Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod the Mod finds his solo footing, headed for stardom, with the Faces in his wake.
6:00 AM GMT 22/06/2011
Features Disc of the day
Four Tops
Reach Out
(Motown, 1967)
When the Four Tops were kings of the world. RIP Levi Stubbs.
Of all the many memorable transformations wrought by Motown’s Hitsville hothouse in the 1960s, perhaps none was more remarkable than that of The Four Tops: four men in their thirties, comfortable in their supper club routine of standards, jazz phrasing and easily crooned harmonies, metamorphosed into million-selling pop stars at the forefront of the label’s international expansion. Spearheaded by the certain power and wonderful expressiveness of the quartet’s lead singer, the great Levi Stubbs, and steered by the songs of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Reach Out was their fourth studio album, and is awash with hits – Reach Out I’ll Be There, 7 Rooms Of Gloom, I’ll Turn To Stone, Standing In The Shadows Of Love and Bernadette (all written and produced by H-D-H) plus their atmospheric cover of The Association’s Walk Away Renee, and though they’re less at home with Monkees hand-me-downs Last Train To Clarksville and I’m A Believer (one can hear, if not condescension, then a certain lack of engagement with the lyrics) they’re much more comfortable with Tim Hardin’s If I Were A Carpenter. Ultimately, Levi Stubbs’s voice conquers all: strong, beseeching, teetering on the edge of heartbreak, bursting with the thrill of new love, that explosive tenor joyfully roaring out “Bernadette!” or healing the world’s pain with the sheer exultation of this album’s mightily comforting, all-encompassing bear-hug of a title track. Proving that too much of a good thing can be wonderful, Reach Out is available as a twofer with On Top.
Geoff Brown
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 22/10/2008
Further Listening
Four Tops – The Best Of The ABC Years 1972-1977 (Music Club)
The Contours – Essential Collection (Motown/Universal)
The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go/I Hear A Symphony (Motown)
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Causa Sui - Summer Sessions Vol 1-3
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6:00 AM GMT 12/05/2011
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Levi Stubbs R.I.P.
Great to see the 4 Tops celebrated however Walk Away Renee was by the Left Banke originally not The Assocation.
Posted by Tamla 45 at 6:30 AM GMT 22/10/2008 Report Abuse
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i am so saddened at the loss of the great levi Stubbs. i was 14 in 66 when i first heard his remarkable voice. He is a great loss, not only to his family and friends. But to all soul fans from the mods to this day. His and The Four Tops legacy will carry on well past when we have all gone. God Bless You Levi. Barry.
Posted by barry matthews at 10:51 PM GMT 23/10/2008 Report Abuse
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It's like you're on a miiossn to save me time and money!
Posted by Melvina at 6:23 PM GMT 23/07/2011 Report Abuse
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It's like you're on a miiossn to save me time and money!
Posted by Melvina at 6:24 PM GMT 23/07/2011 Report Abuse
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It's like you're on a miiossn to save me time and money!
Posted by Melvina at 6:25 PM GMT 23/07/2011 Report Abuse
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