Night Lights Harmony
Released: June 1975
Well, the Four Tops’ revival officially came to an end with this sorry album.
Only three songs manage to bring any excitement, which is bad considering there are nine tracks here.
“Seven Lonely Nights” has vibes of that old Motown sound, while “We All Gotta Stick Together” has a nice message to it. But those are the highlights. Both songs were released as singles and did alright reaching the R&B top 20.
“(It Would Almost) Drive Me Out Of My Mind” also apes the old Motown sound. Not a good sign when the best songs on your 1975 album are songs reminiscent of 1965.
The “modern” songs are all quite bad or manage to just rise to the level of mediocre.
ALBUM GRADE: D
Song Scores
Seven Lonely Nights: 7/10
Mama You're All Right With Me: 4/10
Is This The Price?: 3/10
We All Gotta Stick Together: 7/10
I've Got What You Need: 5/10
I Can't Hold Out Much Longer: 5/10
(It Would Almost) Drive Me Out Of My Mind: 6/10
I'm Glad You Walked Into My Life: 4/10
Let Me Know The Truth: 2/10
Catfish
Released: October 1976
The title song is so stupid and I love it. I first heard it when I was in 8th grade and it’s as stupid now as it was then.
To recap the song’s story for y’all… You see, there’s this girl from New Orleans. A disco queen. And her name is “Catfish”. She has a wiggle that can make it rain. And when she’s out on the floor, you’ll wanna boogie some more.
A nice piece of disco-soul that hit #7 on the R&B chart.
The other above average song here is “Feel Free”, which actually would have been better without the lead vocals. Works better as a mood piece given the brooding and plodding slow groove.
The ballad “You Can't Hold Back On Love” also has its moments.
The rest of the songs aren’t anything special. And the last three are actually quite bad.
Not the finest hour for the Four Tops, but it’d get worse. So much worse.
ALBUM GRADE: C-
Song Scores
Catfish: 7.5/10
Feel Free: 7/10
You Can't Hold Back On Love: 6.5/10
I Know You Like It: 5/10
Strung Out For Love: 6/10
Love Don't Come Easy: 3/10
Disco Daddy: 4/10
Look At Me Baby: 3/10