On
Yesterday's Dreams,
the Four Tops began looking back. Their songwriting and production mainstays, Holland-Dozier-Holland, had recently left the company in a royalties dispute and the LP included just one last song from the collective, "I'm in a Different World." Unfortunately, it was the biggest hit here, and nothing else compared to "Reach out, I'll Be There" or "Standing in the Shadows of Love." Still, songs and productions from
Ivory Joe Hunter (the title track, "We've Got a Strong Love [On Our Side]") and
Ashford & Simpson ("Can't Seem to Get You out of My Mind") filled the gaps with no discernible loss in quality. Even the unavoidable covers are treated very well;
Hunter and Frank Wilson altered "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Sunny," and even "Daydream Believer" to sound more natural next to a real Motown song like "Remember When." If it never hit the chart heights of 1967's
Reach Out,
Yesterday's Dreams still proved more of a solid listen. ~ John Bush