Wings of Love is a 1976 album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label.
| Wings of Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 10, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1975–1976 | |||
| Studio | Motown Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA) | |||
| Genre | Soul, funk, disco | |||
| Length | 31:13 | |||
| Label | Gordy GS 971 | |||
| Producer | Jeffrey Bowen | |||
| The Temptations chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Background
editProducer Jeffrey Bowen preferred Dennis Edwards to the rest of the group, and wanted to produce an Edwards solo album instead of a group album. As a result, Bowen de-emphasized the rest of the group's vocals and placed them at levels far below Edwards' leads, prompting his dismissal as the Temptations' producer after this album's release. Unsurprisingly, Edwards sings lead on all but one of the songs on the album; "China Doll" has Richard Street taking the lead vocal.
Release
editThe album was an unsuccessful release, both commercially and critically. Wings of Love's only single, "Up the Creek (Without a Paddle)" was co-written by Sly Stone, the inspiration for many of the Temptations' late 1960s/early 1970s "psychedelic soul" records; because of tax reasons, he could not take a publishing credit on the song. Stone and other members of the Family Stone appear on "Up the Creek", as well as "Sweet Gypsy Jane" and "China Doll"
Track listing
editAll lead vocals by Dennis Edwards except where indicated
Side one
edit- "Sweet Gypsy Jane" – 4:28
- "Sweetness in the Dark" – 3:28
- "Up the Creek (Without a Paddle)" – 3:06
- "China Doll" – 3:26 (lead singer: Richard Street)
Side two
edit- "Mary Ann" – 7:41
- "Dream World (Wings of Love)" – 5:38
- "Paradise" – 3:26
Personnel
edit- Dennis Edwards - tenor/baritone vocals
- Glenn Leonard - first tenor/falsetto vocals
- Richard Street - second tenor vocals
- Melvin Franklin - bass vocals
- Otis Williams - baritone vocals
- Sly Stone, Truman Thomas - clavinet, organ and ARP
- Freddie Stewart - bass, guitar
- William "Billy Bass" Nelson - bass, guitar
- Rusty Allen - bass
- Ollie E. Brown - drums, percussion
- Pat Rizzo, Steve Madaio - trumpet
- Donald Charles Baldwin - Moog, Moog programming, keyboards, rhythm and vocal arrangements
Charts
edit| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[2] | 16 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[3] | 32 |
| US Billboard 200[4] | 29 |
References
edit- ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r68128
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Temptations – Wings of Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
- ^ "The Temptations US Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2017.