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All Directions

The Temptations

1972

All Directions
Album Summary

All Directions is a 1972 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, produced by Norman Whitfield. It reached number two on the Billboard 200, making it the band's most successful non-collaborative album on the chart, and became their twelfth album to reach number one on the Top R&B Albums chart.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.45

Votes

12053
Genres
Pop
Soul
Funk

Reviews

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Sun Feb 28 2021
5

The level of this (the musicianship, the artistry of the lyrics) rises so far above some of the indie crap that had come up in this list so far...

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Wed Jan 19 2022
3

Man, the Temptations... What a wildly schizophrenic band. I feel like most of their albums have the same issue. You'll be grooving along to some truly quality funk and then, all of the sudden, it switches to track after track of doo-wop, Jackson 5 style R&B. Just stick with the monster funk, guys! It's so good when you're just funkin' it up.

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Mon Jan 18 2021
5

Groovy. Interesting lyrics for 'Run Charlie Run' but a powerful message. 'Papa was a rolling stone' is a phenomenal single from this album and I know it well. Even though this song sits on permanent rotation in my spotify playlist, I enjoyed every second of this version. It holds it's breath in suspense, setting the mood with anticipation. When the lyrics finally fly, it's the most powerful they've ever felt. Love the ending riff for Do Your Thing. This album is criminally short. Such is the nature of the vinyl record.

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Sat Aug 21 2021
2

Maybe because I'm used to their more upbeat songs but this album was a drag. Maybe the songs work on their own but together it was a single melody, slow and depressing.

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Sat Jan 16 2021
5

An incredible album. Many have heard of Papa Was A Rolling Stone, but many of the tracks on this already short album are striking pieces.

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Fri Mar 26 2021
5

this is such a great album. absolute classic soul. all of their voices are incredible. even the 10 min song was perf. MWAH

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Wed Jan 13 2021
5

Funky, surprisingly topical, and filled with the feeling of grooving in the summer in your youth.

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Tue Feb 09 2021
5

Super funky and socially conscious. I can dig it.

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Tue Feb 23 2021
5

Classic - loved hearing papa was a rolling stone. Really funky. And surprised to hear “the ni**as are coming”

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Thu Dec 09 2021
5

Funky rollercoaster of emotions? Yes please! To think they almost didn't include "Papa" and "Run Charlie Run", and that they expected the album to flop because of these songs, is completely insane. Papa is the only song in this album that I was already familiar with (and love!). Discovering the others was an absolute treat. Was dancing and groovin' from the first track. "Do your Thing" will probably be the soundtrack to those days when I need a little extra motivation from the heavens. And boy does Otis Williamses' baritone voice get me every time. Don't know another voice like it.

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Tue Apr 26 2022
5

I always knew Papa Was a Rolling Stone was a Certified Banger™, and I am very happy to see the rest of the album has no trouble matching it's prowess.

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Fri Mar 24 2023
4

Nicely understated and surprisingly enjoyable. Of it's time great vocals and musicianship.

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Mon Feb 01 2021
2

Good songs here and there, but overall really not my style...

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Thu Nov 12 2020
5

A perfect blend of Motown and Funk. Solid 5. Every song is a fucking goddamn gorgeous banger. Run Charlie Run and their cover of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is to die for.

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Mon May 31 2021
5

Love the temptations and a few of my favourites are on this album.

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Tue Jan 26 2021
5

Loved Papa was a rolling stone and run Charlie run

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Sun Apr 18 2021
5

Wow this was a surprise, knew a few of the tunes, the entire album was great though

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Mon May 17 2021
5

Absolutely fantastic album. Same thing - heard of Temptations but never went through the album. Even the unknown songs are great. And both ends - pure happy funky, to very relaxed and chill R&B motown. Great great great.

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Tue Jun 29 2021
5

Sho’ Nuff it was funky "'Cause funky music sho nuff turn me on" "Look, the niggers are coming" "I watch you go to church on Sunday But you forget all you learned on Monday Well, you see your smiling face can't hide Well well well, how you hate your brother inside" "He came into this world with a mind so clean You took it, molded it, and made it mean" Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone always love this when I hear it a lot of Motown songs of this era and definitely earlier would pretty much be finished before the first vocals in this one love the "whammy" style or whatever you call it although considering the era probably just the production not sure but sounds great had to look it up and it was played by "Wah Wah Watson" so a pedal presumably Shoo-wop-shoo-wop The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face I love every single version of this song but had yet to hear this version, I cant believe that is a guy singing Isaac Hayes - Do Your Thing "version" is a fantastic closer

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Fri Sep 17 2021
5

Quite a lot in here that I had heard without realising what it was, superb album I will definitely return to.

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Mon Sep 20 2021
5

groovy, too short 8c 5/5? mm probably

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Thu Oct 21 2021
5

Vraiment tres bon. Un album que je reviendrai assurement

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Mon Nov 08 2021
5

Funky MF! Altså Papa was a rolling Stone er 3 stjerner i sig selv, og så lidt flere numre giver 4-5 stjerner

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Tue Nov 09 2021
5

Classic Motown, "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" & "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" stand out tracks but not much wrong with all of this Album. One for the collection deffo!

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Tue Nov 16 2021
5

I'm discovering as I'm going through this list that I have a previously unknown affinity for funk music. This would be a five star album of it was literally just 'Papa Was A Rollin' Stone'. Everything else is just a bonus.

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Mon Jan 10 2022
5

Very soulful! Heavy "Shaft" vibes.

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Tue Jan 11 2022
5

It was the third of september! Papa was a rolling stone

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Tue Feb 15 2022
5

This album is timeless, and shows the absolute staying power the Temptations have in the American canon. absolutely stunning.

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Thu Feb 24 2022
5

Strong open with Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On. I normally hate a live track, but this gets the nod. I wasn't expecting social commentary either - this is ace (Run Charlie Run). And despite my much chronicled loathing of overlong songs, Papa Was a Rolling Stone is such an exercise in moody groove, I can't not love it. It gets a bit more old school with Love Woke Me Up, but that's almost a relief after three very different and brilliant tracks. I Ain't Got Nothing shouts back to The Flamingos, and is moody and ace again. The First Time is trad again, and while not the best version of such a lovely song, definitely a great one.

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Tue Apr 26 2022
5

I'll be honest, Run Charlie Run shocked the shit out of me based on the time period. This album bumps, and has no fluff at all.

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Tue May 03 2022
5

Was gonna give it 4 stars, but after hearing it again, with the current state of music, I've changed it to a 5

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Sat Jun 18 2022
5

Every fish has bowl, every shoe has a sole. Brilliant.

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Sat Jun 18 2022
5

Apart from singles I am not so familiar with the Temptations output in the seventies and had just overlooked this 1972 album. In short, it turned out to be another great Temptations/Whitfield album - with one mega-classic song of twelve minutes - while the other songs, including a cover of a very familiar song - are excellent too, in particular I liked their version of Isaac Hayes' Do Your Thing. Definitely 5 stars.

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Sun Jun 19 2022
5

Wow - that was a storming Motown album, far grittier and sharper than I expected. Hats off to them, that's a brilliant set of songs and amazingly delivered.

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Fri Jul 08 2022
5

Flawless first half, should listen to more of their full albums.

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Wed Jul 20 2022
5

Didn’t know what to expect. Took me in all directions.

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Tue Jul 26 2022
5

The fact that thus album contains the finest ever version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone makes it 5. And Run, Charlie, Run is still confronting today. Inspiring decision to include a politically charged track.

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Sat Aug 06 2022
5

Motown goes funky, what's not to love?

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Fri Sep 09 2022
5

Worried this was going to be a one song album however every song was great.

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Sun Sep 25 2022
5

amazing. A+. 10/10. Papa Was A Rolling Stone, and First Time Ever I Saw Your Face were favorites, but ever song is a winner. i mean, it’s The Temptations, come on

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Wed Oct 05 2022
5

Papa was a Rolling Stone is a masterpiece that occupies most of this album but the other songs are worth listening to as well. I would call this one of the genre defining albums of Soul.

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Fri Oct 14 2022
5

Pretty much everything you want from a record by The Temptations, including Papa Was a Rolling Stone, an obvious but correct choice for best song.

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Tue Oct 25 2022
5

Solid 5 for 'Love Woke Me Up This Morning' alone, let alone 'Poppa was a Rolling Stone'.

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Mon Nov 07 2022
5

I love funk music so much. It just hits different, for sure

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Tue Nov 29 2022
5

Funky music sure enough does turn me on

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Sat Dec 03 2022
5

Way more psychedelic than I was expecting, in a great way. A fantastic album.

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Thu Dec 08 2022
5

Excellent timing for this considering I just bought a Best of Temptations album from a $2 record fair at a local classical radio station in Coorparoo.

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Tue Jan 03 2023
5

What fine voices, how they convey emotion, gives the chills! Intense and beautiful. First Time Ever I Saw about my favorite version so far, that voice, ahhhhhh.

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Thu Jan 19 2023
5

This is great! I think they took kind of a chance making this record, it’s way different and much darker than their other poppy motown hits and ballads.

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Sat Jan 21 2023
5

Amazing, I enjoyed every minute of it. So groovy and funky.

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Fri Jan 27 2023
5

The Temptations’ All Directions feels to me like a quietly brilliant encapsulation of a specific era in music, one that succinctly wove the political with the mundane; one that treated love as do-or-die (a specific thematic concept that boy bands for decades to follow would run and soar with). of course the album is anchored by the breathtaking “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, a funk-filled soul monolith that would wear an entire generational story in its transcendental bassline, but i keep finding myself returning to The Temptations’ ruminations on love and life: “Run Charlie Run”, for one, is an evocative telling of weaponized whiteness, and “I Ain’t Got Nothing” as well as the borderline perfect “The First Time I Saw Your Face” are love songs so touchingly sweet and moving that love itself would be proud. The Temptations are not afraid to challenge their sound here — they open the record with psychedelic and funk inclinations that rear their heads throughout the album, but the jazz and soul (that sunday morning soul, you know the sound) glisten with powerful effect. here’s a generation-defining sound bottled up in not even 40 minutes, and time has no hold on it whatsoever.

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Fri Jan 27 2023
5

This was really a nice surprise! For some reason I knew nothing about this band (but of course I recognized many of the songs), but this really is music with feeling.

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Fri Feb 03 2023
5

This is such a great R&B/funk album and it really shows how great The Temptations are compared to their lackluster representation in the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums. (An anthology album? Really?) The obvious centerpiece is the 12-minute ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’, which is just such an amazing song, but there are other highlights as well. ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ is a beautifully sung Roberta Flack cover, ‘I Ain’t Got Nothin’’ is well-produced, and ‘Run Charlie Run’ is surprisingly poignant social commentary.

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Tue Feb 14 2023
5

Did you know that The Temptations were some of the all time greats? I did

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Mon Feb 20 2023
5

This is a tour de force in early '70s funk and soul. Everything about the sound and production of this album are top notch. Almost every song hits it out of the park. The long version of Papa Was a Rollin' Stone stretches out the parts that make this song so good without making it boring and repetitious. I Ain't Got Nuthin' and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face are just dripping in romance. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.

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Thu Feb 23 2023
5

5.0 - “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” continues the trend in R&B towards longer orchestral arrangements that build quietly to an emotional apex, similar to Isaac Hayes’ work on “Hot Buttered Soul” released 3 years earlier. Epic! Every song on here is great. Other standouts: “Love Woke Me Up…” and “The First Time…”

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Thu May 25 2023
5

I was a big fan of The Temptations before listening, and I'm an even bigger fan afterward. This is more slower and relaxing compared to the other things I have heard from them, but I loved it. Lyrics were flawless, and Otis Williams is a vocal legend. Papa Was A Rolling Stone is a certified classic, and Love Woke Me Up This Morning has been in my rotation for the entire day. Amazing all around.

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Wed Jun 07 2023
5

So good, every track. 👏🏼♥️

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Sun Jun 18 2023
5

Groovy, funky, and way too short.

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Sun Jul 02 2023
5

Funky as shit and wildly more progressive than I thought the Temptations were.

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Tue Jul 18 2023
5

Love woke me up this morning feelin' fine I had you on my mind Love woke me up this morning And I haven't had a heartache today And all my little tears are gone away Skies are blue because of you Love woke me up this morning Thinkin' of last night You know, you make me feel all right Love woke me up this morning I'm so glad baby Because of you, happiness is really mine And my cloudy days are far behind Absolutely incredible album. Some of the most original sounds youll ever experience, and papa was a rolling stone is one of the top 10 songs of all time. 5/5

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Fri Jul 28 2023
5

Papa was rolling The Temptations were groovin I recommend this!

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Tue Aug 08 2023
5

funk. cinco estrellas por run charlie run.

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Wed Sep 27 2023
5

A five-star album for Papa Was a Rollin' Stone alone, the under-represented rest of the album is more than worth that rating, too. Into heavy rotation with this one.

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Thu Oct 05 2023
5

A+. Amazing funky album, and at only 34 minutes, it’s a quick listen. Good listening vibes: - Morning coffee pump up - Knocking out chores - Social gatherings

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Tue Oct 10 2023
5

The funk is real! The slow jams are good, but interrupt the funk more than I’d like. Still great!

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Wed Oct 11 2023
5

So good! Can't be mad listening to this group.

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Thu Oct 19 2023
5

Badass opening track, rest of the album is funky fire.

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Fri Oct 27 2023
5

groovy, very nice, loved it, especially mother nature

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Sun Oct 29 2023
5

Beautifully composed, filled with soul and heart. Ended all too quickly. A real treat.

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Mon Oct 30 2023
5

This album was excellent! I loved it and it is the very reason I undertook this challenge. This is the first album in the challenge I am grateful for being introduced to. Live track 2 and 3 the most! So much groove!

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Fri Nov 03 2023
5

Such a great album. Smoothest voices.

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