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1964 studio album by The Temptations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meet the Temptations is the debut studio album by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1964. It includes most of the group's early singles, excluding only the first, "Oh Mother of Mine", and its b-side, "Romance Without Finance" (later included on a CD reissue of the LP); as well as the single "Mind Over Matter" (and its b-side "I'll Love You Till I Die"), in which the group is credited as The Pirates. The album consists entirely of previously released singles, including the group's first hit single, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".
| Meet the Temptations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 13, 1964[1] | |||
| Recorded | Spring 1961 – January 1964 | |||
| Genre | Soul, doo-wop | |||
| Length | 31:33 | |||
| Label | Gordy GS 911 | |||
| Producer | Berry Gordy, Andre Williams, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Smokey Robinson, and Norman Whitfield | |||
| The Temptations chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Meet the Temptations | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Record Mirror |  [3] |
The lineup on the cover features Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, and newest Temptation Davis (later David) Ruffin. Ruffin had just joined the act three months before this album was released, and actually only appears on "The Way You Do The Things You Do". The other tracks all feature original Temptation Elbridge "Al" Bryant, who was fired from the group in December 1963.
Again, excepting the hit single, these tracks all date from the Temptations' slow-selling starting period (during which some Motown staffers referred to them as the "hitless Temptations"). Despite local success in Detroit and the midwest, the Temptations released six singles that missed the Top 100 Pop & R&B charts, and one, "Dream Come True", which made it to #22 on the R&B singles chart. Most of these songs feature Paul Williams as (main) lead, while Kendricks, Bryant, Franklin, and Otis Williams were given plenty of lead lines, ad-libs and harmony vocals heard throughout the album. Kendricks was also given a small handful of songs to lead as well, including the two charting singles.
The album was originally issued only in monaural sound. A stereo remix of the album was issued along with the original mono version in 1966. The bonus tracks were added to the album in 1999.
Technically there wasn't a recording session for this album as it was basically a collection of the group's singles and B-sides up to that point. Other tracks that were recorded along the same timeline that could have been included on the album were:
There have also been some reports (including Otis Williams’ Temptations autobiography) that some of the then-current group members were not available at the time of recording some songs. However, this cannot be substantiated by official Motown studio records. The tracks with supposedly missing group members (and the missing member/s) are:
"A Tear From A Woman's Eyes", an H-D-H production, competed with "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (and "Just Let Me Know", "Not Now (I'll Tell You Later)", and "Give It Up") for the a-side of the group’s seventh single. It was recorded just three days before the hit song.
(*) released on Lost and Found: You've Got to Earn It (1962–1968) (**) released on the Emperors of Soul box set
with:
The main lead vocalists on each track are identified by superscripts: (a) Paul Williams, (b) Eddie Kendricks, (c) Al Bryant, (d) Otis Williams, (e) Melvin Franklin.
(*) Elbridge "Al" Bryant was originally credited as the lead on "May I Have This Dance". In fact the first tenor lead on this song was actually performed by Eddie Kendricks singing in his natural tenor, as well as his falsetto on the end. Other songs with Kendricks’ natural singing voice include "My Pillow", "Camouflage [Version 1]", and "Way Over There" (from The Temptations Sing Smokey).
| Name | Chart (1962–1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Meet the Temptations | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 95 |
| Meet the Temptations | U.S. R&B Albums | - |
| "(You're My) Dream Come True" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | - |
| "(You're My) Dream Come True" | U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 22 |
| "Paradise" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 122 |
| "The Way You Do the Things You Do" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 11 |
| "The Way You Do the Things You Do" | U.S. Cashbox R&B Singles | 1 |
| "Just Let Me Know" | U.S. Cashbox R&B Singles | ? |
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