Psychedelic Soul

Once Norman Whitfield caught the reins of Motown's strongest act (and the one closest to Berry Gordy's heart), he recorded hit after hit, stretching from 1968's "Cloud Nine" to 1973's "Masterpiece." But despite some seriously groovy covers, the Temptations' LPs of the era suffered from Motown's unwillingness to ever commit fully to any one direction: 1969's Puzzle People included both the defiant anthem "Message From a Black Man" and a cover of O.C. Smith's "Little Green Apples." Britain's Spectrum remedied the situation with its 2000 compilation Psychedelic Soul, not just a hits collection from the Whitfield years but a nearly definitive look at his best productions for the Temptations. Included are not only all the obvious biggies from the era -- "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," "Psychedelic Shack," "Runaway Child, Running Wild," "Ball of Confusion," "Cloud Nine," and "Masterpiece" -- but a host of great middle-level hits ("Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down," "Message From a Black Man," "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth") and intriguing album tracks like "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" and "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On." All of them hang together really well (much better than any of the albums, barring 1973's Masterpiece), and despite the small caveat of an occasionally baffling running order, Psychedelic Soul is the best way to hear some of the grooviest, most ambitious music ever recorded for Motown. ~ John Bush|