The Temptations

The Tempts Trying New Tricks

The Temptations have released almost 50 studio albums in the 50 years since they formed, but they’re keen to point out that they aren’t stuck in their ways. Their appropriately named new LP Still Here features a little bit of rapping, a little bit of auto-tune and a whole lot of the trademark Temptations sound that first made them famous half a century ago. Sole surviving founder member Otis Williams explained to Spinner: “We know we're not rappers and hip-hop, but we want to stay on the cutting edge. The kids nowadays, they like what we do but it’s good to try and give them a taste of what the sound is like today.” The Temptations were stars by the time Janet Jackson was born, but she’s also adjusting to changing musical appetites; Janet’s strategy involves dropping the album format altogether. Producer Jermaine Dupri said “Last time I heard she really didn't want to do an album. She wanted to just do singles every once in a while. She's looked at the marketplace [and] albums are not really doing what they usually do when you put all this budget out there.” So what do experienced artists do to keep up with the younger generation of popstar: continue to release similar albums but try new tricks to keep them fresh, or give up on albums altogether and just focus on singles? If either tactic works, we’ll be hearing a lot more from these artists in the coming months.