[.ca] Cloud Nine

The Tempts get modern & don't fail to look back!:
Motown Records went through some changes in the late 1960s. The social turmoil in America, and especially Motown's homebase of Detroit, was at a fever pitch. So Berry Gordy, fearing the worst, moved Motown's operations to Hollywood, where it has remained to this day. Meanwhile, his acts were slowly changing their music to fit the times as well. With artists like Marvin Gaye & Stevie Wonder beginning their eventually successful fight for artistic freedom, groups like the Temptations were still under the guiding hand of their production team, but were still in charge of their destiny to some extent. Before CLOUD NINE (1969), David Ruffin departed the Tempts to go solo & was replaced by Dennis Edwards. Also, realizing that their original sound was starting to sound a bit out of date, they followed the lead of acts like Sly & The Family Stone by taking a more socially conscious & edgy approach to their music. It may have been at the insistence of Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong, their producers at the time, but the Tempts proved themselves worthy of the challenge & CLOUD NINE was the first album in an era when the Tempts were just about as influential as Sly Stone in expanding the boundaries of soul music. Again, CLOUD NINE the album was a typical Motown affair, backing up a hit single or two with some great-if-not-wonderful filler. Motown would not abandon this formula until the end of the 1970s, but CLOUD NINE as it is ranks as a good entry in the Tempts' vast catalog. The title track was the hit single released ahead of the album & was a top 10 pop hit as well as a #1 R & B. But the song was a bit controversial for its time with its rather blatant discussion of drug use (what kind of cloud did you think this would be about?). Musically however, this was the Tempts' most ambitious song yet with its funkier rhythms & very prominent wah-wah guitars. The trademark harmonies are still there (fluffy like a cloud, of course), but taking a page out of Sly & The Family Stone's book, all five members take a turn at singing lead, unlike previously where there was one lead with the others providing the back-up. CLOUD NINE's other big hit was "Runaway Child, Running Wild", which of course dealt with the children of the inner cities running away from home & living a life of crime. Another significant pop & R & B hit, this came about after the song was literally divided in half from its 91/2 -minute album version. Even for 1969, a 5-minute song was still cutting it pretty close for AM radio, but that's how the song became a hit & for good reason. The cacophonous close of the song is very much an acquired taste & probably attributed to Whitfield & Strong's production work than the Tempts'. The rest of the album, once again, is made-up of songs that are up to the listener to decide on whether they're good or not. Marvin Gaye had recently topped the pop charts for 7 weeks with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine". With Motown's history of groups covering each other's songs, the Tempts had their go at the song on CLOUD NINE. As expected, it's a great try, but it has nothing on Marvin's unmistakable classic. They also try admirably at some non-Motown covers like Freddie Scott's "Hey Girl" and Lou Rawls' "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing". The former may be a good version, but the latter is probably not so successful at overtaking the original. Other great songs are Whitfield & Strong originals like "Why Did She Have To Leave Me \oWhy Did She Have To Go\c", "Gonna Keep On Tryin' 'Till I Win Your Love" & "I Need Your Lovin', all of which are little throwbacks to the smoother sound the Tempts had used before CLOUD NINE. None of these songs were hits on their own, but as B-sides to the album's major hits. With the end of the decade, Motown's old regime of having complete control over their acts was starting to wear, and a lot of groups were starting to have enough of it by either leaving Motown or fighting for their independence. While the Temptations never did that until much later, they were still aware that times change & so do styles of music. So with CLOUD NINE, they must have been listening to a lot of Sly Stone & other modernized soul bands, for this shows that the Tempts had every intention of lasting longer than most of their fellow Motown acts. In fact, 35 years after their first record, Otis Williams, the only surviving original member, still keeps a version of the Tempts alive. While their legend-making days may be behind them by now, albums like CLOUD NINE, while it may not be as great as an album, prove that not only were the Temptations looking to change their own sound, but of Motown's as well.

A great experiment that paid off:
When this album was originally released in early '69, it was a gamble. Could the Temptations, known as smooth melodic crooners of love songs, successfully reinvent themselves as contemporaries of Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Parliament, and the Chambers Brothers, with their psychedelic rock and soul sounds? The answer was YES. CLOUD NINE, this masterpiece by produced by Norman Whitfield, the most soulful producer to ever come out of Motown, is one of my favorite CDs by the Temptations. The grittiness of "Cloud Nine", the title song and the album opener (and the first single from the album, released in late 1968) demands that you pay attention to what the Tempts are saying. Songwriter Barrett Strong's words come to life as newest Temptation Dennis Edwards tells the story of growing up poor in the inner city...and the debate about this song continues to this day. Was the song about getting high, or just changing your way of thinking? A funky rendition of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" takes Gladys Knight and the Pips' version, strips it down to the rhythm track, and emphasizes the Tempts' harmonies above everything else. I LOVE the scatting on this track!! The nine minute and thirty-eight second version of "Runaway Child, Running Wild" is worth the price of the CD alone. Simply relentless, with the sound of a child crying for his mother. What was really great about this CD was the use of multiple vocalists singing different parts at the same time on each song. Prior to this CD, you'd basically have David Ruffin, or sometimes Eddie Kendricks singing the lead and the rest of the guys singing "Oooh, waaa" or "Oh baby" in the background. However on these three cuts on CLOUD NINE you might hear Dennis, then Eddie, then Paul, the Melvin, then Otis...all on the same song! I just love it. The second part of the CD, to me, seemed to let Temptations' fans know that they could still sing the love ballads in the way that made them famous, even though David Ruffin was no longer in the group by then. There are some very nice remakes on it ("Love Is A Hurtin' Thing", "Hey Girl") plus some beautiful original tunes ("I Need Your Lovin'" with Eddie Kendricks on lead vocals, "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", a Paul Williams standout lead, "Why Did She Have To Leave Me" and others). A daring bit of work that forever changed Motown, and a definite part of their history, since "Cloud Nine" was the very first Motown tune ever to win a Grammy. Get it, and you too will be on CLOUD NINE!

Slammin':
Great Material & Strong Production.The Vocals Never Let Up Here.First Class Songs all the way.Runaway Child RunawayRunning Wild,Cloud Nine are Very Direct & Honest.Very Essential.

Get it before it's taken out of catalog.:
It is a rare album with great cuts..with those psychedelic soul arrangements by Whitfield, Strong and Riser and the boys were in fine voice headed by the great Eddie Kendricks and Dennis Edwards.

"Temptations Standing on the Top of Cloud Nine!!":
I am definitely a Temptations fan and this CD is truly awesome. Eddie Kendricks with the sweetness of that beautiful voice singing, "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" was totally awesome. Paul Williams singing on lead with that sexy baritone voice of his was just scrumptious. An extended version of "Runaway Child, Running Wild" was truly captivating. A music CD that I'd certainly recommend to anyone, Temptations fan or not (but I hope that you are). Cloud Nine, Temptations standing on the top singing it the way they do best.

• Cloud Nine
• I Heard It Through the Grapevine
• Runaway Child, Running Wild
• Love Is a Hurtin' Thing
• Hey Girl (I Like Your Style)
• Why Did She Have to Leave Me (Why Did She Have to Go?)
• I Need Your Lovin'
• Don't Let Him Take Your Love from Me
• I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back)
• Gonna Keep on Tryin' Till I Win Your Love