Gentleman Ruffin

by David Ruffin

Product Description:

In 1979, former Temptations singer David Ruffin left his longtime home at Motown and released the disco-inflected SO SOON WE CHANGE. A year later, the aptly titled follow-up, GENTLEMAN RUFFIN, found him exploring a more consistently mellow mood. Ruffin proves himself to be an undeniable smoothie here, with a sound that has its roots in the ballad side of the Temptations' work, but is also comparable to contemporaneous efforts of Smokey Robinson: silky but never sappy. Dollops of synthesizer adorn some of the arrangements, serving to remind the listener that the '80s had begun, but the inescapable emotive quality that had made Ruffin a star since the '60s is all over this album.