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The funky sound of Temptation
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The song that really hooked me onto the Temptations was “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today).” I can remember first hearing the soft, ominous creep of the bass line, then a bizarre and dissonant guitar part, sounding more like a synthesizer, washing over the track. I thought, who is this? Sly? Curtis?
I was intrigued, and while that pulsing rhythm kept building, with reckless bursts of percussion and horns, I found myself in intense anticipation of that climactic moment when the build-up would finally peak and the band would crash into the song, like a long-awaited orgasm. Soon I heard the crescendo of the snare and the singer’s (Dennis Edwards) increasingly desperate voice and lyrics, and finally, “BALL OF CONFUSIONNNN!” Right there I had to know who it was.
I was pleasantly surprised: when people talk about funk music the Temptations are overlooked. So many of their hits were the soul ballads that helped define the early Motown sound, so it is understandable that would not be classified as a funk band. Though more followers of the funk sound than its originators, their “psychedelic soul” period, coordinated by producer Norman Whitfield, delivered a funk sound to be reckoned with.
But I love the Temptations for their incredible voices and performances on both the later brass-heavy funkier songs as well as the early Smokey Robinson-produced soul ballads. They always had a perfect amalgam of singers despite their lineup changes—they balanced a smooth and soulful tenor with a gruff and confident lead, keeping Melvin Franklin’s distinct baritone for reinforcement. Just the first line of “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)” destroys me. “Girl I can’t beLIEEEEEEVE!”
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