The Temptations - 20th Century Masters: The Best Of The Temptations, Vol. 2 - The '70s (2000)

No company knows how to recycle product like Motown, who seems to have repackaged most of their significant output dozens of times, and the rest hardly less than that -- though the truth is that a lot of Motown product has vanished into obscurity, never (thankfully) to be seen again (does anybody really want to remember Motown taking aim at FM radio in the 1970s?). The Temptations have been one of the most heavily repackaged groups on the label, with this album, one of two, being basically just another catalog reconfiguration. The compiler did make the choice of starting with "My Girl" on the first disc and finishing with "Stay" (a rejigged "My Girl") at the end of this, which is cute, but it's still just another repackaging -- it's a pretty package, it's cheap, and the sound is slightly superior to most releases of this material, but anyone who gives a hoot about the Temptations is likely to own at least one copy of everything on the disc, even the post-Masterpiece cuts. On the other hand, this disc, and its partner, provide a good introduction for the uninitiated, so make for good additions to any gift list you might feel like putting together.