The Temptations TEMPTATIONS LIVE!

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.
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.

• Format: CD
• Genre: R&B