Some great voices are instruments of artistry. Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye — these are all composers, pop artistes; their legendary vocals just one element of their equally legendary visions. Other great voices, however, are something else entirely: they, themselves, are the instruments. Otis Williams belongs decidedly to the second category. A founding member of legendary soul quintet the Temptations, his powerful, melodic baritone sounded great on classics like "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Just My Imagination"...but it was arguably just as well-served when Rick James used it for songs like "Super Freak" and "Standing at the Top," a single brick in the wall of Mr. Mary Jane's '80s-revamped Motown Sound. Why? It has nothing to do with quality (though for the record, Street Songs is nothing to sniff at); it's just that Williams' voice is more remarkable for its tonal, purely musical qualities than for its association with any specific style or standard of quality.
It's for this reason that Reflections, the 61st album (!) to be released by Williams under the Temptations moniker, can be by turns both a success and a failure. When the material is good — and as a collection of classic Motown covers, better material could hardly be found — it's a pleasant nostalgia trip. Williams (the only living original member of the Temptations) still sounds great, and he's certainly chosen functional replacements for the classic line-up: current supporters Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, GC Cameron, and Joe Herndon may not have quite the same vocal alchemy as the Temptations we know and love but every time their voices blend together it's a reasonable enough facsimile to sweep this reviewer momentarily off his feet. The downside, however, is that Reflections is purely a vocalist's record; it has neither the creative spark nor the exciting newness of the best soul music, and so it stands and falls on the strength of its arrangements alone.
Which is very, very bad news, because these arrangements are oldies revival by numbers. "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved to You)" sounds a bit like Otis and friends are singing along to a particularly lame karaoke tape, and it isn't alone; "Try It Baby" tries to emulate big-band jazz with egregiously fake-sounding synth horns and strings. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," meanwhile, sounds like lite R&B circa 1994. And "Don't Leave Me This Way" could be most bizarre of all — not just a straight cover of Thelma Houston's disco hit, but one which actually sounds more dated than the original. Predictably, the music is best when it's kept on a classicist bent, as on "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and opener "Can I Get a Witness," which channel something of the passion and ebullience of the Motown Sound even if they do fall inevitably short. But if the best parts of a 2006 record by the Temptations are when it sounds sort of like a 1966 record by the Temptations, then it has to be asked: what exactly is the point?
Article comments
1 - Vern Halen
Sixty one albums!?!?! Indeed! You're counting compilations too, I suppose. I wonder how many artists can say the same? I suppose Elvis, the Beatles etc., but still - you'd think you'd get tired of it after a while.
2 - Zach
Nope, not compilations, but you have to remember that soul singers in the '60s churned out about seven records a year. Still pretty unbelievable, though.
3 - Connie Phillips
This article has been placed at the Advance.net Web sites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.
4 - Iris Gross
The reason "Don't Leave Me This Way" sounds dated is because it sounds more like the REAL original by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. The Thelma Houston hit was a disco cover, and of course became the better known.
I got this album for Christmas, and I'm amazed at how much I miss Melvin. The Temptations have become just five random guys who harmonize well, rather than being something distinct. They should either call themselves something else, or work at bringing back what made the Temptations special. Bring the bass man up more, and stop having these duke-outs between tenors trying to out-sing each other. Remember Edwards and Kendricks, or Kendricks and Ruffin? They complemented each other, they didn't compete with each other vocally. All that's gone now, and these guys are just another indistinguishable doo-wop group. In the words of G.C. Cameron, it's a shame...