Keeper of the Castle | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | Nov. 1972 | |||
Studio | ABC, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Label | Dunhill [1] • Probe | |||
Producer | Steve Barri, Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter [2] | |||
The Four Tops chronology | ||||
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Singles from Keeper of the Castle | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Robert Christgau | C− [2] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Keeper of the Castle is an album by R&B group the Four Tops, released in 1972. [5] [6]
The title track peaked at No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart. [7]
Robert Christgau wrote that with "superschlockers" Steve Barri, Dennis Lambert, and Brian Potter producing, "the results are too overbearing to interest anyone but professional theorists of camp." [2]
All tracks written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert where indicated
Levi Stubbs was an American baritone singer, widely known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, that released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He was noted for his powerful, emotional, dramatic. singing style. In 1990, Stubbs was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Tops.
Renaldo "Obie" Benson was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for over five decades, until April 8, 2005.
"Bernadette" is a 1967 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. The song was written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland, Motown's main songwriting team, and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier.
Still Waters Run Deep is a 1970 album by the American vocal group Four Tops.
"Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" is a song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, released as a single by the Four Tops on the ABC/Dunhill record label, from the album Keeper of the Castle. It peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the weeks of April 7 and 14, 1973, number one on the Cash Box Top 100 the latter of those two weeks, and became a gold record.
The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The group's repertoire has incorporated elements of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, along with backing vocalists Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together in the group for over four decades, performing until 1997 without a change in personnel. Along with fellow Motown groups the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, the Four Tops helped to establish the "Motown sound"; pop-friendly soul and R&B with a clean, polished production quality. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors.
Four Tops Second Album is a 1965 R&B studio album by vocal quartet the Four Tops. The album, released on the Motown record label, reached No. 3 on Billboard's Black Albums chart and No. 20 on the Billboard Top LPs chart. The album contains three hit singles. "I Can't Help Myself " reached No. 1 on both the Black Singles and Pop Singles charts, while "It's the Same Old Song" reached No. 2 and No. 5 respectively, and "Something About You" reached No. 9 and No. 19. In 1990, Motown bundled the Four Tops' first two albums together in a release titled Four Tops/Four Tops Second Album.
"Yesterday's Dreams" is a 1968 single recorded by The Four Tops for the Motown label. The song was written by Vernon Bullock, Jack Goga, Ivy Jo Hunter and Pam Sawyer. The single was one of the first the group released after the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who had handled the majority of the Four Tops recordings prior to 1968. Released from the album of the same name, the song only became a modest hit on the US chart, peaking at #31 on Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles chart and #49 on the Hot 100. Outside of the US, "Yesterday's Dreams" reached #23 in the UK.
"I'm In a Different World" is a song written and produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. Billboard described the single as a "smooth swinger that moves and grooves throughout" which "should fast prove a sales topper."
On Top is the third studio album recorded by the Four Tops. Issued by Motown Records on July 8, 1966, it reached number 32 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart and number 9 in the UK. It contains two singles: "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" and "Shake Me, Wake Me ". The second half of the album consists of cover songs.
Yesterday's Dreams is the seventh overall and sixth studio album recorded by the Four Tops, issued by Motown Records in August 1968. The album was recorded as the main Motown songwriting/producing partnership of Holland–Dozier–Holland were leaving the label, and as a result only contains one song from them, "I'm in a Different World", which was released as a single.
"Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)" is a song written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and released as a single in 1964 by the Motown singing group The Four Tops as the second single from their self-titled debut album, Four Tops. The group would later cover the song with The Supremes.
Main Street People is the twelfth album by R&B group the Four Tops, released in 1973. It produced three singles, one of which, "Sweet Understanding Love" was the group's last top 40 single in the US for eight years. The album itself did not enjoy the commercial success the group was used to: 'Main Street People didn't do near what it should have done,' Abdul Fakir said in 1982, 'considering the quality of the material.'
Magic is an album recorded by the Four Tops, released in 1985 on Motown Records. The album reached No. 23 on the Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart and No. 33 on the Billboard Top US R&B Albums chart.
Meeting of the Minds is a 1974 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by Dunhill Records.
Live & in Concert is a 1974 live album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by Dunhill Records.
Night Lights Harmony is a 1975 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by ABC Records.
Catfish is a 1976 studio album by American soul music vocal group, Four Tops, released by ABC Records.
Tonight! is a 1981 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released by Casablanca Records. This was the first album the group recorded for this label followed a short period of commercial a decline in the 1970s, as well as a failed experiment at recording with former Motown associates Holland–Dozier–Holland. This release resulted in much higher chart performance than Four Tops had experienced in several years and the hit single "When She Was My Girl".
One More Mountain is a 1982 studio album by American soul music vocal group, Four Tops, released by Casablanca Records. This was the second and final album the group recorded for this label before rejoining their long-time home Motown.