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There aren't many groups who could brag about having 56 albums under their belts, these
days most artists struggle just to make three. But Otis Williams, the last original member of the Temptations, says it was possible because they have always been a ``working'' group. The group's new album, ``The Temptations Phoenix Rising,'' released by Motown Aug. 11, stands as a testament to those longstanding efforts and to the additional talents of Ron Tyson, Barrington Henderson, Terry Weeks, and Harry McGillberry. The point of the album's title, says Williams, is mostly to show that ``the Temps,'' even without original members Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and David Ruffin, will continue
to put out quality music
According to Williams, the first single, ``Stay,'' has been well-received. ``It's a very fine piece of work by Narada Michael Walden,'' says Williams. ``I told him it would be a hit.'' The album also features a remixed version by rapper John Forte. Overall, Williams says, the album is in keeping with the combination of romance and the think-about-it songs that the group always did. ``We wanted to keep in the type of music the Temps were noted for,'' he says. The group worked with a number of producers and songwriters for the project, including Walden, Daryl Simmons, Isaias Gamboa, Johnny Britt, and Arthur Marbury. Other noteworthy songs on the set include ``False Faces,'' ``He Hurt You,'' and ``This Is My Promise,'' a song that Williams notes could become the perfect wedding song. ``It's a heavy romance song,'' he says. Williams says he's a serious radio listener who is not tremendously impressed with what he hears. ``I say sometimes, `This is a sad state of affairs . . . it's come to this.' It's indicative of the times we live in. I'm from an era where good songs were written; they had great lyrical content and melody [that could be listened to] by all ages, from a 5-year-old to an 80-year-old,'' he says. Williams adds that a few songwriters, such as Kenneth ``Babyface'' Edmonds, Diane Warren, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, keep him hopeful. ``They keep the internal light of hope for radio [on], but it's kind of sad . . . after a while, the music [being played] has the same beat, and one artist sounds like another . . . It's one of the reasons why we keep on singing. ``The bottom line is that people still appreciate great songs if they are written and produced well,'' he says. Another reason a group like the Temptations is still around is their great performances. ``We never sang to tracks . . . [We feel that if] people spend their hard-earned money, we [should] perform like we should . . . When I hear an artist who is selling millions and singing to a track, they are cheating the audience . . .It's a bad state of affairs,'' he says.
Williams says he doubts many artists today want to work as hard as he and his contemporaries have done. ``We used to reherse at 5 in the morning . . A lot of artists don't want to offer in that much dedication . . . Naturally we feel complimented by it, and we genuinely think many of them do [feel inspired], but they don't want to [work hard]. They want a quick fix . . . We have been able to work around that for 40 years . . . There aren't too many acts who can say they will be around for the new millennium. We will.'' Williams cites the work ethics of Cholly Atkins and Harvey Fuqua, who helped them achieve their legendary ``superstar'' status ``Those guys would build an act . . . and we didn't have to worry about having a hit record to keep working,'' he says. Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, and the late Marvin Gaye are among the many artists Williams considers to be true singers. ``Marvin was one who could sing a melody . not riff all over the note . . . I'm a fan of the late Frank Sinatra. [Singers] need to listen to some of those guys to know. [Singers] have it confused. They moan and groan and hit one note with 4,000 runs. I sit and listen and learn. The ones who can really sing have trouble getting on playlists at radio.''
