The Four Tops

Still Waters Run Deep (Mini-Lp Gatefold Replica) (88502)

Still Waters Run Deep (Mini-Lp Gatefold Replica) View larger

Still Waters Run Deep (Mini-Lp Gatefold Replica)

The Four Tops

Motown

8435395500576

ELM 146193

88502

FUNK

1

CD 13,00 €

70'S R&B, SOUL & FUNK COLLECTOR'S REISSUES

GATEFOLD MINI-LP - DIGITALLY REMASTERD - LIMITED EDITION

PERSONNEL:

THE FOUR TOPS:
LEVI STUBBS (lead vocals),
ABDUK "DUKE" FAKIR, RENALDO "OBIE" BENSON (backing vocals)
and LAWRENCE PAYTON (keyboards, backing vocals).

Rhythm by THE FUNK BROTHERS led by EARL VAN DYKE.

Additional background vocals by THE ANDANTES:
LOUVAIN DEMPS, MARLENE BARROW & JACKIE HICKS

TRACKS:

01. STILL WATER (LOVE) 3:02
02. REFLECTIONS 3:25
03. IT’S ALL IN THE GAME 2:44
04. EVERYBODY’S TALKING 2:53
05. LOVE IS THE ANSWER 2:26
06. I WISH I WERE YOUR MIRROR 3:09
07. ELUSIVE BUTTERFLY 3:07
08. BRING ME TOGETHER 2:59
09. L.A. (MY TOWN) 3:09
10. STILL WATER (PEACE) 2:42

Produced by longtime Norman Whitfield associate Frank Wilson, the album returned the Four Tops to the top forty on the album charts where it peaked at number twenty-one, yielding the popular Top 30 hits, “Still Water (Love)” (#11), which was co-written by Smokey Robinson, and their cover of “It’s All in the Game” (#24), which featured rare co-leads by Four Tops members Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, Lawrence Payton and Levi Stubbs.

This 1970 album found The Four Tops embracing the era’s changing musical, political, and cultural landscapes. It saved their careers, and yet it’s an overlooked gem in their catalog. This sensational release features a sexy remake of “It’s All in the Game” and Smokey Robinson’s pretty perfect “Still Water (Love).” The rest of the album is equally and pleasingly eclectic. There’s a beautiful reworking of Bob Lind’s spellbinding “Elusive Butterfly” highlighted by Levi Stubbs’ soulful lead vocal, while a gender-switched rendition of The Supremes’ classic “Reflections” shows how certain songs can never tire. Wah-wah guitars and a country-soul-psych feel enhance “Everybody’s Talkin’,” a version released a year after Harry Nilsson’s hit from the film Midnight Cowboy. The Four Tops’ cover of Sherlie Matthews’ terrific “L.A. (My Town)” predates Motown Records’ move to L.A., which, ironically, left The Four Tops back in Detroit to sign with a new label.