''Psychedelic Shack'' is the twelfth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

for the Gordy (

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

) label released in 1970. Completely written by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield, ''Psychedelic Shack'' almost completely abandoned the "Motown Sound" formula, instead delving fully into psychedelia. Along with the hit title track, the album also features the group's original version of " War", which became a major hit for Edwin Starr later in 1970.

Background and recording

''Psychedelic Shack'' was one of the last albums completed before the third incarnation of The Temptations (

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang ...

, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams) broke apart. During the recording of the album, Paul Williams, already possessing a fragile condition because of

sickle-cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red ...

, was now also fighting complications from five years of heavy

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

. Williams would frequently be unable to record or perform, and the Temptations had to resort to hiring

Richard Street Richard Allen Street (October 5, 1942 – February 27, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Street was the first memb ...

, an old friend of Otis Williams' and lead singer of minor Motown act The Monitors, as a stand-in for Paul Williams. At the same time, Eddie Kendricks' growing animosity towards Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin, and the group's general frustration over their lack of creative control and their treatment at the hands of Motown, resulted in an increased amount of infighting and set the stage for Kendricks' imminent departure in early 1971. Like most Temptations albums from the group's "psychedelic period", producer Norman Whitfield held full creative control over ''Psychedelic Shack''. The only freedom afforded the Temptations themselves for this album was the occasional opportunity for Kendricks to arrange the vocal harmonies. The album cover, a

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

/illustration by Hermon Weems, places photographs of the Temptations in a depiction of a psychedelic shack: an establishment in urban neighborhoods where people could go to "enhance their minds" through art, music, and mind-altering drugs.

Music and lyrics

The album begins with a knock at the door, and the sound of footsteps as a stranger wanders into an unfamiliar location. Finding a

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, the stranger drops the needle on the song that happened to be in the player—The Temptations' 1969 number-one hit " I Can't Get Next to You". The phonograph is heard playing "I Can't Get Next to You's" intro, reaching Dennis Edwards' interruption (''"Hold on, everybody, hold it, hold on...listen!"'') before the album immediately segues into the first song, "Psychedelic Shack". "Psychedelic Shack" was the only single from this album, and was a complete departure from previous Temptations recordings. Setting the tone for much of the album, "Psychedelic Shack's" vocals, guitar lines and drums shift back and forth across the stereo spectrum, and all five Temptations trade lead vocal duties at irregular intervals. Keyboardist Earl Van Dyke remembered "Psychedelic Shack" as one of his favorite recording sessions. "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth", later issued as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the 1971 hit " Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", features Edwards, Kendricks, Franklin, and Otis Williams informing the public that each individual person is responsible for their fate and that "the final decision o do right or wrongis still up to you". The song would be covered in 1971 by Whitfield-groomed Motown act The Undisputed Truth, whose version was released as the follow-up to their classic hit " Smiling Faces Sometimes", another song originally recorded by The Temptations. Whitfield stretched out and slowed down the song with The Truth, and their version was one of the group's several minor hits, making #72 and #24 on the

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and

R&B Charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, respectively. "

Hum Along and Dance "Hum Along and Dance" is a soul song written for the Motown label by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Originally recorded by the Temptations,Williams, Otis and Romanowski, Patricia (1988, updated 2002). Temptations. Lanham, MD: Cooper Square ...

", essentially wordless, is an example of Whitfield's growing emphasis on his production and instrumentation at the expense of The Temptations' vocals, an issue that caused a significant amount of friction between the group and their producer. While this version of "Hum Along and Dance" is the original recording of the composition, the song is better known in cover versions by Rare Earth (from ''Ma'', 1973) and

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

(from '' G.I.T.: Get It Together'', also 1973). A crossfade joins "Hum Along and Dance" and the next track on the album, "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind". "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" is a popular Temptations album track done in psychedelic/

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

style, and is an overt eight-minute ode to

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

usage. All five Temptations trade lead vocals across the two tracks. Side B begins with "It's Summer", the only ballad on the album. Instead of love and relationship issues, "It's Summer" explores the positive elements that come with the onset of summer, with basso Melvin Franklin reciting the song's lyrics in spoken verse. The Temptations would later record a sung version of "It's Summer", and release it as a single for the '' Solid Rock'' album. The next track, " War", is a serious anti-Vietnam protest sung by Paul Williams and Dennis Edwards. Motown received a significant number of requests to release "War" as a single; instead of risking the careers of the Temptations with such a politically charged song, the song was rerecorded by Edwin Starr before Motown allowed its release as a single. The final two songs on the album are compositions more closely associated with

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

, another Whitfield-produced act. "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)", led by Kendricks, was recorded simultaneously by both The Pips and the Temptations, with the Pips' version being issued as a single. "Friendship Train", the seven-minute album closer led by Edwards, is a cover of a 1969 Pips single.

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

with Heather Small would record a cover of "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" in 1999 ('' Reload'').

Critical reception

Reviewing in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote: "It's no accident that the best cut here begins 'Ain't no words to this song.' For all the hyperactivity of his horn charts, Norman Whitfield is a lot better equipped to get funky than to lead Motown's belated raid on 'relevance,' and many of these lyrics are dreadful. Several of them are quite all right, though, and 'War' does help mitigate the climactic wishy-wash of 'Friendship Train.' More to the point, the singing and playing really do fuse the production styles of Smokey and Sly, a major achievement. Why do white people challenge these songs so much quicker than they did '

Lucy in the Sky ''Lucy in the Sky'' is a 2019 American psychological drama film loosely inspired by the life of NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak, who is portrayed by Natalie Portman. The film was directed, co-produced, and co-written by Noah Hawley in his feature di ...

' or ' Happiness Is a Warm Gun'? Are friendship trains any dumber than bed-ins?"

Track listing

All songs written by

and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield.

Side one

#" Psychedelic Shack" – 3:51 (lead singers:

, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Otis Williams) #"You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth" – 2:46 (lead singers: Dennis Edwards, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams) #"

" – 3:53 (lead singers: Eddie Kendricks, Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams) #"Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind" – 8:37 (lead singers: Eddie Kendricks, Dennis Edwards, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams)

Side two

#"It's Summer" – 2:36 (spoken vocals: Melvin Franklin) #" War" – 3:11 (lead singers: Paul Williams, Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin) #"You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" – 3:58 (lead singer: Eddie Kendricks) #"

Friendship Train The 1947 U.S. Friendship Train collected foodstuffs from American donors for transport to the people of France and Italy. Contemporaneous with the Marshall Plan, it provided desperately needed assistance in the aftermath of World War II, but ...

" – 7:49 (lead singers: Dennis Edwards, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams)

Personnel

;The Temptations *

– vocals (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

) * Eddie Kendricks – vocals (tenor/

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

) * Paul Williams – vocals (tenor/baritone) * Melvin Franklin – vocals (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) * Otis Williams – vocals (tenor/baritone) with: *

– producer, composer, lyricist * Barrett Strong – composer, lyricist *

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

– instrumentation

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

References

External links

''Psychedelic Shack''
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...