''Reach Out'' is the fifth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

, issued on

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

in July 1967. 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 "Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the American vocal quartet Four Tops from their fourth studio album, '' Reach Out'' (1967). Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holl ...

", " Standing in the Shadows of Love", "

Bernadette Bernadette is a French language, French name, a female form of the name Bernard, which means "brave bear". Notable persons with the name include: People * Bernadette (singer) (born 1959), Dutch singer * Bernadette Allen (born 1956), American for ...

" and " 7-Rooms of Gloom". The album was the group's last with the songwriting team of

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the ...

and also features covers of contemporary pop hits selected by

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

, among them

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...

's " If I Were a Carpenter",

the Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the Music journalism, music press refer ...

's "

Walk Away Renée "Walk Away Renée" is a song written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone for the band the Left Banke, released as a single in July 1966. Steve Martin Caro is featured on lead vocals. It spent 13 weeks on the US charts, with a top s ...

" and two songs originally recorded by

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

. The album reached number 11 on ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart and peaked at number 4 in the United Kingdom, where it was released in November after delays. In 2020, ''Reach Out'' was ranked number 429 in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

Critical reception

Upon release, ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' praised the album's "four fine 'A' sides and their versions of some of the best non-R&B tunes around" while Penny Valentine of ''

Disc and Music Echo ''Disc'' was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into ''Record Mirror''. It was also known for periods as ''Disc Weekly '' (1964–1966) and ''Disc and Music Echo '' (1966–1972). ...

'' described "Walk Away Renée" as the album's "only outstanding track". Among retrospective reviews,

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

'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".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'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". 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".

Track listing

All tracks produced by

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hi ...

and

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit. He co-wrote and produced 14 US '' Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Dozier was a ...

, except for "Wonderful Baby", produced by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

; and "What Else is There to Do (But Think About You)", produced by

Clarence Paul Clarence Otto Pauling (March 19, 1928 – May 6, 1995) better known and published as Clarence Paul, was an American songwriter and record producer who was best known for his career with Detroit's Motown Records. Early life and career Born i ...

. Side One #"

" (

) #"

" ( Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone) #" 7-Rooms of Gloom" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) #" If I Were a Carpenter" (

) #"

Last Train to Clarksville "Last Train to Clarksville" is a song by American rock band the Monkees. It was released as the band's debut single on August 16, 1966, and was later included on the group's self-titled album, which was released on October 10, 1966.''The Monkees ...

" ( Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) #" I'll Turn to Stone" (Holland–Dozier–Holland, R. Dean Taylor) Side Two #"

I'm a Believer "I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the American band the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart ...

" (

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

) #" Standing in the Shadows of Love" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) #"

" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) #" Cherish" (

Terry Kirkman Terry Robert Kirkman (December 12, 1939 – September 23, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter best known as a vocalist for the pop group The Association and the writer of several of the band's hit songs such as " Cherish", " Everything T ...

) #"Wonderful Baby" (

) #"What Else Is There to Do (But Think About You)" (

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Morris Broadnax Morris Ervin Broadnax (February 9, 1931 – February 17, 2009), sometimes credited as Luvel Broadnax (the name of his second wife), was an American songwriter for Motown in the 1960s, most notably working with Stevie Wonder with whom, along w ...

)

Personnel

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, widely known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, that released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He ...

– lead baritone vocals *

Abdul "Duke" Fakir Abdul Kareem "Duke" Fakir (December 26, 1935 – July 22, 2024) was an American singer. He co-founded the Motown quartet the Four Tops and performed in an ensemble under that name from 1953 until shortly before his death. He was the group's las ...

– first tenor backing vocals *

Renaldo "Obie" Benson Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perfo ...

– bass-baritone backing vocals *

Lawrence Payton Lawrence Albert Payton Sr. (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. Career Payton and Obie Benson both attended a Northern ...

– second tenor backing vocals *

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by M ...

– additional backing vocals (except on "What Else is There to Do (But Think About You)") *

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

– instrumentation *James Meese – cover artwork

References

{{Authority control 1967 albums Four Tops albums Albums produced by Smokey Robinson Albums produced by Clarence Paul Albums produced by Brian Holland Albums produced by Lamont Dozier Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. Motown albums