1983 The Temptations – Surface Thrills
Surface Thrills is the first of two 1983 albums released by the American R&B vocal group, the Temptations, on Motown Records’ Gordy label.
In this album the group attempts to fuse their vocal harmonies with rock music production, resulting in a radical departure from the Temptations’ signature soul sound. It was produced by Dennis Lambert and Steve Barri and features musical contributions from Jeffrey Porcaro of Toto, Raymond Lee Brown of Earth, Wind & Fire, and longtime James Brown collaborator Fred Wesley.
Surface Thrills yielded two singles, the title track and “Love on My Mind Tonight”, with only the latter being moderately successful. This is the last Temptations album to feature falsetto Glenn Leonard, who departed from the group after eight years. Leonard’s replacement would be singer-songwriter Ron Tyson, who made his Temptations debut with the following album, Back to Basics.
Tracks
1 Surface Thrills (Harold Payne) 4:32
2 Love On My Mind Tonight (Peter Beckett) 4:54
3 One Man Woman (Peter Beckett) 5:12
4 Show Me Your Love (JL Wallace; Kevin Bell; Terry Skinner) 4:07
5 The Seeker (Dan Walsh; Harvey Price) 4:35
6 What A Way To Put It (Ron Kersey; Sam Dees) 5:03
7 Bring Your Body Here (Exercise Chant) (Louis Price; David English; Benjamin Wright; Otis Williams) 5:15
8 Made In America (Dan Walsh; Harvey Price) 4:05
Biography
Musicians
1 Surface Thrills
Drums (programming) | Robbie Buchanan |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Moog | Robbie Buchanan |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Robbie Buchanan |
Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
2 Love On My Mind Tonight
Drums (programming) | Robbie Buchanan |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Robbie Buchanan |
Moog | Robbie Buchanan |
Sax | Richard Elliot |
Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
3 One Man Woman
Bass | Freddie Washington |
Drums | Jeffrey Porcaro |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Gabriel Katona |
4 Show Me Your Love
Bass | Freddie Washington |
Drums | JR Robinson |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Gabriel Katona |
Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
5 The Seeker
Bass | Freddie Washington |
Drums | JR Robinson |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Robbie Buchanan |
Sax | Gary Herbig |
Sax | George Bohanon |
Trumpet | Nolan Smith |
Trumpet | Ray Brown |
Trombone | Fred Wesley |
Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
Percussion | Roger Nichols |
6 What A Way To Put It
Bass | Freddie Washington |
Drums | JR Robinson |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Robbie Buchanan |
Sax | Gary Herbig |
Sax | Terry Harrington |
Trombone | Fred Wesley |
Trombone | George Bohanon |
Trumpet | Ray Brown |
7 Bring Your Body Here (Exercise Chant)
Bass | Freddie Washington |
Drums | JR Robinson |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Fender Rhodes | Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer | Robbie Buchanan |
Sax | Gary Herbig |
Sax | Terry Harrington |
Trombone | Fred Wesley |
Trombone | George Bohanon |
Trumpet | Nolan Smith |
Trumpet | Ray Brown |
Percussion | Roger Nichols |
8 Made In America
Bass | Freddie Washington |
Drums | Jeffrey Porcaro |
Guitar | Paul Jackson Jr |
Sax | Gary Herbig |
Sax | Terry Harrington |
Trombone | Fred Wesley |
Trombone | George Bohanon |
Trumpet | Nolan Smith |
Trombone | Ray Brown |
Percussion | Roger Nichols |
Liner Notes
Producer – Dennis Lambert, Steve Barri
Co-producer – Benjamin Wright, The Temptations (Tracks 6, 7)
Arranged By – Dennis Lambert (Tracks 1, 2)
Arranged By – Benjamin Wright (Track 6)
Arranged By (Horns) – Benjamin Wright (Tracks 5, 8)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Paul Jackson, Jr (Tracks 3, 8)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Robbie Buchanan (Track 4)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Benjamin Wright (Tracks 5, 7)
Arranged By (Vocals) – BDennis Lambert (Tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
Arranged By (Vocals) – Benjamin Wright (Track 7)
Engineer (Assistant) – David Schober, Fred Law, Tim Dennen
Mastered By – Mike Reese
Mixed By – Jeremy Smith
Recorded By – Jeremy Smith
Recorded By (Additonal) – Tony Peluso
Art Direction – Johnny Lee
Design – Terry Taylor
Photography – Ron Slenzak
Mastered At The Mastering Lab
Recorded At Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At Hitsville USA Studios, Detroit
Recorded At Artisan Sound Recorders
Phonographic Copyright Motown Record Corporation
Copyright Motown Record Corporation