Customer Reviews

The Best of Mary Wells - The Millennium Collection

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This soulful legendary lady was Motown's 1st Superstar who had hit after hit and this wonderful collection shows clearly why Mary Wells should be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!! Mary wrote her first hit the raw and gritty "Bye Bye Baby" which launched a career that built Motown in the early days and was quickly followed by classics such as "Two Lovers" and "The One Who Really Loves You". Mary continued turning out lots of hits and the variety of these were really amazing!!! From her sultry numbers to soulful rhythm cookers such as "You Lost The Sweetest Boy" and "What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One", Mary Wells was a major hit maker who continued with this quality all the way through the eighties with her last major label release on Epic Records "In And Out OF Love" still timeless in its beauty and deserving to be released on CD!! Though for some strange reason radio seemed to refuse to play Mary's records after leaving Motown Records, "Gigolo" was a major dance hit from her last release and still sounds great today!!! The mega-hit "My Guy" sounds timeless today in all its glory here and could be a hit all over again today. Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells duet hit "Once Upon A Time" is another song of great beauty and this solid sampler shows that Mary Wells was a once in a lifetime classic whose talent still shines bright today. The music industry needs to give this lady her just due...it's overdue!!!!

In 1964, the year the Beatles led the British Invasion Mary Wells was Motown's biggest star and had a #1 hit with the classic "My Guy." That would end up changing, not because of the Beatles, but because of Diana Ross and the Supremes, who would have three #1 hits at the end of the year and become the second biggest hit makers on the planet. Then there was Wells' decision to leave Motown for 20th Century Fox, after which her career was nowhere near the same. Given she was only 21 when "My Guy" hit the top of the charts, this "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection" for Mary Wells cannot help but engender thoughts of what might have been.

Mary Wells became a star when Barry Gordy signed her as a teenager and she had her first Motown hit, "Bye Bye Baby" (#45 on the Billboard Pop charts, although most of her songs always charted better on the R&B charts). This collection includes three other Top 10 hits, all of which were written and produced by Smokey Robinson: "The One Who Really Loves You" (#8), "You Beat Me to the Punch" (#9), and "Two Lovers" (#7). In fact, Robinson wrote the first seven tracks on this album, which includes "Laughing Boy" (#15). "I Don't Want to Take a Chance" (#33), "Once Upon a Time" (#19) and "You Lost the Sweetest Boy" (#22) are also pretty good.

With her soft voice, Mary Wells was a soul singer who could sound both shy and sexy at the same time. However, with only eleven tracks this is a less than satisfying collection, because it is missing some hits, such as "What's the Matter With You Baby" (#17). The 2-disc set "Looking Back 1961-1964," put out by Motown, would be the much better choice for her fans. However, for the casual fan who would like to have more than "My Guy," this "Millennium Collection" certainly fulfills the minimum Mary Wells requirement.

This compact compilation comes so very close to being a 5-star collection in spite of its meager 11 tracks. The inclusion of just one more tune, Wells' duet with Marvin Gaye "What's The Matter With You Baby" would have put it over the top and made this a top-notch, no-filler CD. The omission of this top-20 song is all the more frustrating considering that it's B-side, "Once Upon A Time" rightfully appears here.

That point aside, this is an all-hits collection of Mary Wells' Motown recordings. Once Wells was teamed up with Smokey Robinson, their combined output catapulted Motown into the spotlight. Robinson's incredible talent with lyrics and production and Well's maturing style culminated in the all-time classic chart-topper "My Guy". While the Robinson-Wells combo produced some outstanding tunes, Wells was also able to handle the up-and-coming powerhouse writing talents of Holland-Dozier-Holland as evident in the pounding "You Lost The Sweetest Boy". While it is doubtful Wells could have ever surpassed the supreme accomplishment of "My Guy", with Robinson and the Holland-Dozier-Holland team behind her, there is no telling the heights she could have reached had she not bolted Motown at the apex of her career. But that was not to be and this collection does provide the cream of the Wells Motown crop.

Sound quality is reasonably good exhibiting the sometimes typically muddy sound of Motown recordings with some tracks noticeably hissy. All cuts here except nine are the stereo versions. Included is an 8-page flopover liner notes booklet with a brief musical biography.

For the basic, hits-only purchaser, this is one of the best of the lot.

Mary Wells,the first major female star from Motown,gets the 20th Century Masters treatment from Universal music.All in all this is a fairly good representation of her works but it leaves out many songs of import like the other duet single with Gaye"What's the Matter with you baby","Goodbye and Good Luck","Whisper you love me Boy","Operator" and others.For a more definitive compilation I suggest you look elsewhere and you should find what you're looking for.However for the price and most fans of her more well know hits,this CD will do just fine.
At 17 Mary approached Berry Gordy and asked him to listen to her sing and song she'd written for Jackie Wilson.Gordy nixed the Wilson angle but instead got Mary herself into the studio to record it.Putting the solid Motown writing and producing talents of people like Smokey Robinson,Gordy himself,Lamont Dozier to name a few,Mary was able to put together a formidable string of hits within
a three year window.Songs like "The one who really loves you","You Beat me to the punch","Two Lovers","What's easy for two is so hard for one",and her biggest "My Guy".People have often wondered about "Two Lovers" and how they got away with a song like that back in the early 60s.It simply had two things going for it;a nice and easy groove and a very innocuous and innocent delivery from Mary.Had it been a straight ahead rhythm with a deep growly delivery it wouldn't have made it past it's recording session.Smokey,who produced it,knew exactly what he was doing.
We lost Mary back in /92 much too early but her recording legacy will always keep her memory alive and this CD helps to do just that.

One of the greatest singers of the sixties. This album has all of her best songs on it. She sang with a feeling which one can feel as you listen to her music. A fine piece to own. She wraps you in the sweet soul of her music.

This CD of the late Mary Wells is one to have in archives.

I always remember listening to Mary Wells on the radio as a kid back in the 1980's. Her song "My Guy" is heard alot. The one I do like alot is "You lost the sweetest boy". Which I heard it in 1989. Awesome writers.

I know that Mary Wells was out in the 1960's. Great singer and very beautiful person.

I remember back in summer of 1990 that she had throat cancer. Everyone was shocked.

Of course in mid-summer 1992. Mary had went on to heaven and will always be remembered forever.

I'll keep this CD for years to come.

Mary's legacy will go on.

Even though she's up there watching us that are fans of her.

We'll always love her songs from Motown forever.

Mary Wells Motown songs are hard to find. I was pleased to find it here and pleased with the CD itself.

WHOA - Mary Wells really delivers and takes me back in time with all of her GREAT songs. I am really enjoying this great CD of Mary's all times favorites.
Thanks