[TR24][OF] The Temptations - The Temptations Sing Smokey - 1965/2015 (Soul, R&B)

This was the first Temptations album to really make an impact on the charts: it cracked the top forty and included their #1 hit 'My Girl', 'It's Growing', a pretty number in the style of the previous song, and recycled from the previous outing is 'The Way You Do The Things You Do'. So the album has some historical significance in that regard, but the music itself is worth praising as well. 'My Girl' is their most famous song and single-handedly placed David Ruffin into the upper echelon of singers. The follow up, 'It's Growing', isn't quite as good, but is still a classic. 'You'll Lose a Precious Love' is also a standout, and all of these songs were written by Smokey Robinson. Ruffin leads on most of the highlights, ('The Way You Do' being an exception), but don't stop listening there. 'Baby, Baby I Need You' is a solid cut and has some awesome harmonies by the group. There's some familiar material here, such as a cover of the Mary Wells song 'You Beat Me to the Punch' led by Paul Williams, and of the Miracles' (Robinson's group) 'You Really Got a Hold On Me' and 'Who's Lovin' You'. Eddie Kendricks' beautiful falsetto vocals are great and provide a good contrast to Ruffin's grittier delivery, and he has a particularly impressive lead on 'Way Over There'.
'The Temptations Sing Smokey' is solid from start to finish, though the sound and tempo never really changes, so boredom could set in for some listeners. And most of it sounds very dated, though not as much as their debut album, even when compared to the material they would record just a couple of years later. In short, the Temptations would eventually move on to do bigger and better things, moving away from old fashioned balladry to an edgier, more modern R&B sound and later to psychedelic soul and funk with Norman Whitfield at the helm. These periods would produce the group's masterpieces, but early records like these are still enjoyable to listen to, even if only to hear Motown's best vocal group as they were still developing their sound.