1983 studio album by The Temptations
| Back to Basics |
|---|
 |
|
| Released | October 1983 (1983-10) |
|---|
| Recorded | 1983 |
|---|
| Studio |
- Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Ritesonian Studio, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, United States ("Hollywood")
|
|---|
| Genre | Soul |
|---|
| Length | 41:27 |
|---|
| Language | English |
|---|
| Label | Motown |
|---|
| Producer |
|
|---|
|
|
|
Back to Basics is the second of two studio albums released by American soul group The Temptations in 1983. The album saw the group reunited with former producer Norman Whitfield, and would also be the first to feature Ron Tyson as first tenor, who would eventually become the second-longest serving member in the group’s history. It would also be the last studio album with longtime frontman Dennis Edwards before his second departure and the first appearance of Edwards’ successor Ali-Ollie Woodson.
Recording
The Temptations had briefly left their long-time home of Motown for Atlantic Records in the late 1970s, but the two studio albums they released there were not successful and Atlantic released them from their contract. The band returned to Motown in the early 1980s and still struggled to be commercially viable, so they returned to record producer Norman Whitfield, who had recorded several of the band's hits in the 1960s for this album.[1] The group performed at the Motown 25 anniversary concert and then immediately went to the studio for these sessions, but experienced problems with Dennis Edwards being unreliable due to partying and drug abuse and Glenn Leonard also growing uninterested in the band. To compensate, the group brought in Ali-Ollie Woodson (who only performs on one track) and Ron Tyson to replace Leonard.[2]
Reception
Editors at AllMusic Guide scored this album 2.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Jason Elias writing that "what's here is worth listening to" for the Norman Whitfield-produced tracks.[1]
