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(Top) 1 Reception 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 Chart performance 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Special (The Temptations album)

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Special

Studio album by

The Temptations

Released

August 16, 1989

Recorded

1988

Studio

Alpha Studios, Burbank, California, United States
Ameraycan Studios, North Hollywood, California, United States
Bossa Nova Hotel, San Francisco, California, United States
Ground Control Studios, Santa Monica, California, United States
Pacifique Recording, North Hollywood, California, United States
Studio Masters, Hollywood, California, United States
Superdisc Recording, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Genre

Soul

Length

48:55

Language

English

Label

Motown

Producer

Keith Andes
Larry Hatcher
Dick Rudolph
Michael Sembello
Stan Sheppard
Jimmy Varner
Gayle Woodard

The Temptations chronology

Together Again
(1987)

Special
(1989)

Milestone
(1991)

Special is a 1989 studio album from American soul group The Temptations. The album marks the return of Ali-Ollie Woodson as the group’s lead singer following Dennis Edwards’ third and final departure.

Reception

Editors at AllMusic Guide scored this album three out of five stars, with reviewer Jason Elias characterizing it as "business-as-usual, mid- to late-'80s Temptations release" but writing that this is not a bad thing.^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead singer(s)	Length
1.	"Friends"	Keith Andes Larry Hatcher Chris Jones	Richard Street Ron Tyson Ali-Ollie Woodson Melvin Franklin (spoken intro and ad-libs)	4:52
2.	"Special"	Stan Sheppard Jimmy Varner	Woodson	4:30
3.	"All I Want From You"	Sheppard Aaron Smith	Woodson Street(outro)	5:33
4.	"She’s Better Than Money"	Andes Hatcher	Woodson Franklin (hook and chorus) Andes (rap) Hatcher (rap)	4:28
5.	"One Step At A Time"	Ron Tyson Dennis Williams	Woodson	5:11
6.	"Fill Me Up"	Andes Hatcher	Woodson Franklin (ad-lib)	4:18
7.	"Go Ahead"	Andes Hatcher C. Jones Glenn Jones	Woodson Street (pre-chorus)	6:36
8.	"Loveline"	Brian O'Doherty	Woodson	3:38
9.	"Soul to Soul"	O'Doherty	Woodson Street (bridge) Tyson (outro and ad-libs)	5:17
10.	"O.A.O. Lover"	Otis Williams Ali-Ollie Woodson	Woodson	4:59

“O.A.O. Lover” was a bonus track on the CD edition.

Personnel

The Temptations

Melvin Franklin – bass vocals
Richard Street – tenor vocals
Ron Tyson – tenor/falsetto vocals
Otis Williams – baritone vocals
Ali-Ollie Woodson – lead vocals, arrangement, programming

Additional musicians

Gerald Albright – saxophone on "Special" and "All I Want from You"

Keith Andes – drums on "Friends" and "Go Ahead"; bass guitar on "Go Ahead"; keyboards on "Friends", ; instrumentation on "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; rhythm arrangement on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; vocal arrangement on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; production on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"

Michael "Dino" Campbell – guitar on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"

Dave Crawford – flute on "One Step at a Time"

Kenneth Crouch – keyboards on "All I Want from You"

Paulinho Da Costa – percussion on "Special", "All I Want from You", and "One Step at a Time"

Johnny Davis – keyboards on "Friends"

Charles J. Fearing – guitar on "Special", "All I Want from You", and "One Step at a Time"

Larry Hatcher – drums on "Friends", ; bass guitar on "She's Better Than Money"; keyboards on "Friends"; instrumentation on "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; rhythm arrangement on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; vocal arrangement on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; production on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"

Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar on "All I Want from You"

Maceo Parker – saxophone on "Go Ahead"

Stan Sheppard – keyboards on "One Step at a Time", drum programming on "One Step at a Time", rhythm arrangement on "All I Want from You" and "One Step at a Time", vocal arrangement on "All I Want from You" and "One Step at a Time", production on "Special", "All I Want from You", and "One Step at a Time"

Aaron Smith – keyboards on "All I Want from You", rhythm arrangement on "All I Want from You", vocal arrangement on "All I Want from You", production on "Special", drum programming on "All I Want from You", synthesizer programming on "All I Want from You"

Jimmy Varner – keyboards on "Special" and "One Step at a Time", drum programming on "Special" and "One Step at a Time", rhythm arrangement on "Special" and "One Step at a Time", vocal arrangement on "Special" and "One Step at a Time", production on "Special" and "One Step at a Time"

"Ready" Freddie Washington – bass guitar on "Special" and "One Step at a Time"

Technical personnel

Jeff Adamoff – art direction

Bacon / O'Brien – design

Chris Bellman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Hilary Bercovici – mixing on "Soul to Soul"

Eric Camp – recording on "Friends"

Gary Dobbins – mixing on "Friends", "All I Want from You", "She's Better Than Money", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"; recording on "Friends", "Special", "All I Want from You", "She's Better Than Money", "One Step at a Time", "Fill Me Up", and "Go Ahead"

Todd Gray – photography

Tony Jackson – recording on "Fill Me Up" and "Go Ahead"

Chris Jones – vocal arrangement on "Fill Me Up"

Pat Karamian – recording on "Friends" and "Fill Me Up"

Frank La Rosa – arrangement on "Soul to Soul" and "O.A.O. Lover"; rhythm arrangement on "Soul to Soul"; programming on "Soul to Soul" and "O.A.O. Lover"; recording on "Loveline", "Soul to Soul", and "O.A.O. Lover"; mixing on "Loveline", "Soul to Soul", and "O.A.O. Lover"

Randy Long – recording on "Friends" and "Fill Me Up"

Jim Michewicz – recording on "Friends", "She's Better Than Money", and "Fill Me Up"

Brian O'Doherty – programming on "Loveline" and "Soul to Soul", arrangement on "Loveline" and "Soul to Soul", rhythm arrangement on "Soul to Soul", vocal arrangement on "Soul to Soul"

Barney Perkins – mixing on "Special" and "One Step at a Time"

Bud Rizzo – recording on "Loveline", "Soul to Soul", and "O.A.O. Lover"; mixing on "Loveline", "Soul to Soul", and "O.A.O. Lover"

Dick Rudolph – production on "Loveline", "Soul to Soul", and "O.A.O. Lover"

Debbie Sandridge – executive production

Joey Schwartz – assistant engineering on "Soul to Soul" and "O.A.O. Lover"

Michael Sembello – arrangement on "Loveline", programming on "Loveline", production on "Loveline", "Soul to Soul", and "O.A.O. Lover"

Gayle Woodard – production coordination

Ali Woodson – arrangement on "O.A.O. Lover", programming on "O.A.O. Lover"