The Temptations Turn to Auto-Tune on New Album

There's the old stereotype that as people age, they get a bit stuck in your ways -- musicians included. But for the Temptations -- who just released their 49th studio album, the appropriately titled 'Still Here' -- know adapting is part of the key to their longevity. For example, the song 'First Kiss' is brimming with Auto-Tune. Yes, you read that right: the Temptations have gone the T-Pain route.

"We're trying to let our fans know that we're in the here and now, but still know where we came from," Temptations founding member Otis Williams explains to Spinner. "I'm very analytical about everything. I sit and listen over and over. The Temptations, for what we're known for, we try to stay in character. We know we're not rappers and hip-hop, but we want to stay on the cutting edge. The kids nowadays, they like what we do but its good to try and give them a taste of what the sound is like today."



Of course, the Temptations have always been a group interested in keeping things fresh over the years, and even as they enter into their fifth decade of recording, Williams still has an affinity for the days when he and the other founding four members recorded with Motown master Berry Gordy at Detroit's Hitsville, U.S.A.

"Back in the day, it was a heck of a trip as far as the way we recorded back then. When we walk into a studio now, it's like walking into a command center," he says. "I got back to Hitsville and studio A, I looked at the old modules we used to record on. It's so archaic, but at the same time, it had some great sounds that came about. We try not to get too trippy with the technology. The main thing about the Tempations has been that we've had great songs. It comes down to, 'you got all this fanciness but can you sing?'"