HOOKS OF HOLLAND
Three of Brian and Eddie’s very many.
BREAKTHROUGH The Supremes Where Did Our Love Go ★★★★★ MOTOWN, 1964
Eddie’s sole US Top 30 solo hit Jamie and Leaving Here, much covered in the UK, only hinted at the artistic brilliance and commercial deluge to follow. To get the ‘no-hit’ Supremes up and running, Eddie provoked Diana Ross’s sulky lead on the title track. The storming When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes, Run, Run, Run (the flop between them), Number 1s Baby Love and Come See About Me – this second LP was a ‘greatest hits’ in all but name.
CONSOLIDATION The Four Tops Reach Out ★★★★★ MOTOWN, 1967
In the Tops’ canon, both this LP and Second Album function as ‘greatest hits’. The drama of Levi Stubbs’s stunning leads on H-D-H originals Bernadette, Standing In The Shadows Of Love, I’ll Turn To Stone and 7 Rooms Of Gloom is complemented by the finest Funk Brothers performances, while If I Were A Carpenter and Walk Away Renee covers fit the Tops perfectly.
BREAKING AWAY The Chairmen Of The Board The Chairmen Of The Board ★★★★ INVICTUS, 1970
The legal dispute with Motown meant H-D-H had to keep their distance, but not having their name on the product doesn’t mean their signatures aren’t all over Invictus’s releases. Built around General Johnson, a singer Eddie had long admired, the Chairmen’s exuberant vocals and that full, energetic sound lifts Give Me Just A Little More Time, You’ve Got Me Dangling On A String, Patches.