1 	Happy People 
2	Glasshouse 
3 	Shakey Ground 
4 	The Prophet 	
5 	Happy People (Instrumental) 	
6 	A Song For You 	
7 	Memories (Begin) 	
8 	I'm A Bachelor
9 	Firefly

Dennis Edwards - vocals
Damon Harris - vocals
Richard Street - vocals
Melvin Franklin - vocals
Otis Williams – vocals
Bass – Billy Nelson
Clavinet, Piano, Saxophone, Clarinet – Donald Baldwin
Drums – James Gadson, Ollie Brown, Zachary Frazier
Guitar – Eddie Hazel, Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin

By 1975, the Temptations were a much different group with both David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks out of the lineup. Dennis Edwards was now singing lead, and only Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams existed from the original group. The group was far more of a funk mind, and this set proves it. The big hit on here was "Happy People," with the Temps backed up by the Commodores, listed as "the Temptations Band" on the second part instrumental version. For ultra-funk, though, it's hard to beat "Glasshouse" and "Shakey Ground," which features guitar and bass work from P-Funk alumni Eddie Hazel and Billy Nelson. But they didn't leave their ballads entirely in the good old days, as the satin-drenched "Firefly," "Memories" and the title track clearly show. Produced by Jeffrey Bowen, this thing has "'70s'" stamped all over it. In the case of the Temps, that's good. ---Cub Koda, AllMusic Review

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01. Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On (Norman Whitfield) - 3:05 
02. Run Charlie Run (C. Maurice King) - 3:00
03. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong) - 11:44 
04. Love Woke Me Up This Morning (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 2:22 		
05. I Ain't Got Nothin' (C. Maurice King, Evans King) - 3:31	
06. The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) (Ewan MacColl) - 4:10
07. Mother Nature (Nick Zesses, Dino Fekaris) - 3:08							play 	 	
08. Do Your Thing (Isaac Hayes) - 3:29											play 

- Dennis Edwards - vocals (01,02,03,07)
- Damon Harris - vocals (01,02,03,04,08)
- Richard Street - vocals (01,02,03,06,08)
- Melvin Franklin - vocals (01,02,03,05,08)
- Otis Williams - vocals (01,05)
+
- Billy Cooper, Joe Messina, Melvin Ragin, Robert Ward, Paul Warren, Robert White, Eddie Willis - guitars
- Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Aaron Smith, Andrew Smith - drums
- Earl Van Dyke - piano
- John Griffith - organ
- Bob Babbitt, James Jamerson, Leroy Taylor - bass
- Jack Ashford - tambourine, maracas, sticks
- Jack Brokensha - tympani, vibes, bells, gourd
- Eddie "Bongo" Brown - bongo, congo
- The Andantes - additional background vocals (04)
- Norman Whitfield – producer

A monster album, the one that put them back in the spotlight and signaled that Norman Whitfield had saved the day. Damon Harris had replaced Eddie Kendricks, and there were many doubters convinced the band was finished. Instead, Whitfield revitalized them via the majestic single, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." Despite its length, Whitfield's decision to open with an extensive, multi-layered musical suite and tease listeners was a master stroke. By the time Dennis Edwards' voice came rushing in, no one would dare turn it off. The single, as well as "Law Of The Land" and others, ended the funeral arrangements that had been prepared for The Temptations. --- Ron Wynn, allmusic.com

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01. Hey Girl (I Like Your Style) – 3:19
02. Masterpiece – 13:35
03. Ma – 4:44							play
04. Law Of The Land – 4:51
05. Plastic Man – 3:23
06. Hurry Tomorrow – 4:39

- Dennis Edwards - vocals (tenor)
- Damon Harris - vocals (high tenor/falsetto)
- Richard Street - vocals (tenor)
- Melvin Franklin - vocals (bass)
- Otis Williams - vocals (tenor/baritone)
- Norman Whitfield: producer, composer
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Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers:
- Earl Van Dyke - piano, organ
- Johnny Griffith - organ
- Robert Ward, Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin, Joe Messina, Paul Warren, Robert White, Eddie Willis - guitar
- Leroy Taylor, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Watkins - bass
- Eddie "Bongo" Brown - bongos, congos
- Jack Ashford - tambourine, maracas, sticks
- Jack Brokensha - tympani, vibes, bells, gourd
- Maurice Davis - trumpet
- Ted Lucas – harmonica

Soul legends the Temptations' 1973 MASTERPIECE album and their 1975 SONG FOR YOU are featured on this compilation. MASTERPIECE garnered lesser acclaim for the Temptations, while SONG FOR YOU featured the hit "Happy People."

These two albums are almost perfectly suited to each other, representating the peak of the Temptations' early- to mid-'70s output. A Song for You was a rare Berry Gordy co-production (necessitated by Norman Whitfield's departure from the company) -- Gordy and Jimmy Bowen came up with an album that combined a powerful, funky beat with gorgeous singing (especially by Dennis Edwards) and a range of superb songs. These tapes sound extraordinary on this release, like they're really being heard properly for the first time. Masterpiece was precisely that for producer Whitfield, comprised of just six songs, every one of them a winner, including the epic-length title song, possibly the best extended track ever to come out of Motown Records. The two albums fit together almost seamlessly (though one wishes that Masterpiece's tracks were first on the disc), and the only flaw is that there are no expanded notes or album credits. --- Bruce Eder, AMG

Norman Whitfield was always the Motown producer who had the most daring creative vision for The Temptations; he was the man who helped them turn psychedelic (well, sort of) with "Cloud Nine" and "Psychedelic Shack", and when the group's career had hit a slump in the early 1970's, he brought them back to the top of the charts with the brilliantly realized "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". After the latter tune had become a smash, Whitfield and The Temptations set out to make their most ambitious project to date, but in many ways, Masterpiece sounded more like a Norman Whitfield solo album with the Temps adding occasional vocals; the album's long, carefully layered tunes, complete with sweeping string charts and cleanly punctuated horn lines, have the widescreen splendor of a big-budget movie, and while it's inarguably impressive to hear, the featured artists often seem to be lost in the shuffle. It doesn't help that while the album is musically impressive, several of the songs are lyrically cut-rate, especially the cliche-ridden "Ma" and "Plastic Man", a ho-hum critique of hypocrisy, and while The Temptations deliver their material with conviction and typically peerless vocal skill, it's not enough to disguise the fact this album overshoots its target. While still better than the average Motown effort of the period, Masterpiece never quite becomes the triumph it obviously wants to be, proving once again that a "Masterpiece" usually occurs as a matter of serendipity rather than careful design. ---Mark Deming, AllMusic Review

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01. Still Here (Interlude) (0:30)
02. Change Has Come (3:21)
03. One Of A Kind Lady (4:18)
04. Let Me Catch Your Diamonds (3:53)
05. Hold Me (5:03)
06. Warm Summer Nights (5:49)
07. First Kiss (4:14)
08. Shawtyismygirlooyeah (5:12)
09. Still Here With Me (4:15)
10. Soul Music (4:26)
11. Woman (5:30)
12. Listen Up (6:05)
13. Going Back Home (4:04)
14. Still Here (Reprise) (0:35)

 

Released on the eve of their 50th anniversary, Still Here is the Temptations' first album of original material since 2004’s Legacy. The group’s handful of attempts to relate to younger listeners fall flat. “Shawtyismygirlooyeah” would have greatly benefited from a more age-appropriate slang term, and “Change Has Come” is an unflattering, blustery production involving tension-raising synthetic string stabs à la Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and a scrawling guitar. There’s also some unnecessary use of Auto-Tune, a trick that detracts from “One of a Kind Lady,” one of the album’s stronger songs. Otherwise, the album is heavy on laid-back love songs that are easy to enjoy, if occasionally on the tepid side. Unsurprisingly, nothing is lacking in the vocal performances from Otis Williams and his partners, best heard on “Listen Up” (“Pull your pants up!” interjection aside), a halting, politically charged number with an uplifting chorus. ---Andy Kellman, AllMusic Review

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