Sky’s the Limit by Temptations

Sky's the Limit, the Temptations' fourteenth studio album, came out in April 1971, and it's the sound of a group saying goodbye without quite admitting it. Norman Whitfield, the producer who had steered them into psychedelic soul, was still at the controls, but the record's heart is Eddie Kendricks' lead vocal drifting through the dreamy "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", which went all the way to number one. It was Kendricks' last stand with the group: he had already quit for a solo career by the time the album reached the shops, and his best friend Paul Williams, worn down by poor health, soon followed him out the door.

Around them Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin and Dennis Edwards keep the harmonies tight. "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" made the Top 40, and the original "Smiling Faces Sometimes" is here too, before the Undisputed Truth took it into the Top 5.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.