Cloud Nine

Old music is so repetitive Did they have a limit on the number of unique words per song? My Girl is a banger but isn't on this album so

Really enjoyed it but there was only three songs on Spotify so had to give it three stars.

Was good, nothing special but easy to listen to 7/10

Funk 4 Motown 3

Good but not great.

This is after their "Classic Five" period, meaning it's missing something. That something is one David Ruffin, the David Ruffin with lead vocals on "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and "I Wish It Would Rain". So in a way, this is like having a Commodores album without Lionel Richie. But the Commodores weren't quite the Temptations, of course. Even without Ruffin, the Temptations had another good run in them. But that's after this album. This one is really good, just not quite great.

Drifted into background noise as the album went on. Highs were high but the lows were low. Some really great songs in the mix though. Great voices and instrumentals. My mood might just not have been right in the moment for this to really stand out.

this was a very fun and upbeat album! i really enjoyed the vibe i thought it was very fun. definitely 7/10 hmmm

This starts off perfectly - right from the first note of the title track "Cloud Nine." Sounds fantastic, great soulful groove - this mostly continues for the first 3 songs (especially in the long/weird "Runaway Child, Running Wild"). After that the genre changes a bit; the band almost feels like they're going back in time a bit starting with "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing" - it's not bad, just occasionally more slow-paced, a bit of doo-wop influence; just a little more straight-forward and less experimental. It approached being a little boring for me. I'm definitely far more partial to the more psychedelic songs but overall it's a good listen. 7/10 3 stars.

Not any better or worse than I expected, but not my thing.

Liked the first song, felt it was best when doing it's own thing rather than the covers. Liked it but not blown away.

As I listen to more Temptations I get more appreciation for the song-writing team of Whitfield and Strong, who wrote so many massive hits, including "Heard it Through the Grape Vine" and "Papa was a Rolling Stone". Some of their tracks on this LP have a more interesting sound, what I would call a Blaxploitation sound, and socially conscious lyrics, like the title track or "Runaway Child Running Wild." The rest of the more traditional love songs I could do without, but the Temptations delivery is superb.

This album marks their evolution towards psychedelic soul which would later result in their monster song Papa was a rollin' stone. The second side leans towards their traditional Motown side and is pretty ok. I really tried to like this so I listened to it 3 times and found that this album is pleasant enough but nothing to knock your socks off either.

Truthfully, this was just alright. Maybe I need to spend more time listening to it but this was just alright. 7/10.

Heard It Through The Grapevine is given an upbeat cover and I don't hate it! meh on the whole album.

Many tracks missing on Spotify, but what I heard was decent.

Kolmella biisillä arvioituna ihan lepposaa rallattelua. En jaksanut etsiä youtubesta tms. spottarista löytymättömiä kipaleita...

This is a good listen. Have a go and enjoy

After losing original lead vocalist David Ruffin (watch his performance of "My Girl" in "Summer of Soul" to see what they were missing) the Temptations recruited Dennis Edwards and supposedly moved towards a more psychedelic-influenced sound to suit the changing musical landscape of the time. "Sly and the Family Stone" was a key influence in this, which made me very excited to hear how the band would approach a new direction (only being familiar with their biggest hits from earlier in the 60s). Honestly, perhaps listening to it fifty years on reduces the impact of this change in direction. "Cloud Nine" is a really promising start, with a propulsive bass-line, funky wah-guitar and an instantly memorable hook "I'm doing fine… on Cloud Nine". References to a "dog-eat-dog world" and escape from reality hint at some social commentary and exploration of interesting themes… but we then diverge into a fairly rudimentary cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". The third track, "Runaway Child… Running Wild" is a fun, groovy jam clocking in at nine minutes. It's hypnotic and holds some interest, even though the screams of "I want my mama" are a little grating. From then on, the second side is more standard fare, without the "psychedelic soul" left-turn feel I'd been expecting from this album. The songs feel much more like standard Temptations pop tracks, with a Motown influence and a tight three-minute pop structure. Of course, there's nothing wrong with this: it's all music to bop and sway to, with lush string production (see stand-out "I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back)") and stabs of brass and horns livening things up. The magic of the group as performers is also without question: vocally they are, of course, excellent. Eddie Kendricks sports a beautiful falsetto in "I Need Your Lovin'", and Melvin Franklin's bass parts add some lovely decoration. The soft, lilting "Why Did She Have To Leave Me" and "Gonna Keep On Tryin' till I Win Your Love" are my other standouts here. It's not at all bad, but I'd just hoped for a bolder approach after reading up on the background of "Cloud Nine". This album maybe pushes Cloud Six-and-a-Half.

This was fine. Not helped by Spotify hiding half the tracks but what was there was alright.

Lots of well known songs. It is good music. I am not sure I would listen to the whole album again, but if it was playing I wouldn't object.

Pretty cool; funkier than expected

This is a really nice album through and through, so groovy and the band really puts their voices into the performances. They also put some strange additions into "Runaway Child, Running Wild" that then upended what had been a solid, and positive experience. The wish that such a strange addition of a crying child made better sense than it did here is not granted, and it really puts an itch on one's head that no scratch will alleviate.

Decent without being amazing.

Not bad

The cover places the album solidly in the late 60's. And the title track Cloud Nine is a drug song, right? Great stuff; love hearing the voices individually and together. Great version of Grapevine. Runaway Child has great parts and also completely off-putting sections. Not a fan of Love is a Hurtin' Thing. Overall this album is a fun listen I'm glad I took the time to hunt it up on YouTube. Trying to find it also schooled me on how extensive the Temptations oeuvre really is. Impressive.

Un disquito de soul bonito, agradable, pero sin más brillo. No había ninguna de las que conocía antes de los Temptations y la única conocida (Heard It Through The Grapevine) la verdad es que me gustan más otras versiones. Sin pena ni gloria junta sus 3 estrellas.

Perfect singing, nice arrangements but ultimately it didn't grab me as much as I hoped.

easygoing funk that floats on by. a pleasant but forgettable pit stop

First point is that half of tracks are "greyed"out on spotify so can't be heard. What's left is tight and funky. It also has that lovely dry production that you yearn for. The Temptations go into a funky-psychedelic phase with this album ...lots of intermittent effects laden guitar. Solid 3.5

great to hear some of the origins of psychedelic soul

First three tracks are really great examples of early funk, very fun to listen to, they've got a great groove. The rest are standard soul for the time, nothing super groundbreaking, but a good album nonetheless. 3.5 👍

A bit annoying only half the album is on Spotify, so I used Youtube. I have never heard more than the few super iconic songs of this group, and this isn't a genre I typically listen to so I was quite excited to give this album a go! 1. Cloud Nine - Quite funky, I liked it a lot. 8/10 2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Nice song. Google says it is a cover, but it's a good one. 7/10 3. Runaway Child, Running Wild - Really liked this one, intense theme. 8/10 4. Love is A Hurtin' Thing - A lot calmer. 8/10 5. Hey Girl - Very sedate compared to the other songs so far. I quite liked the more relaxed tune. 7/10 6. Why Did She Have To Leave Me (Why Did She Have To Go) - Lovely vocals. 8/10 7. I Need Your Lovin' - More of the same, not as good. 6/10 8. Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me - I liked this one, I really liked the drums and horns. 7/10 9. I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back) - The repetitiveness of this album is getting to me. It's still a good song but dampened by everything that's come before it in the album. 7/10 10. Gonna Keep On Tryin' Till I Win Your Love - I liked the tune, it's a rather sweet song. I really like the instrumental at 2:15. 7/10 Objectively excellent music, but not my style - didn't save anything and doubt I will ever listen again, but I can appreciate it for what it is. Rather repetitive at times, but a good album. 3/5 is my initial thought

Pleasant all the way through, outstanding vocals.

Bem legal, sinto que já conhecia a maioria das músicas. Melhor música: Why did she have to leave me,

6/10 Best song - Hey Girl

Sun-kissed Lots of desperate breakup songs set to jaunty soul-funk instrumentals It's good, nothing to write home about Full vocal ranges "Runaway child, running wild, better go back home where you belong" "Girl (girl come home, so I can dry my weeping eyes) why don't you come on home" Where is home? Where you feel loved.

Pretty album - some parts are a little close to Sly Stone for comfort

Hits like Will Smith at the Oscars

I really like The Temptations, I absolutely love the '60s era classic Motown pop Temptations and I can fuck with the Sly Stone inspired '70s era Temptations (there's an album called Psychedelic Shack, what's not to love?!). I'm pretty surprised this album made the list though. It's not one I have listened to much before, it's a halfway house album really. It is still peppered with moments of '60s style soul (moments that are less good than what they had done before) and there are some very clear hints of the more experimental direction the band were heading in, but at this point the ideas still seem only half formed. Hopefully Temptin' Temptations and All Directions are on this list, they are albums that far better represent the two sides of The Temptations.

Nice

why not on spotify :(

Some really superb vocals and vocal harmonies here. Yes, that's what they are known for, but it's justified. Reading the Wiki entry I learned this is the album when they departed from their original sound and started embracing psychedelic music. Good for them for their creative exploration. Not sure I'll come back to this one, but I appreciate what they were doing.

Idk anything about it but I kinda feel that Motown is always hard to beat.

Ach, ich weiß nicht. Das ist alles irgendwie gut, will bei mir aber nicht so recht zünden. Ganz schlechte 3.

Standard 60's poppy soul music. No real standouts here as nearly every song sounds like the every other. Plus, this contains probably the worst version of Heard It Through the Grapevine I've ever heard. Altogether, this album is not terrible, but nothing special either. Thus, 3/5.

Some really great songs pack this gem. 3/5.

It was good, but I expected to enjoy it more based solely on the fact that in general I like the Temprations. Not convinced that this so called psychedelic soul suits them so well.

Cloud Nine is a standout track. I wish there were more tracks like it on the album. Runaway Child stands out too, but not in a good way - some of the production choices kinda irk me. The rest of the album is pleasant and all but it literally put me to sleep.

Smooth, but just okay for me. Nothing offensive, unfortunately I have nothing to say on this. It's fine?

Smooth. Almost a little too smooth

2/1/22 Not really my style of music, but enjoyed it for what it was. Favorite Song: Cloud Nine

first listen great motown sound

A new era for The Temptations as they dive into the freethinking, freewheeling psychedelic era of the late Sixties. They tackle far more serious topics like abuse and estrangement from families, alongside the standard love songs that put them on the map. This album is not an overt embrace of psychedelia, though (that comes later) and it can prove frustrating after the first three songs, but the love songs are top notch as well. Good stuff all around. Favorites: Cloud Nine, Runaway Child, Running Wild, Hey Girl, I Need Your Lovin'.

Only 4 of the songs are on Spotify, which is far from handy, but I found versions of the rest on other albums or compilations though. Side 1 very different to side 2, and much better, but neither is really up my street. Title track and heard it through the grapevine are my favourite songs

Real nice album, great grooves to get you through the morning! (Since that's when I listened to it). I got very excited that Heard it through the grapevine was on here but turns out this is a different version. Cloud Nine was probably my favorite song of the bunch, none were terribly memorable but as a whole this was a fun album.

Pretty good. Nothing too memorable unfortunately. I imagine the Temptations have bigger hits, but I'm drawing a blank right now. Favorite tracks: Cloud Nine, Love is a Hurtin' Thing, I Need Your Lovin'. Album art: Groovy. Only half-committed to the psychedelic experience, but I'll allow it. 3/5

Slowly moving towards proper "psychadelic soul", but not there yet.

I've never heard any tracks off of this album. After I had, I realized that the Temptation are as great as I thought. This was an awesome listen.

Their best tracks are not in this album, but it's alright

Good detective and porn music from the 60s-70s (in the beginning of the album). It was okay... Standard soul album about love and charming babes. 2.6/5

Solid slab of soul

Full album not on spotify

Liked it but didn't love it. This is another style that I prefer in tiny doses and don't enjoy one after another as it becomes tedious and a tad annoying

Quick and to the point. Is it something I'd listen to regularly? No, but I still liked hearing more from The Temptations than just the hits I'm used to.

This album was fine. Some solid doo op sound then throw in a less than mediocre cover of Heard it Through the Grapevine. This album was also lacking in some of their all time hits which is a disappointment.

Hard to find but worth it, some catchy numbers and great crooning

They are not breaking any ground, but they do not annoy in any way either. It is good sounding music but I just don’t see how this album showcases them as vocalists as the instrumentation is the highlight. Flat from beginning to end, no single moment better or worse than another.

The temptations going psychodelic, interesting concept but fails to fullz convince after a few songs

171225 16:36 3

This is pretty hard to argue with. I don't know that I walked away with anything that I can't live without, but Love is a Hurtin' Thing I thought was pretty great and everything on here is very tight.

Yeah, I dig this. The very definition of a three and a half star album for me. It's got a couple of points that are superior - and, in the case of the title track, one of my favourite soul numbers, period - but too much filler creeps in to give it that replay factor. But it's better than average, for sure.

6/10

3.66

I love the Temptations, but this album was just fine.

its alright

Ret funky album, men var i så psycadelic, som jeg troede.

det svänger rätt gött om det här

Àlbum incomplet a spotify. Pel poc que he pogut escoltar, interessant barreja de soul i psicodèlia

didn't grab me, but okay.

Album intéressant, très porté sur la voix assez funk

Classy, great vocals throughout. Feels like good music for lovin.

Si un día me apetece escuchar un buen álbum de música funk esta seria una de mis opciones a escuchar. Buen álbum :)

3.7 - Fun and funky but I'm not getting the touted "watershed" in "psychedelic soul." "Runaway Child, Running Wild" is the closest to a mind-bending surrealist track, and I love the "momma momma" breakdown. Otherwise, to me it sounds like standard Motown.

Nice soul album

motown tunes - heard it through the grapevine; no others i really knew. Really nice though

Blues, voces sureñas, percusión. Estilo de otra época

So-so. Inoffensive, a little dull. The wikipedia entry for the album was more entertaining. (i.e. didn't know that Gladys Knight and the Pips were first on the slate with I Heard It Through the Grapevine. As for the performance shenanigans of the Dennis Edwards era...life is sometimes more scandalous that fiction.)

Tof hoor, lekkere vibe!

Best aardig, maar zal het niet snel nog eens draaien.

Ik kan dat wel waarderen, die 70's groovy shizzle 😎

It was ok

Spotify wouldn't let me play the whole album but had a couple bangers (Heard It Through The Grapevine). Love a bit of motown, Dave Dew would play it when I was a kid. 3/5

3.5

Moving away from standard Motown fare, they begin making more jammed out funk and soul tracks. Great fun. Best Tracks: Cloud Nine; Runaway Child, Running Wild; Why Did She Have To Leave Me (Why Did She Have To Go)

'Runaway child, running wild' is an interesting song. It centres around a headstrong kid that wants to run away but when he realises what the street is really like he's desperate to get home again but can't make it. The song closes with a haunting repeated plea of 'momma'. It reminded me of the Van Morrison song 'Beside you', where 'little jimmy' s gone' and Dylan's 'Visions of Johanna' where 'little boy lost, takes himself so seriously'. All three songs come from 1968, and the image of the lost child seems to be a common trope (based purely on these three songs but I could research the shit out of it if you push me). It was only a few years after the Moors murders but I doubt these had the required cultural impact in America as they did in England (though I'm sure there were equivalent travesties) but with increased forms of news media and means of communication along with increased urbanisation, perhaps there was more of a collective awareness / fear of the archetype of the lost child. Or perhaps the lost child was just the most aappropriate symbol for the turmoil of the social and political context of 1968 (assassinations of Marton Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Vietnam protests etc.) I always thought the temptations were a bit throwaway and by the book but there are some delicious numbers on this album.

Not bad. Groovy at first then seemed to go back to trad Motown

Really awkward to listen to as most of the songs were blanked out on Spotify. Had to keep jumping between there and YouTube to compete the album in sequence.

Pretty decent album filled with love motown and funk.

Not all on spotify

All songs were pretty decent but none that really stood out to me.

Starts out strong, really liked the first three songs (except for the crying child in Run Away Child, which was a bit off-putting. That song was too long, as well). The rest of the album is decent, but nothing really amazing.

The Temps breaking from their familiar Motown Sound to get funkier including a 9+ minute near-masterpiece in Runaway Child. With a little traditional late 60s soul style thrown in, this is a good Temptations album.

No se puede escuchar entero en Spotify España.

Definitely a more far out sound than I expected from The Temptations. Classic harmonies, one wild 9 minute track, and funky grooves throughout. Nothing super memorable but nothing outright bad either.

Good vibes

Enjoyable. Something I wouldn't normally have gone for. A couple of very strong tracks but not a complete stand out for me.

Alright. "Cloud Nine" and "Runaway Child, running wild" set my expectations a bit high so I didn't expect the rest to be generic Motown tracks about lost love.

Evil Woman is great

Could not access the full album anywhere but the one song I could find was a banger! Will rate it average

Good shit. I'd totally listen to this again.

3.5

Cool album and probably ground breaking at the time but not one I'd come back to often.

Heard about this band in one of the courses I'm taking. Surprisingly stylish even to the modern ear(which is practically me). Enjoyed the experience, especially the bass being prominent.

Good album from what I heard but all tracks weren’t available on Spotify.

An enjoyable listen but not much on here that will warrant a revisit. Opening track is wonderful, Runaway child is also fantastic but most of the rest is daily forgettable. Even their version of Grapevine is underwhelming

Depth and glorious sound. Could wish for less on unrequited love. The lyrics at times let down the talent of the vocals.

Some bops, some boring stuff. There are better albums out there.

Liked this a lot

I liked a lot of songs, but I wouldn't say that I loved any. They all had a very similar feel.

I understand it was significant to pop culture but I’m unimpressed. There’s so many more albums that are better than this. Both from the same era and genre. This seems less based on musicality than significance in pop culture. Kendricks has an annoying voice and I’ve just never been impressed with the temptations. That style is so bad. A lot of good qualities but used poorly.

It was Ok. Not my thing. Just like the last two albums, it felt less like an album and more like a collection of songs. Please don't let the next one be a mediocre late 60's album.

Surprisingly good

Niets buitengewoons.

It's The Temptations, doing what The Temptations do best, Temptationing all over the place. Always a nice listen.

old prog rock? not my cup of tea, but can see appeal

pretty cool - had to skip the "crying child" and to be honest I dont particularly like the falsetto in parts, but I know it was a time and place. some great stuff

Production: 13/20 Songwriting: 11/20 Innovation: 11/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 11/20 =51 Perfectly pleasant

6

Kolejny albumik ktorego niestety nie ma na spotifaju, niestety bo unikalne brzmienie ten murzynski band potrafil wyciagnac, historie zycia i smutku rodem z soulu, funkowe brzemia z nutka psychodelii, nie brzmi to zbyt komercyjnie, a jednak albumik spopularyzowal wyrazenie cloud nine i to jakim trakiem openingowym, nie spodziewalem sie uslyszec tylu barw glosow na jednym traku, dodatkowo w akompanjamencie murzynskiego bembnienia, na uwage zasluguje tez wyjatkowo wyrozniajacy sie tamburymi, o ile zazwyczaj ten instrument gdzies ginie wsrod gitarek czy drumsow, tak tutaj skupia na sobie uwage, trzeba sie bedzie rozejrzec za flakami tego albumiku, bo jednak jutubowa jakosc to nie jest wystarczajacy poziom dla takiego materialu, na plejke nie leci nic bo brak spotifaja, po raz drugi w historii listowania

Was alright. Didn't blow me away like. Lot of these classic albums suffer from a bad case of the samesies

Me ha gustado. En Spotify solo hay 3 canciones ¿por qué?, pero en Youtube está completo. El sonido de la Motown que uno imagina o recuerda está claro que es éste. Aunque no es de mi gusto suenan muy bien.

J’adore the temptations c’est un artiste que je vais reecouter mais l’album est moyen. 3*

Power soul. Se puede escuchar!

A short little album with some inoffensive sounds on it, but there's absolutely nothing memorable about it.

Helt bängeri nog. Skön soul

Enjoyable! Classic music. Recognised a couple. Sometimes not sure what to say about this music

Niet alles stond op spotify.

Title track is amazing. Rest is fine. 6/10

Motown love song vibes. Classic temptation feel. Stronger and longer rhymed heaps. Liked it but didn’t super vibe with it

Está buenísimo para un lunes de estar haciendo otras cosas con esta musiquita de fondo. Y nomás.

A gusssssto

Pleasant to listen to - 3.5

Pretty smooth, but nothing extra special. Nice funky sound.

Good, might return. Not all songs on spotify

Good fun!

Always like Motown music but find it can be similar and hard to stand out. Enjoyed it though.

Okayisch, not amazing

3/4 of the album is copyrighted

Very good feel. Not my favorite of this era but a good album nonetheless

I thought I would have liked it more. Some good songs.

Enjoyed, will listen to this more

Not bad but not really my style. Mildly enjoyable.

Spotify only had 3 of the songs on this available, thankfully i've heard most of it before over the years anyway. Another example of an album that I don't mind at all going for 35min, while Kanye West and Arcade Fire albums go for over an hour. 3/5.

It’s good stuff just not my stuff

Second album proposé après 'All Directions' que je n'avais pas vraiment apprécié (noté 2/5 - bon grooves funk, mais ... pas assez de funk). Ce 2eme album me semble contenir plus de soul et encore moins de funk. Je n'ai pas accroché, sauf peut être sur la partie instrumentale de ' Runaway Child, Running Wild' (+1). Pas de seconde écoute envisagée. =>2/5

I expected to like this more than I did. Even the version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.

This album was pretty mid. Not really much to enjoy about it

2/5. It had no standouts for me. I did listen through the end though.

Spun it twice for kicks, familiar with a few tunes. Some good playing.

I liked hearing the growth and tone shift from Grapevine’s older doo-wop/soul sounds to grittier funk odyssey on Runaway Child. The rest felt like generic love songs

A band with the odd good track but a whole album's worth

Not my favourite album ever! But Runaway child, Running Wild was a fantastic Mo-Town leaning less traditional and more into socially conscious psychedelic soul. Cautionary tale about the danger of running away from home - inspired by real life articles of child runaways.

Enjoyable, but not my thing really

Too late to appear on this album but "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and other singles they did - especially when they teamed up with the Supremes - were good to hear on the radio at the time. Never interested me enough to buy any though and this album would have not persuaded me either. Interesting to hear but plenty of other Motown releases were much better. What would have been side 2 was nearer the mark.

Meh. 2/5

Sunny day ripping my heart out music, generic sounding for my naive pleb palette but not because of the wonderful music compositions or the singer's voices.

Psychedelic soul. Hard to go wrong in a way. Very solid and groovy instruments. Well actually I do like this it just isn't really doing anything for me. It's just music kinda. Nothing special. Ok I kind've don't like this. It's just kinda a little annoying. What are you whining so much about. Get up. Favourite: I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back) Least favourite: Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me

Not bad but no song 'clicked'

solidno s obzirom na žanr, ali ništa posebno i nije mi se baš dopalo... prva strana bila okej, druga već postala blago naporna. jebiga, nije za mene

No disputing the great voices but the very similar arrangements for each song are very wearing. The lack of an outstanding song hurts this album too.

Quite a pile of meh if I'm being honest. Very safe radio Motown/funk sound that might have been innovative for all I know, but falls deaf on my 2026 ears as its been iterated on and perfected since. As soon as I got into a groove with a song it was over, and as soon as I got used to the noise, the album was over. Stereo mix I listened to also wasn't really that great. All in all while I won't fault anyone for liking this album, you probably won't catch me paying much mind to it down the line.

Some old solid classics.

There's something so cringe about every post-motown album. They're all trying to pivot to the next big thing, to remain relevant, and it always comes off as inauthentic.

are we going to pretend this isnt about drugs? great vibe, some tracks are legit bops but i cant say something that really stands out here not really soul not really funk, i can see the influence this had at the time but for a modern day listener falls a bit flat 2.5

Psychedelic soul and funk built on deep bass grooves, sharp brass, layered percussion, and dynamic, multi-part vocals moves with vibrant, restless momentum. Listening feels like riding through a neon-lit city where rhythms constantly shift beneath swirling colors and social tension. The result is energetic and engaging and its dense arrangements are simultaneously over- and underwhelming.

Me gustó, estuvo bueno el paso por el soul. Es divertido y creo que eso es lo que más le destaco. Ahora, no lo volví a escuchar, como dije antes estoy con esto de ponerme al día y mucha atención no le di. Sin embargo, lo disfruté.

The first couple of tracks on here were decent, and I was able to appreciate the more expansive, fuzzed out production which made itself well-known on occasion. The album often feels like it's pulling in different directions, contributing to the disorientating psychedelic-meets-soul sound. However, a significant portion of the rest either grated or blurred into royalty-free YouTube background music, and I mean that disrespectfully. Ultimately it's not really my bag.

i don’t like motown

Never heard their version of I Heard it Through the Grapevine — kinda interesting. Only one hit here, Cloud Nine. The rest was just OK. Great Motown house band. Not available on streaming, their Greatest Hits Vol. 2 was a fave album when it came out in 1970. Bangers all around.

right band; wrong album

I'm usually a big Temptaions fan, but this album didn't really do it for me. A couple good tracks, but was not a fan of their version of "Heard It Through the Grapevine" Highlights: "I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back)"

Nah

Oh wow I've never heard this version of I Heard it Through the Grapevine...

decent enough Motown, very repetitive lyrics

boopyboopyboop

Runaway Child, Running Wild

Not as good as I expected

Didnt offend me, but didnt set my world on fire either. 2.5/5

Started off really interesting, then turned into a bunch of love songs. -_- At least some other albums on this list have done interesting things with instrumentation or vocal technique. Not this though. Nope. Just 35 minutes of "ooo baby, I love you but you don't love me, sob" (with the exception of "Cloud Nine" and "Runaway Child, Running Wild"). Of the three versions of "Heard it Through the Grapevine" I've heard - this is the weakest. What a bummer. I hoped for better. PS: I think I've realized the difference between the love songs I'm ok with and those that irritate me: authenticity. The love songs on Nick Cave's album are real: that dude is IN LOVE with his wife. The love songs on this album are marketing kitsch. They're put on to sell records. In a word: phony.

Forglemmelig.

Wasn't feeling funky this morning.

The album starts with a bang and then doesn't really do a whole lot the rest of the way. It's fine, 5/10

Okay

Left me cold.

if I listen to an album while doing other stuff on my pc or around the house and not once do I think 'hey this part is actually really nice, let me save this song' then it can't get much higher than a 2 unfortunately. It was ok? very funky and easy to listen to but very forgettable all the same.

Alright but nothing more

Generally dig and respect The Temptations, but I didn't connect with this album is any meaningful way. Nothing wrong with it, but not really my cup of tea. Objectively, probably pretty dope.

Literally nothing to say about this album. The only thing is that this came out late 60s so maybe it was the first album to achieve this sound? Because this sounds very generic by today's standards. It was very bizarre to cap each song at 3 minutes and then just have a random 9 minute song. High 2

Interesting enough but can't help but think about label interference

Really wanted to like this, but the songs are just "ok"

Wouldn't listen to it again, but it was certainly an interesting first album. Hopefully things go up from here.

Just like pretty boring unfortunately?

not the album I'd recommend as way to hype up this classic motown band

Another temptations album.. cant go wrong but like Ive had enough

again, not a genre i really listen to. didn't mind as background music but probs wouldn't listen to again.

Nothing in here really jumps out without ever being unpleasant or bad. I don’t think I’ll return to that.

Meh. Although might be more about my mood 😃

A fair selection but not adding up to anything memorable.

Ok album. Not my favourite version of grapevine.

Meh, cool cover but a worse version of Grapevine. Cool intro spy music. TWO!

I can’t believe this is the best example of this kind of music. Every song felt the same and very uninteresting. Apple Music auto played the four tops straight after which I immediately liked more. Maybe it would better if I heard the songs individually.

Track 1 - Cloud Nine Excellent start. Love a bit of Motown. Early contender for 4-5 stars. Track 2 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine Bold choice for a cover. Let’s have a listen then…. Soiled it. Soiled it. Soiled it. Soiled it. Soiled it. Soiled it. Soiled it. Soiled it.

Ok 2.5

Was okay, not sure if the right mood for the day

Cloud Nine voelde voor mij minder “warm” en toegankelijk dan bijvoorbeeld Fats Domino. Sommige tracks (zoals “Runaway Child, Running Wild”) zijn lang en gaan meer richting een soort psychedelische trip met monologen en herhaling, waardoor ik er juist wat onrustig van werd. Ik snap de artistieke intentie en het experiment, maar het klonk voor mij wat haperig en random, en ik merkte dat ik moeite had om erbij te blijven. Interessant om gehoord te hebben, maar niet iets dat ik snel opnieuw opzet.

First few tracks were great, really enjoyed them..and then it descended into middle of the road background music.

This album was definitely not The Temptations I was expecting. A little more funky than their earlier music but the singing actually sounded flat and off key to me on some songs. I was looking forward to listening to this but overall I was disappointed.

The temptation here would be to overrate this album based on the famous band name. The truth, however, is that this is a far cry from the legendary songs we know The Temptations for. This is repetitive in most cases and the formula grows tiresome very quickly. There is no groove that lets a song stand apart from the rest. There are some hallmark elements but nothing comes together here at all. Mostly a forgettable wash of generic soulless soul.

Amazing bass lines in this.

was impressed by how timeless it sounds (though vocals can feel like they're from the 50's), loved the guitars and bass, child crying for their mum in Runaway Child freaked me out

Perfectly listenable album with some nice songs and performances but I really don't find it particularly impactful. The harmonies aren't really to my taste, a more soulful performance would add more depth to the songs. Sound is nice. I just wouldn't mind not hearing these songs again

good vibes in r&b soul for remember the 70s

mid

eeeeeeeh

es war schon sehr vibey aber hat mich leider auch nicht abgeholt :((

Bland. Poor cover of grapevine. I like other temptations stuff but this wasn’t it

okay

A little too monotonously funky for me.

Rating: 5/10 Pretty alright as I probably listened to it in the best way possible, on the speaker while doing some Saturday morning kitchen chores. I think I might have actually liked the second half songs better.

Não me importo com o fato de 2/3 do álbum ser sobre o sofrimento do sujeito que perdeu a namorada. O que me incomoda é que esse sofrimento não é muito bem representado musicalmente. O álbum começa interessante, abrindo com a melhor música, e logo na sequência, uma interpretação legal da "I heard It Through The Grapevine". Depois o álbum dá uma caída em qualidade. Apesar de ser um álbum pequeno, termina já com uma sensação de cansaço. Talvez encaixaria em uma trilha sonora, mas como álbum próprio não se sustenta muito. Melhor do álbum: "Cloud Nine". Pior do álbum: "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing".

Meh.

Easy to listen to, but pretty generic sound. Fine as background noise.

Nice sound for background music, I was quite bored listening to this though

Not really my thing

Bit of the same stuff throughout the album, I probably need to listen. Few more times?

Not my taste.

Tight pants soul cruise ship vibes.

i thought this was better than the other one but not really

Vocal group goes psychedelic! I actually love when established groups try to shoehorn their way into trends, if only because it’s interesting to hear how they fall short. In the case of this record, ‘Cloud Nine’ and the epic ‘Runaway Child, Running Wild’ seem to be the ‘psychedelic’ entries, and both are not that fun to me (or particularly psychedelic, for that matter). Someone wailing ‘I want my mama’ during ‘Runaway Child…’ definitely made my family’s ears perk up, but not in a good way. As the album progresses, the songs become more standard Temptations fare, and is better for it, but this group in general never quite resonated with me, despite my deep love of Motown. Favorite song: "I Need Your Lovin'"

I like the Temptations, but this wasn't their strongest offering. There was a couple good songs, but the rest were nothing to get excited about.

Best Track - "Why Did She Have To Leave Me"

This is just too smooth to be great. Cloud nine is undeniably funky and soulful, but just doesn’t quite grab me. Unfortunately the same is true of Heard it through the grapevine, which like the grit of Otis and other versions. Runaway child continues the theme, but feels really long, in part because it is. I enjoyed the contrast in vocals of Love is a hurtin thing. Hey girl has a great opening bass line, but soon descends into schmaltz with the arrival of the strings. The drum intro for the next too as do similar i have to check i haven’t hit back on my phone. Don’t let him take your love from me is the point i finally realise i generally prefer the songs with a deeper bass vocal taking the lead

Anything by The Temptations is perfectly acceptable to listen to. I liked the title track, but this version of “Grapevine” was just dull in comparison to Marvin Gaye’s. The rest of the tracks were just background noise, albeit perfectly acceptable, mostly standard soul background noise. Why Motown groups also feel the need for a 9min song goes beyond my understanding - it’s just the opposite of what they’re good at, which is a tight 3mins.

You know when you expect you'll love something, and then its just fine? Yeah, that. The voices are obviously incredible - just the most emotive, gravely, beautiful voices. That version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine is definitely not for me though. And I could definitely do without the crying child in Runaway Child, Running Wild. I guess I like my soul less psychedelic. Should be a 2.5 but I think I'm going to round down. 2/5

Not an all time great album at all

Es musica de l'epoca jazz/blues. No esta mal, pero no es lo meu.

This album is just NOT the "real" Temptations.

Oh, it went a bit long since I listened to when I reviewed. IIRC pretty weak even though it was cozy.

I expected a lot from this, and I feel kinda meh. Couple of nice ideas, but especially the first half is convoluted, a bit too jammy, and then side B goes all repetitive. Meh.

2/5

Fine - other than the title track, this was a pretty bog standard Motown album. Nothing bad, but nothing else really stood out.

Husker ikke stort av det siden jeg hørte på.. Men virket helt ok. Kommer ikke til å høre på igjen.

Fine background music I guess

Not that interested by this. The vocals are good, they harmonise beautifully, there's some great singing here. To my untrained ear I don't really hear much of the funk / psychedelic style which makes this notable though, the second side especially just sounds like standard Motown to me. Considering these guys have loads of classic songs, bit hard to understand why this album is in the book. Enjoyable enough listen but not that excited by it

Psychedelic Soul is just not my genre in general. I'm positive The Temptations body of work is WAY above of 2 but this album just isn't something I want to revisit (which is my criteria). I didn't hate it but I feel like they must have a better album.

Pretty sure I would enjoy early Temptations far more. I Heard It Through The Grapevine did NOT need covering 🤨

Not as catchy as I expected, and let down by a “Grapevine” that compares poorly to Marvin Gaye.

Far from Cloud Nine, this is the kind of ho-hum Motown (Ho-hum town?) that leaves me fully planted on lousy terra firma. And so greedy of Temptations that they have multiple albums on this list that are super average. Album sleeve is pretty gross too and looks like a big 60s mamma gushed a huge whoopsie period onto it. Or maybe it’s spillage from the murder scene of Heard It Through The Grapevine.

Nothing like being told I’m just a scared little kid who’s not tough enough for the city. Great song topic, guys. I love the early hits of The Temptations, so I find listening to some of their albums interesting. But, maybe because my ears aren’t trained on these songs, or maybe because this is the funk/motown crossover album, or maybe because these songs simply aren’t as good as the tried and trues, I simply found this to be a forgettable experience. Not bad, but not grand.

Wanted to like this more than I did, but unfortunately psychedelia can come with insane innovation for a band or turn them into something that sounds all blended together, mushy and you can’t really distinguish one moment from another. I feel the latter on this one.

2 stars I was not familiar with this album or its tracks. Not really what I would have expected from my first Temptations album. While I read “Cloud Nine” was a Grammy-winning single, it didn’t do much for me. The rest of the album was similarly kind of generic filler soul. This is the first album was a different lead singer in the group and I feel, from my limited experience and knowledge of the group, that he wasn’t as strong. The album is listenable enough, but doesn’t break through as something worth more than the sum of its parts, and those parts are adequate enough.

65

Classic late 60s tunes.

Ok

It was ok.

Cloud nine the song is good but the album tails off pretty quick i think.

I could have totally done without the odd version of Grapevine and the child screaming for their mom in another song.

Not my personal taste

sounds forced and phoned in

Cool, but not my sound

First R&B album i listened to. Getting used to it. i can see now why they were a cornerstone of Motown Records in the 1960s and had numerous #1 hits like “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” and “I Can’t Get Next to You.”

This was my birthday album. And this record was just fine. Nothing special. I’m happy these albums from this era are around the 30-40 minutes mark. Nice vocals. With the exception of the scat vocals which weren’t impressive. Music is nothing special. But the overall feel of the album worked.

As with many Motown acts, it isn't the artist that makes the difference; it's the music. This album is pretty much standard stuff, except for the first few tracks.

Cool, have some goods songs but overall not really my style

Not for me. Very much formula music 2 star

My knowledge of The Temptations is very vague. I know they did 'My Girl' and that's pretty much it. This is an easy, if unexciting listen. It's pretty much just your standard Motown but the first few tracks are actually have a psychedelic soul sound and they're the best tracks! A whole album of that would have been much better than the pop soul that the majority of this ended up being. It's just not really my thing although I did resist the temptation to skip any track.

An interesting and funky first half, but the second half gets really schmaltzy and I got bored.

Я точно слушал, но лучше всего я помню песню Марвина Гея. Лучшая песня - Cloud Nine.

Svag motown. Var är hitsen?!?! Ok sound men trött och sång stundtals svajjig. Inte tillräckligt psykedeliskt heller om det var dit de ville. Tog sig lite på slutet Lyssna igen: nej Bästa spår: i gotta find a way Don’t let him take your love from me Betyg: d - 4 av 10 (2 av 5) Dw - 3 av 10 (2 av 5)

It’s fine, don’t really have a lot to say about it. Standard Temptations fare.

I liked soul in the 60s and 70s. Singles were good, great sometimes. But albums never worked.

Cuando los eternos romanticones se politizan. Nueve álbumes tuvieron que pasar para que The Temptations se la empezaran a jugar. Después de estar cómodos con su fórmula de cantar canciones romanticonas como My Girl, trajeados y con coreografías aceitadísimas, el líder de facto Otis Williams enloquece con el sonido de Sly and the Family Stone, y Norman Whitfield lo segundea en cumplirle el caprichito. El resultado Cloud Nine. No se ilusionen demasiado con el carácter político: son apenas dos temas de los siete que tiene. Lo que sí proponen es romper con la figura tradicional del lead singer para empezar a “sortear” quién canta qué antes de entrar al estudio. Una guitarra wah-wah, un poco de gospel, y el llanto de un nene en medio de una epopeya de 9 minutos... y te sale el disco más transgresor de los muchachos tentadores. Se llevan su primer Grammy a casa, chochos, después de jugársela con todo en Run Away Child, Running Wild y Cloud Nine. ¿Cómo puede ser que estos mismos tipos canten sobre el consumo de drogas derivado de la pobreza, sobre ser negro en EE.UU., la alienación social y la presión urbana... y al mismo tiempo te tiren un I Need Your Loving? Y quizás eso sea lo más interesante del disco: hay veces que hay que romper con los espejitos de colores y dejarse tentar por politizar el amor.

Yeah not really into kids screaming "I want my momma" in the middle of a MoTown song... Plus the Grapevine cover was real bad. The rest were fine.

Nice, but didn't grab me

My favorite Temptations songs aren’t on this Album. Good evening background music, but actively listening to it nothing stands out much.

Barry Gordy was so lazy. All these Motown groups and artists just ran through the same songs over and over again. Marvin Gaye killed I Heard It Through the Grapevine...this version pales in comparison. This album is better than I anticipated. Eddie Kendricks' voice is annoying as hell, he's the Soul Music Frankie Valli. I think I'm just not a fan of Motown soul. It feels over produced or too formulaic or something.

2/3

Nothing is really standing out to me on this one other than the first song.

I was relatively sure that I would fancy this album, but I was partly wrong. I did like this but in the same time this didn't rise to level I expected, not even close.

Does a lot of interesting things, but the sound isn’t for me.

Some classics, but this one doesn’t speak to me as much as others in this genre.

Eerder kregen we All directions met Papa was a rollin' stone. Hier veroorzaakte met name de hit een dikke 4. Nu een album zonder zo'n hit. (Of heeft Cloud 9, met ook zo'n aanstekelijke baslijn, hogere ogen gegooid dan in mijn beleving?) Ik merk al snel dat ik die hit nodig heb. Ook omdat Papa was a rollin' prachtig is opgebouwd. Het lijkt er op dat Runaway Child bedoeld was als de troef met de langere uitgewerkte compositie. Maar dat nummer doet mij weinig. En dat huilende kind helpt mij niet om er wel in te komen. Dit album biedt verder weinig wat mij bij zou blijven. Het voelt soms zelfs saai en ouderwets. Maar dit album is ook een paar jaar eerder gemaakt dan All Directions. Dus wellicht waren ze, met dit negende album, gewoon nog niet zo ver? Of hebben ze gewoon te veel albums gemaakt? Want als je meer dan 40 albums aflevert, dan heb je waarschijnlijk geen selectie gemaakt...

Enjoyed the first 4 songs more than the second four. I can appreciate this album for what it is and the era it reflects but not really something I’d listen to ever again.

I mean, it's alright. Worth a relisten but not something I'd go back to readily.

hideous cover

Standouts Cloud Nine

Let me start by saying the child-like voice exclaiming “I want my mama” on Runaway Child, Running Wild scared the crap out of me as I sat alone in my house with this on in the background. I guess I did not realize The Temptations recorded music after dosing. There are some very psychedelic sounding songs on here. Those actually make this album sound like many others of the day. They threw in some soul music too, but the trippy songs took away from the overall listening experience.

Not a fan. Heard It Through the Grapevine, not a personal favorite, was brisk and forgettable. Hey Girl is a pale imitation of recordings by Billy Joel and Freddie Scott. I found the second have to be standard Motown faire with little innovation or spark. I don’t find this album to be revolutionary.

Cloud nine was a great song. Good lyrics but it was a bit slow for me. I like the faster, upbeat soul/funk