159. The Temptations — Cloud Nine (1969)

Floating

1. The Temptations already had plenty of hits by the time they got around to releasing Cloud Nine, from “My Girl” to “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” but those songs had a sound that was already starting to feel dated. Enter Producer Norman Whitfield, launching the group away from Motown’s formulaic four-four beats and introducing a progressive soul sound. It’s a successful move, as evidenced immediately by album opener “Cloud Nine,” a funky tune that — per the effort toward modernization — recalls Isaac Hayes and Funkadelic more than it does “My Girl.” In fact, the band was openly attempting to mimic Sly Stone’s “Dance To The Music,” and they do so tremendously. I love it, and so did the Grammys; it won Motown their first award.
2. Whitfield wrote “I Heard It On The Grapevine,” and had the Temptations take their own spin on the song here. Again: successful, groovy, with a syncopated rhythm and bouncy bass line that complements the band’s vocals well. But the real stunner is perhaps the third track, “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” which ran nearly 10 minutes long and includes a stunner of an extended instrumental jam. For a front half of an album, you can’t do much better than these three tracks.
3. The back half of the album leans more back into the classic Temptations/Motown sound, filled with smooth ballads. These tracks satisfy in a vacuum, but ultimately leave the album sounding somewhat schizophrenic. “Why Did She Have To Leave Me” is a classic doo-wop Temptations tune, but after hearing their more progressive sound on the front half of the album, it leaves the impression of a band afraid to fully commit to change. I’m not sure if we’ll get more Temptations albums in the list from here, but I’m grateful to have gotten this glimpse into their development, and I won’t think of the band in quite the same way again.

Next up: the aforementioned Sly Stone shatters what soul and R&B can be.

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