It has to be said Whitfield left the Temptations hanging when thereupon he left Motown and started his own record company. The Temptations entered a dry spell, Atlantic couldn't advance them and by the eighties the world had changed and they no longer commanded an audience. Line up changes have occurred all thru the years but these guys could really sing so no surprise then they are still on the road, although the current senior member, Ron Tyson joined in 1983 a far cry from the original line up then. Today 3 albums in lossless flac from the psychedelic era Cloud Nine (69), Psychedelic Shack (70) and All Directions (72) enjoy..
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When smooth David Ruffin was replaced by a 'rougher' Dennis Edwards, Whitfield restructured the Temptations' sound, this time driving the group almost completely into a "psychedelic soul" type sound. However, ballads in the traditional style of the group were still being recorded as B-sides and album fillers. Most other recordings from this period in 1968–1970 such as "Cloud Nine" and "Psychedelic Shack" featured echoed vocal tracks, distorted guitar lines with prominent use of the wah-wah pedal, hard-hitting drums, and various stereo and other sound effects. The majority of these songs feature at least two lead singers and often, all five Temptations sang lead, trading bars à la the Family Stone. Dennis Edwards often featured prominently on most of these recordings.
Inspired heavily by the concurrent works of Sly Stone, the lyrics for these songs centered primarily around then-current social issues such as integration, the Vietnam War, and self-consciousness. In addition, in an attempt to get the social message contained therein across to their audiences more clearly, many of the psychedelic soul recordings of this period were presented in mixes of extended length, often up to twice, triple or quadruple the length of the typical three-minute Motown song.
Tracks such as the album version of "Run Away Child, Running Wild" from Cloud Nine, "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" from Psychedelic Shack, and "Smiling Faces Sometimes" from Sky's the Limit, all run at least eight minutes. At the insistence of Norman Whitfield, a large portion of the additional running time for each song consisted of instrumental passages without vocals. For example, the hit version of their smash 1972 single "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was nearly seven minutes, featuring an instrumental intro that was almost two minutes, a rarity for songs of that era.
"Psychedelic soul" soon gave way to "cinematic soul", highlighting a further series of lengthy recordings featuring detailed orchestration, extended instrumental introductions and bridging passages. Often focusing on lyrics about the ghettos and inner cities of black America, these songs were heavily influenced by the work of singer-songwriters Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. Unlike Hayes and Mayfield however, the Temptations had no creative control over their recordings, and were in no way fond of the twelve- and thirteen-minute long songs being forced upon them by Norman Whitfield, whose contributions were the focal point of Temptations albums such as Solid Rock, All Directions, and particularly Masterpiece.
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Best known for their silky soul vocals and smooth-stepping routines, the Temptations were firmly entrenched as the undisputed kings of Barry Gordy's Motown stable when cutting-edge producer Norman Whitfield walked into the studio and announced that it was time to shake things up. The resulting freakout became the first half of the stellar Cloud Nine, an album that would become one of the defining early funk sets, with songs that not only took Motown in a new direction, but helped to shape a genre as well. On one side and across three jams, Whitfield and the Temptations would give '70s-era funk musicians a broad palette from which to draw inspiration. The title track, with its funky soul bordering on psychedelic frenzy, was an audacious album opener, and surely gave older fans a moment's pause. After shaking up the record-buying public with these three side 1 masterpieces, the Temptations brought things back to form for side two. Here, their gorgeous vocals dominated slick arrangements in short it was Temptations business as usual. The dichotomy of form between old and new between sides shattered the doorway between past and present as surely as the decade itself imploded and smooth soul gave way to blistering funk.
The Temptations - Cloud Nine ( 206mb)
01 Cloud Nine 3:27
02 I Heard It Through The Grapevine 3:00
03 Run Away Child, Running Wild 9:38
04 Love Is A Hurtin' Thing 2:28
05 Hey Girl 2:38
06 Why Did She Have To Leave Me (Why Did She Have To Go) 2:56
07 I Need Your Lovin' 2:35
08 Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me 2:31
09 I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back) 2:56
10 Gonna Keep On Tryin' Till I Win Your Love 2:32
The Temptations - Cloud Nine ( 92mb)
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1970's Norman Whitfield-produced Psychedelic Shack -- while perhaps a system shock to those fans who grooved to the band's lame-suited, Motown dance-routined R&B classics -- was a magnificent stretch into an epic and ultimately emerged as another in a long line of enduring sets. The Temptations broke their own mold with the acid-drenched party chant: "Psychedelic shack/That's where it's at." The Whitfield-penned classic "War" best known from ex Temptation Edwin Starr who etched what is now considered to be the definitive version of the song , didn't prevent the Temptations to add their own inspired spin to it. This is an outstanding album -- one which has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh as it did upon initial release.
The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack ( 233mb)
01 Psychedelic Shack 3:50
02 You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth 2:45
03 Hum Along And Dance 3:55
04 Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind 8:35
05 It's Summer 2:34
06 War 3:11
07 You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You) 3:57
08 Friendship Train 7:48
The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack ( 93mb)
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A monster album, the one that put them back in the spotlight and signaled that Norman Whitfield had saved the day. Damon Harris had replaced Eddie Kendricks, and there were many doubters convinced the band was finished. Instead, Whitfield revitalized them via the majestic single, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." Despite its length, Whitfield's decision to open with an extensive, multi-layered musical suite and tease listeners was a master stroke. By the time Dennis Edwards' voice came rushing in, no one would dare turn it off.
The Temptations - All Directions ( 196mb)
01 Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On 3:05
02 Run Charlie Run 3:01
03 Papa Was A Rollin' Stone 11:45
04 Love Woke Me Up This Morning 2:22
05 I Ain't Got Nothin' 3:32
06 The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) 4:11
07 Mother Nature 3:09
08 Do Your Thing 3:32
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Beautiful thanks for the effort
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