third incarnation of The Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams) broke apart. Like most Temptations albums from the group’s “psychedelic period”, producer Norman Whitfield held full creative control over Psychedelic Shack. The only freedom afforded the Temptations themselves for this album was the occasional opportunity for Kendricks to arrange the vocal harmonies. The album cover, a collage/illustration by Hermon Weems, places photographs of The Temptations in a depiction of a psychedelic shack: an establishment in urban neighborhoods where people could go to “enhance their minds” through art, music, and mind-altering drugs. Not much else can be said, except that this is an absolutely outstanding album -one which has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh as it did upon its initial release.

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Puzzle People (Limited Edition)

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Produced entirely by Norman Whitfield, The Temptations’s “Puzzle People” takes the next step along the path that Cloud Nine started, and takes the Detroit band further away from a classic soul sound, and more towards the realm of psychedelic soul. Although a few ballads, including “Running Away (Ain’t Gonna Help You),” are still present, the album is primarily composed of Sly & the Family Stone/James Brownderived proto-funk tracks such as the lead single “Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down,” and the number-one Billboard Pop hit “I Can’t Get Next to You.” Also included are psychedelic-styled covers (recorded with distorted guitars, clavinets, and spacy reverb and sound effects) of contemporary songs such as The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing,” The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” and Roger Miller’s “Little Green Apples.”
“Puzzle People” was released on the same day (September 23, 1969) as “Together”, a duets album of covers by The Temptations and label mates Diana Ross & the Supremes. It peaked into the Top 5 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and spent fifteen weeks at number one on the R&B Albums chart.
Recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) and Golden World Studios (Studio B) in Detroit, Michigan between October 1968 and July 1969.

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