I was so eager to read this when it was announced months ago that Duke had penned his memoirs that maybe my expectations were too high? But in any event, running barely 160 pages is hardly the depth that a 50 plus career deserves.

I was put off by some of the inaccuracies and changed stories in Duke's tome. Disappointed that no mention was made of the three lps the guys did with The Supremes. He spent very little time on the Dunhill years and it made no sense to me that after four lps the group came to a loggerhead with Dunhill, yet the label released several more albums.

His recollections of leaving Motown in 1972 are in stark contrast to interviews given later. The guys said that Motown only offered them $40K to re-sign with the label. In the book Duke reveals that Ewart Abner essentially dropped them. No offer to re-sign was made. I think the previous explanation of why they left Motown is the most plausible one.

Especially confusing was his take on Walk Away Renee. Supposedly this was recorded on a bet with BG and when he heard it, according to Duke, it was rushed out. That is not what happened. It was on the Reach Out lp and didn't get released as a single until almost a year later, and was only a moderate hit for them here in the USA. Renee and Carpenter was essentially released because HDH had left and Motown was scrambling to find a suitable new producer for the Tops.

No explanation was given on how the guys signed a contract with Casablanca, had two lps, then somehow jumped back to Motown. Also the chronology of the last two lps were wrong, Magic would be their last 80s Motown set.

The Tops were well known to be party guys. Duke only fessed up to some of this. No mention was made of Levi being arrested at Heathrow in 1970 on a drug charge that Motown quickly quieted down. If anything this book seemed to be more aimed at damage control than expose. His affair with Mary Wilson is given little mention other than they remained close after it ended.

The only touching part of the book for me was his descriptions of the illness and deaths of his singing buddies. He touts his new Four Tops group, but anytime I have even seen them, they are a shadow of what they had been. Let's face it, without Levi especially, there are no Four Tops.

I wouldn't say that the book is a bad read, but I finished it in one sitting feeling like the story was only partially told.