Reach Out (Four Tops album)

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Reach Out
Fourtops-reachout-album.jpg
Studio album by
Four Tops
ReleasedJuly 1967
Recorded1966–67
Studio Hitsville U.S.A., Detroit
Genre R&B, Soul
Label Motown
Producer Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Smokey Robinson, Clarence Paul
Four Tops chronology
On Broadway
(1967)		Reach Out
(1967)		 The Four Tops Greatest Hits
(1967)
Singles from Reach Out
  1. "Reach Out I'll Be There"
    Released: August 18, 1966
  2. "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
    Released: November 28, 1966
  3. "Bernadette"
    Released: February 16, 1967
  4. "7-Rooms of Gloom"
    Released: May 2, 1967
  5. "Walk Away Renée"
    Released: January 18, 1968
  6. "If I Were a Carpenter"
    Released: April 11, 1968

Reach Out is the fifth studio album by the Four Tops, issued on Motown Records in July 1967.

Contents

Overview

The group's biggest-selling studio album, Reach Out includes six of the Four Tops' most successful singles including the US and UK #1 hit "Reach Out I'll Be There", "Standing in the Shadows of Love", "Bernadette" and "7-Rooms of Gloom".

The album was the group's last with the songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland and also features covers of contemporary pop hits selected by Berry Gordy, among them Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter", the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renée" and two songs originally recorded by the Monkees. [1]

In 2020, Reach Out was ranked number 429 in Rolling Stone magazine's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. [2]

Chart performance

The album reached No. 11 on Billboard Top LPs chart, on the Billboard Top R&B Albums it peaked at No. 3, [3] on Cash Box the album peaked at No. 5, [4] and in Canada it peaked at No. 25, [5] and was their first charting album there. Overseas, it peaked at number 4 in the United Kingdom, where it was released in November after delays. [6] [7] [8] Eventually, the BPI certified the album Silver in the UK.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Upon release, Record Mirror praised the album's "four fine 'A' sides and their versions of some of the best non-R&B tunes around" [10] while Penny Valentine of Disc and Music Echo described "Walk Away Renée" as the album's "only outstanding track". [11]

Among retrospective reviews, BBC Music's Daryl Easlea has described Reach Out as the Four Tops' greatest album, praising its cohesion and noting that it "can be seen as the high-water mark of the first decade of Motown". Easlea considered the album and The Four Tops Greatest Hits to contain "some of the most passionate, soulful music, exquisite playing and well-written melodies of all time". [12] AllMusic's John Bush was critical of the album's cover songs, opining "though it's one of the best Four Tops records of the '60s, Reach Out still feels weighted down by a few vain attempts at adult pop crossover". [9] Writing in Motown Encyclopedia, Graham Betts felt the album "reads like a greatest hits package" and considered Holland, Dozier and Holland to have "bowed out on a high". [13]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, except for "Wonderful Baby", produced by Smokey Robinson; and "What Else is There to Do (But Think About You)", produced by Clarence Paul.

Side One

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Reach Out I'll Be There" Holland–Dozier–Holland 2:58
2."Walk Away Renée" Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone2:42
3."7-Rooms of Gloom"Holland–Dozier–Holland2:31
4."If I Were a Carpenter" Tim Hardin 2:47
5."Last Train to Clarksville" Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart 2:38
6."I'll Turn to Stone"Holland–Dozier–Holland, R. Dean Taylor 2:38

Side Two

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."I'm a Believer" Neil Diamond 2:39
8."Standing in the Shadows of Love"Holland–Dozier–Holland2:36
9."Bernadette"Holland–Dozier–Holland2:59
10."Cherish" Terry Kirkman 3:00
11."Wonderful Baby" Smokey Robinson 2:32
12."What Else Is There to Do (But Think About You)" Stevie Wonder, Clarence Paul, Morris Broadnax 2:30
Total length:32:30

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1967)Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs [14] 11
US Billboard Top R&B Albums [3] 3
US Cashbox Top 100 Albums [4] 5
UK Top Albums [15] 4
CAN Top Albums [5] 25

Certification

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [16] Silver60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Webb, Robert (2012). 100 Greatest Cover Versions. McNidder and Grace Limited. ISBN   9780857160577 . Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  2. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone . September 22, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "The Four Tops - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 130. ISBN   0-8108-2005-6.
  5. 1 2 "Canadian Albums". RPM Albums. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 91/3. ISBN   0-85112-733-9.
  7. ↑ "Four Tops". Official Charts. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ Dawbarn, Bob (November 25, 1967). "The swing to stereo" (PDF). Melody Maker: 15. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Bush, John. "Reach Out". AllMusic. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Jopling, Norman; Jones, Peter (November 11, 1967). "Tops-long-awaited Reach Out' album" (PDF). Record Mirror: 8. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  11. ↑ Valentine, Penny (December 2, 1967). "GEORGIE: How nice to welcome him back" (PDF). Disc: 19. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  12. ↑ Easlea, Daryl. "Four Tops Reach Out Review". BBC. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. ↑ Betts, Graham (2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN   9781311441546 . Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  14. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 54. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  15. ↑ "UK Albums". Official Charts Company . Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  16. ↑ "British album certifications – Four Tops – Reach Out". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 22, 2025.
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