Temptin’ Temptations

In a prime example of classic Motown’s everyone-pitch-in stance, Smokey Robinson contributed writing and production on six <i>Temptin’ Temptations</i> songs. The group’s third album, it also contains a half-dozen cuts that wound up on their first greatest-hits LP. (The late-’65 release includes singles from as far back as spring 1964.) Masterful interplay is often front and center here, notably on the David Ruffin-led “Since I Lost My Baby” and “Just Another Lonely Night,” a ballad that recalls the quintet’s doo-wop roots. Robinson achieves some of his giddiest wordplay effects on the cute “My Baby” and “You’ve Got to Earn It,” which could almost pass for nursery rhymes. And his thoughtful “Don’t Look Back” vies with Otis Redding’s classics for emotional depth. Anyone looking to go beyond best-of collections will find this a showcase with several unfamiliar gems.