Temptations Live! CD

This 1999 reissue contains one bonus track not on the original release.
The Temptations: Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams.
Reissue producer: Harry Weinger.
Includes liner notes by Scott Regen.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using 24-bit technology.
Capturing live rock or soul performances professionally for commercial release was still more art than science on October 3, 1966, when this album was recorded at the Roostertail in Detroit. Technically, Temptations Live! has its flaws -- balance problems and leakages -- but the remastering has compensated for these problems extraordinarily well, and the performance always had about as much energy as any other three albums of the same era. And as fine as their studio sound was, that energy was something that could only be captured in concert. In fact, they fare better than almost any other Motown act of the period on this live album. Berry Gordy always encouraged his acts to try to "mainstream" their sound in concert, which meant the Supremes did numbers from contemporary Broadway shows when they cut live albums, but the Temptations were one act that could get away with this repertory and not seem arch or artificial on stage -- Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" (he must have gotten the biggest kick out of the Temptations covering one of his songs) and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's "Ol' Man River" just flow out as part of the show, sandwiched between the Smokey Robinson numbers. The producers compensated for the original album's flaws by going back to the unedited tape, which yielded yet another bonus -- in addition to the released album, they found the original finale of "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (which would have made the LP too long) that puts a killer cap on a superb concert recording and fills a gap in their recorded history. The notes are fully detailed as well -- always a nice bonus on a mid-priced CD. ~ Bruce Eder
The Temptations cut this live album in 1966 at the height of their first wave of popularity (the band would experience success in another incarnation in the late '60s and early '70s). On this 17-track set, the Temps marry their trademark smooth crooning and superb harmonies with a blazing, in-concert energy. Still in their original line-up here, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Paul and Otis Williams, and Melvin Franklin take turns singing lead and lending background support, showcasing the group's vocal versatility and panache.
The set is comprised of the Temps' earliest hits, including two of Smokey Robinson's finest songs, the loping, romantic "My Girl" and the powerhouse "Get Ready," which is given a smoking, double-time treatment on stage. Tunes by Motown-stable composers Edward Holland and Norman Whitfield also get spins here, as do covers of the Beatles' "Yesterday" and Kern/Hammerstein's "Ol' Man River." A concert highlight is undoubtedly "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," which spotlights Eddie Kendricks's soulful tenor. Edgier than their studio releases (a tight-knit combo backs the group here, without a string arrangement in sight), TEMPTATIONS LIVE! is one of strongest live R&B albums of its era.