Aspired or Inspired.

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I think it is part of human nature to be influenced, affected or to even depend on the perception of another on oneself. I think we often try to discredit it but truth is we can not live solely on own opinion. We thrive on the criticism, influence and most importantly the acknowledgement of another.
acknowledgement /əkˈnɒlɪdʒm(ə)nt/
,recognition of the importance or quality of something. ~ Oxford


I also think it is one thing to be acknowledged but to be acknowledged by those you might have looked up to or took inspiration from comes with a whole other level of contentment.

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated ~ William James

The Temptations

The Temptations singing Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran? The 4 time grammy winning and 16 time no.1 charting Temptations?

As crazy as it sounds that is exactly what their latest studio album titled All The Time(2018) is, it is a album covering songs of modern day greats with the exception of 3 songs. In simple terms this is a album compiled of songs from my sad boy playlist but being sang by The Temptations.

“,The Temptations still stand today, not in spite of those who left us, but because of them.” – Otis Williams


Now the group has gone through mass changes through the years from their initial formation but their identity has never been compromised or changed with Otis Williams being a constant throughout. and with that means this album is not compiled by a beatdown version of an iconic group singing covers but rather it is The Temptations’ take of modern day songs. That is big.

Album: All the time

I first came to learn of this album when I heard a version of “Pretty Wings” sang by The Temptations playing on the radio, from this I immediately concluded that Maxwell had actually covered this now to me presumable original. (baffling, but I mean come on hey…) The probability of The Temps covering a Maxwell song from 2009 did not once play in my head, these are Thee Temptations who laid template for what modern day RnB is we are talking about.

On the album itself the beauty of it is, it’s a Tempts’ album! It has all the elements to it that make the Tempts’ holders of the legendary status they carry. Be it the church-esque rhythm on Stay With Me, The typical serenading prelude on Thinking Out Loud that can only be done best by the Temptations or of course the mad 5 piece harmonies on Be My Wife.

“That’s one of the things the Tempts have always been, experimental. We… put our spin on some iconic kind of songs that have turned out to be such monster standards in their own right” – Otis Williams

Less synonymous with the Tempts in this album however was them diving into pop songs and not just those of the RnB genre we know them for. But in doing so they still managed to arrange the songs to their range for instance with Still Feel Like Your Man by John Mayer which to me sounds like a pop ballade they add strings and riffs, changed the tempo and add to that the element of harmonies they turned the song into a soulful masterclass.

Romance, Funkiness and Harmonies. The Temptations showed up, do check the album out!

Covered Originals:
Sam Smith – Stay With Me
Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man
John Mayer – Still Feel Like Your Man
Michael Jackson –
Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
Maxwell – Pretty Wings
The Weeknd – Earned It


www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/temptations-all-the-time-album/