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PRESS RELEASE | REVIEWS

TWO GREAT MOTOWN DVDS FROM UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP INTERNATIONAL:

The Temptations- GET READY!
THE DEFINITIVE PERFORMANCES 1965-1972

16 VINTAGE PERFORMANCES FROM THE TEMPTATIONS
NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON DVD!

And - First-Time U.S. DVD Release of

Marvin Gaye– Live In Belgium 1981

Reelin’ In The Years Productions and Universal Music Group International are proud to announce the worldwide release of The Temptations–Get Ready! The Definitive Performances 1965-1972 on DVD, September 4, 2006 (except North America) from UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP INTERNATIONAL, and September 12, 2006 (U.S.) from UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES (UMe). Also releasing that day in the U.S. is Marvin Gaye–Live In Belgium 1981, marking the American debut of this rare concert footage in any format.

The Temptations–Get Ready! The Definitive Performances features for the first time on DVD Motown’s greatest vocal group in 16 classic full-length performances – 60 minutes of classic archival performances from television and film appearances captured during Motown’s golden era, issued with the full cooperation of the original Temptations and their estates. Continuing in the tradition of the Marvin Gaye–The Real Thing In Performance 1964-1981 – another DVD first – released earlier this year, the Temptations DVD includes a wealth of classic performances with re-mastered sound and video, plus audio-only bonus feature The Temptations in the Motown Studios: 15 original a cappella lead and backing vocal tracks to their greatest hits. Interspersed between the performances, only surviving original member Otis Williams talks about each song and recounts special moments in the history of the group, in a new interview filmed especially for this DVD.
The Temptations–Get Ready! The Definitive Performances 1965-1972 begins with a staggering live performance of their first big hit, “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” from the 1965 TV special Murray The K - It’s What’s Happening, that highlights their trademark choreography. The DVD progresses through the group’s Motown career, including all the major hits sung by lead vocalists David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks and Dennis Edwards. There’s rare footage of vintage performances, from #1 hits “My Girl,” “I Can’t Get Next To You” and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” (the latter from the feature film Save The Children, and on home video for the first time) to psychedelic soul masterpieces “Cloud Nine,” “Runaway Child, Running Wild” and “Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today).” Further treasures include a bittersweet live performance of the #1 1971 hit “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” on The Ed Sullivan Show, lead vocalist Eddie Kendricks’ final performance with the original group; an amazing live 1968 performance of “I Wish It Would Rain” from Hollywood Palace; and a rare version of “Don’t Look Back” from 1965 featuring Paul Williams on lead.

Perhaps the rarest footage of all on the DVD shows the Temptations, in color, with the full Funk Brothers band and a bevy of Motown producers and arrangers, recording “Sorry Is A Sorry Word” in the original Motown “Snakepit” studio; it had been filmed for a TV network but never aired.
In addition to the television performances, the bonus section of The Temptations – Get Ready! The Definitive Performances 1965 – 1972 DVD includes a host of unique bonus content, including an audio only feature of 15 original a cappella (vocal only) performances of The Temp’s classic hits direct from the Motown vaults, and now available on this DVD for the first time anywhere. Fans will feel as if they’re in the original Motown recording booth with the group when they hear the Temps’ original vocal masters for “My Girl,” “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “Get Ready” and eleven more.

For The Temptations – Get Ready! The Definitive Performances 1965 – 1972 DVD every effort has been made to locate the best possible sound and video; each of the performances, has been re-transferred and re-mastered from the best-quality, original masters (some resting in the television vaults for over 40 years). In the case of lip-sync performances, the original Motown stereo master recordings have been used, replacing the original mono broadcast sound and making for a much more enjoyable viewing and listening experience.

The Temptations – Get Ready! The Definitive Performances 1965 – 1972 also features
a 24-page booklet with an extensive essay by GRAMMY®-award winning writer, Rob Bowman, including rare photographs and memorabilia. Included in the bonus features section are additional interview segments with the Temptations’ Otis Williams, in which he talks in depth about the Temps early years, Motown and famed Motown choreographer Cholly Atkins.

Also released in the U.S. on September 12, 2006 from UMe: Marvin Gaye–Live In Belgium 1981, an hour-long, televised concert from his self-exile in Ostende, Belgium, originally performed July 4th, 1981. Marvin performs 10 of his biggest hits, from “Got To Give It Up” to “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” and a sweet medley of famous Tammi Terrell duets, including “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing.” This specially-priced collection also includes bonus footage, of a candid Marvin Gaye interview along with two rare lip-sync performances, of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and “Heavy Love Affair,” from a local Belgian TV show promoting this upcoming show. Additional bonus features is the original a cappella vocal track for “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and a full-color booklet with liner notes by GRAMMY®-Award winning author Rob Bowman.

 

David Peck of Reelin’ In The Years Productions is available for interviews.

PRESS CONTACT: Phil Galloway, Reelin’ In The Years (U.S.A.)  (619) 281-6725


Temps DVD cover

Click here for Quicktime preview

 

REVIEWS


MOJO (UK) -November 2006
4 stars

MojoThe Temptations- Get Ready: The Definitive Performances '65-72
*****
Universal/Reelin' In The Years

Proof that good things can come in polished packages.

The Temptations' soul was slickly produced and choreographed, but while their dance routines (and stage costumes) might have been tailored to the smallest detail, that diligence makes their old clips much more interesting to watch than those of many soul stars, even when the Tempts are miming. The momentum never flags (and the threads and footwork aren't repeated) over the course of 17 vintage clips linked by illuminating, concise commentary from sole surviving original Temptation Otis Williams. The disc includes almost all of their big hits and a few less celebrated tunes, such as "Don't Look Back" (with a rare lead vocal by Paul Williams), as well as bonus interview material with Otis Williams and an a cappella audio option that isolates the group's studio vocal tracks on these tunes. It's
a terrific overview of their prime, highlighted by genuinely live, fiery performances of "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do."

Richie Unterberger


Record Collector (UK) -November 2006
4 stars

Mojo

The Temptations- Get Ready: The Definitive Performances '65-72

Universal/Reelin' In The Years

Classic Motown memories

"Funkier than an unwashed armpit," is how the only surviving original Temptation, Otis Williams,
describes the backing track to "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" during an interview on this new DVD. It's the song that kicked off the band's astonishingly successful nine-year working relationship with Motown producer Norman Whitfield.

Williams' vivid reminiscences give an illuminating insight into the origin of the group's most famous songs and offer an insider's perspective of how Motown operated. They punctuate rarely-seen TV footage from The Tempts' golden years, 1965-72, which document the evolution of the group from a sweet soul act into purveyors of widescreen psychedelic funk. Early black-and-white footage depicts the quintet under the aegis of Smokey Robinson, and there's plenty of Whitefield-era colour footage, too, with both raspy-voiced David Ruffin and his successor, Dennis Edwards, featuring prominently.

This project is a triumph for Reelin' In The Years, the resourceful company also responsible for exhuming lost archive footage of Marvin Gaye on the much-vaunted The Real Thing In Performance. Like that DVD, this retrospective includes a bonus a cappella feature that reveals the Tempts' silky vocals in all their naked glory.

Charles Waring

 


 

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