Though they have been around for nearly 40 years,
the Four Tops
were never stronger than during the '60s and early '70s. With a dozen Top 20 and five Top Ten hits,
the Tops
were just as their name implies. As part of their
Millennium Collection
,
Motown
has selected 11 of these hits for consideration as one of the pre-eminent groups of the era. From the trademark stylings of
Holland-Dozier-Holland
to a tune by
Smokey Robinson
(who himself once considered
to be "the baddest group around"), this best-of set is pretty much what it says to be. Though a cover of
"If I Were a Carpenter"
and a hyper-produced version of
Robinson's
"Still Water (Love)"
may not reach the reminiscent heights of
"Reach Out I'll Be There"
and
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),"
' devotions to originally named girls like
" (Walk Away) Renee"
"Bernadette"
and their tales of love wanted, won, and lost easily make them one of the best-loved groups of the last century, if not the last millennium. ~ Matthew Robinson