The Temptations - Anthology-The Best of The Temptations

Heavenly

I just recieved this cd last week and I have already copied a tape of it for my car. It has all of the old favorites we know and love, but it also has some that I had not heard, so I was so happy to get this anthology of the Temptations. If you love the Temptations like I do they could sing the ABC's and you would still tremble. December 12, 2007

Should Have Been A Unanimous 5 Stars

And, except for a few audiophiles who bemoan the fact that it's in mono, it would have been 5 stars across the board.

Having said that, you just know this one is a jewel when the vast majority of the reviews posted to date give it the maximum. And this, in my opinion, is not just based upon the outstanding music but also the insert which contains eight pages of comprehensive liner notes by Harry Weinger, numerous photographs, a complete Temptations Family Tree from 1961 to 1995, a full discography of the contents, and a listing of their many albums.

Inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1989, they put 55 songs into the Billboard Pop Hot 100 singles charts from 1964 to 1991, and had another three "Bubble Under" to go along with six on the Adult Contemporary charts - and scored no less than 87 times on the R&B charts.

This 46-selection, 2-CD set provides 36 of those 55 Hot 100 singles although, being a selfish completist collector of hit singles, I would have preferred to have seen tracks 8, 11, 14, 27 [each album cuts] - 3, 7, 10, 17 [each B-sides] - and 26 [previously unreleased] on Disc One, and track 15 [album cut] on Disc Two - replaced by omitted hits.

These could have included the following, some of which remain hard to find in CD format: Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) - # 8 R&B/# 33 Hot 100 1970]; Take A Look Around [# 10 R&B/# 30 Hot 100 1972]; Mother Nature [# 27 R&B/# 92 Hot 100 1972]; The Plastic Man [# 8 R&B/# 40 Hot 100 1973]; Heavenly [# 8 R&B/# 43 Hot 100 1974; Happy People [# 1 R&B/# 40 Hot 100 1975]; Glasshouse [# 9 R&B/# 37 Hot 100 1975]; Keep Holding On [# 3 R&B/# 54 Hot 100 1976]; Aiming At Your Heart [# 36 R&B/# 67 Hot 100 1981]; and Sail Away [# 13 R&B/# 54 Hot 100 1984].

Even so, this does not take away from the beauty of the set, part of a series which also includes Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and The Supremes, and dedicated to group member Melvin Franklin who passed away at age 52 on February 23, 1995. August 20, 2007

Top class stuff

My copy of this CD arrived damaged and so I had to order a slightly different version rather urgently from somewhere else. I'd still like to review it though.

I wanted to get this CD after hearing the song "Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)" being used to promote (the then upcoming) Season 4 of HBO's "The Wire". Check out these lyrics: "People moving out, people moving in (Why?)/ Because of the colour of their skin/ Run, run, run but you sure can't hide/ An eye of an eye, a tooth for a tooth/ Vote for me and I'll set you free!/ The only person talkin' about love, my brother, is the preacher/ And it seems nobody's interested in learnin' but the teacher."

The producers of that show are incredibly smart. I'm sure any fan of "The Wire" will agree that those few lines capture the current season of the show perfectly, almost as if the song was written for it. Or as if they wrote the show around the song.

Of course neither is the case; the use of the song simply came about as the result of good researching, and The Temptations probably don't need any introduction anyway. Alongside other male vocal groups like the O'Jays, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5/The Jacksons, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and even The Commodores, these dudes were the soundtrack to the 60s and 70s, and the soundtrack to my generation's youth. They don't make them like this anymore.

All the hits are here; tunes like "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", "My Girl", "Get Ready", "Just My Imagination" and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (with Diana Ross & The Supremes) among more recent ones like "Treat Her Like A Lady". And of course, "Ball Of Confusion". Over 40 songs and not a dud to be found anywhere. They certainly don't make them like this anymore.

This is one of those CDs I put on and find difficult to stop even if I'm late for an appointment somewhere. I'm playing it in the car and I get to where I want to go and I don't want to get out, at least, not until the song I'm listening to has finished. This is top class stuff. The best Temptations collection around today.

Right on, brothers!
March 4, 2007

Is Temptation a sin then iam guilty.

First let me address the Mono issue which is an issue for some people.My music sytem is so sophisticated it takes Mono and split it into multichannel stereo sound.Motown used the original master tapes,the result is nothing short of breathtaking.Finally, as far as the collection is concern this is and will always be the best Anthology ever created.I will venture to recommend the Michael Jackson Anthology created by the same people with absolutely amazing sound quality. January 26, 2006

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day!

The Temptations are my favorite band of all time. Their music is just fantastic. Even though I am only 17 but I love their music. I wish I was born when they were performing classics like "My Girl" "Since I lost my Baby" and the timeless ballad "My Imagination. Too bad this CD is out of print. This is definitly one of the best greatest hits collection amazon has on sale. August 18, 2005

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