British sixteen track version of the US 1967 twelve track Greatest Hits (Motown MT/MS 662). Motown has been a faithful companion to me ever since the sixties and one of the first label acts I heard and fell in love with was Four Tops. Recordings like "Reach Out I'll Be There", "I Can't Help Myself", "It's The Same Old Song" and "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", so bursting with melody, energy and feeling, became an important part of the growing boy's life and in a way still is for the older man decades later. So even if I have all those songs before on various other issues I couldn't resist getting them again, this time in stereo, wrapped with a couple of rear sleeve band pics new to me. I did plan to do a song-by-song stereo overview, but after just four cuts my ears started to wilt and I had to stop. "Reach Out, I'll Be There" has about 99% of the music loud in one speaker and only occational, hardly audible sounds in the other. "Where Did You Go" is mono, maybe slightly enhanced. "I Can't Help Myself" also very unbalanced, but at least possible to endure. "7 Rooms Of Gloom" suffers from so much treble it hurts...and on it goes. However good the songs and performance it's almost impossible for me to enjoy. I guess mono is it for this. Will continue my search for one of those...and when I find it you'll be the first to know. Same matrixes also issued in Holland early seventies as "The Best Of The Four Tops" with alternate sleeve design. Premiere UK had label as shown here and laminated flip/back cover with EMI/Motown ad inner. (TÖMÖ*) (FÖRH*)
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