The Temptations - Meet the Temptations (Original Mono Master)

Meet the Temptations is the debut studio album by The Temptations, released on Motown's Gordy label in 1964, and it captures the group right before their classic lineup fully solidified. Produced largely by Berry Gordy himself, with Smokey Robinson handling three key tracks, the album pulls together most of the group's early singles, including their breakthrough hit "The Way You Do the Things You Do," written and produced by Robinson, which climbed to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave the Temptations their first real taste of national success.

The album offers a fascinating snapshot of a group still finding its footing, with Paul Williams handling most of the lead vocals while Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams contribute ad-libs and harmonies throughout. Every track here features original member Elbridge "Al" Bryant, who was fired from the group in December 1963, shortly before David Ruffin joined and the Temptations locked into the lineup that would carry them through their most celebrated years. That makes this record the only place to hear Bryant's contributions on a proper studio album, a genuine historical document of the group before its most famous configuration came together.

Meet the Temptations was originally issued only in monaural sound, and that's the version presented here, giving listeners the record exactly as it hit turntables in 1964, before the group's sound had been reworked or remastered for later formats.

An essential piece of early Motown history and the true starting point of one of soul music's defining acts.