I almost forgot about this record. And I was a big Temptations fan. How big (pause), you ask? Well, back in the day when I was a teenager my first concert ever was the group's 1982 Reunion album tour with OG leads David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, and Dennis Edwards all in together. (My mom - bless her heart - took me to the show; afterwards we wound up running into my school guidance counselor, Ms. Alexander, who memorably exclaimed - no doubt to the amusement of the throngs of middle-aged Black folks exiting the venue around us - "Jeff, what are you doing here - you're too young!")
So suffice to say I was into these dudes, and was fully intoxicated (in that "Fantastic Voyage"-y kinda way) by "Standing on the Top," their way 2 fonky Rick James (a/k/a Melvin Franklin's nephew)-produced comeback single (his return favor for that nifty cameo they made at the end of "Superfreak," you gotta figure). Compared to that Stone City-backed bonanza, the conventional R&Boogie of "Treat Her Like a Lady" - which came out a couple years after the reunion honeymoon was over and Ruffin and Kendricks were off makin' moves with Daryl Hall and John Oates - sounded softer than Cottonelle. Especially against Purple Rain and King of Rock.
Sounds like pure class now. I guess I'm finally old enough.
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