Cloud Nine
The Temptations
1969
Album Summary
Cloud Nine is the ninth studio album by American musical group The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1969. The album marked a major turning point in the group's career. It is the first full Temptations studio LP to feature Dennis Edwards as the replacement for David Ruffin, who was fired in June 1968. It also marked the beginning of the Temptations' delve into psychedelic soul under the ambitious direction of producer Norman Whitfield. The change in style polarized longtime fans but proved highly successful, with the album rising to number four on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart. It earned the group received their first Grammy Award in 1969.
WikipediaI loved this album. After a long day at work getting back and putting this on whilst cooking dinner was an absolute winner
The Temptations are a weird group. They were early pioneers in funk but they came out of the motown scene. Most bands who straddle the genre line like this produce songs that sort of smear the line between. Not The Temptations. Oh, no. The songs on this album are very solidly either funk or motown. I love the funk tracks so much. They hit the pocket and just grind. They're great. The motown tracks no so much. They're great examples of motown soul ... I just don't dig the genre.
(à lire impérativement avec la voix de Jacques Chirac) Écoutez, je dois dire que j'ai été très déçu par cet album. La pochette laissait présager une véritable bouffée d'air soul au milieu de tous ces albums de rock générés par Robert. De la soul, oui, mais de la soul psychédélique, j'émets des réserves.
My vague knowledge of The Temptations remains vague, but now I know for sure that I love them
I absolutely love this album. It's got a lot of funk to it, and it has a great groove. The instrumental choices were very nice and characteristic of the era, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I went on youtube for this shit. Like it was 2011. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. Sitting in a simpler time. Good energy. Ah. The Temptations!
Obviously, The Temptations Cloud Nine was groundbreaking at the time for its use of funk, but how does it hold up? To modern ears, the earnestness of the lyrics grates a little. Social consciousness is one thing, but these lyrics are pretty on the nose. But how about the music? The playing and arrangements of the first three tracks in the relatively new funk style are impeccable. They groove relentlessly. And sure enough, it's the Temps, so the vocals kick ass. After the initial blast of funk, the rest of the album reverts to the Temptations signature smooth soul. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There's a lot to be said for soulful and varied vocals, competent if conventional arrangements, and the solid songcraft and musicianship from the Motown stable. I've got to be honest. I prefer 70s soul to 60s soul, but Cloud Nine is one of the more solid efforts of the period. There is little of the outright filler, pointless covers of hit material, and outright pandering to crossover audiences that was all too common on Motown releases. I'll subtract half a point for some painful earnestness and out of subjective personal preference. 4 1/2 out of 5
The funky version of the Temptation works for me. There were times when I thought the mix could have been a bit better. Sometimes the falsetto stands out a bit too much from the rest of the arrangement. The songs, though, are top notch 4/5
The A side could be an easy 5, but the back half drags into good but generic motown that brings the record down a bit.
Super 70s production - very wide stereo sound, funky bass lines, crunchy guitar and rhodes riffs, soulful singing - lots of love jams. Good to throw on and just vibe. Favorite song: Love is a Hurtin' Thing
Feel good album. Started very soulful and got heavy 50s-pop toward the end. Not a huge fan of their rendition of "Heard It Through The Grapevine". Otherwise, good stuff.
Don't think I've ever sat down and listened to a Temptations record before. Production sounds amazing, crisp and warm, it does the slightly disorienting 60s stereo thing where the drums are hard panned to one channel, so it's not a headphones record. Pretty ballsy putting a 9-minute track third, but it mostly worked here. Sounds like it's straddling the line between classic Motown and 70s soul - I preferred the Motown-style tracks. Really refreshing to hear another version of Grapevine that hasn't been played to death
This was fun. I know this album gets pegged as the Temps' big funk and psychedelic turn, but much of it is not. It's more that they took their signature sound and tweaked it slightly to go with the tone of what was on the charts at the time. It actually works pretty well. The more funk-driven tracks of side 1 are the real deal. The title track is a stone cold classic. I'm just realizing "Runaway Child" clocks in at 9+ minutes. It's pretty awesome as well, and kind of surprising coming from this group. Honestly the only side 1 song that left me a little cold was the cover of "Grapevine," which brought nothing new to the song. Dennis Edwards absolutely deserves credit here for making his mark as a vocalist in the wake of David Ruffin's departure. He was never going to top Ruffin, but he sounds great here, his grit balanced nicely by Eddie Kendricks’ splendid vocal. The album could have been a flat-out failure, and it's actually a really fun listen. I'm actually digging several of the more conventionally Temptations-y romantic songs. They're lovely, classic Motown songs, which are always a delight to hear. Fave Songs: Cloud Nine, Run Away Child Running Wild, I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back), Why Did She Have to Leave Me, Love is a Hurtin' Thing
Grosse erreur de la part des Temptations, qui n'ont pas eu la présence d'esprit, a la sortie de leur album, de le rendre disponible sur les plateformes de streaming. Ceci plafonne par consequent directement leur note a 3/5. A l'heure du digital, il est tout bonnement scandaleux de ne proposer un album qu'exclusivement disponible sur Youtube. J'ai d'ailleurs alerté mon bon ami robtouillère de ce petit scandale, qui s'est empressé de le signaler directement à Robert Dimery, grâce à sa proximité extrême avec ce dernier. Des mesures devraient etre prises très bientôt, à bon entendeur.
Great album. I wasn't familiar with individual songs, but it's a great mix.
Me gusto un chingo este álbum tiene una buena vibra y en escala de fumable esta mega top
This little pitstop on the evolution of soul into funk through Motown is everything I needed. It's uplifting and melodic but also raw at times. The title track as an album opener is such a heavy hitter.
Funky, groovy, great album. Couldn't stop myself from tapping my feet to just about every song. Favourite Tracks: Cloud Nine, Love is a Hurtin Thing, Dont Let Him Take Your Love From Me
Pleasantly surprised by this album. Sort of thought they were all my girl type music (not that thats bad, i just dont need a whole album of it). but this album was funky and cool
The temptations got me on Cloud 9. And I think the main guy is a Eunique
Perfect Temptations album, very diverse songs that never get bored: great album in every aspect
Had to get a free trial with Apple Music to listen to this. And very glad I did. Fascinating, almost 'concept' album bordering soul and psychadelia. Definitely caused me to re-evaluate The Temptations, and for the better
Another great discovery from this endeavour is that 1969 is most likely the greatest year in music to date. Perhaps common knowledge to some already. Fuck there was a lot of good music pumped out to see off the decade.
Weird version of Grapevine but still interesting. Amazing playing and great vocals. Can anyone in the world dislike classic rnb?
Voi juma, et kannatti palaa näihin Spottarissa-vajaata-levyihin! Mä ehkä joudun ostaa levysoittimen ja tän albumin (jos löytyy ja on varaa). Saatana. Huh.
Unfortunately only 4 songs available to listen on Spotify. I found the rest on Youtube. A great album, very funky. I love it!!
I have never heard any of the songs on this album. Some have less than 100k listens on spotify. For all wiki says about this being a wildly successful album and it earning them a grammy, has this been lost to all but the super fans? Only their previous super hits get play any radio play? Anyway, this is one of those gems I do this for. From the first notes I knew this album would crush it.
Even though I’m not normally an R&B fan, this album is incredible. The vocal harmonies are perfect, the emotions are a vibe, and the soul can be felt in every note. Just listen to it and tell me I’m wrong. Standout songs are I Heard it Through the Grapevine and Why Did She Have To Leave Me.
Absolute fire. Shame a number of the tracks are greyed out on Spotify…
A really enjoyable pop album infused with just the right amount of Soul and funk to make every song enjoyable. A great Sunny days album walking about and dancing. Cloud Nine, I heard it through the Grapevine and Runaway Child, Running Wild are my favorites, super strong opening for the apbum... 5/5 for my tastes.
A but more intense and “issues” driven than your classic “My Girl” Temptations. Predicting some of the classic sounds of the 70s quite early. But hey, when I see Temptations I do a 5 star
It was good, at least the few tracks I could find on streaming services!
You may have to resort to YouTube to find this as it doesn't appear to be listed on either Tidal or Amazon Music. Once you do find it though, well, what a cracking lite album. The music, the voice, the pace - all spot on.
This is a hell of a good album. Top 10 tracks throughout, amazing theme, and perfect music. 5/5
This album is amazing. The sounds are quintessential soul, the rhythm is tight when it needs to be and buoyant when it can be. The vocal harmonies are old school cool. I love the versatility of the musicians to play it slow and keep it cool or ramp it up and chug.
Some of the original cool cats of music. What a group. I'm down for the groovy-ness of this album. Easy listening.
Wow - I was blown away by this - I was expecting some pretty generic Motown standards but the funk and soul really shine through. Love the bass vocals and the instrumentation as well.
Awesome tracks in the first half but there are some fillers at the end
I feel the only weak spot here is their version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Rest of the album is some classic soul and funk, along with some excellent story telling. Favorite tracks: "Runaway Child, Running Wild", "Don't Let Him Take Your Loving From Me"
Some great, dark, a psychedelic soul. Shame had to listen on YouTube on my phone.
A bit of a departure from their previous albums but still holds up with the new sounds they were looking for
The dudes voice is FRIED on this record, but it makes it even more smooth somehow. Classic Motown basslines and instrumentation here. I mean, it’s the Temptations, cmon man. Favorite track: Cloud Nine Least favorite track: Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing
I like the kind of psychedelic instrumental arrangements. I think the vocals sometimes keep it from being a real favorite for me, but every other part is really good.
Didn't hit me as hard as the prior offering by the Temptations, though I think the album version I pulled up may not have been the best mastering, the sound seemed a little muddy. Still great.
Old school funk from the old school Temptations. Lyrics in this sometimes seem to harken back to slavery, or at least that was what I was feeling. No doubt they were politically charged people in their day.
Love good mo-town, and this is a great collection of songs! Highlights: -I Heard It Through The Grapevine -Why Did She Have To Leave Me -I Need Your Lovin
Great album! While I've heard of The Temptations never really gave them an actual listen and super impressed!
Good upbeat early disco/mid-funk vibes, and a completely new version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".
Hey look, an album from '69 that I actually liked! Recommended season: Summer
Take me to funk town, I vibed really hard with half of the songs, the more ballad like ones I didn't enjoy as much
Levy oli hankalasti löydettävissä (ei spotify/tidal, ei kirjastossa, mutta youtubesta löytyi soittolista). Vaivannäkö kuitenkin kannatti tällä kertaa, oli oikein sujuvaa 60-luvun rokkia. Varsinkin levyn alkupuoli oli tosi menevää, mutta loppua kohdin meno vähän laimeni.
Pretty nice. Classical soul infused with funk and jazz elements. I particularly liked Runaway Child.