Cloud Nine

by

The Temptations

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When this album was originally released in early '69, it was a gamble. Could the Temptations, known as smooth melodic crooners of love songs, successfully reinvent themselves as contemporaries of Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Funkadelic, and the Chambers Brothers, with their psychedelic rock and soul sounds? The answer was YES. CLOUD NINE, this masterpiece by produced by Norman Whitfield, the most soulful producer to ever come out of Motown, is one of my favorite CDs by the Temptations. The grittiness of "Cloud Nine", the title song and the album opener (and the first single from the album, released in late 1968) demands that you pay attention to what the Tempts are saying. Songwriter Barrett Strong's words come to life as newest Temptation Dennis Edwards tells the story of growing up poor in the inner city...and the debate about this song continues to this day. Was the song about getting high, or just changing your way of thinking? A funky rendition of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" takes Gladys Knight and the Pips' version, strips it down to the rhythm track, and emphasizes the Tempts' harmonies above everything else. I LOVE the scatting on this track!! The nine minute and thirty-eight second version of "Runaway Child, Running Wild" is worth the price of the CD alone. Simply relentless, with the sound of a child crying for his mother. What was really great about this CD was the use of multiple vocalists singing different parts at the same time on each song. Prior to this CD, you'd basically have David Ruffin, or sometimes Eddie Kendricks singing the lead and the rest of the guys singing "Oooh, waaa" or "Oh baby" in the background. However on these three cuts on CLOUD NINE you might hear Dennis, then Eddie, then Paul, the Melvin, then Otis...all on the same song! I just love it.

The second part of the CD, to me, seemed to let Temptations' fans know that they could still sing the love ballads in the way that made them famous, even though David Ruffin was no longer in the group by then. There are some very nice remakes on it ("Love Is A Hurtin' Thing", "Hey Girl") plus some beautiful original tunes ("I Need Your Lovin'" with Eddie Kendricks on lead vocals, "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", a Paul Williams standout lead, "Why Did She Have To Leave Me" and others). A daring bit of work that forever changed Motown, and a definite part of their history, since "Cloud Nine" was the very first Motown tune ever to win a Grammy. Get it, and you too will be on CLOUD NINE!

Definitely a change in style (and personnel) from the group's earlier (classic) period, so don't assume that you will love or hate "Cloud Nine" just because of your reactions to earlier releases. In "Cloud Nine" they begin to move away from their basic group harmony mainstay. David Ruffin (baritone) has left and been replaced by Dennis Edwards (formerly with the Contours). And producer Norman Whitfield has taken over; so suddenly there is a lot of "Sly and the Family Stone" influences.

All this translated into a looser, funkier style which would later produce big hits "I Can't Get Next to You", "Psychedelic Shack", and "Ball of Confusion". But "Cloud Nine" also sounded the death nell for the group as tenor Eddie Kendricks soon left (in 1971) and was never satisfactorily replaced. Only the name would remain the same, with "Cloud Nine" the first part of a transitional period between the classics and the "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone and disco-oriented successor.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.