Remembered that I made this ages ago at my old pub too. There’s some reggae and blues and old rock n roll on there too but it’s mainly just soul bangers.
Both clear fives in my view, pretty much as good as pop music gets.
The Four Tops are arguably the best interpreters of the very best Holland/Dozier/Holland songs. Singles like Reach Out, Bernadette, It’s The Same Old Song, I Can’t Help Myself, Baby I Need Your Loving etc are just basically perfect. I mean how can you’d make better pop singles than that? They imbued simple, classic pop songs with a raw, churchy soulfulness that is incredibly moving. Walk Away Renee is an amazing record - unusual for Motown single in being a cover of song by by a white rock band but their version is definitive.
The Temptations are a fraction lower in the pantheon in my view, but in their classic period (with David Ruffin) they had an amazing set of voices and (of course) perfect songs to sing. They deserve a lot of credit for being probably the first Motown groups to successfully embrace currents in late 60s music and society like psychedelia and the Civil Rights movement. Cloud Nine and Ball of Confusion still sound amazing today.
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Maybe you’d prefer this version?
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For some reasons I can only think of describing these songs by referring to the weather. There’s songs here that are the first sunny day of spring and others that are windswept autumn days - but mainly they’re may - August.
Do they do winter? I’ve not explored deeply enough.
A 5 for the four tops, cause of the journey I was taken on after hearing I can’t help myself for the first time, and 4 for the temptations.
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Going through @IvorDewdney’s playlist now - I reckon The Four Tops are a 4/5. Been reminded of some of the songs I knew already (bangers) and enjoying the stuff I don’t know.
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Gonna keep this bumped in the hope of dragging it over the 50 vote mark.
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5, 5
Both there now! Good old weekend crew/alt accounts
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For years, the sample/redub/vocal of John Talabot’s So Will Be Now eluded me. Then I heard Just My Imagination one day and it finally clicked.
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Both easy 5s, but more so for the singles than albums. I love loads of music, including loads of stupidly fast dance music. But I always refer to these, and a lot of the Motown/Stax records as ‘proper music’ half tongue in cheek. By this I means amazing pop music, with fantastic vocals, and superb musicians. The ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ doc The Funk Brothers is excellent.
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Scores!
The 4.12 Tops!
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And a huge 4.32 for The Temptations!
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I signed my mum up so she could vote 
I have a lot of feelings about these two acts but for now I’ll just say they’ve been a huge part of my life 
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I would like this post a hundred times if I could.
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Seems the low turnout wasn’t so bad after all 
Just wanted to say these are both superb, thanks for the tip!
wait, who has left? was there dramz on the social board?
missed this one unfortunately. fives all around. so much work between the two groups and the solo members. id give 5s just for eddie kendrick and david ruffins catalogs alone
i love the temptations in psychedelic mode, take a stroll thru your mind gotta be one of the best songs ever:
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