Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Three years after the brilliant For Lovers Only and two personnel changes, the Temptations dished out Phoenix Rising. Ali "Ollie" Woodson and Theo Peoples were replaced by Harry McGilberry and Barrington Scott Henderson. The album gets off to an excellent start with "Stay," a lilting, mid-tempo mood setter that samples the opening riffs of "My Girl"; the red-light special became their highest charting single in years. "How Could He Hurt You" is one of those good, questioning ballads that always finds a way into your heart. These new Temptations are all right, but none are comparable to the squalling Temptations' tenors of the past. Voices reaching the magnitude of David Ruffin's, Dennis Edwards', Ali Woodson's and Richard Street's are sorely missed. Otis Williams seems to have found his niche doing interludes between songs; it would be interesting to see if they would incorporate Williams' eloquent love talks into their stage act. Ron Tyson sings effortlessly in a honey-laden falsetto on "Tempt Me," which, other than "Stay," is the most arresting number here. Tyson displays his natural tenor before sliding into a sky-high falsetto, the backing voices are a thing of beauty as they weave in, out, and around Tyson's deft delivery, and the bass dots in and out placing exclamation points everywhere. "If I Give You My Heart" features a Williams rap and has a pop-ish beat; the tenor tries to cut loose but may have been restrained by producer Narada Michael Walden. When listening to "Take Me in Your Arms" it helps to imagine Ruffin, Edwards, or Woodson on lead. The mid-tempo songs, for the most part, outshine the ballads. "That's What Friends Are For" (not the Dionne Warwick song) has a deft, stepping beat but changes tempos on the chorus and becomes annoying until it gets back to that "Da, Da, Da" beat. The baritone voice on an occasional lead is sorely missed. Temptations' albums used to feature a baritone voice distinct from the tenor not only in register, but in style and phrasing; here the voices are too similar. Still, not a bad silver platter when you take the personnel changes into consideration.
© Andrew Hamilton /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $16.65/month
Benjamin Wright, ComposerLyricist - Otis Williams, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Isaias Gamboa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
William Robinson, Jr., ComposerLyricist - Narada Michael Walden, Producer, Drums, Tambourine, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronald White, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Hey, Conductor, String Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - The Temptations, MainArtist - DAVID "FRAZEMAN" FRAZER, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Scott Urquhart, ComposerLyricist - James Fischer, ComposerLyricist - Jimi "The Sweet" Fischer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jimi Fischer, Drums, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Programming, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1998 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Arthur Marbury III, Producer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Isaias Gamboa, Producer
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Rex Rideout, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - Ronnie Garrett, Producer, ComposerLyricist - THOM "TK" KIDD, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Darcy Aldridge, ComposerLyricist - Tony Kurtis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Otis Williams, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Theo Peoples, ComposerLyricist - Isaias Gamboa, Producer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Keith Rouster, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Theo Peoples, ComposerLyricist - Isaias Gamboa, Producer, Mixer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Jetro da Silva, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Azubike Chima, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Greg "G-Mack" Dalton, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Don Hayes, Alto Sackbut, AssociatedPerformer - Takuya Hirano, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Narada Michael Walden, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rodney Alejandro, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - MARC "ELVIS" REYBURN, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DAVID "FRAZEMAN" FRAZER, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ron Tyson, ComposerLyricist - Robin Taylor Brooks, ComposerLyricist - Darrin McKinney, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Narada Michael Walden, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rodney Alejandro, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - MARC "ELVIS" REYBURN, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DAVID "FRAZEMAN" FRAZER, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robin Taylor Brooks, ComposerLyricist - Darrin McKinney, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Narada Michael Walden, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - MARC "ELVIS" REYBURN, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DAVID "FRAZEMAN" FRAZER, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sunny Hilden, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Johnny Britt, ComposerLyricist - Otis Williams, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Isaias Gamboa, Producer, Mix Engineer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Otis Williams, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Arthur Marbury III, Producer, Mix Engineer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Isaias Gamboa, Producer - Melvin Jordan, ComposerLyricist - Terry Weeks, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Otis Williams, ComposerLyricist - The Temptations, MainArtist - Bob Tucker, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Isaias Gamboa, Producer, Vocal Arranger, Mix Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
William Robinson, Jr., ComposerLyricist - Narada Michael Walden, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronald White, ComposerLyricist - Tony Black, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Temptations, MainArtist - Scott Urquhart, ComposerLyricist - James Fischer, ComposerLyricist - John Forte, Remixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
Three years after the brilliant For Lovers Only and two personnel changes, the Temptations dished out Phoenix Rising. Ali "Ollie" Woodson and Theo Peoples were replaced by Harry McGilberry and Barrington Scott Henderson. The album gets off to an excellent start with "Stay," a lilting, mid-tempo mood setter that samples the opening riffs of "My Girl"; the red-light special became their highest charting single in years. "How Could He Hurt You" is one of those good, questioning ballads that always finds a way into your heart. These new Temptations are all right, but none are comparable to the squalling Temptations' tenors of the past. Voices reaching the magnitude of David Ruffin's, Dennis Edwards', Ali Woodson's and Richard Street's are sorely missed. Otis Williams seems to have found his niche doing interludes between songs; it would be interesting to see if they would incorporate Williams' eloquent love talks into their stage act. Ron Tyson sings effortlessly in a honey-laden falsetto on "Tempt Me," which, other than "Stay," is the most arresting number here. Tyson displays his natural tenor before sliding into a sky-high falsetto, the backing voices are a thing of beauty as they weave in, out, and around Tyson's deft delivery, and the bass dots in and out placing exclamation points everywhere. "If I Give You My Heart" features a Williams rap and has a pop-ish beat; the tenor tries to cut loose but may have been restrained by producer Narada Michael Walden. When listening to "Take Me in Your Arms" it helps to imagine Ruffin, Edwards, or Woodson on lead. The mid-tempo songs, for the most part, outshine the ballads. "That's What Friends Are For" (not the Dionne Warwick song) has a deft, stepping beat but changes tempos on the chorus and becomes annoying until it gets back to that "Da, Da, Da" beat. The baritone voice on an occasional lead is sorely missed. Temptations' albums used to feature a baritone voice distinct from the tenor not only in register, but in style and phrasing; here the voices are too similar. Still, not a bad silver platter when you take the personnel changes into consideration.
© Andrew Hamilton /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:10
- Main artists: The Temptations
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Motown
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B Soul
© 1998 Motown Record Company L.P. ℗ 1998 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.