The Four Tops Missing Years Are Back on CD

During the 1960s, Motown Records was considered the leading label for black pop vocal music because of a roster of such talented artists such as the Supremes, the Temptations, and the Four Tops. These acts regularly topped the charts with hit singles. However, the music business was changing. By the early 1970s Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder veered away from the traditional singles format and concentrated on creating albums. In 1972, the Detroit company moved to Los Angeles and didn’t take everyone on the roster with them. One of the biggest surprises was Motown dropping the Four Tops, who had a slew of hits between 1964-1972, including the number one singles “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There”.

Motown determined that the Four Tops represented the old sound and wanted to move forward. The group stayed in Detroit and signed with ABC/Dunhill. They recorded 33 sides and scored a total of 11 Billboard Pop hits and 15 R&B hits during its six years on the label. These tracks have been largely unavailable on CD for a number of logistical reasons. This double-disc collection from Real Gone Music presents for the first time ever all 33 tracks recorded for the ABC/Dunhill label from 1972 through 1978 have been available on compact disc.

The Four Tops had a hit right out of the gate with “Keeper of the Castle”, whose message about the role of fathers in families resonated with audiences at the time. The group preached a familiar homily but gave it a new twist, thanks in part to guitarist Larry Carlton’s heavy use of the wah-wah pedal. This gave the song a distinctive edge and revealed the Four Tops were in step with the times both lyrically (because of the song’s social content) and instrumentally.

Although lead singer Levi Stubbs had the most recognizable voice in the band, the other three members (Renaldo “Obie” Benson, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Lawrence Payton) also had marvelous vocal chops. This was clearly evident in the band’s next big hit “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got” that features each singer taking turns on the lead. The song comes off as a street corner symphony in modern clothes, with the doo wops of old being replaced by a thumping bass line that allows the singers to soar. The single reached number four on the pop charts, the highest ranking they achieved on ABC/Dunhill.

The group continued to record great music, albeit less successfully. Many of the best moments on this compilation can be found in the B-sides and commercially unprofitable tracks such as the lament for personal connections “Main Street People”, the funky “Turn on the Light of Your Love”, and the breezily seductive “Feel Free”. These cuts reveal the Four Tops flexibility. While their Motown sides were characterized by the group’s ability to replicate the assembly line Motor City sound, the Four Tops were now able to take their material in a host of different directions.

However, this also created problems because the Four Tops no longer had a distinctive sound. The public overlooked songs such as the topical “Am I My Brother’s Keeper” and sweet love songs like “All My Love” in part because they did not sound like Four Tops’ records. The group was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The record buying audience wanted something new but also cherished the old sound. This anthology reveals how the Four Tops treaded the musical waters at the time and is essential listening for fans of the band,