This Motown group formed in the late 1950s. This is the only group I know of to have lasted 40 years without a single personnel change! The group had the same four members--Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Lawrence Payton, and lead singer Levi Stubbs--until Lawrence's death of liver cancer in 1997. They started having hits in 1964; the 19 songs listed here span from then until 1972. Later hits include "Ain't No Woman Like The One I've Got." In 1976 they were the pallbearers at the funeral of former Supreme Florence Ballard, who had died of a heart attack. In the late 1980s Levi provided the voice for the man-eating plant in the movie Little Shop of Horrors. After Lawrence's death, Theo Peoples became the fourth Top. Obie died in July 2005.
Baby I Need Your Loving (2:45) - The narrator has felt lonely and lost sleep due to his girlfriend being gone; he begs her to come back and give him all her loving. The tempo is moderate. The opening instrumental contains "ooohs" and, in each fourth beat, snapping of fingers. Later this song would also be a hit for Johnny Rivers.
Ask The Lonely (2:40) - The tempo is slow. Levi does a good job of sounding as lonely as his character. At the 2:24 mark, he sings, "Ask me," to show that "the lonely" means the narrator. However, the other three Tops do NOT sing behind Levi here; the Andantes do.
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (2:41) - The tempo is somewhat fast, with a tambourine playing on every second and fourth beat. The narrator can't help but love the girl to whom he is singing, and no one else.
It's The Same Old Song (2:46) - This song is a near-twin to the previous one because it has the same tempo and tambourine pattern. However, the melodies are different. Also, I don't find a sad mood in the previous song, whereas this one does have a somber mood. The song to which the narrator and his girlfriend used to listen has made him sad now that she has left him. In this song, a horn also sounds on each second and fourth beat.
Something About You (2:42) - Something about the girl makes the narrator love her a little more each day, but most of the other lyrics are hard to make out because the instruments overpower Levi's voice. The tempo is somewhere between moderate and fast. The guitar pattern heard throughout the song is easier heard than written about, but it's what I like about the song. What I don't find so pleasant is the saxophone from 1:36 to 1:47.
Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over) (2;39) - On a sleepless night, the narrator hears his neighbors whispering that his girlfriend doesn't love him anymore. He tells "somebody" to shake him and wake him, when what is over? When the talk dies down, or when the girl comes back to him? Again, the tempo is in moderate-fast range. The second and fourth beats of each measure stand out due both to drums and tambourine. The drums don't beat as heavily during the first and second verses as in the rest of the song; during those verses the piano is audible.
Reach Out, I'll Be There (2:59) - In this moderate-tempoed song, the tambourine plays all beats, except during the first 15 seconds. The narrator asks the girl to reach out for him whenever life becomes too much for her to handle. Michael Bolton covered this song in the early 1990s.
Standing In The Shadows Of Love (2:35) - This time the tambourine plays every beat of the entire song. Both the melody and the backing vocals sound similar to those in the previous song. But it's all right since both songs were written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. I read in the autobiography of former Supreme Mary Wilson that this song started as a Supremes song, "Standing at the Crossroads of Love." That version was released but was never a hit.
Bernadette (3:02) - Most of the time the instruments and backing overpower Levi's voice, but I can tell that the narrator is begging Bernadette not to leave him for some other man. I can also tell in one verse that he asks her how other men can control her when they can't control themselves. I don't know why, but this is the song I like best by the Tops.
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever (2:48) - The tempo is in the slow-moderate range and the tambourine plays every even-numbered beat. As the title implies, the narrator loves his girlfriend more than ever, but you have to listen closely to the lyrics to discern them.
Walk Away Renee (2:44) - The version of this song most frequently heard on the radio is the one previously released by a group called the Left Banke. The tempo here is the same as in the earlier version: moderate. The horns and piano sound nice.
You Keep Running Away (2:49) - The narrator used to be proud and strong before the girl came into his life. But since she's "here today and gone tomorrow, leaving this heart of [his] in sorrow," his pride has been destroyed. He begs her not to go, but she leaves anyway, running back and forth.
If I Were A Carpenter (2:50) - The narrator asks his girlfriend if she would still marry and have children by him if he were poor and she were rich. Johnny and June Carter Cash sang a version of this song, but I'm not sure whether they sang it before or after the Tops.
Yesterday's Dreams (2:56) - This song has a slow, swing, 3/4 tempo. Yesterday's dreams have turned into today's sorrow; a love that seemed true yesterday is gone today. I like how the bells ring in this song.
It's All In The Game (2:45) - Before the Tops recorded this song, it had been the only hit for Tommy Edwards.
Still Water (Love) (3:08) - In the beginning, Levi's voice echoes as he speaks, "Walk with me. Take my hand." The song has one verse and a chorus, but most of the song is just instruments and backing vocals. In the chorus, the narrator states how deep still water is.
Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) (3:06) - Whenever the narrator feels lonely, all he has to do is dial his girlfriend's telephone number to summon her to him. From 2:32 to 2:37, this slow song even features the sound effect of someone dialing a phone.
MacArthur Park (6:32) - The tempo here is quite slow. The lyrics that sound clearest to me are: "I don't think I can take it / 'Cause it took so long to make it / And I may never have the recipe again." In those lyrics the narrator refers to a cake. Richard Harris had a hit with this song before the Tops.
(It's The Way) Nature Planned It (3:45) - In this slow song, a washboard assists the drums in sounding out the rhythm. The narrator tells the girl not to fight any feelings of love she may have for him. He asks questions such as why the flower grows, why the river flows, and why he feels the way he does about her. Then he answers them all by saying, "It's the way nature planned it." This reminds me of lyrics in "The Game Of Love" by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders.
Thanks to MeanManIam@aol.com for submitting lyrics to What Is A Man and to MagnaCW@aol.com for A Different World.