Album Reviews

This review was but a few words from being finished and a fumbling finger destroyed the whole thing. I hate when that happens! I'm not going to try to reproduce it. Too painful. So let me summarize what I'd written: yes The Four Tops and the other Motown acts were slick and aimed at white America, and the Chess stuff was much hipper, but this was great pop stuff nonetheless.

This review was but a few words from being finished and a fumbling finger destroyed the whole thing. I hate when that happens! I'm not going to try to reproduce it. Too painful. So let me summarize what I'd written: yes The Four Tops and the other Motown acts were slick and aimed at white America, and the Chess stuff was much hipper, but this was great pop stuff nonetheless.

The Supremes, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles and The Four Tops were the original greats, propelled by The Funk Brothers and the songs of Smoky Robinson and Holland-Dozier-Holland. 

If you were there, the first time you heard "Where Did Our Love Go" on the radio, Diana Ross's voice melted you on the spot. Then you noticed the vibes, the strings and the Jamerson/Benjamin rhythm track and you were done!

When you heard the live albums you winced at the calculated commercialism of it but the studio albums were still great, though by the time this one came out the slickness was dripping from the seams. 

The jacket art is tacky and the filler is abominable: two Monkees songs? "Cherish?" "Walk Away Renee?" "If I Was a Carpenter?" (great tune, but give me Tim Hardin). 

But there was great stuff too: "Reach Out I'll Be There," "7-Rooms of Gloom," "I'll Turn to Stone," "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette" from the pens of Holand-Dozier-Holland and Smoky Robinson's neo-psychedelic, exalted "Wonderful Baby" and Stevie Wonder's "What Else is There to Do (But Think About You)." 

Are those worth the asking price? Your choice. The original Motown sound was very, very good, all recorded in that tiny studio to 4 track. The lacquers were cut there too and then plated and pressed by RCA. Berry Gordy cared about the sound.

This reissue comes probably from flat analog transfers of the original while the original greatest hits album to which I compared it also came from tape copies strung together. The Speakers Corner reissue is more dynamic, with better extension at the frequency extremes, but it's also a bit bright on top and lacks the original's transparency so it's a mixed bag.

As for the late singer Levi Stubbs, he was an original great, though in retrospect there's an amazing resemblance to Tom Jones! Listening to his "give it all" vocals is always a thrill.