Magic (Four Tops album)

Magic
Studio album by The Four Tops
Released	May 15, 1985 (1985-05-15)
Studio	The Song, Chatsworth, USA Hitsville U.S.A., Hollywood, USA The Complex, Los Angeles, USA Sound Suite, Detroit, USA Right Track, New York City Sigma Sound, New York City
Genre	Soul
Label	Motown
Producer	Willie Hutch Reggie Lucas Kerry Ashby Benny Medina Johnny Bristol Hal Davis
The Four Tops chronology
Back Where I Belong (1983) Magic (1985) Indestructible (1988)

Magic is the twenty-second studio album recorded by the Four Tops, released in 1985 on Motown Records. ^[1] 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. ^{[2] [3]}

Overview

Half of the Magic album was produced by Reggie Lucas, which was the idea of Iris Gordy, who felt his work on the debut double-platinum Madonna album reminded her of an updated Holland-Dozier-Holland sound. The other half was handled by Willie Hutch. ^[4]

Reggie Lucas produced the song "Maybe Tomorrow", a duet between Levi Stubbs and Phyllis Hyman, which received substantial urban contemporary airplay. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]

Singles

"Sexy Ways" peaked at No. 21 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. ^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Can Feel the Magic"	Willie Hutch	4:47
2.	"Don't Tell Me That It's Over"	Hutch	4:34
3.	"Sexy Ways"	Hutch, Val Johnson	5:01
4.	"Easier Said Than Done"	Kerry Ashby, John Bokowski, Benny Medina	5:59
5.	"Don't Turn Away"	Ivy Jo Hunter, William “Mickey” Stevenson	5:03
6.	"I'm Ready for Love"	Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Eddie Holland	3:17
7.	"Again"	Fred Bridges, Lawrence Payton, George Roundtree	4:45
8.	"Maybe Tomorrow"	Roxanne Seeman, Eddie del Barrio	4:03
9.	"Remember Me"	Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson	3:39

Personnel

Four Tops

• Levi Stubbs – baritone lead vocals
• Abdul "Duke" Fakir – first tenor vocals
• Renaldo "Obie" Benson – bass vocals
• Lawrence Payton –second tenor vocals

Musicians

• Richard Kosinski – keyboards (1, 3), synthesizers (1, 3)
• John Bokowski – keyboards (4), arrangements (4)
• Larry Williams – keyboards (4)
• Fred Zarr – pianos (5), synthesizers (5, 7)
• Dean Gant – pianos (5, 8), synthesizers (5, 8)
• Reginald "Sonny" Burke – keyboards (6), synthesizers (6), arrangements (6)
• Philip Woo – synthesizers (7)
• John Duarte – keyboards (9), synthesizers (9)
• David Kitay – acoustic guitar (1, 3), electric guitar (1, 3)
• Charles Fearing – guitars (2, 6)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars (2)
• Ray Fuller – guitars (4)
• Reggie Lucas – guitars (5, 7)
• Willie Hutch – bass (1, 3), Oberheim DMX programming (1, 3), BGV arrangements (9)
• Alfredo Washington – bass (2)
• Cornelius Mims – bass (4)
• Anthony Jackson – bass (5, 7, 8)
• Ed Greene – drums (2)
• Steve Ferrone – drums (4, 8)
• Michael White – drums (4)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (4, 9)
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (5)
• Gerald Albright – saxophone solo (1, 3)
• Ernie Watts – saxophone solo (2)
• Harold Vick – saxophone (7)
• Stanley Behrens – harmonica (3)
• Gene Page – orchestration (2), string arrangements (9)
• Benjamin Wright – additional arrangements (4, 6)
• Eddie Summers – rhythm arrangements (9)
• Phyllis Hyman – lead vocals (8)

Production

• Iris Gordy – executive producer
• Willie Hutch – producer (1, 2, 3)
• Kerry Ashby – producer (4)
• Benny Medina – producer (4)
• Reggie Lucas – producer (5, 7, 8)
• Johnny Bristol – producer (6)
• Hal Davis – producer (9)
• Johnny Lee – art direction
• Janet Levinson – design
• Aaron Rapoport – photography

Technical

• John Matousek – mastering At Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA)
• Steve King – recording (1, 3)
• Jim Vitti – recording (1, 3)
• Willie Hutch – mixing (1)
• Bob Robitaille – recording (2, 9), mixing (2, 4, 9)
• Steve Smith – recording (2)
• Barney Perkins – mixing (3, 6, 7)
• Tom Perry – recording (4)
• Nick Spigel – recording (4)
• Joe Ferla – recording (5, 7, 8)
• Reggie Kendall – recording (6)
• Russ Terrana – mixing (1), recording (9)

References

1. Four Tops: Magic. Motown Records. 1985.
2. Top British Soul Albums. Blues and Soul. September 3, 1985.
3. "Four Tops: Magic (Top R&B Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019.
4. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1985-04-20.
5. "Welcome rnbhaven.com - BlueHost.com". www.rnbhaven.com. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
6. Michael, Jason A. (15 October 2018). Strength Of A Woman: The Phyllis Hyman Story. ISBN   978-0979489013.
7. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1985-06-15.
8. Magic – The Four Tops at AllMusic . Retrieved October 31, 2019.
9. Blues & Soul. Napfield Limited. June 1985.
10. "The Four Tops: Magic". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
11. "Four Tops: Sexy Ways (Hot R&B Singles)". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 1, 2019.

External links

• Magic at Discogs (list of releases)
• Magic at MusicBrainz (list of releases)