For Lovers Only

by The Temptations

Overview

Nominally, the Temptations' For Lovers Only is an album of pop standards. But producer Richard Perry and primary arranger Isias Gamboa have taken such a radical approach to presenting the familiar songs that listeners accustomed to versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening" and Lerner & Loewe's "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" that derive from the Broadway musicals in which these songs originated may not recognize them as the same compositions, even after more than one listen. These tracks retain the basic lyrics and some melodic elements, but they go far beyond the usual matters of tempo and instrumental coloring that characterize what is called an arrangement; Gamboa has used the original songs as the merest basis for writing his own songs. And the Temptations pitch in enthusiastically in the transformations. Theo Peoples, singing lead vocals on "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," launches into an extended vocal improvisation at the end of the song that doesn't contain any of the words Alan Jay Lerner wrote. Similarly, Sammy Cahn might be surprised, if he had lived long enough, to discover that the opening line of his song "Time After Time" is now "Drop the groove." But if For Lovers Only is not traditional by any means, it does make the Temptations sound contemporary, and it became the group's only album released between 1991 and 1998 to reach the charts, spending six months on the R&B lists. In 2000, "Night and Day," an unusually faithful rendition of the Cole Porter song, was used in the film What Women Want in a "remixed" version from the one on the album (which is to say quite different, including a saxophone solo not present on the original). Motown added this recording as a bonus track for a 2002 reissue of the album. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	01/15/2002
Label:	Motown / Universal
UPC:	0044001640629

Tracks

1. Some Enchanted Evening
2. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
3. At Last
4. Night and Day
5. Time After Time
6. Melvin's Interlude
7. Life Is but a Dream
8. What a Difference a Day Makes
9. I'm Glad There Is You
10. South Shell Interlude
11. That's Why (I Love You So)
12. For Your Love/You Send Me (Medley)
13. Night and Day

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Temptations   Primary Artist,Vocals
Paulinho Da Costa   Guest Artist,Percussion
Abraham Laboriel, Sr.   Guest Artist,Bass,Guitar
Stevie Wonder   Guest Artist,Harmonica
Milt Jackson   Guest Artist,Vibraphone
Paul Jackson, Jr.   Guest Artist,Guitar (Baritone)
Jerry Friedman   Guitar,Guitar (Baritone)
Jimmy Varner   Bass,Drums,Piano,Percus,Keyboards,Synthesizer
Doug Grigsby   Bass
Johnny Britt   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Melvin Franklin   Bass (Vocal)
Isaias Gamboa   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Jimmy Macon   Guitar,Guitar (Baritone)
Steve Harvey   Drums,Keyboards,Percussion
Trevor Lawrence Jr.   Hi Hat,Cymbals,Bell Tree
Andy Simpkins   Bass
Paul Riser   Conductor

Technical Credits

Cole Porter   Composer
Jimmy Varner   Producer,Keyboard Programming,Synthesizer Programming
Craig Burbidge   Mixing
Alan Jay Lerner   Composer
Richard Perry   Mixing,Arranger,Producer,Liner Notes
Barry White   Grooming
Ed Townsend   Composer
Tyran Carlo   Composer
Sam Cooke   Composer
Alejandro Rodriguez   Engineer
Hy Weiss   Composer
Rob Chiarelli   Mixing
Jimmy Dorsey   Composer
Brian Gardner   Mastering
Jule Styne   Composer
Tony Rambo   Engineer
Raoul Cita   Composer
Gwen Fuqua   Composer
The Temptations   Vocal Arrangement
Paul Riser   String Arrangements,Arranger
Isaias Gamboa   Arranger,Composer,Assistant,Drum Programming,String Arrangements,Keyboard Programming
Jackie Salway   Design,Art Direction
Paul Madeira   Composer
Jhane Barnes   Wardrobe
Aaron Rapoport   Photography
Devin Foutz   Engineer
Bill Dern   Producer,Executive Producer
Cathie Arquilla   Stylist
Matthew Batanian   Wardrobe
Bosa   Wardrobe
Steve Harvey   Synthesizer Programming
Maria Grever   Composer,Composer
Tony Alvarez   Engineer,Drum Programming
Frederick Loewe   Composer
Berry Gordy, Jr.   Composer
Bob Tucker   Mixing,Engineer
Billy Davis   Composer
Stanley Adams   Composer
Carl Anderson   Engineer
Mack Gordon   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Mark Herman   Engineer
Lisa Bevill   Composer
Gwendolyn B. Gordy   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Tim Anderson   Mixing
Paul Mertz   Composer