The Ultimate Collection: Four Tops

by The Four Tops

Overview

The Ultimate Collection series was a rare success from Motown, one of the first of the label's many compilation series to do justice to some of the finest performers, arrangers, and musicians of the soul era. Nearly every artist with an entry was given the luxury treatment, with a disc-filling running time, excellent compilation decisions, and a pleasing design scheme that reflected the artists in their prime. The Four Tops' entry is arguably the best in the series, since the 25 tracks prove the perfect length to summarize the group's decade at Motown. From 1963 to 1972, the group reached the R&B charts 28 times, and all but a very few are presented here (among the missing are three decidedly unnecessary covers: "MacArthur Park," "If I Were a Carpenter," and "River Deep -- Mountain High"). Though the tracks aren't presented chronologically, thoughtful sequencing makes for an even better listen; The Ultimate Collection opens with "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," perhaps the ultimate pop single of the '60s, and flows smoothly through the best of their 1964-1967 prime: "Baby I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "It's the Same Old Song," "Bernadette," and "Standing in the Shadows of Love." And though the hits began to dry up after the Holland-Dozier-Holland machine departed Motown in 1968, the Four Tops' later years are represented well with "It's All in the Game," "Still Water (Love)," "(It's the Way) Nature Planned It," and the driving non-album hit "A Simple Game." Unless you're the type of fan who needs the box set (2001's Fourever), this is all the Four Tops-on-Motown you really need to hear. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	10/07/1997
Label:	Motown
UPC:	0731453082526
Rank:	7152

Tracks

1. Reach Out (I'll Be There)
2. Standing in the Shadows of Love
3. Bernadette
4. Ask the Lonely
5. Baby I Need Your Loving
6. Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worthwhile)
7. It's the Same Old Song
8. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
9. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
10. Something About You
11. I Got a Feeling
12. I'm in a Different World
13. Walk Away Renee
14. What Is a Man?
15. A Simple Game
16. Still Water (Love)
17. (It's the Way) Nature Planned It
18. It's All in the Game
19. You Keep Running Away
20. If You Don't Want My Love
21. 7-Rooms of Gloom
22. I'll Turn to Stone
23. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)
24. Sad Souvenirs
25. Yesterday's Dreams

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Four Tops   Primary Artist
Leonard Caston   Guest Artist
The Moody Blues   Guest Artist

Technical Credits

Tony Sansome   Composer
Pam Sawyer   Composer
Tony Clarke   Producer
Bob Calilli   Composer
Kevin Reeves   Remastering
Ivy Jo Hunter   Composer,Producer
Jimmy Roach   Arranger
Jack Goga   Composer
Lamont Dozier   Composer,Producer
Eddie Holland   Composer
Vernon Bullock   Composer
R. Dean Taylor   Composer,Producer
Michael Pinder   Composer
Brian Holland   Composer,Producer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Harry Weinger   Compilation Producer
William "Mickey" Stevenson   Composer,Producer
Carl Sigman   Composer
Ivory Joe Hunter   Composer
Johnny Bristol   Composer,Producer
Smokey Robinson   Composer
Michael Brown   Composer,Composer
Mike Pinder   Composer
Jerry Long   Arranger
David Irvin   Design,Art Direction
Frank Wilson   Composer,Producer
Charles G. Dawes   Composer
Stu Hackel   Liner Notes
Tony Sansone   Composer
Doris McNeil   Composer