Gettin’ Ready – THE TEMPTATIONS****

Say You/Little Miss Sweetness/Ain’t Too Proud To Beg/Get Ready/Lonely Lonely Man Am I/Too Busy Thinking About My Baby/I’ve Been Good To You/Its A Lonely World Without Your Love/Fading Away/Who You Gonna Run To/You’re Not An Ordinary Girl/Not Now I’ll Tell You Later

When Smokey Robinson was replaced as producer by Norman Whitfield, the Temptations sound became more rough edged, as exemplified by the US hit single Ain't Too Proud to Beg. Gettin' Ready includes the UK top ten hit Get Ready. (US:12 UK:40)

"The marvellous title track alone, with Eddie Kendricks gliding into the stratosphere, made this an instant winner. There were several fine songs that weren't hits, such as Not Now I'll Tell You Later and I've Been Good To You and there sure wasn't anything wrong with powerhouse cuts like Ain't Too Proud To Beg."

"Gettin' Ready marked a turning point for the group. The production of the group was turned over from Smokey Robinson to Norman Whitfield, who continued to produce hits with the group for an incredible eight years."

"We had grown accustomed to the smooth doo-wop call and response style of The Temptations, then seemingly out of nowhere came Norman Whitfield to create the rough edged, Ain't To Proud To Beg. It was the end of the Smokey era."

"Gettin' Ready was the first album to feature Norman Whitfield as the band's producer/writer. Up to that point, Smokey Robinson had guided the band to great success. Under Mr. Whitfield, they moved away from the doo-wop, street corner vocals styling to a more grittier sound. This is evidenced on the classic Ain't Too Proud To Beg. While the song still has that great vocal interplay, the music is harder. Get Ready is a gem with its shuffling beat. Gettin' Ready started the trend towards more mature music for the band."

"There is absolutely no filler here, even the songs that were originally recorded by other artists of the company are done with the usual great flair of the group."

"This album remains one of my all time favourite Temptations albums. Even after all these years I still remember the words to all of the songs. Say You, Lonely Lonely Man Am I and Who You Gonna Run To, are some of their most beautiful ballads. This album is really worth listening to."