Masterpiece

From a rare Billboard interview with Norman Whitfield in 1973:

According to the Temptations, they cut the “Masterpiece' LP because Whitfield wanted to do something different. And according to Whitfield, he went into "Masterpiece” because he wanted to rejuvenate the group and prevent them from falling into any complacency which might be expected after the Temptations nucleus being together since 1968. “But we didn’t want the Temps to lose what they already had,” added Whitfield.

The producer’s goal was, “I wanted to try some songs that had the scope and feeling of a movie.”

Whitfield Shyness

Whitfield is so reserved and shy that he only agreed to be interviewed over the phone. ‘The group had some skepticism about taking on the material in `Masterpiece,’“ he said. "But their technique is no all encompassing that once we had reached an understanding about what they were singing, the Temps were able to summon up the necessary entra energy the songs demanded.”

Those long, ear-grabbing trumpet introductions to many “Masterpiece” cuts were done with one trumpet played through an electronic reverberation device, said Whitfield. He feels that musical production is the most important factor of a hit record, thus he tries to give each song a different production
treatment.

He refuses to categorise himself in music and said, “I don’t know what my records will sound like till I hear them in the studio. But I won’t stop in the studio till I get exactly what I want.”