1990 (The Temptations album)

Music and lyrics

The LP was the center of a number of problems. The Temptations were dissatisfied with Whitfield's socially conscious message tracks, which were by now failing commercially, and desired to get back to singing ballads. Whitfield relented some here, placing message tracks such as "1990" and "Ain't No Justice" alongside love songs such as "Heavenly" and "You've Got My Soul on Fire".

Release and promotion

The album's first single, the Rose Royce-backed and Dennis Edwards-led funk track "Let Your Hair Down", was its only Top 40 hit. The ballad "Heavenly", sung by Richard Street and Damon Harris, was caught in the center of a disc jockey boycott against Motown. A Motown executive did not thank the United States' DJs while accepting an award for the Temptations at the 1974 American Music Awards, and, as a result, the DJs refused to play "Heavenly". "You've Got My Soul on Fire", another Edwards-led funk track, also stalled out on the pop charts.

The Temptations remained dissatisfied with Whitfield's "slave-driver" like production mentality and his tendency to overshadow the Temptations' contributions to their own records by emphasising his production techniques and creating extended instrumental tracks with only a few verses of vocals. Group leader Otis Williams complained to Motown chief Berry Gordy, who replaced Whitfield with Jeffrey Bowen for their next LP, 1975's A Song for You. Whitfield left Motown soon afterward, and started his own label, Whitfield Records, which released several hits from Rose Royce.

Critical reception

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Not only isn't this good Motown, it isn't good Motown psychedelic—except for some sharp strumming on the title track (a half-assed indictment of/tribute to America) it never takes off rhythmically or vocally."

Track listing

All tracks written by Norman Whitfield.

Personnel

• Dennis Edwards – vocals
• Damon Harris – vocals
• Richard Street – vocals
• Melvin Franklin – vocals
• Otis Williams – vocals
• Norman Whitfield – producer
• The Funk Brothers and Rose Royce – instrumentation
• Aaron Smith – drums

Charts

References

References

1. {{AllMusic
2. Christgau, Robert. (1981). "[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]". [[Ticknor & Fields]].
3. Kent, David. (1993). "[[Kent Music Report". Australian Chart Book, St Ives, NSW.
4. Pennanen, Timo. (2006). "Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972". Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.
5. (2006). "Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005". Oricon Entertainment.
6. Salaverri, Fernando. (September 2005). "Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002". Fundación Autor-SGAE.
7. "The Temptations US Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).