Reach Out (The Four Tops album)

Reach Out is an album recorded by the Four Tops, issued on Motown Records in July 1967 (see 1967 in music). The album was the final Four Tops LP to be produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, who departed the label in late 1967 over money disputes.

The group's most successful LP, Reach Out includes six of the Four Tops' Top 20 singles: "Reach Out I'll Be There", "Standing in the Shadows of Love", "Bernadette", "7-Rooms of Gloom", and their covers of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" and the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renée".

Rounding out the LP are a pair of Monkees covers ("Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer"), a cover of The Association's "Cherish", and the originals "Wonderful Baby" and "What Else Is There to Do (But Think About You)". A month later Motown released "The Four Tops Greatest Hits", which contained all of the groups' hits up to that point, which may have explained why Reach Out peaked at # 11 on the Billboard top 200, while "Greatest Hits" went to # 4.

[edit] 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.

"Reach Out I'll Be There" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
"Walk Away Renée" (Bob Calilli, Michael Brown, Tony Sansone)
"7-Rooms of Gloom" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
"If I Were a Carpenter" (Tim Hardin)
"Last Train to Clarksville" (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart)
"I'll Turn to Stone" (Holland-Dozier-Holland, R. Dean Taylor)
"I'm a Believer" (Neil Diamond)
"Standing in the Shadows of Love" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
"Bernadette" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
"Cherish" (Terry Kirkman)
"Wonderful Baby" (Smokey Robinson)
"What Else is There to Do (But Think About You)" (Stevie Wonder, Clarence Paul, Morris Broadnax)