Reunion (The Temptations album)

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Reunion
Tempts-reunion.jpg
Studio album by
The Temptations
ReleasedApril 7, 1982
Recorded1982
Genre R&B, Soul, Funk
Length45:37
Label Gordy
Producer Berry Gordy, Rick James, Smokey Robinson, Barrett Strong, Iris Gordy
The Temptations chronology
The Temptations
(1981)		Reunion
(1982)		 Surface Thrills
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Reunion is a 1982 album by The Temptations for Gordy Records. The album was released during the 1982 Temptations Reunion tour, which reunited David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks with the Temptations after a decade-long absence. The album also features then-current Temptations Dennis Edwards, Glenn Leonard, Richard Street, and founding members Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin. Reunion featured the single "Standing on the Top", produced by and featuring Motown funk star Rick James, who had used the Temptations as the background vocalists for his 1981 hit "Super Freak". It was their first album to reach the top 40 since Wings of Love (1976).

Contents

The Reunion tour, which began in March 1982, was only partially successful. Ruffin, by then a full-blown cocaine addict, missed several shows, causing the group to be fined thousands of dollars for each performance he missed, and Eddie Kendricks' falsetto voice had weakened due to constant smoking. Group leader Otis Williams decided that the reunion would not be a permanent thing, and fired Ruffin and Kendricks in November 1982.

Critical reception

Andrew Hamilton of Allmusic, in a 3/5 star review wrote, "Reunion is a very good Temptations album that could have been great...Not a bad album, but the product doesn't equal the sum of the voices and producers." [1]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalist(s)Length
1."Standing on the Top (arranged by Rick James)" Rick James Edwards, Ruffin, Kendricks, Street, Leonard, Franklin, James9:48
2."You Better Beware (arranged by Rudy Robinson, Curtis Nolen and Raymond Crossley)" Barrett Strong Ruffin, Franklin, Leonard5:00
3."Lock It in the Pocket (arranged by Benjamin Wright, William Bickelhaupt and Kerry Gordy)" Kerry Gordy, Benny Medina Edwards, Leonard, Franklin4:30
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalist(s)Length
4."I've Never Been to Me (arranged by Daniel Kane, Ken Hirsch and Ron Miller)"Ron Miller, Ken HirschEdwards5:57
5."Backstage (arranged by Paul Riser)" Smokey Robinson Edwards, Street4:31
6."More On the Inside (arranged by Paul Riser)"RobinsonEdwards3:49
7."Money's Hard to Get (arranged by Benjamin Wright, Kerry Gordy and William Bickelhaupt)"K. Gordy, MedinaEdwards4:44
CD issue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalist(s)Length
8."Like a Diamond in the Sky"RobinsonEdwards3:06
9."Don't Hold it In"Angelo Bond, Berry Gordy, Jr., Melvin Ragin (arranged by Melvin Ragin)Ruffin, Edwards, Kendricks4:12

Personnel

Performers

Musicians

[3]

Production

Charts

YearAlbumChart positions [4]
US US
R&B
1982Reunion372

Singles

YearSingleChart positions [4]
US US
R&B 		US
AC 		UK
1982"Standing On the Top – Pt. 1"
(featuring Rick James)		666—53
"More On the Inside"—82——
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. 1 2 Hamilton, Andrew. "The Temptations - Reunion". Allmusic . Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  2. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. ISBN   9780743201698.
  3. ↑ "The Temptations – Reunion (1982, Vinyl)". Discogs . 1982.
  4. 1 2 "The Temptations US albums/singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
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