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Temptations Reflect


02/01/06
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(UMe) Finally, The Temptations, one of the most popular singing groups of all time, perform the Motown classics they always loved but never had the chance to record. Putting a fresh spin on 15 of Motown�s greatest songs, Reflections (New Door/UMe) will be released January 31, 2006. �Motown is the soundtrack of our lives,� says Otis Williams. �These are songs we have always wanted to do, and now, happily, we have had a chance to do them.� This is the 47th album of new recordings from the incomparable Temptations, their first album for New Door Records, a UMe label venture.

Forty-five years after forming in Detroit, The Temptations bring some of the most memorable songs in pop and R&B to life like no other group, adding their signature harmonies to these timeless classics. Forty-one years after the last time they issued an album with a similar theme (1965�s The Temptations Sing Smokey), Reflections is a reflection of artists who were there when Motown made history. Otis Williams, the remaining founding member, actually observed the recording of The Supremes� original version of �Reflections.� Temptation G.C. Cameron, once a member of The Spinners at Motown, was also a frequent presence in the Hitsville studios.

Five tracks are from the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and production team, with whom The Temptations didn�t record much in the 1960s. On Reflections, The Temps pounce on the material with gusto: they put a haunting, modern R&B stamp on the title track (#2 for The Supremes in 1967); deliver a raucous rendition of �Can I Get A Witness� (Top 25 for Marvin Gaye in 1963), have fun with �How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)� (Top 10 for Gaye in 1965) and �This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)� (Top 15 for the Isley Brothers in 1966); and are in a melancholy mood in �I Hear A Symphony� (#1 for The Supremes in 1965).

The Temptations also tackle two songs that were hits for Gaye and Tammi Terrell: �Ain�t Nothing Like The Real Thing� (Top 10 Pop/#1 R&B in 1968), with guest vocals by Vann Johnson, and �Ain�t No Mountain High Enough� (Top 20 Pop in 1967 and #1 Pop for Diana Ross in 1970). In addition, Reflections boasts their energetic take on �Ooo Baby Baby,� the 1965 Pop Top 20 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles hit, as well as a pair of tracks first made famous in 1970 by the Jackson 5 � aching, sensuous versions of �Never Can Say Goodbye� (#1 R&B/#2 Pop) and �I�ll Be There� (#1 Pop and R&B).

The Temptations also put their unmistakable stamp for the first time on �Don�t Leave Me This Way,� Thelma Houston�s #1 disco anthem from 1977 (originally performed by Philly�s Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, Motown and Thelma made it a classic). Temptations Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks and Cameron trade off electrifying lead vocals on �Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye),� a 1973 R&B #1 from Gladys Knight & The Pips; and on �What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted,� originally a 1966 Top 10 Pop and R&B hit for Jimmy Ruffin, brother of former Temp David Ruffin.

One song they did previously record but as a duet with The Supremes in 1968 is �Try It Baby,� which had been a Pop Top 20 for Gaye in 1964. Vann Johnson again guests on the track. Diana�s 1970 Pop Top 20 �Reach Out And Touch (Somebody�s Hand)� is the album�s perfect closer, a song more and more relevant to our times. Eight of the album�s tracks are produced by Steve �The Scotsman� Harvey (Bridgette McWilliams, Donnie, Everyday People) with the balance produced and arranged by Benjamin Wright (OutKast, Justin Timberlake, Destiny�s Child, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson), both of whom have produced recent Temptations successes.

The Temps� new millennium triumphs include 2000�s Grammy-winning, Top 20 R&B Ear-Resistable; 2001�s Top 30 R&B Awesome, and 2004�s Top 20 R&B Legacy. In 2006, The Temptations, of Williams, Tyson (member since 1983, the lineup�s second longest tenure), Cameron, Weeks and bass singer Joe Herndon, continue to raise the standard by which all singing groups are measured.

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