The Ultimate Collection (Four Tops album)

The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by The Four Tops, released on Motown Records, catalogue 314530825-2, in October 1997. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by Stu Hackel.

The Ultimate Collection
Compilation album by
The Four Tops
ReleasedOctober 7, 1997
Recorded1964-1972
GenrePop, soul
Length72:32
LabelMotown Records
ProducerHarry Weinger
The Four Tops chronology
Christmas Here With You
(1995)		 The Ultimate Collection
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Content

The disc contains all but three of the Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 enjoyed by the Four Tops and released on the Motown Records imprint. Four of the tracks included were b-sides — "I Got A Feeling," "If You Don't Want My Love," "I'll Turn to Stone," and "Sad Souvenirs" — "I Got A Feeling" being the flip to "Bernadette," and "Sad Souvenirs" the flip to "I Can't Help Myself." "A Simple Game" was recorded in collaboration with The Moody Blues, and hit #3 on the UK Singles Chart. Every iconic song by the group is present, and five of the tracks were in the top ten on the chart, with "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" both going to #1. The disc was part of an "Ultimate Collection" series issued that year by Motown for many of their top-selling classic artists.

Starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, standard industry practice shifted to a focus on album sales, where a single became less a separate entity and more simply an advertisement for an LP, and a lead single would be pulled off an album as a promotional tool. Prior to this, singles were concentrated upon as a profitable commodity, especially for smaller record labels, and albums were often built around already successful singles. Since Motown fixated on the hit single until the very end of its stay in Detroit, single versions of songs often featured different mixes than versions that would be later placed on albums. Singles were usually mixed "punchier" and "hotter" to sound better on car radios receiving AM broadcast.[2] The single versions are the ones appearing here.

Personnel

Track listing

Singles chart peak positions from Billboard charts; no R&B chart existed from November 30, 1963, through January 23, 1965. Track with The Moody Blues marked with an asterisk.

TrackCatalogueRelease DatePop ChartR&B ChartSong TitleWriter(s)Time
1.Motown 10988/18/66#1#1"Reach Out I'll Be There"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:59
2.Motown 110211/28/66#6#2"Standing in the Shadows of Love"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:36
3.Motown 11042/16/67#4#3"Bernadette"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.3:00
4.Motown 10731/5/65#24#9"Ask the Lonely"William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter2:45
5.Motown 10627/10/64#11"Baby I Need Your Loving"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:44
6.Motown 106911/64#43"Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:53
7.Motown 10817/9/65#5#2"It's the Same Old Song"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:45
8.Motown 10965/9/66#45#12"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever"Stevie Wonder and Ivy Jo Hunter2:45
9.Motown 10764/23/65#1#1"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:43
10.Motown 108410/21/65#19#9"Something About You"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:48
11.Motown 1104b2/16/67"I Got a Feeling"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:59
12.Motown 113210/68#51#23"I'm in a Different World"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.3:05
13.Motown 11191/18/68#14#15"Walk Away Renée"Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansome2:43
14.Motown 11474/10/69#53"What Is a Man"Johnny Bristol and Doris McNeil2:33
15.Motown 11961/4/72#90#34"A Simple Game" *Mike Pinder2:56
16.Motown 11708/70#11#4"Still Water (Love)"Frank Wilson and Smokey Robinson3:11
17.Motown 12108/72#53#8"(It's the Way) Nature Planned It"Pam Sawyer and Frank Wilson3:18
18.Motown 11644/70#24#6"It's All in the Game"Charles G. Dawes and Carl Sigman2:50
19.Motown 11139/67#19#7"You Keep Running Away"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:48
20.Motown 1113b9/67"If You Don't Want My Love"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.3:27
21.Motown 11105/4/67#14#10"7-Rooms of Gloom"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:53
22.Motown 1110b5/4/67"I'll Turn to Stone"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr., R. Dean Taylor2:33
23.Motown 10902/2/66#18#5"Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr.2:41
24.Motown 1076b4/23/65"Sad Souvenirs"William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter2:39
25.Motown 11276/27/68#49#31"Yesterday's Dreams"Pamela Sawyer, Vernon Bullock, Jack Goga, Ivy Jo Hunter2:56
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References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. George, Nelson. Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. ISBN 0-312-86698-4, pp. 113-114.


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