Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection was a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant Motown Records catalog. All releases replicated the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. However, the Motown Sound Collection has now run its course with the release of The Temptations’ Psychedelic Shack [140 Gram] this March 21st, 2025.

Elemental released a total of 22 titles through 2024 and six in 2025 (this one making seven), including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth, etc.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection concludes today with the aforementioned classic The Temptations’ Psychedelic Shack [140 Gram Limited Edition] via Elemental Music.

The twelfth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, Psychedelic Shack was released in 1970. All of the songs were composed by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield. It almost completely abandoned the Motown Sound formula, instead delving fully into psychedelia.

Along with the hit title track (which reached #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #4 on Cash Box, and #2 on the US R&B charts), the album also features the group’s original version of War which became a major hit for Edwin Starr later in 1970.

Psychedelic Shack was one of the last albums completed before the third incarnation of The Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams) broke apart. During the recording of the album, Paul Williams, suffering from sickle-cell disease but also from five years of heavy alcoholism, was frequently unable to perform, so the group hired Richard Street, an old friend of Otis Williams and lead singer of minor Motown act The Monitors, as a stand-in.

Also, the group’s general frustration over their lack of creative control and their treatment at the hands of Motown resulted in an increased amount of infighting and set the stage for Kendricks’ imminent departure in early 1971.

All Music reviewer Amy Hanson gave the album a rating of four out of five stars, stating that This is an absolutely outstanding album - one which has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh as it did upon initial release.

The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. Psychedelic Shack
2. You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth
3. Hum Along And Dance
4. Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind

SIDE B:
1. It’s Summer
2. War
3. You Need Love Like I Do (Don’t You)
4. Friendship Train

One of the things that makes the Tempations’ late 60’s/early 70’s funkadelic (the sub-genre, not the band) sound that came from their later years of their Norman Whitfield productions was that it seemed to have been born out of adversity. Otis Williams preferred doo-wop oriented soul balladry from a vocalists viewpoint and Eddie Kendricks preferred the melodic pop of the classic Motown sound to psychedelia and his original singing partner and friend Paul Williams was slowly losing his ability to perform with the group due to his burgeoning alcoholism.

It’s a testament to the characters of the band members at the time they even made it through sessions like this. But they did. And everyone involved created a vital piece of dramatically funky Motown music.

The title song opens the album - with a much heavier emphasis on spacey electronic overdubs and echoed wah wah guitar than the version I heard as a single. You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth is a musically like minded bass/guitar driven number with a heavy funky soul rhythmic hump about it. Hum Along And Dance - which was an interesting song for the Temptations as Kendricks, the most vocal critic of the bands new sound sings ain’t no words to this song - perhaps express his enduring through his own irritation, and making the best of it. Still right in musical league with the funky atmosphere-full of fuzzed clavinet and James Jamerson’s walking bass, of course.

Take A Stroll Through Your Mind is very interesting as Eddie again begins the song singing a line that might’ve been a bit surprising for the Tempts even by this time: one drag was all it took, and I was hooked. And all to a stripped down, bluesy soul shuffle that builds in instrumental and vocal attitude before (and flipping the vinyl LP over) It’s Summer, a sweetly sung ballad romanticizing a season and the possible fun and love that comes with it is brought forth.

Of course it was the Temptations who recorded War first, yet their version wasn’t the big hit Edwin Starr’s was later that year. It’s similar musically, but a bit faster. You Need Love Like I Do (Don’t You) is a slower version of a song the Jackson 5 redid four years later and the album ends with an extended version of Gladys Knight & The Pips Friendship Train - culminating with what sounds like a giant passenger train coming to an abrupt stop.

There’s many things that I always appreciated about this particular era for the Temptations, especially their psychedelic soul triad in 1969-70 that Whitfield was able to expand upon from the Temptations basic approach. Also, the band was always rather unique at Motown for having three lead singers in Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, first David Ruffin and than Dennis Edwards.

With Sly & The Family Stone’s vocal approach of trading off leads for all it’s members, Whitfield wrote songs, wherein the fruity bass vocals of Melvin Franklin especially were mesmerizing - as well as the sadly underused doo-wop baritone croon of Otis Williams for vocal trade off’s with Eddie And Dennis.

Another great thing about this, something maybe Eddie even didn’t fully notice was that under the psychedelic effects all of these songs are sizzling, burning, red hot gospel call-and-response style soul,funk and rhythm & blues. In closing, it is yet another finely funky early 70’s Temptations album made for everyone to enjoy.

As noted above, this reissue is coming out as a 140 Gram Limited Gatefold Edition Vinyl.

The Temptations:
Dennis Edwards – vocals (tenor)
Eddie Kendricks – vocals (tenor/falsetto)
Paul Williams – vocals (baritone)
Melvin Franklin – vocals (bass)
Otis Williams – vocals (tenor/baritone)

With:
Norman Whitfield – producer, composer, lyricist
Barrett Strong – composer, lyricist
The Funk Brothers – instrumentation

These unforgettable Hitsville titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection will continue with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

Official Purchase Link

www.elemental-music.com