The album that marks song writer Norman Whitfield's first foray into psychedelia, heavily influenced by Sly & The Family Stone and The Rotary Connection, Whitfield changed the course of the 'Motown' sound and black music in general.
The song 'Cloud 9' dealt with the ever present problem of drug taking within the black community. While some regarded the song as a celebration of 'getting high to escape everyday life, others correctly understood the irony of the lyrics. The usual call and response vocals of the Temptations was stripped bare, to a hard kicking rhythm section led by Earl Van Dyke's jazzy piano. Cloud 9 also contained another first for Motown in the 10 minute 'Runaway Child, Running Wild'. The rest of the album contained 8 tracks of typical Temptations fare, but remains a pivotal and important milestone in the black progressive movement's history.
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