Four Tops - 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1964-1972 (2013)

No, here's the ultimate Four Tops singles collection. Like Motown Select's 50th anniversary releases for the Temptations, Diana Ross & the Supremes, and Martha & the Vandellas, this is a three-disc anthology packaged like a hardcover book. It features nearly 60 pages of images, sleeve scans, detailed track information, and in-depth liner notes -- much of which is sensibly repurposed from those like-shaped Complete Motown Singles volumes. The A-sides and B-sides appear chronologically -- a terminally impressive sequence that includes the Top Five R&B singles "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "It's the Same Old Song," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," and "Bernadette." The singles are shared with the Supremes on disc two, while the third disc is heavy on the "bonus tracks": 14 sides from the U.K.-only singles, as well as Italian versions of "I Can't Help Myself," "Reach Out I'll Be There," and "Walk Away Renee." For most fans, this is overkill and then some. For voracious newcomers and collectors -- perhaps even those who shelled out for all the Complete Motown Singles volumes -- this is an essential release, if somewhat frustratingly so.