Cloud Nine

feels old, but certainly a foundation for future musicians.

Time: 35:09 Year: 1969 Funk

I listened to this twice and didn't find myself caring either time. Partly because I was focused on a really obnoxious problem, and partly because nothing was all that terribly interesting. While there is nothing "bad" here, its just not my cup of tea. If I were trying to be objective, I'd go with a 3/4 because musically, it is fine. But I am being objective so I say 2 because I was kind of bored.

First listen Saved 2/10 Top track: Cloud Nine

4/10

Jaa missä oli "psykedeelisiä" vaikutteita? Siis hyvä vaan, ettei niitä kauheasti ollut. Aito pettymys on se, etteivät bändille ominaisemmatkaan biisit säväytä enempää kuin genrensä keskivertovedot.

meh

Didn't get into it. Bad day at work probably led to me not really giving it a chance.

It was fine, just didn't really get into it

boring

Groovy! I don't think I'd go back to this, it's a solid record but it's very same-y and you sort of don't know when songs end and next one's begin

Pretty groovy little album. Not one I'd reach out for in the future, but it was a pleasant time spent. Melodious. Great vocals throughout and some familiar and enjoyed tunes.

Hey, Girl. Hey. Did you know this album is underwhelming and bored? I think of 1969 as being an exciting time to be alive. Perhaps this boringness brought some stability to the chaos of the world and thus was rated higher. Regardless, it's really lost on me in 2023.

That was surprisingly underwhelming.

When I snapped out of my boredom trance, all I can remember is a bad cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine and a bunch of songs boasting about how the singing dude is better than some woman’s boy toy.

I don’t always find it pleasant.

It was fine but I expected better.

Highlights: "I Gotta Find A Way," "Cloud Nine" It was a step backwards for The Temptations to try to compete over new sounds with James Brown, Sly Stone, and Isaac Hayes. We're a couple years out from 110th Street or Shaft, but you can hear in the lyrics that the psych and funk dabbling is bound up in the dawn of blaxploitation, which is a double-edged sword. The production is also much rougher than their past hits. The strained vocals get raw and awkward mixing, and the Motown style of direct input guitar signal does NOT work with Hendrix effects combos; it's like you can hear the upheaval in Motown Records as they scramble to recover from losing their lead writer and relocate to Los Angeles while maintaining their notoriously grueling production schedules. I can see why this might have been picked as a "progressive" record, but that change was developing without The Temptations. This is jumping the shark on all counts.

Particolare

Throughout the album, I felt like the Temptations were trying too hard to be someone else. 1969 was obviously was a momentous year of change musically, and the Temptations tried to change too. But songs like "Runaway Child, Running Wild" smacked of Stevie Wonder. Their... "update" of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" just fell flat. I don't want to say they had to stick with just what they know, but sometimes you stray too far and it gets... embarrassing. As soon as the album was done, Spotify started playing "you liked this, maybe you'll like..." and it did Otis Redding's "Sitting By The Dock of the Bay" and a whole bunch of soul classics. It just made you realize what the Temptations album was missing.

FAF Funky As Fuck Still thought it lacked that wow track. I get it, your flavour is funk but it doesn't hurt to add a flake or some sweet toppings to shake it up baby.

Not my cup of tea.

Вроде и все норм, но не хватило то ли эмоции, то ли чего-то ещё, но прям послушал и забыл.... 2+

it was pretty meh, not good and not bad but slightly bad

Just like with their later funk record from the era, I consider most of the record to be forgettable. They're a singles band, producing pop hits with James Brown-esque forward vocals and scats. I appreciate the attempt at psychedelic instrumentation, especially during the instrumental section of "Runaway Child", but it's not that impressive. It's too fast and sharp to be very imaginative. This and "Cloud Nine" were decent funk attempts but felt rushed and were too rigid in its pop structure. The 2nd half consists of smoother soul tracks, utilizing some psychedelic instrumentation like wind chimes to spice things up, which accomplish what they sought to do, but nearly all of them are pretty forgettable. The production has nice mixing but sounds a bit poor, especially the vocalist. Favorites: Runaway Child, Hey Girl

none of their best songs are here 2.5

2.5 As mentioned in my All Directions review, I didn’t realize Temptations took on a funk sound later in their career, and this seems to be the album that marked that shift. Cloud Nine was a really solid opener and seemed to be a good selling point on the new musical direction, and that was further backed up by the fun funk breakdown on Runaway Child, Running Wild. Then, starting with Lovin is a Hurtin’ Thing, it seems like they just decided to take a hard shift back to their R&B/soul roots? I don’t know, it wasn’t bad, but I just kind of wish they had stuck to one sound, as the final product just seems awkwardly glued together, almost as if the funk stuff was an afterthought tacked on to the front of a work in progress album - like they weren’t entirely confident in their new sound and wanted a fallback. To add to the incoherency, Gonna Keep on Tryin’ was an incredibly unceremonious conclusion to the album, to the point I head to go back to Spotify and confirm the album actually ended where it was supposed to. Fine overall, though the back half is pretty unremarkable. The best part of the album definitely lies in the first three tracks.

Meh - didn’t do much for me

Ok album, just not really my kind of music.

Nothing special

Too much on the romance side to my taste. Sounds like a bunch of man trying to prove they are so virile. Gets boring the more you listen

This seemed like a couple of hits and a bunch of experimentation. Their earlier soulful stuff was so good.

Did nothing for me. I found it a bit bland.

I found a lot of the covers underwhelming, they really pale in comparison to the original/better known versions.

Loooove the sound but didn’t feel like the album had a journey, a bit one note?

15 years ago I would have loved this but I can’t relate to the heartbreak and loneliness anymore.

Pretty good

Cover art 3/5

Uh, I didn't love this. Mo-town meets weird psychedelic crap. I was hoping for some smooth harmonies, helping me relive that one amazing night on the Carnival Cruise when the on-board musical review was "Mo-Town on the Seas" or something like that. It wasn't that great, but it was catchy. Instead I got "Runaway Child, Running Wild". It's like a jam band without the jam. And what's with the screech in the middle of the song. No thanks. Trying to hard to be edgy. Echo - play Scarecrow by John Cougar (y'all know it's coming!)

Sounds nice and all, just not something I see myself listening to very often.

Classic motown - some moments when the high pitch is way too strident - should have been treated better in production. In general the production standard is lower than I would have expected which will cost it a point on my rating. (Side note - only 3 of 10 tracks available on Spotify in Brazil - switched to Youtube to get the full album)

A relatively plain soul album that's almost entirely love songs. Nothing I hated besides the crying child, just uninteresting.

Meh. The temptation trying to be funky? Runaway Child was atrocious.

no esta completo en ninguna plataforma felicidades

Heard it Through the Grapevine is obviously a great song but the rest if the album fell flat for me

Otros de the temptations me han gustado mas

Fine for what it is but nothing really stands out and I wouldn't wanna listen to it again

The raspy falsetto teetering on the edge of tones were hard for me to cotton to. I’d never heard that version of Heard It through the Grapevine! Credit to their prolific catalogue and their historical presence/impact, but this is not an album I’ll be spinning for the heck of it.

Ahhhhh !!! une p-bass avec des flats dans un ampeg b-15🤤 non mais ça sonne tu ben??? Ils abusent un peu du 5-6-1-6-1 comme lick sur tout, partout mais ça marche bien Le début de l'album est plutôt bon, motown psyché sur les bords mais vers la fin c'est plus générique. Les drums sonnent thin je trouve comparé à la bass qui tone sans bon sens Sympa malgré tout même si la fin fade out d'une toune ordinaire fait que la fin de l'album est assez pouet pouet

doesn't really get going. threatens to be good but is just a bit bland.

Psychedelic Temptations were not my thing. I feel like David Ruffin was also missed. The title track was pretty good, but beyond that nothing stood out.

Fine

Not my thing

This was just ok for me, nothing outstanding. 2

Was ok -not a fan

Cannot find on Spotify

Didn't like as much as I thought I would

Fine, but nothing here substantially jumped out to me save for the cover of "Grapevine." I liked that version and had never heard it before. Definitely beats the shit out of John Fogerty pronouncing "heard" as "hoid." My whole body shuddered just thinking about it.

First listen. Temptations are good. Just an old style that isn't that listenable today as it was before. Still a good album. 2/5

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Runaway Child, Running Wild Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Another Temptations album where, at least for me, the main draw is the 9+ minute epic. Unfortunately this one and the album surrounding it are both weaker than Papa Was A Rollin' Stone and All Directions respectively. That one got a 3, this one gets a 2.

Brave change of direction, but I admired it more than I enjoyed it.

ok

This soul music album has a psychedelic spin to it - since it was released in 1969 - and is the ninth album from The Temptations. The spin worked, earning 1 of the 2 hit singles a Grammy, and confirming that this is the change the group would stick with for the future. Soul music isn't my genre of music, so that affected the rating.

Naw. Seemed disjointed. Give me neo-soul, not psychedelia-soul.

Hm... sounds oke, but... nah

Not really my thing, but recognize the importance.

Nice 60's funk vibe, but i feel it too old. Best song ,,Cloud Nine".

Tuttu nimi ja joitain tuttuja biisejäkin. Harmillisesti tämä nyt vaan ei ole yhtään mun genre vaikka ihan laadukkaalta musiikilta kuulostaakin. Harvinaisesti kuuntelin tämän vaan kerran läpi, koska en kokenut saavani mitään uutta irti lisäkuunteluilla. Ihan kiva mutta ei jatkoon.

4/10 - GOOD VIBES

Pretty good album. Probably progressive for the time but not overly interesting with no memorable songs 2.5

Happy music...very funky. I love their song „Papa was a rollin‘ stone“. But generally not my type of music.

A couple songs I enjoyed, but overall not my thing. Much more into the KC sound than something like this.

Not my thing

bro warum so viele reine Männergruppen aus den 70ern? Finds langweilig sorry

hate the mama sound effect, would be a 2 otherwise

Una canción buena en todo el album. Aunque muy buena eso sí. Single material, like mi ex.

1. cloud - 1 2. grape - 0 3. uuild - 1 4. love - 1 5. girl - 1 6. leave - 0 7. need - 1 8. love - 1 9. uuay - 1 10. uuin - 1

Shockingly awful

Meh meh meh wop

Funky wah wah sound….different from their rather formal early smooth love songs. Lovely voice. Fave track…Runaway Child. Enjoyed.

Maybe too much funk for me, sounded all the same

Not my style. Rating is purely personal, this does zero for me.

Not gonna listen

1

Tento album má nezaujal prakticky ničím. Mám rád iné ich pesničky.

No es mi estilo at all. Música de fondo

Derivative pop made worse by strings

- Another band with a history of abuse towards women (before this album?), but since it's a new singer here after they kicked the other guy out, I was thinking maybe this album should get a pass, but 1. They did try to bring the other guy back for a minute or two, and (more importantly) 2. The lyrics of the songs have a "hey little baby girl, I sucked, but I need you, so how about you don't leave this abusive relationship? No? I'll keep harassing you until you give in, even though you've moved on and are with someone else!" vibes. Dude, just leave her alone. Gross. - The lead singer has a nice gravelly voice. The other guy with the high voice is rough - so strained, thin, and out of tune. - The instrumentation has a pretty chill/laid back vibe with a nice groove/bass, especially. - Most of Side A bored me (the title track was definitely the highlight) -- the cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine isn't even catchy, and no thanks to a forgettable song being almost 10 min long and including an "I want my mommy" thing, ugh? - Side B is more standard Motown, but it is still pretty boring and continues with the problematic lyrics throughout. I don't think I'll remember any of the songs, and I'm definitely not adding this album to my collection. - I was considering a 2 at first when I hadn't listened to the lyrics, but the coercive & infantilizing lyrics are a hard no.

no

nah

Not my vibe

My ex liked this one. No thx

Classic, just not mine

Shite

I don't like this type of music it is good but not for me. 2/10

Worst. Album. Ever.

Soulowe zamułki, nic co mnie porywa, ale dość przyjemnie się słucha w tle. Zmęczony jestem taką niewyraźną muzyką.

Good me movin', but I don't really like it at all Didnt even listen to all songs

Zeitdokument, aber nicht mein Genre!

Cloud Nine Runaway Child, Running Wild

Not for me

This was sooooooo boooooorrrrriiiinnnnggggg but an impressive number of times to write the same song

Not really my kind of music. Too jazzy

60’s don’t care

Nothing special, no disrespect to these gentlemen

stop

totalnie nie moj styl, master tez jest dziwny i zle sie tego slucha, moze na starym gramofonie by to bylo przyjemne

Old

I was expecting to like this more. Like, a lot more. I know The Temptations are iconic, but is just sounds like a group of really good solo singers who try to support each other when the others have a solo. What bothered me most at first was realizing there was some really bad mic technique in the studio. The singer pulls back from the microphone on the title track “Cloud Nine” to reveal the size of the untreated room. At first, I loved the vulnerability of it, but then I started realizing some of the background vocals were pretty poorly arranged as if the group were a mediocre a cappella group who didn’t know how to around parts. Some of the musicians on the track absolutely slap, but to me the good was overshadowed by lifeless lines of melody and soulless solos that sound like they are there just to have sound playing in the same key. This just isn’t it. I can’t believe I am rating Taylor Swift higher than this….

I didn't really enjoy this. Felt dated and overly long despite being a short album.

Love the vibe of the first song already. Very funky indeed. Like that there are different vocals. It was fine, I enjoyed it, just not my genre I guess. Second song has great background vocals. Also the main singer's voice is remarkable. Eddie has a listenable voice, but Dennis - genre-appropriate. Third song is 9 minutes? What do they have to say that much. Love the weird start. The deep voice guy should sing more. I love the chaos they create with their voices all together. I feel like the longness of the song is unnecessary, also the cry-singing was not good for my ears. 4th song is sad, was started by the deep voiced guy(not sure), continued with the soft voice one(worst). Album has a beach vibe, makes me relaxed and stuff, but not worth it overall(again not my genre so). 5th song has the same instrumentals in the background, I must say that I love that it's different from the modern bass beats. I haven't mentioned any meanings(i usually do), because there's not much to it, mostly about love, though First song might have been about drugs. 6th has exactly same vibe, Bob Marley vibe actually. Theme is love as I hear it. Nothing unique to me. 7th song and no deep voiced guy, not good. I'm bored, but these are not the songs I should be deep-dive listening to so it's expected, liking the vibe just, it's not it. 8th song has again great background vocals, best part in the song probably. 9th has am amazing start, going basic after. I do not like his voice, can't blame myself. 10th and last song, I have to say I like the way he says "woo". The trumpet is nice to hear also. It's permanent wave, no bridge, no different chorus, or beat change, just the same vibe, I get why people like this but I do not. Sadly this is my first 1 star album, vibe was okay, but too same, I low-key get why this album is here, it's just not here for me.

Not my jam

Tired

Felt too slow for my liking

No real bangers on this one, at least not that I'm aware of

Ihan silleen bulkkihyvää, mut miks just tämä albumi... Epätasainen tuotanto myös. Runaway Child, Running Wild oli ainoa, joka kuulosti aidolta ja hyvältä

good but didn't take

Cba

Donc, comme je disais, il y a Cloud Nine, le reste, c’est de la bouette. Haha !

À la base, je ne suis pas un grand fan du groupe, mais je comprends pourquoi cet album est sur la liste vu le changement de direction par rapport à ce que le groupe faisait. Il y a certaines bonnes grooves, mais dans son ensemble c'est un peu long et ça ne me donne pas envie d'y revenir. La reprise de I Heard It Through The Grapevine n'est pas vraiment réussi pour moi.

I was, to put it mildly, very disappointed in this album, was expecting something else I guess and this...was not it. And that version of Grapevine, a tuna casserole of a song.

Not good as others

Loved the guitar in Cloud Nine. Loved this band growing up. They have better albums

No está en Spotify.

To raro xd

N/A

Only 4 tracks available to stream

Kun 3 sanger tilgjengelig!?!?! *hytte med neven*

Ikke tilgængeligt

Not on spotify

Canción Cloude nine: Batería paneada a la derecha, guitarra a la izquierda, voces coro a la izquierda.