In A Mellow Mood
With a couple of exceptions, the showroom- and talk-show-ready Temptations ofIn a Mellow Mood(1967) are handed the most impersonal, clichéd sort of standards. "Hello Young Lovers," "Try to Remember," and too many others here go through the motions of connecting with listeners but are so haplessly written that the reined-in quintet is hard-pressed to fill them with more than a thimbleful of sweat. "Somewhere" is a foolproof melody that might have made a fine change of pace on a record likeWith a Lot o' Soul, but this version of "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" has none of the redeeming qualities ofDionne Warwick's. Paradoxically blessed with little of the class the group normally commanded,Mellow Moodstands as an expression of Berry Gordy's worst aesthetic impulses.--Rickey Wright