#371 The Temptations, 'Anthology' (1973)

Previously #400

A 6-sided Greatest Hits collection of one of the most successful groups of all time. Hailing from the motor city, Detroit, they were, of course, signed to Motown Records. This anthology tracks their career up to that point in 1973, it really kicks into gear around track 5; their signature song and first #1 hit, ‘My Girl.’ Other highlights include ‘Since I Lost My Baby,’ ‘Don’t Look Back,’ ‘Get Ready’ (one of my all-time favourite songs), ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg’ (oh, the drums at the start of this one give me chills every time), ‘Beauty Is Only Skin Deep’ & ‘All I Need.’ The album starts to lull there a bit for me, until the Blaxploitation-esque track, ‘Cloud 9,’ which, incidentally, won Motown its first Grammy.

It ends with the mega ‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,’ a song that went #1 and won the band 3 Grammys. While the band had so many hits and were so important to music, I found, that like labelmates, the Supremes’ anthology earlier on in the countdown, it got a bit much and the songs started blending into each other. I’m still majorly on the fence with regards to greatest hits being included in the list, but when an artist has one or more great records in their own right, why are they being undermined by a greatest hits/boxset?

#rs500albums