Artist: David Ruffin
Album: The Unreleased Album
Year: 1971ish/2004
Label: Motown Records/Hip-O Select
Genre: Motown/R&B/Soul
RIYL: The Temptations, Four Tops, good music
Essential Tracks: Each Day Is A Lifetime, I Want You Back

Motown Records was so amazing back in the day that their artists are iconic enough to get their own genre label. Yet even amazing labels make head-scratching mistakes. David Ruffin was the lead singer for the much-heralded Motown group The Temptations before he decided to go solo. He recorded several unremarkable albums (according to what I’ve read–I have yet to personally hear them, so take this with a grain of salt) before hitting the studio to record his 3rd album. After recording it Motown shelved the album (this was 1970 or 1971), an inexplicable decision because this record is jam-packed with pure gold. The rumors I’ve heard is that Motown was unimpressed with Ruffin’s growing coke habit (which would go on to kill him in 1991) and thought releasing an album from someone with a growing cocaine reputation would be bad for business. As such this album didn’t see the light of day until Hip-O Select’s limited CD release in 2004. That went out of print quickly, and now all we have are the glorious rips floating about on the internet. And thank God for that because this album will (with all apologies to The Shins) change your life.

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