266. The Temptations | All Directions (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Funky Music Sho' Nuff Turns Me On
2. Run Charlie Run
3. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
4. Love Woke Me Up This Morning
5. I Ain't Got Nothin'
6. The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)
7. Mother Nature
8. Do Your Thing

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All Directions is a bifurcated album. The music is soul and funk. The songs vary from standards like The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) to social commentary like Run Charlie Run. And that's how the music divides, too. The safer ones being soul and the more adventurous ones being funk. The main feature here, of course, is the Temptations voices. There isn't a finer group of voices in music.

The songs are all good enough to stand alone. There isn't a bad one among the bunch. The problem is that they don't jell. So then the album seems more like a collection of hit songs than an album with a common thread running through it.

Then there is Papa Was a Rollin' Stone. This is another outstanding song both for the music and vocals. In fact, prog rock bands should take a look at the Temptations' playbook on how to make long songs compelling. The problem with the song is then its inclusion among so many short songs. When there are eight songs and one comprises over a third of the album's length, it just unbalances the the whole thing.

I think this is an enjoyable album and it's worth listening to, but since it would seem to be more of a compilation of songs than a "true" album, I don't think it belongs on the 1001 Albums list. Rather individual songs can appear on a 1001 Songs list. 

All the songs are excellent. The stand-outs are: Run Charlie Run, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, I Ain't Got Nothin', The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face), Mother Nature and Do Your Thing.

★★★★★★★★☆☆