David Ruffin - The Motown Solo Albums, Vol. 1

Though Motown head Berry Gordy did his best to present the Temptations as highly polished purveyors of universally palatable uptown soul, the untutored vocal tenacity of David Ruffin always injected just the right amount of edginess into their silken harmonies. Ruffin, with his rough Mississippi bred baritone and irrepressibly raw throated delivery, was always something of a black sheep amongst the impeccably coiffed Temptations. When he left the them for a solo career in late 1968, he was quick to break free from Gordy’s influence, indulging his penchant for smoldering deep southern soul ballads and raw dance floor fillers. The four David Ruffin solo albums compiled here rank amongst his very best work, and contain a sense of urgency and adventurousness often missing from his work with the Temptations. On the breathtakingly woe-begotten “Double Cross” from 1969’s My Whole World Ended Ruffin strains his vocals past the breaking point while delivering a tale of lost love, while 1973’s indignant “Common Man” finds him following label mates Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye into the realm of pointed social commentary. The albums collected here have been out of print for years; by bringing them back into print the impeccably compiled Essential Motown Albums does Motown fans the world over an incalculable service.