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  1. #1
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    Four Tops "Now" - What Happened?

    Four Tops "Now" is an album that I think is long overdue a re-release on CD - remastered preferably.

    I'd even accept an Elemental label release despite a bad experience with David Ruffin's "My Whole World Ended" where the mastering is absolutely shocking. That really put me off buying their CDs. I'd really like Culture Factory to produce a mini LP version of Four Tops "Now".

    Until such time as a new release of the album is made available, the price gougers will have their day in asking the earth for what was released on CD years ago [[yes I know it can be downloaded but....). However, some of you will have that CD release, and my question to you is what tracks are on your copy?

    The album tracks are
    1. The Key
    2. What Is A Man
    3. My Past Just Crossed My Future
    4. Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me
    5. Eleanor Rigby
    6. Little Green Apples
    7. Do what You Gotta Do
    8. MacArthur Park
    9. Don't Bring Back Memories
    10. Wish I Didn't Love You So
    11. Opportunity Knock [[For Me)
    12. The Fool On The Hill

    The only version I think that is listed on Discogs is MOTD5466 - no probs there but there is currently listed on Ebay, for nearly $130 as 3746354662 which is apparently different. The track list shows
    1. Eleanor Rigby
    2. Little Green Apples
    3. Do What You Gotta Do
    4. MacArthur Park
    5. The Fool On The Hill
    6. California Dreamin'
    7. The Key
    8. Wish I Didn't Love You So
    9. My Past Just Crossed My Future
    10. Don't Bring Back Memories
    11. Opportunity Knock [[For Me)
    12. Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me
    Bonus Track [[CD and cassette only) **
    13. What Is A Man

    Is this a genuine release? It seems to indicate that a vinyl re-release of the album had the wrong tracks with "California Dreamin' " [[which was on "Soul Spin") replacing "What Is A Man" - plus tracks out of order.

    What do you have?

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  2. #2
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    Yes it's a real release, it's the version that I have.

    https://soulfuldetroit.com/showthrea...!-[[CD-Release)

    Who knows what happened, it is strange. I don't mind though, as it's not missing any of the album tracks.

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    Four Tops - "Little Green Apples"

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    Quote Originally Posted by calvin View Post
    Yes it's a real release, it's the version that I have.

    https://soulfuldetroit.com/showthrea...!-[[CD-Release)

    Who knows what happened, it is strange. I don't mind though, as it's not missing any of the album tracks.
    Thanks Calvin

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    Alternate vocal on "What Is A Man" from the album "Until You Love Someone"



  6. #6
    I've been looking into that album a lot over the last couple of weeks and it mystifies me why it always gets missed off the re-release schedules - that release years ago was only out for like a hot minute and then when the twofers happen it gets missed off. It's the very same story with the Supremes Reflections album that's alwasy left off the twofer schedules and nobody ever explains it.

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    Yes you're right about "Reflections" too. "Meet The Supremes" is never included either [[not on 2fers or the Universal Japanese mini LPs) but that may be a little more understandable.

    Many unanswered ponderables regarding Motown CDs - Commodores too. I particularly like the Four Tops "Now" mystery though - how come the two CDs are different - why not simply a straight re-issue?

    In this same series [[5000 midline) some vinyl only, some both vinyl and CD, some CD only, some album then later CD [[different number) all in the same series.

    Obviously there's business logic behind it all, someone will know.

  8. #8
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    Funny how tastes change over the years - when I first had Four Tops "Now" on vinyl I wasn't that impressed. Yet separate from the album, tracks such as "What Is A Man", "MacArthur Park" and especially "Do What You Gotta Do" grew on me over time to become firm favourites, causing me to listen to the album with greater attention and then greater affection. Probably their best for me really.

    Same thing happened with The Isley's "Soul On The Rocks", my younger ears weren't attuned I suppose but you come to appreciate more the song writing, production and sheer brilliance of the music topped with The Isley Brothers unique vocals,harmonies and gospel tones that can't be matched. It's a better album than "This Old Heart Of Mine" although "There's No Love Left" is probably my favourite track of theirs overall.

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    I bought the CD for about $45. The album should have had all the original songs included. Then release another album with cover songs. Original material should take priority.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mysterysinger View Post
    Funny how tastes change over the years - when I first had Four Tops "Now" on vinyl I wasn't that impressed. Yet separate from the album, tracks such as "What Is A Man", "MacArthur Park" and especially "Do What You Gotta Do" grew on me over time to become firm favourites, causing me to listen to the album with greater attention and then greater affection. Probably their best for me really.

    Same thing happened with The Isley's "Soul On The Rocks", my younger ears weren't attuned I suppose but you come to appreciate more the song writing, production and sheer brilliance of the music topped with The Isley Brothers unique vocals,harmonies and gospel tones that can't be matched. It's a better album than "This Old Heart Of Mine" although "There's No Love Left" is probably my favourite track of theirs overall.
    I completely agree with your assessment of both "Now!" and "Soul on the Rocks."

    I too found "Now" when I first bought it to be uninspiring but have come to love it. I really enjoy when the Tops do standards, as their vocal heritage, coming from jazz and the Great American Songbook, really shines through their interpretations of cover tunes. Today, "Now" and "Soul Spin" are my favorite Tops albums and I would love to see them on a CD together, as to me thematically and musically they were similar.

    The Isleys' "Soul on the Rocks" is definitely a beautiful album as well, though that one I always liked unlike the Tops' "Now." I also bought the Isley Brothers' complete album collection from their prime years and it's amazing how diverse their music really was.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mysterysinger View Post
    Funny how tastes change over the years - when I first had Four Tops "Now" on vinyl I wasn't that impressed. Yet separate from the album, tracks such as "What Is A Man", "MacArthur Park" and especially "Do What You Gotta Do" grew on me over time to become firm favourites, causing me to listen to the album with greater attention and then greater affection. Probably their best for me really.

    Same thing happened with The Isley's "Soul On The Rocks", my younger ears weren't attuned I suppose but you come to appreciate more the song writing, production and sheer brilliance of the music topped with The Isley Brothers unique vocals,harmonies and gospel tones that can't be matched. It's a better album than "This Old Heart Of Mine" although "There's No Love Left" is probably my favourite track of theirs overall.
    Th original CD release in the "MOTD" series is the original LP released mix. The CD released in the "37463" series is the mix and track list that was intended for the album's original title of "Soulfully Yours" before it was re-titled and re-sequenced. The "Soulfully Yours" album had a cover design not too dissimilar to the Four Tops' debut Motown album.

    Ivor

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    Quote Originally Posted by Laserdk View Post
    Th original CD release in the "MOTD" series is the original LP released mix. The CD released in the "37463" series is the mix and track list that was intended for the album's original title of "Soulfully Yours" before it was re-titled and re-sequenced. The "Soulfully Yours" album had a cover design not too dissimilar to the Four Tops' debut Motown album.

    Ivor
    Thanks for that, it's very interesting. I just checked DFTMC, "California Dreamin'" was recorded in November 1968, the "Four Tops Now!" was released in May 1969. I wonder then - were the versions/mixes for "Soulfully Yours" the same as the ones that were later released on "Now!" and "Soul Spin" [[in the case of "California Dreamin'")? If they're different, does the cd I have with the "Soulfully Yours" tracklist have those different versions/mixes? I don't have the MOTD cd, the download, or the LP to compare it to.

    Now it makes sense why "What Is a Man" was put on the cd and listed as a "bonus track" - I guess it's the one song that came out on "Now!" that was not scheduled to be part of "Soulfully Yours". It was presumably included as a "bonus track" so no one would feel cheated that a song from the original "Now!" LP was not included on the cd.

    As for the 3746354662 version I have, I see that I bought it used from Music Magpie over Amazon UK in 2012 for Ł10. The Amazon listing didn't include a tracklist or any other information to tell which version it was [[and I had no idea that there was more than one version). The cover picture was the "Now" cover [[though no picture there now), I guess Music Magpie would have listed either version there.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    It's a 1992 cd, I think the MOTD one is from 1990.

    Just adding later - since I do have "Soul Spin" on cd [[from the UK 2fer), I listened to "California Dreamin'" there and on my "Now!" cd - I don't notice any obvious differences [[though others in this forum are better at noticing these things).
    Last edited by calvin; 06-08-2020 at 02:16 PM.

  13. #13
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    So someone thought it had been issued previously as a vinyl album with the "Soulfully Yours" tracklist and that's why "What Is A Man" was an added bonus. Whereas in reality on the release of "Now", "What Is A Man" replaced "California Dreamin' " which was carried over to the next LP "Soul Spin".

    That all makes sense [[and shows quite deep [[if erroneous) thinking in the Motown office when it came to releasing the second version on CD.

  14. #14
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    And you can buy "Now" on CD on Amazon for Ł306 [[not sure which version) - makes the version on Ebay a bargain at Ł102.12.

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    Name:  four tops now 1 front cover.jpg
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    Scans from Motown 3746354662

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    Name:  four tops now cd.JPG
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    And the cd, same pic I uploaded years ago

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    Good idea - we can make our own CD and save ŁŁŁŁŁs. Thanks Calvin.

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    MY PAST JUST CROSSED MY FUTURE is phenomenal. Songs that should have made the cut are SAME O SAME O, NO TIME, I CAN'T HOLD BACK, CLIP MY WINGS, YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN, OLD FASHIONED MAN

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    I have both NOW CDs. And thereÂ’s no different mixes on each cd as far as I know.

    MOTD and 374635 CDs have most of the time slight differences in the artwork used - And sometimes huge ones, think of the different colors on the Supremes TOUCH cd. Just to mention one...

    Sometimes the sound is different - alt mixes or edits - on those two versions although the art is roughly the same.

    ThatÂ’s the reason why IÂ’ve collected all Motown CDs with both MOTD and 374635 versions.

    To this day I miss only about 5 of them, including Michael JacksonÂ’s GOT TO BE THERE [[MOTD), Temptations LIVE AT THE COPA [[374635) and Marvin & TammiÂ’s SUPERSTAR SERIES Vol.2.
    🤩
    ...so I canÂ’t comment on them As far as design or sound differences.

    JB

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    If you find a seller with the Four Tops NOW cd and want to know which cd he has, there’s a very simple way to know if it is the MOTD or the 374635 edition.

    The name of the songs appear on the front cover below FOUR TOPS NOW on the MOTD cd.
    They don’t on the 374635 [[see post above)

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    Name:  C5245870-0C7D-41F6-9ECE-8393BD19069B.jpg
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    Name:  FB1FB22D-72BD-4E37-9E79-583451602294.jpg
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    Wow! I can send pictures from my iPhone easily.
    I thought I would never be able to do that!
    Well I’ll probably do it again now that I’ve found out how to do.

    Above are both versions of the cd.
    One with songs listed on the front cover, the other hasn’t

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by jbpintus View Post
    I have both NOW CDs. And thereÂ’s no different mixes on each cd as far as I know.

    MOTD and 374635 CDs have most of the time slight differences in the artwork used - And sometimes huge ones, think of the different colors on the Supremes TOUCH cd. Just to mention one...

    Sometimes the sound is different - alt mixes or edits - on those two versions although the art is roughly the same.

    ThatÂ’s the reason why IÂ’ve collected all Motown CDs with both MOTD and 374635 versions.

    To this day I miss only about 5 of them, including Michael JacksonÂ’s GOT TO BE THERE [[MOTD), Temptations LIVE AT THE COPA [[374635) and Marvin & TammiÂ’s SUPERSTAR SERIES Vol.2.
    ��
    ...so I canÂ’t comment on them As far as design or sound differences.

    JB
    That's some collection. The 5000 series didn't all have a CD issue I think but there were almost 400 numbers allocated X 2 less album onlys and that's ......still a huge number of CDs lol

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    Quote Originally Posted by jbpintus View Post
    Wow! I can send pictures from my iPhone easily.
    I thought I would never be able to do that!
    Well I’ll probably do it again now that I’ve found out how to do.

    Above are both versions of the cd.
    One with songs listed on the front cover, the other hasn’t
    Incredible collection. Cam you do a shot of the covers?

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    That’s a very old project I have.
    To scan all the cover arts of the CDs.
    And to do a comment on each cd. Or at least on each cd that contains something unique - quality wise or something unavailable elsewhere.
    So we would know for each Motown song, where to find the best version on cd, and where to find it at all.

    20 years ago, I missed too many CDs to put together a cohesive listing.
    Today time is missing.

    But I guess I have to do it now. Else it’ll never see the light.

    Which covers do you want me to post? All of them?

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    How about starting with the ones missing from my set of scans [[admittedly there are many) which can be seen here... https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57691289392540

    There is also a list of all the 5000 series there [[with a couple apparently not released [[?)).

    Would be good to be able to pinpoint which numbers were vinyl album only [[e.g. Brenda Holloway "Every Little Bit Hurts") and also where there are differences between the CD MOTD and 37463 versions.

    Feel free to use any of my scans for your own collections. Please note I've given them all an MOTD5xxx number for the purpose of sequencing but where they're actually the 37463 version I've tried to show this number as well in the titles.

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    Ok ok…
    We have 2 different projects in fact, and I think they both can be done at the same time.

    Project #1. Scans of the 5000 series cd : I'm opening a thread where I'm gonna put the scans [[front and back insert) for all the MOTD / 374635 cds sorted by artist names [[it's easier for me as that's how I've stored my cds) so we'll have Jerry BUTLER and then COMMODORES, CONTOURS, Bill COSBY, CRUSADERS, DARIN, DAZZ BAND, DeBARGE…
    I'll scan a bunch of artists as soon as possible and will keep on uploading till we'll get to Mary WELLS, Kim WESTON, Stevie WONDER and finally to the various artists section.
    I'll need those scans eventually for the second project…
    Mysterysinger, thank you for your offer to use your scans. Feel free to do the same with mine.




    2. The Motown CD Guide : once again I'll do it artist by artist, as it's the most intuitive thing I think. Also it'll be organized around albums or cd collections. That's ironically the best way not to forget any mix, single, outtake, unreleased track… that might have been released somewhere, someday.

    Also, I'll give each version / mix of each performance a unique matrix that will be very helpful in order to differentiate, say, each version / edit of "[[Love Is Like A) Heat Wave".

    I collect Motown cds as much as I collect everything Beatles. And someone named Doug Sulpy has set up a fabulous thing that allow to identify each and every bit of Beatles music - released or available to collectors only. Doug knows I have the project to organize everything Motown thet same way as he did with the Beatles.

    Project #2 has text included and would be better if put online. But I just don't know how to store pdf files on the web.

    I'm uploading [[poor quality) pictures of the 3 pages related to Severin Browne [[why Severin Browne ? Because with only 2 cds, it was the easiest way for me to start, but I plan to do it with every Motown artist that saw at least one track released on cd or as an official download)

    Comments are welcome, I will make mistakes and I hope you all will help me correct them

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    pdf files can be stored on Flickr but I don't think that's necessarily the best platform for something like this even though you can organise photos into albums and also into collections.

    Just a word, though, don't forget Discogs may already have the info and so may 45 worlds - perhaps others. Example - The Supremes "We Remember Sam Cooke". I also contribute to these sites for a wider body of knowledge [[that should endurelong after I'm gone lol)..

    discogs - https://www.discogs.com/The-Supremes...elease/4725781

    45 worlds - https://www.45worlds.com/cdalbum/cd/motd5495

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    The Discogs Severin Browne entry.....https://www.discogs.com/artist/650466-Severin-Browne

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    There are many holes on discogs or 45 worlds.
    I guess Motown deserves it's own database. There are so many things to collect Motown Wise...

    Some of the things generally not available on any site are things like :

    *Where can I find the longest version of the COMMODORES's "Just To Be Close To You" ? [on the old 2fer HOT ON THE TRACKS / IN THE POCKET where it clocks in at 6:58 - more than 30 seconds longer than on any other release]

    *What colour is the back cover of MARVIN GAYE's "What's Going On" european cd [[WD72611)? [green or yellow, it has been released both colours]

    *Was there a late 80's 2fer released with two different artworks and where ?
    [THE TEMPTATIONS Live At The Copa / With A Lot O' Soul in Europe]

    *The MARVELETTES's Anthology is listed as having been released on cd and cassette in the booklet of the 3746532662 PLEASE MR. POSTMAN cd. Has the cd really been released ?
    [Yes, sort of… but in France in 1995 with an alternate cover art]

    *Do we really need to have SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES old Motown Legends cd ?
    [Of course yes!]

    *I have edited versions of most of the songs from THE TEMPTATIONS' "Masterpiece" cd
    I want the complete unedited ones. What cd[[s) should I hunt for and which ones must I avoid ?

    *Which is the only cd that has the count-in to MARVIN's "Ain't That Peculiar" ?

    The list is endless...

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    Re: SEVERIN BROWNE on discogs :

    Only 2 albums on cd and both have been released twice.
    Therefore there has been a release of a cd on Severin Browne 4 times.
    Discogs only list 3 of them, and there's no comparison between each version, nor does discogs tells us if we have to hunt for single mix or an alternate.

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    Yes your database will contain more pertinant info for the Motown collector so I am all in favour [[just didn't want you to take too much on).

    Discogs would never hold the type of detail that you want to achieve I would think however where there are gaps in their release info it's quite easy for folks to add and update entries on there.

    I do think your project is an exciting one and will follow with great interest.

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    it's interesting that the Tops really were not able to bounce back from the HDH departure. I love I'm In A Different World [[from Yesterday's Dreams) and wish it had been a hit. Some of the reasons why it flopped could be 1) there's no intro whatsoever so dj's couldn't really lead into it at all and 2) maybe just not interesting enough after the radically exciting and unique Reach Out, Shadows and Bernadette. Probably mostly the later

    so the Tops were definitely searching for a new approach in 68 and 69. They tried a few things and so you got YD and Now albums. Then Soul Spin. All three had less than exciting album covers. The Tops were still in tuxes and so that certainly wasn't very "in."

    There are a ton of covers and SOOOOOOO many different styles. maybe Now was just a bit too all over the place.

    I also love Don't Let Him Take Your Love. now that could have been a fun new sound for them. The Temps were off into psychedelic soul. So you needed something different for the Tops. a funky groove sound could have been fun

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    also another problem could be that 69 was the year Motown was preparing for Diana's departure. Artists and groups that pretty quickly and easily found a sound and popular approach [[Temps, Marvin, Marvin/Tammi, Stevie) did well. but maybe the company's resources were just so devoted to launching Diana that they weren't able to really sit down and help existing act evolve. Like MRATV, Spinners, Four Tops, David Ruffin, Marvelettes.

    and the J5 was getting going too so that took focus away from the other acts

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    it's interesting that the Tops really were not able to bounce back from the HDH departure. I love I'm In A Different World [[from Yesterday's Dreams) and wish it had been a hit. Some of the reasons why it flopped could be 1) there's no intro whatsoever so dj's couldn't really lead into it at all and 2) maybe just not interesting enough after the radically exciting and unique Reach Out, Shadows and Bernadette. Probably mostly the later

    so the Tops were definitely searching for a new approach in 68 and 69. They tried a few things and so you got YD and Now albums. Then Soul Spin. All three had less than exciting album covers. The Tops were still in tuxes and so that certainly wasn't very "in."

    There are a ton of covers and SOOOOOOO many different styles. maybe Now was just a bit too all over the place.

    I also love Don't Let Him Take Your Love. now that could have been a fun new sound for them. The Temps were off into psychedelic soul. So you needed something different for the Tops. a funky groove sound could have been fun
    I don't think it was just the Four Tops who suffered after the departure of HDH, but also Martha & The Vandellas were impacted. While the acts that HDH were primarily producing suffered on the chart, the acts that Norman Whitfield produced seem to rise in the ranks: The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, GK & The Pips. 1968/69 was a transition year for Motown after the departure of HDH, the most successful writing and producing team, not surprising really.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SatansBlues View Post
    I don't think it was just the Four Tops who suffered after the departure of HDH, but also Martha & The Vandellas were impacted. While the acts that HDH were primarily producing suffered on the chart, the acts that Norman Whitfield produced seem to rise in the ranks: The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, GK & The Pips. 1968/69 was a transition year for Motown after the departure of HDH, the most successful writing and producing team, not surprising really.
    i've wondered if the slump MRATV were experiencing was a combination of problems - 1) HDH's departure 2) motown's focus on the supremes and 3) martha's increasing dependency on drugs.

    just my speculation though, especially on that last one

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i've wondered if the slump MRATV were experiencing was a combination of problems - 1) HDH's departure 2) motown's focus on the supremes and 3) martha's increasing dependency on drugs.

    just my speculation though, especially on that last one
    Interesting question. My initial response would be yes to all the above, plus having a child out of wedlock probably didn't do the group any favors either with the company. But off hand does anyone know what the last song M&TV recorded with HDH or the last record HDH produced on the group?

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    HDH did three or so tracks on Watchout - Jimmy Mack, I'm Ready for Love and One Way Out. The rest of the lp was other producers and the album was released in Nov 66. So when HDH left Motown, MRATV really weren't doing a ton of work with them. They'd already shifted to Richard Morris and Sylvia Moy

    On Ridin' High, there's 1 or so HDH track. and on the L&F there are a couple tracks from late 66 and early 67.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    it's interesting that the Tops really were not able to bounce back from the HDH departure. I love I'm In A Different World [[from Yesterday's Dreams) and wish it had been a hit. Some of the reasons why it flopped could be 1) there's no intro whatsoever so dj's couldn't really lead into it at all and 2) maybe just not interesting enough after the radically exciting and unique Reach Out, Shadows and Bernadette. Probably mostly the later

    so the Tops were definitely searching for a new approach in 68 and 69. They tried a few things and so you got YD and Now albums. Then Soul Spin. All three had less than exciting album covers. The Tops were still in tuxes and so that certainly wasn't very "in."

    There are a ton of covers and SOOOOOOO many different styles. maybe Now was just a bit too all over the place.

    I also love Don't Let Him Take Your Love. now that could have been a fun new sound for them. The Temps were off into psychedelic soul. So you needed something different for the Tops. a funky groove sound could have been fun
    They had the funky should have been released SAME-O SAME-O, NO TIME, YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN, I'M SO AFRAID OF LOSING YOU etc. Motown did nothing the the original. Too much priority on crossover material.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    HDH did three or so tracks on Watchout - Jimmy Mack, I'm Ready for Love and One Way Out. The rest of the lp was other producers and the album was released in Nov 66. So when HDH left Motown, MRATV really weren't doing a ton of work with them. They'd already shifted to Richard Morris and Sylvia Moy

    On Ridin' High, there's 1 or so HDH track. and on the L&F there are a couple tracks from late 66 and early 67.
    There are also a couple of HDH tracks on SUGAR AND SPICE.

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    jbpintus: For the complete Un-edited version of Masterpiece you need the Elemental release on cd or lp

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  42. #42
    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    it's interesting that the Tops really were not able to bounce back from the HDH departure. I love I'm In A Different World [[from Yesterday's Dreams) and wish it had been a hit. Some of the reasons why it flopped could be 1) there's no intro whatsoever so dj's couldn't really lead into it at all and 2) maybe just not interesting enough after the radically exciting and unique Reach Out, Shadows and Bernadette. Probably mostly the later

    so the Tops were definitely searching for a new approach in 68 and 69. They tried a few things and so you got YD and Now albums. Then Soul Spin. All three had less than exciting album covers. The Tops were still in tuxes and so that certainly wasn't very "in."

    There are a ton of covers and SOOOOOOO many different styles. maybe Now was just a bit too all over the place.

    I also love Don't Let Him Take Your Love. now that could have been a fun new sound for them. The Temps were off into psychedelic soul. So you needed something different for the Tops. a funky groove sound could have been fun
    I've never bought that argument about the departure of HDH causing the downfall of the Tops, Sups and Marrha & The Vandellas. At least not 100%. The HDH material was delivering diminishing returns before the trio left Motown. Reach Out/Shadows of Love/ Bernadette were so good, how would you top that? After Reflections, the other HDH singles were good but that Motown spark was gone. Marrha & Co. had other producers well before HDH split.

    So that argument about HDH's departure hurting these groups is just a too-easy excuse that shows no real depth of the comprehensive issues already at play at Motown. Maybe HDH would have gotten a second wind had they stayed but based on the stuff they were doing after '67, it's anybody's guess.

    Franlky, I think Dean/Weatherspoon could have done some good things with the Tops. Then again maybe not. Who knows...

  43. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by Soulmusic4life View Post
    They had the funky should have been released SAME-O SAME-O, NO TIME, YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN, I'M SO AFRAID OF LOSING YOU etc. Motown did nothing the the original. Too much priority on crossover material.
    I agree. There were a lot of good originals that could have made for enjoyable albums. But the Tops, I believe, had remarked that those covers did expand their fan base, so the irony is that while it did wonders for the group marketing-wise, it didn't do mu much for lovers of Classic Motown albums.

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    No you're absolutely right. JAMES DEAN/ WILLIAM WEATHERSPOON are the definition of soul. CAN'T STOP THIS FEELING was phenomenal but unreleased. Motown really messed things up.

  45. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by Soulmusic4life View Post
    No you're absolutely right. JAMES DEAN/ WILLIAM WEATHERSPOON are the definition of soul. CAN'T STOP THIS FEELING was phenomenal but unreleased. Motown really messed things up.
    When Dean/Weatherspoon were on point, they came up with some fantastic things. "Keep On Trying Til You Find Love", "Take Him Back If He Makes You Happy", "Which Way To My Baby" sound like they would have fit Levi's voice to a tee. Dean/Weatherspoon also had a style that was very distinct; they made sure you were gonna have the song's title driven into your skull by sheer repetition of those sing-along choruses. Unfortunately, the team didn't seem to rank very high at Motown.

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    Quote Originally Posted by WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance View Post
    When Dean/Weatherspoon were on point, they came up with some fantastic things. "Keep On Trying Til You Find Love", "Take Him Back If He Makes You Happy", "Which Way To My Baby" sound like they would have fit Levi's voice to a tee. Dean/Weatherspoon also had a style that was very distinct; they made sure you were gonna have the song's title driven into your skull by sheer repetition of those sing-along choruses. Unfortunately, the team didn't seem to rank very high at Motown.
    Absolutely right. Love LOVE GIVES, LOVE TAKES AWAY on Jimmy Ruffin. I call that song MAJESTIC SOUL. They have a soaring sound those strings. That was JAMES & WILLIAM'S signature sound

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    Quote Originally Posted by WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance View Post
    I've never bought that argument about the departure of HDH causing the downfall of the Tops, Sups and Marrha & The Vandellas. At least not 100%. The HDH material was delivering diminishing returns before the trio left Motown. Reach Out/Shadows of Love/ Bernadette were so good, how would you top that? After Reflections, the other HDH singles were good but that Motown spark was gone. Marrha & Co. had other producers well before HDH split.

    So that argument about HDH's departure hurting these groups is just a too-easy excuse that shows no real depth of the comprehensive issues already at play at Motown. Maybe HDH would have gotten a second wind had they stayed but based on the stuff they were doing after '67, it's anybody's guess.

    Franlky, I think Dean/Weatherspoon could have done some good things with the Tops. Then again maybe not. Who knows...
    So was it due to HDH and their mojo leaving at roughly the same time?

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    Quote Originally Posted by jack020 View Post
    jbpintus: For the complete Un-edited version of Masterpiece you need the Elemental release on cd or lp

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    Thanks for your input. Now I wouldn’t recommend the Elemental release which is sourced from vinyl. There are few cracks heard here and there, noticeably during the intro of “Law Of the Land” and there’s a huge glitch if I remember well during “Hurry Tomorrow”
    The sticker falsely says it is the first unedited version of the album on cd.

    While both the 1986 2fer A SONG FOR YOU / MASTERPIECE and it’s UK repackage in 2000 contain the edited album, the full album was available on Motown 3746351442 as well as on MOTD-5144 and the European Tamla Motown WD72076 cds.
    Beware of the later European PolyGram cd 530 100-2 which is the edited one.
    Now the best sounding version of the whole album is the remastered 2014 iTunes download.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sotosound View Post
    So was it due to HDH and their mojo leaving at roughly the same time?
    I think it was a part of their work slowdown. It seems like HDH had started to slow down in terms of writing new songs by 66/67.

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