Released: 1981
The Temptations made a triumphant return to Motown in 1980 with Power (B), their best album since 1975’s A Song for You (A-). Unfortunately, the new groove didn’t carry over to this self-titled LP released in 1981.
The Temptations was produced by Philly Soul veteran Thom Bell. Granted this stab at Philly Soul was muuuuuch better than the dreadful Hear To Tempt You (F-), but the album still sounds underdeveloped.
There’s good ideas here that just never really take off.
Take for example “Aiming At Your Heart”, which starts off lightly funky with some finger snaps, a pluckin’ rhythm guitar, and a synth bass that burbles. However… it never goes anywhere. It stays stuck in a smooth groove that never has any payoff. It’d be more forgivable if the song was short, but it clocks in at six minutes. Yeesh.
A similar fate befalls “Ready, Willing, and Able”, which again starts off like we’re getting a wonderful jam only to be disappointed. Poor Dennis Edwards sings his heart out, but the song just falls flat as Bell was unable to come up with a decent chorus. At least this song is only 3:27.
“Oh What A Night”, “What Else”, and “Your Lovin’ Is Magic” are three other alright tunes that were undercooked.
So is there anything good on this album?
Well, yes there is.
“The Life Of A Cowboy” is an oddity with Edwards singing a violin-laden ballad.
Even better, “Open Their Eyes” provides an unexpected Celtic-influenced ballad. Yes, you read that right. Glenn Leonard shines on this paean to raising children correctly so that they’ll save the world. Lyricist Linda Creed outdid herself on this one. There’s a mandolin, emotional strings, and slowly stomping percussion.
This is the song I wish had been six minutes on this album. Let the strings just work a minute or so longer.
ALBUM GRADE: C-
This album sounds good. The audio quality can’t be dismissed. Just wish the actual music being recorded was better and more time had taken to make the songs complete. Besides “The Life Of A Cowboy” and “Open Their Eyes” the potentially good songs tracks don’t cross the finish line particularly well. Hell even those two songs abruptly end. It’s like they had limited studio time and were like, “Good enough. On to the next song!”
With that said, unsurprisingly, the album bombed. #36 R&B and a paltry 11 weeks on the charts.
On the next Temptations album, Motown honcho Berry Gordy decided to go for one big underwhelming gimmick.
Song Scores
Aiming At Your Heart: 6/10
Evil Woman (Gonna Take Your Love): 3/10
The Best Of Both Worlds: 3/10
Ready, Willing, and Able: 6.5/10
Open Their Eyes: 9/10
Oh, What a Night: 6/10
The Life Of A Cowboy: 7/10
Just Ain't Havin' Fun: 4/10
What Else: 6/10
Your Lovin' Is Magic: 6/10