Four Tops - At The Top (1978)

At The Top is a quality Four Tops album, produced by Norman Harris at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia; the songs, productions, and singing deserved a better fate. Future Temptation Ron Tyson co-wrote five songs: the minor hit "H.E.L.P.," and the beautiful, harmony-filled "Seclusion," "Put It On The News," "This House," and "Just In Time," an excellent ballad. Many found this production formalized, but those listeners miss the essence. The disjointed, jerky, soulful "When Your Dreams Take Wings and Fly" is anything but a formula song, and Levi Stubbs' emotional singing on "Seclusion" is the real deal. This was the Tops' last LP for ABC, which may account for the lightweight promotion.