THE FOUR TOPS: "Reach Out"

Original released on LP  Motown MS-660

(US, July 1967)

Though it's one of the best Four Tops records of the '60s, "Reach Out" still feels weighted down by a few vain attempts at adult pop crossover. It certainly starts out right, with the glorious "Reach Out, I'll Be There," the group's second pop/R&B chart-topper. After a faithful cover of the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee," though, listeners are forced to sit through trite versions of "If I Were a Carpenter," "Last Train to Clarksville," and "I'm a Believer" to get to real highlights like the dramatic, impassioned "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette." There is room for a great lesser single ("I'll Turn to Stone"), but the flip side finds the Four Tops taking on "Cherish," which could've worked well but didn't. "Reach Out" still did better than any other original LP by the group, almost breaking the Top Ten. (John Bush in AllMusic)

FOUR TOPS ON TOP

Original released on LP Motown MS-647

(US, July 1966)

Beginning with "On Top", Motown started constructing their Four Tops LPs from singles and a few similar-sounding album tracks, along with plenty of crossover material (usually attempts at MOR covers or light supper-club standards). The first four songs display the Four Tops at the peak of their power; opening with the swinging "I Got a Feeling," the quartet paused only briefly with a ballad ("Brenda") before delivering their two biggest and best hits of the time, "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" and "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)." Hoping older listeners might be lured in by crossover versions of a few current hits, Motown devoted the last half to some seriously misguided covers: "Matchmaker," "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars," "In the Still of the Night," and a rather stiff version of the Beatles' "Michelle." Though it reached the pop Top 40, doubtless most teenagers never even bothered flipping this one over, and the crossover material hasn't aged well. (John Bush in AllMusic)