Although
Reunion was a chart topper, the group's 1983
Surface Thrills barely made a dent. Changes were in order.
Back to Basics marks
the Temptations reuniting with producer
Norman Whitfield for the first time since 1973. At his best,
Whitfield could draw hard-edged and earthy performances from
the Temptations, especially lead singer
Dennis Edwards. That's certainly true of the first track. The underrated "Miss Busy Body" finds
Whitfield's production style suitably updated and has
Dennis Edwards in great voice, shouting the immortal line, "Girl button up that lip/And get on up and shake them hips." The aerial ballad "Sail Away" features a vocal from new falsetto lead
Ron Tyson. As
Edwards took a powder during the sessions, the always engaging
Ali-Ollie Woodson filled his role. The hard-edged "Stop the World Right Here" is
Woodson's debut and immediately displayed a voice that merged the best parts of
David Ruffin and
Edwards. The track was
Woodson's only appearance here. As
Whitfield produced five of the ten tracks, the rest of
Back to Basics is pretty much standard issue fare. The biggest flop here is "The Battle Song," which is an excruciating, bravado-filled session featuring
the Four Tops. The jaunty "Hollywood" has
Edwards exhibiting his penchant for howling over
Tyson. It works though. The group's 1980 classic, "Isn't the Night Fantastic," which came from
Power shows up here and gets a smooth, atmospheric
Whitfield-styled remix, although his name did not appear on the credits. Although
Back to Basics wasn't a full-fledged album filled with
Whitfield's tracks, what's here is worth listening to. ~ Jason Elias