''Soul Spin'' is a 1969 studio album by American
soul music vocal group Four Tops
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.
Founded as the ...
, released by
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
.
Reception
A review in ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' recommends this album to retailers for its "sophisticated sound".
Editors at
AllMusic Guide scored this release 2.5 out of five stars, with critic John Bush noting how producer
Frank Wilson pushed the band to experiment on this recording, but characterizing this album as "curiosities, though, perfect for hardcore Motown fans listeners interested in digging deeper".
Bush also reviewed a 2001 compilation of this album and ''
Yesterday's Dreams'' from 2001, calling the collection dominated by "ill-advised covers" that "hardly made for great listening anytime after" its initial release.
The 1992 edition of ''The'' Rolling Stone ''Album Guide'' rated this release three out of five stars.
Track listing
#"Look Out Your Window" (Cleveland Horne and
Frank Wilson) – 2:57
#"Barbara’s Boy" (
Joe Hinton and
Pam Sawyer) – 2:55
#"Lost in a Pool of Red" (Sawyer and Bea Verdi) – 3:35
#"
Got to Get You into My Life
"Got to Get You into My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, first released in 1966 on their album ''Revolver''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is a homage to the Motown Sound, wit ...
" (
John Lennon and
Paul McCartney) – 2:37
#"Stop the World" (Jack Goga,
Freddie Gorman, and
Ivory Joe Hunter) – 2:59
#"Nothing" (Cleveland and
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...
) – 2:40
#"This Guy’s in Love with You" (
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...
and
Hal David) – 3:50
#"
Light My Fire" (
John Densmore,
Robby Krieger,
Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965.
Manzarek was induct ...
, and
Jim Morrison) – 3:35
#"Honey" (Russell Ballard) – 3:50
#"
The Look of Love" (Bacharach and David) – 4:10
#"
California Dreamin’" (
John Phillips and
Michelle Phillips) – 3:10
Personnel
Four Tops
*
Renaldo 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 perf ...
– baritone vocals
*
Abdul Fakir
Abdul Kareem Fakir (born December 26, 1935), professionally known as Duke Fakir, is an American singer. He is a founding member of the Motown quartet the Four Tops, from 1953 to the present day. A first tenor, Fakir is the group's lone surviving ...
– tenor vocals
*
Lawrence Payton
Lawrence Albert Payton (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. In 1997, at 59 years old, Payton died of liver cancer.
Bio ...
– tenor vocals
*
Levi Stubbs – lead and baritone vocals
Additional personnel
*Tom Baird –
arranement
*
Henry Cosby – arrangement
*Jerry Long – arrangement
*
Wade Marcus – arrangement
*
Gene Page – arrangement
*
Paul Riser – arrangement
*
Frank Wilson –
production
Chart performance
''Soul Spin'' was by far the weakest-performing Four Tops album yet, peaked at 163 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and reached 30 on the R&B charts.
See also
*
List of 1969 albums
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1969 albums
Albums produced by Frank Wilson (musician)
Covers albums
Four Tops albums
Motown albums