eMusic Review 0
The Temptations were Motown's greatest vocal group, male or female. Despite many changes in personnel both within the group and behind the scenes — the Tempts had a good turnover of writer-producer collaborators — their body of work stands tall among any '60s act you can name. They were the label's weathervane — the Motown group most likely to be up on the next new twist in soul music's heady, constantly shifting ongoing narrative. They split the lead vocals between gruff tenor David Ruffin (and later Dennis Edwards) and velvety falsetto Eddie Kendricks, one of the first singers of the rock era (and long after Buddy Holly's passing) who deemed it cool to wear glasses onstage. (Damon Harris would replace Kendricks in 1971.)
Those contrasting styles gave the group its wide range. They cut the sweetest ballads (1971's heartbreaking "Just My Imagination") and the most audacious funk (1970s wah-wah summum "Cloud Nine"); they had the smoothest doo-wop harmonies ("My Girl," 1965) and could do vocal pass-offs that made Sly & the Family Stone (whose technique the Tempts were borrowing on "I Can't Get Next to You," 1969) sound ramshackle; they were equally convincing in showbiz suits or psychedelic finery. They're also… read more »
