#429 Four Tops, 'Reach Out' (1967)

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A classic Motown record, ‘Reach Out’ was the most successful record for Four Tops, featuring six (6!) Top 20 singles. The almost-title track, ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There,’ was the band’s second and final #1 single. A few years later, on The Jackson Five hit, ‘I’ll Be There,’ Michael Jackson would improvise the line “Just look over your shoulders, honey” as a nod to a similar line in this song.

The album raced by for me, coming in at a relatively short 32 minutes. In amongst the originals are covers of Tim Hardin’s ‘If I Were A Carpenter,’ as well as a couple of Monkees songs, ‘Last Train To Clarksville’ & ‘I’m A Believer,’ which is very true to the original. Also on this record is ‘Standing In The Shadows Of Love,’ one of the best Holland-Dozier-Holland compositions, which almost sounds like a reprise of ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There,’ and ‘Bernadette,’ another great one by the trio of songwriters.

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