The Four Tops

PERFORMANCE

The Four Tops at the 20 Grand, Nov. 28

Motor City favorite sons the Four Tops graced their old stomping grounds with a special five-day stand at the spacious 20 Grand over the Thanksgiving holidays, bringing out hundreds of old friends and fans alike for a look and a listen at the fastidious foursome at the very top of their current form. Although two of the Tops displayed disconcerting signs of hoarseness and the material left quite a bit to be desired in spots, still and all the occasion was a thoroughly happy one for everyone concerned.

The late show Friday night, upon which this review is based, opened with an unconvincing set by the Tops' young female proteges, a group of three singers called All Directions (not to be confused with the fine local band of the same name, now featured at J.J.'s Lounge). The first musical high-point of the evening came with a brief instrumental interlude by the crack backing band assembled by Dr. Beans Bowles and featuring the good Doctor on flute, torrid tenor saxophonist Norris Patterson, alto master Teddy Harris, and baritone saxophone giant Ernie Rodgers. Their two tasty warm-up numbers more than made up for the excesses of the All Directions and provided a perfect entrance for the tantalizing Tops, who pranced onstage to the first of their recent hits for ABC Records, the popular "Are You Man Enough?"

Quickly working their their way through "Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got," "Still Waters Run Deep" (with the tastiest of organ fills by resident master Earl Van Dyke), "Keeper of the Castle," and a painfully forced "We Gotta Stick Together," the veteran quartet amply demonstrated the absolute superiority of their earlier Holland-Dozier-Holland material with a rousing rendition of "Baby I Need Your Lovin'," for which they were joined-much to their and the crowd's delight-by the irrepressible David Ruffin. Levi Stubbs then indulged himself in a solo treatment of the horrid 60's standard, "MacArthur Park" before the group roared to a finish with the Count Basie-Joe Williams evergreen "All Right, OK, You Win" and the classic "I Can't Help Myself," another HDH-period masterpiece, which once again revealed the slightness and the emotional paucity of the Tops' ABC material.

The Tops are back in town for a Christmas show at Olympia Stadium, but no arena can provide the kicks afforded by the intimacy and charm of a setting like the 20 Grand. The quality of the experience is a whole different thing, and a very exciting, extremely pleasurable thing at that. One can only hope that the Tops and other expatriate performers from the Motor City can find it in their hearts to treat their former fellow cits to such riches more often- because we need them now, more than ever before. --John Sinclair

photo:  Leni Sinclair