The Four Tops: Still Waters Run Deep - 1970


By the seventies, The Four Tops, like most Motown groups/artists, were coming to terms with the fact that the halcyon days of stomping chart busting tambourine-driven hit singles were behind them. Motown was changing and what we were seeing now was issue-based psychedelic soul, led by The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and The Undisputed Truth alongside lush balladry from Diana Ross and Gladys Knight as well as Stevie Wonder's inventive, unique compositions. 


The Tops did their best to tap in to contemporary trends as well, and the next five albums were greatly underrated, often ignored, but all contained socially aware material as well as a grittier, funkier sound, featuring lots of fuzzy guitar sounds and fatback drums. One constant, of course, was the wonderful Levi Stubbs' superb lead vocals. This is probably the best of al those albums. It has a great sound quality to it as well. 


The highlights on here are the two Still Water songs (both of which are effortlessly glorious and laid-back) - Still Water (Love) and the continuation Still Water (Peace) - as well as the wonderful hit single It's All In The Game along with L.A. (My Town) and Love (Is The Answer). 

The two Still Water songs featured on each side of a 45 rpm single. Both are fine ones. Both of them are effortlessly glorious and laid-back, the former being the slightly more warm and tastefully catchy, hence its 'a' side status. I just love that lovely, floaty groove that Still Water (Love) rides on. Still Water (Peace) is essentially a slowed-down version of the 'a' side, with some spoken vocals added. As usual, The Four Tops' quality was all over these two tracks. I love the sound on both.

The evocative slow burning, soulful and melodic It's All In The Game has always been a favourite of mine. Proper early seventies melodic Motown soul. Ballads like this were tailor-made for The Four Tops. The guys get funky on Bring Me Together and they cover The Supremes' Reflections in even more psychedelic style than the original. This was a sign of those psychedelic soul changing times, wasn't it?

There are also covers of Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin' and Bob Lind's Elusive Butterfly (also done with psychedelic vibes). It doesn't really matter what songs The Tops cover, popular or little-known, they invariably do them justice. I Wish I Were Your Mirror is an impressive very Temptations-esque Pam Sawyer/Frank Wilson song. 

Notably, they sing the appealing L.A. (My Town) in praise of Los Angeles, which was to where Motown had now relocated. What happened to Detroit huh, guys? The Motown times sure were a-changing, weren't they? A life in the sun for them now...

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