Customer Reviews

Anthology

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't let my rating and my title confuse you. The CD is great -- everything for a Diana/Supremes fan. Why I'm disappointed is that I took these reviews to heart and expected to hear vast differences in songs like "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" or "You Keep Me Hangin' On". More of Flo and Mary and with some extended versions. Duh? Color me crazy but an extra five seconds on "YKMHO" is not an "extension" in my book. Nor do I understand how these people are hearing more background when the backing track is actually REMOVED from the end of this song. The girls appear in the very last verse, which is part of that extended 5 seconds, doing nothing more than what you hear in all previous versions: "Oooh, oooh, oooh". As for the 'new and improved' "LILAIIMH" --- yeah, I'm still waiting.

Don't get me wrong. As I said, the CD is great. The music is wonderful and the sound quality is first rate. But, if you want to hear some different versions of these songs, check out the instrumentals by The Funk Brothers on the "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" soundtrack.

Mr. Scott Brown (below) is exactly right. This 1986 release was the first substantially sized Supremes set put out in the CD-era. It exactly duplicated the 3-LP set of the same name from 1974 and, to take advantage of added room, it reached back further for "Your Heart Belongs to Me," then included a dozen obvious selections from the post-Diana Ross era. Certainly the '74 vinyl issuing was a big deal, but by '86 this was considerably less exciting. Some substitutions might have livened things: from "A Bit Liverpool," their sassy reading of "You Can't Do That" over "A Hard Day's Night," "Cupid" over "You Send Me" from "We Remember Sam Cooke," and the comic "Sadie Sadie" or "If a Girl Isn't Pretty" over "Greatest Star" from the "Funny Girl" album.

This set was subsequently reworked in 1995 and 2001 and, in my opinion the September 1995 version, if you can find it, is the best of the three CD versions. The 'outside' material was dropped for LP and B-side rarities: "Mother Dear," "He's All I Got," "Remove This Doubt," "Long Gone Lover" and the Phil Spector-produced "Things Are Changing," among them. Best of all, it was in mono and, for us 50-ish types, this took us back to the way we remember Supremes stuff when it was REALLY new. But I also bought the 2001 version even though it went back to stereo and restored the show tunes, because it also reached all the way backward to "I Want A Guy," and finally included "Whisper You Love Me Boy." Motown ain't stupid, and each re-working has included one or two new must-haves, so you shell out the money even though you've got 90% of the stuff already. (You bet, before it was a month old, the five-disc, crushed red velvet box set of 2000 got bought too, and "70s Anthology" awaits). Such is the lot of hard-core Supremes fans.

Classy guy that he is, Mr. Brown chooses understatement when referring to the included booklet. It's downright laughable to read contemporary Motown releases stubbornly perpetuating the party line that, in 1967, Florence Ballard "wearied of the groups hectic schedule and traveling, and bowed out to spend more time with her family." As if anyone, not yet even 25, would CHOOSE obscurity over placement in the number one female entertainment act of the time. Give it up already!

This is really a great collection of the Supremes 1960s recordings. It is perhaps a bit heavy on the pre-million selling songs and a couple of the choices in the "Supreme Stylists" section on CD2 are odd even for fans, but very complete overall.

It is quite an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable journey listening to how the group's sound matures from "I Want A Guy" to their last single "Someday We'll Be Together." There are several rarities (alternate mixes of "You Keep Me Hanging On", "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart", "Try It Baby", etc.) on both discs to make devoted fans, like myself, jump for joy.

My only real beef is that the remastering is not up to expected high standard. Most of the tracks sound as if they were run through a highly compressed FM radio signal. This is a surprise considering the great sound quality of the Supremes box set released in 2000. In spite of this, for us devoted fans, this is still an indispensible collection.

Now, how about a two-disc anthology of the post-Diana Ross (1970-1977) Supremes???

I would like to commend Motown for this CD. At last you have an Anthology that features leads by all original Supremes. Mary Wilson does lead on "The Tears" and "Can't Take My Eyes off You". The Fabulous Florence Ballard does the lead on "Buttered Popcorn" (their 2nd single) and Ain't That Good News" ( one of the best songs on the this collection). On this version of "Good News" the fade out is much longer and she really blows on this one as only she could. "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" is wonderful, in fact this version With more Flo and Mary on the fade out would have charted higher. Again Miss Flo rips into "You Keep Me Hangin On". Lastly this version of Diana's "Someday We'll Be Together" is the best. The sound quality is excellent. I am satisfied. A real Supremes Anthology, which showcases them as they should be as a UNIT as a TEAM. THE SUPREMES.

This album has been out since before Christmas. It's the FIFTH--count 'em--FIFTH Supremes anthology from Motown, not to mention countless hits collections and even uses the cover from a previous anthology, only reversed. This album is better sounding than its predecessors and has a better selection of songs. It also features rare versions of Supremes hits though many rare versions (the psychedelic original version of "Love Is Like An Itching") remain unissued. Here we get the THIRD version of "Buttered Popcorn" to appear on C.D., we get "Mother Dear" in the order it would have appeared as a single (at the last minute, after the Supremes introduced it on the Red Skelton Show, it was wisely replaced with "Nothing But Heartches") and there's the tracks from the nearly impossible to find Hollywood Palace album. There's leads by all the ladies and a splendid essay on the group, much better than a previous has-no-clue effort by a major author who found mystery in the group's history where there is none. Motown's ability to mine the same goldfield over and over is amazing; all they gotta do is stick in one unissued track and they've got a best-seller. There is, however, a TON of unissued material from the Supremes that still hasn't been issued and well worth hearing. As for the Jean Terrell-led Supremes, there's whole albums of music that never made it out, including the splendid "Promises Kept" and several live albums. Couldn't they at least release on C.D. the Supremes "Live in Japan" album? It's a crime Motown year after year after year, owner after owner after owner, simply ignores the possibilities.

Diana Ross And The Supremes reign as the biggest girl-group in history. Yet their remarkable and unparalled achievements have always been considerably overlooked.

All three Supremes each had potential as lead singer of the group. The groups founder, Florence Ballard had a raw, earthy sound in her voice, whilst Mary Wilsons breathy, seamless voice complimented any ballad she sang on. But whether anyone wants to admit it or not, Diana Ross had the most unique, distinct sound, which had strong commercial appeal to both blacks and whites alike. What Diana Ross bought to the group was an almost regal presence and set them instantly apart from other Motown acts. Diana's soft, sensual voice that oozed heavy emotion and neatly surf-boarded along Motowns complex musical arrangements, had soulful qualities that displayed raw emotions of vulnreability. Their first single, I Want A Guy featured Diana giving a somewhat piercing vocal performance whilst the raucious, driving R&B number Buttered Popcorn featured Florence Ballard as lead vocalist and was far better yet the single sank without trace. These two tracks open this updated Anthology set and also contains some rare material such as The Tears, He and Things Are Changing. Amongst their string of early minor hits include the soft, sensual ballads Your Heart Belongs To Me, the Smokey Robinson produced A Breath Taking Guy and the infectious, upbeat Let Me Go The Right Way. Their first major chart breakthrough, When The LoveLight Starts Shining Through His Eyes is also deservedly featured and is an absolutley fantastic affair, containing a conga beat and generally having all the emphasis of that classic Motown sound. Of course all the famous hits are here with their most soulful outputs being (in my eyes at least), Back In My Arms Again, I Hear A Symphony, My World Is Empty WithOut You, Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart, You Can't Hurry Love, You Keep Me Hanging On, Love Is Here And Now You're Gone, The Happening, the adventurous and experimental Reflections containing elements of the swirling psychedelic sound, Forever Came Today, their social commentary on possibly their finest ever recording Love Child, the gritty I'm Living In Shame and their touching swan song SomeDay We'll Be Together. Beyond that are some more rarities including a sassy take on The Nitty Gritty, Sweet Thing which is perharps no more than typical Motown fare whilst lesser known hits like the electric No Matter What Sign You are and I'll Try Something New (With The Temptations) also get an airing. Other than that the album falls a little on the bland side but are still curiously worth hearing - they woo and coo their way through The Beatles A Hard Days Night (one of Berry Gordys plans to establish the group as all-round entertainers for both blacks and whites), and Mary Wilson takes lead vocal duties on a bland version of Can't Take My Eyes For You. If anything I hold my hands up and admit that this is most probably me being biased when I say this but as a die hard Soul/R&B/Motown fan, its these elements of styles that truly captures their own magical sound. There is about as much pop as there is soul in a lot of their earlier hits like the sassy Come See About Me, and the cutesy girly tone of Baby Love but there work remains a milestone in musical history. Each of The Supremes deserve credit and have their own individual appealing qualities in their vocal deliverys but Diana Ross was ultimatley the star and I strongly rate her as an excellent vocalist. She may not have the volume or power of Martha Reeves or even the groups founder Florence Ballard, but she certainly knows how to use her voice and express genuine feeling and emotion which is why this work remains so timeless. This compilation perharps is their defintive collection. Recommended!

This is simply an amazing collection. After *five* (!) attempts, Motown has finally compiled a proper Supremes Anthology.

Disc One contains most of the basics: the majority of the hits and some superb early material (dazzling first hit single "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", "Buttered Popcorn", "Your Heart Belongs To Me" and so on), all of which is rather common material on any hits compilation, except for some unreleased material (first pressing of "Buttered Popcorn"; single mix of "Whisper You Love Me Boy"; an alternate extended cut of "You Keep Me Hangin' On", a stereo mix of "He", and an extended take of "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart")

Disc Two, however, is a treat. Motown does fans well by including a section of cover versions and show tunes the Supremes cut ("Supreme Stylists"), which I thought was excellent because this chunk of the Supremes work is all too often ignored in favour of more mainstream material. The live recordings especially demonstrate the vocal virtuosity and strength of all three girls (Mary Wilson, for example, does a sensual live cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You").

And what about sound quality? Absolutely stupefyingly fantastic. Gone is the harshness of the 'remastered' "Ultimate Collection". Here are the *true* stereo mixes of all the Supremes' songs: the opening, stilted handclaps of "Where Did Our Love Go" travel from one set of speakers to the other and then a true, glorious wall of sound sets in. This doesn't sound like Motown, this sounds like Phil Spector in wide stereo, and it's all the better for it. The dense mono that has plagued previous remasters (especially "The Ultimate Collection") is gone, revealing tight, delinated instrumental tracks (you can hear and follow each individual player in the backing orchestra, it's that clear!) and a pristine, smooth vocal track from Ms. Ross. One listen to the stereo remasters of "I Hear A Symphony", "Nothing But Heartaches", or the astounding "Love Child" (perhaps the best thing they ever recorded), and you will throw out your previous Supremes compilation. There is no fuzziness, hissing, or popping to be found in this collection. Nothing but the best.

So, they finally got the track listing right, balancing the hits with the rarities, show tunes, live tracks, and cover versions; the digital remastering is among the best I have ever heard; and the beautiful booklet features a charming essay, gorgeous glossy photographs, complete track information, and chart listings. That makes this the best double-disc Supremes collection on the market. Worth every cent.

This 2001 Anthology is an excellent overview of the works of Diana Ross & The Supremes. Every hit is included, as well as a fine assortment of album tracks and rarities such as the previously unreleased extended version of "Itching..." featuring a much longer fade-out, and an alternate version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On".

In addition, according to this compilation's liner notes, we can also (hopefully soon) look forward to "The Supremes 1970's Anthology" which personally I'm hoping will be a proper, multi-disc anthology, which has been seriously lacking for the rather underrated, yet utterly sublime 1970's Supremes.

. . .you will love this anthology. If you can ever FIND this anthology, please, get it! This collection is scarce so snatch it up if you come across it! The songs are beautiful, not only does it include all the favorites that we have grown to love over the decades, but there are also songs that you most likely have never heard before that you will fall in love with! 'Breath taking guy' is one that I can't believe isn't part of the 'best of' of Diana Ross and the Supremes. Also 'I want a guy' is one that I sing in the shower to this day. I am trying to get my hands on another copy desperately. If you are a collector of Motown or just beautiful oldies in general, you need to hear this anthology for yourself!

There are so many Diana Ross Anthologies out there, that one could get very confused about what to buy. Also, many of them seem to repackage the same songs over and over again. This is, apprently, one of the earlier ones and though I am sure the sound quality isn't that good like the one reviewer said (I'm not much of an audiophile), it is still worth it to pick up for some hard to find songs. I found my copy for $12 & considered that a bargain.

First of all, I am a fairweather Ross fan. Loved her Supremes stuff, but have found her 35 year long solo career to be very patchy. Of course, some of my favorites are on this CD like her great, slow remake of "Reach Out I'll Be There" along with "Surrender" and "Remember Me".

I was never a fan of "Last Time I Saw Him" or "Theme from Mahagony" (don't get me started on the movie which I hated! sorry sports fans!) I thought that Motown tried too hard to make Ross into a black Helen Reddy rather than tap into her Pop/Soul/Jazz stylings.

My main reason for picking this collection up was for the generous portion of tracks from her hard to find "Baby It's Me" album which I have on tape & vinyl. Especially nice is her remake of Stevie Wonder's "Too Shy To Say". Also, another favorite is the jazzy, uptempo "Getting Ready for Love". Also, the song "Top Of the World" (not that awful Carpenters' song!) is one of her best performances of all time in my opinion.

I wish they had put a few more selections from her "The Boss" album on this collection like maybe some of the ballads, but it is nice to hear the title track again, along with "It's My House". I hated "Love Hangover" when it came out but the song has slowly grown on me. Also, I like her version of "What You Gave Me" along with "Lovin, Livin, Givin".

So, though I do skip around certain tracks on this collection, I'm glad I own it.