Baby, don't fight it, I'm comin' baby
Do you know how long I'm dreamin' of a reason it grows?
You may ask me all these questions but darling, no one knows
It should be clear, I really love you, don't ask me why, I just do
Do you ask the Lord who loves you why he makes the sky clear blue?
It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
We were meant, we were meant to stay together
It's just the way, it's the way nature planned it
Oh, don't ask me how long I'll love you
When you're gone, my heart aches, I'll never, never leave you
Girl, all my life, for you I'd wait 'cause it's the way
It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
We were meant, we were meant to stay together
It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
Don't fight it, baby, I'm coming, girl
It should be clear, I really love you, don't ask me why, I just do
'cause it's the way It's the way, it's the way mother nature planned it
Like the stars and the sky and the beautiful heaven
It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
We were meant, we were meant to stay together
Do you know why it rains? It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
Something that no-one can explain, we were meant
We were meant to stay together
Why does a flower grow? It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
Why does the river flow? It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
We were meant, we were meant, we were meant
We were meant to stay together
Why does it rain? It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
Why do I feel this pain? It's the way, it's the way nature planned it
[from the lyrics of "
(It's the Way) Nature Planned It"]
One of
Motown's most consistent hitmakers and its longest lived lineup (over four decades), the
Four Tops were the most stable vocal groups to emerge from the label in the '60s, charting with scores of upbeat love songs featuring
Levi Stubbs' rough hewn lead vocals.
The
Four Tops were a product of Detroit's
North End:
Levi Stubbs and
Abdul "Duke" Fakir sang together in a group while attending
Pershing High School.
Renaldo "Obie" Benson and
Lawrence Payton were boyhood friends and attended
Northern High together in Detroit too. At the insistence of their friends, they performed at a local birthday party and decided to remain together christening themselves
The Four Aims.
Roquel "Billy" Davis, who was
Lawrence Payton's cousin and sometimes sang with the group as the
fifth Aim, sent a demo tape to
Chess Records in Chicago. They were sent bus tickets and invited to audition.
It seems that
Chess was more interested in
Davis' writing skill than the group. However
Davis' persistence ended up with them being signed to
Chess Records. In 1956 they changed their name to
Four Tops to avoid confusion with the
The Ames Brothers, another well-estabilished vocal group.
Over the next seven years, the
Tops endured unsuccessful tenures at
Chess,
Red Top,
Riverside Records and
Columbia Records. Without any hit records to their name, they toured frequently, developing a polished stage presence and an experienced
supper club act. In 1963,
Berry Gordy, Jr., who had worked with
Roquel Davis as a songwriter in the late '50s, convinced the
Tops to join the roster of his growing
Motown record company.
Gordy had them record "
Breaking Through" for his experimental
Workshop Jazz subsidiary. Later that year they were finally directed
toward
contemporary soul. Under the wing of
Motown's top production
and recording team,
Holland-Dozier-Holland, the
Four Tops were launched with "
Baby I Need Your Loving", which went to #11 in 1964.
Over the next eight years
The Four Tops appeared on the charts almost thirty times, and
Levi Stubbs became an international star and an influence on singers from the Sixties to the present time.
After scoring their first #1 hit, the often-recorded and revived "
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" in June 1965, the
Four Tops began a long series of successful hit singles. Among the first wave of these hits were the Top 10 "
It's the Same Old Song", "
Something About You", "
Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)", and "
Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever".
Like many other
Motown acts, the
Four Tops became popular in major nightclubs
around the world. In 1967 they had hits with "
Bernadette", "
7-Rooms of Gloom" and "
You Keep Running Away". By now, the
Tops were the most successful male
Motown act in the U.K. (...in the United States, they were second to
The Temptations...), and began experimenting with more
mainstream pop hits.
They scored hits with their versions of "
If I Were a Carpenter" and "
Walk Away Renée". These singles and the original "
I'm In a Different World" were their last hits produced by
Holland-Dozier-Holland, who left
Motown in 1967.
"Nature Planned It" original innersleeve shows many Motown goodies...
Without
Holland-Dozier-Holland, the quality of the
Four Tops' output began to decline, and hits became less frequent. The group worked with a wide array of
Motown producers during the late 1960s, including
Ivy Hunter,
Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson,
Norman Whitfield and
Johnny Bristol, without significant chart success.
Their first major hit in a long time came in the form of 1970's "
It's All In the Game", produced by
Frank Wilson.
Wilson and the
Tops began working on a number of innovative tracks and albums together, echoing
Whitfield's
psychedelic soul work with
The Temptations.
Their 1970 album "
Still Waters Run Deep" was an early ancestor to the concept album. It also served as an inspiration for
Marvin Gaye's 1971 classic album "
What's Going On", the title track of which was co-written by
Obie Benson.
In addition to their own albums, the
Tops were paired with
The Supremes for a series of three albums: "
The Magnificent Seven" was released in 1970, "
The Return of the Magnificent Seven" and "
Dynamite!" followed in 1971. While the albums themselves did not do well on the charts, "
The Magnificent Seven" featured a Top 20 version of
Ike & Tina Turner's "
River Deep - Mountain High", produced by
Ashford & Simpson.
In early 1972 the
Four Tops recorded "
Nature Planned It" with producer
Frank Wilson, it was their last
Motown album for more than twenty years...
...and more goodies on the back!
The following short review of "
Nature Planned It" was published on the 13th May 1972 issue of
Billboard:
The Four Tops have always been in a class of supremacy and their latest collection of songs certainly bears out the point. Their Sensitive interpretations of the title cut and "Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)" are just two of the standout numbers. Other topnotch tracks include "I Can't Quit Your Love" (their newest single), "If You Let Me" and "I'll Never Change".
"
Nature Planned It" contains the following tracks:
01.
I Am Your Man (4:22)
02.
(It's The Way) Nature Planned It (3:48)
03.
I'll Never Change (2:49)
04.
She's an Understanding Woman (3:03)
05.
I Can't Quit Your Love (3:41)
06.
Walk With Me, Talk With Me, Darling (2:41)
07.
Medley: Hey Man / We Got To Get You a Woman (7:27)
08.
You Got To Forget Him Darling (2:43)
09.
If You Let Me (2:53)
10.
Happy (Is a Bumpy Road) (3:02)
11.
How Will I Forget You (2:47)
All tracks were remastered in August / September 2012, they are available as a single
FLAC lossless format file or
high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 file. Both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files.
Before you burn this album on CD-R using the provided CUE file you will need to convert the original files to WAV format using an appropriate software. Here's an option for
FLAC to WAV conversion and one for
MP3 to WAV conversion.
As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download links.
Note: most of the songs on the original vinyl album are interluded with small
effected bits taken from the title track. These extra bits were omitted in the 1987 CD release (cat. number MD08046MD) in my possession. Furthermore, on this release the albums "
Keeper of the Castle" and "
Nature Planned It" have been
squeezed on one CD and many songs were edited for time purpose. My remastering offers the most faithful representation of the original album using
both vinyl and CD as sound sources.
"
Nature Planned It" was released by
Motown with catalogue number
M748L in April 1972. The album was produced by veteran
Frank Wilson, who since 1965 had been writing and producing hit records for many other
Motown artists like
Brenda Holloway,
Marvin Gaye,
The Supremes,
The Miracles,
The Temptations,
Eddie Kendricks and more.
The album opens with "
I Am Your Man", a mellow slow number composed by
Ashford & Simpson that was also previously released on
Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers' self-titled album in 1968. The ballad is sung in the distinctive
Levi Stubbs' warm, emotive baritone.
The title track was written by
Frank Wilson and
Pam Sawyer (...who also worked with many other
Motown artists...); it presents an engaging lead and
Abdul Fakir,
Lawrence Payton and
Renaldo Benson's smooth harmonies at their best. The song was later
covered in a
Rocksteady/Reggae style by
Ken Boothe in 1974 for
Trojan Records, it was also more recently
sampled by Austrian
Hip-Hop producer
Brenk.
"
(It's the Way) Nature Planned It" was also released as a single in August 1972 backed with the more upbeat "
I'll Never Change", a song written by
Kathy Wakefield and
Leonard Caston (...
The Supremes,
Diana Ross,
The Temptations,
Eddie Kendricks...) and sung by
Stubbs near the top of his register, adding even more fuel to an already dynamic arrangement.
Next comes the laid back groove of "
She's an Understanding Woman", a composition by singer-songwriter
Willie Hutch who is better known for the soundtracks to the cult
blaxploitaion movies "
The Mack" and "
Foxy Brown".
"
I Can't Quit Your Love", another strong uptempo number with a sparkling arrangement, was written by the
Wakefield /
Caston team. It was chosen as the first single from the album, backed by "
Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)" on the domestic version and "
I Am Your Man" on the U.K. release.
Side One ends with "
Walk With Me, Talk With Me, Darling", composed by
John Glover,
Clay McMurray and
James Dean. Originally this song was supposed to appear on "
Promises Kept", an unreleased album recorded by
The Supremes in 1971, which was shelved in favour of "
Floy Joy", another album entirely produced and arranged by
Smokey Robinson.
Side Two starts with a medley: "
Hey Man", written by
Frank Wilson,
Leonard Caston and the
Tops' own
Renaldo "Obie" Benson and
Lawrence Payton, showcase a long instrumental intro and is flavoured with assorted
Latin percussions and a sort of
street corner talking probably played by
Obie and
Payton; the song merges with "
We Got To Get You a Woman", a
Todd Rundgren cover originally included on his debut album released in 1970. Both songs refer to a certain
Leroy who seems to be in deep water... The closing part of "
Hey Man" is largely instrumental and enhance the
Latin feeling with a nice flute line played by an unknown session man.
"
You Got To Forget Him Darling" was written by
David Jones Jr.,
Johnny Bristol and
Wade Brown Jr.; with its prominent piano, brass arrangement and background harmonies it
breathes the old
Motown climate.
The melodic "
If You Let Me" features female backing vocals and
Levi Stubbs in a more relaxed fine form. The song was written by
Frank Wilson and was also recorded by
Eddie Kendricks the same year.
The Supremes also recorded a song with the same title in 1969; since it seems to be one of their
lost recordings I'm not sure that it is the same song, it could be a completely different one.
"
Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)", once again written by
Frank Wilson and
Pam Sawyer, is a cover of
The Supremes original released on their album "
Touch" in 1971.
The album closes with the excellent "
How Will I Forget You", written by
Al Cleveland (...co-author of
Marvin Gaye's "
What's Going On"...) and
Lorie Green along with
Renaldo "Obie" Benson and
Lawrence Payton; strangely enough, a sitar seems to be featured among the instruments...
Here's the credits and personnel list of "
Nature Planned It":
Produced by
Frank Wilson
Mr. "Keys":
Leonard Caston
Drums:
Richard "Pistol" Allen,
Andrew Smith
Percussionist:
Jack Ashford
Conga and bongos:
Eddie "Bongo" Brown
Guitars:
Dennis Coffey,
Eddie Willis,
Mel Ragen
Bass (personified):
James Jamerson
Recording engineer:
Cal Harris
Mastering engineer:
John Lewis
Arrangements by
Jerry Long and
David Van DePitte
All tunes published by Jobete Music Company Inc. BMI except "
We Got To Get You a Woman", published by Earmark Music BMI
Four Tops in 1972: Lawrence Payton, Levi Stubbs, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Abdul "Duke" Fakir
More information about "
Nature Planned It",
Frank Wilson,
The Funk Brothers and the
Four Tops is available here:
http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php/reviews/indepth/Nature%20Planned%20It%20/
http://www.allmusic.com/album/nature-planned-it-mw0000201613
http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/four_tops/nature_planned_it/
http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=pp5ggwxxps
http://www.funkmysoul.gr/?cat=218
http://www.discogs.com/Four-Tops-Nature-Planned-It/master/256555
http://www.45cat.com/record/m1198f
http://www.45cat.com/record/m1210f
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wilson_%28musician%29
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/frank-wilson-mn0001770585
http://www.frankwilson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_Brothers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Tops
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Four%20Tops.html
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-four-tops-mn0000071812
http://rockhall.com/inductees/the-four-tops/bio/
http://www.soultracks.com/fourtops.htm
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-four-tops/biography
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/levi-stubbs-mn0000256831
If you have any other useful information about the
Four Tops and "
Nature Planned It" - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at
stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
