The Four Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There 2002 [EAC - FLAC] (oan)

http://leetleech.org/images/29535886347702643565.jpg
The Four Tops [often billed by Motown as 'Four Tops'] are an American vocal quartet, whose
repertoire has included doo~wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard
rock, and showtunes. Founded in Detroit, Michigan as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi
Stubbs [born Levi Stubbles, a cousin of Jackie Wilson and brother of The Falcons' Joe
Stubbs], and groupmates Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton
remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a single
change in personnel.

Among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s, including The
Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations, and The Supremes,
the Four Tops were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer; most groups
of the time were fronted by a tenor. The group was the main male vocal group for the
songwriting and production team of Holland~Dozier~Holland, who crafted a stream of hit
singles, including two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits: "I Can't Help Myself [Sugar Pie
Honey Bunch]" and "Reach Out I'll Be There". After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in
1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. When
Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit and
moved over to ABC Records, where they continued to have charting singles into the late-
1970s. Since the 1980s, the Four Tops have recorded for, at various times, Motown,
Casablanca Records and Arista Records. Today, save for Indestructible [owned by Sony
Music Entertainment], Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire post-1963
catalog [through various mergers and acquisitions], as well as their 1956 single, "Could It Be
You".

A change of line-up was finally forced upon the group when Lawrence Payton died on June
20, 1997. The band initially continued as a three-piece under the name The Tops, before
Theo Peoples [formerly of The Temptations] was recruited as the new fourth member.
Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000
with his position assumed by Ronnie McNeir. On July 1, 2005, Benson died of lung cancer
with Payton's son Roquel Payton replacing him. As of 2006, Fakir, McNeir, Payton, and
Peoples were still performing together as the Four Tops. Levi Stubbs died on October 17,
2008. Fakir is now the only surviving founding member of the original group.Early years
All four members of the group began their careers together while they were high school
students in Detroit. At the insistence of their friends, Pershing High students Levi Stubbs and
Abdul "Duke" Fakir performed with Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton from
Northern High at a local birthday party. The quartet decided to remain together, and
christened themselves The Four Aims. With the help of Payton's songwriter cousin Roquel
Davis, The Aims signed to Chess Records in 1956, changing their name to Four Tops to
avoid confusion with The Ames Brothers. Over the next seven years, The Tops endured
unsuccessful tenures at Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records. Without
any hit records to their name, The Tops toured frequently, developing a polished stage
presence and an experienced supper club act. In 1963, Berry Gordy, Jr., who had worked
with Roquel Davis as a songwriter in the late~1950s, convinced The Tops to join the roster of
his growing Motown record company.
01. I Can't Help Myself ~ 2:43
02. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever ~ 2:50
03. Reach Out I'll Be There ~ 2:57
04. Bernadette ~ 3:04
05. Walk Away Renee ~ 2:45
06. Yesterdays Dreams ~ 2:57
07. Do What You Gotta Do ~ 4:03
08. Its All In The Game ~ 2:47
09. Still Water [Love] ~ 3:09
10. Simple Game ~ 2:57
11. MacArthur Park ~ 6:33
12. Cherish ~ 3:14
13. River Deep Mountain High ~ 4:33
14. Helpless ~ 2:42
15. Ask The Lonely ~ 2:40
16. Climb Ev'ry Mountain ~ 3:11
17. I Got A Feeling ~ 2:54
18. Just Seven Numbers [Can Straighten Out My Life] ~ 3:08
19. In These Changing Times ~ 4:51
20. For Once In My Life ~ 2:47

Playing Time.........: 01:06:45
Total Size...........: 381.29 MB


http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6758/included1.png

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/366/included2.png

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1495/included3.png