Customer Reviews

I Hear a Symphony

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The only problem I have with Motown Reissues is that they never include the original 45 RPM mixes of their sides. If anybody out there remembers, My World Is Empty Without You in it's hit 45RPM mix had the girls in a echo chamber with the violins more prominent in the mix. The stereo version is flat noisy and both the violins and the back-up voices of Flo and Mary are inaudible. I grew up and have all the vinyl mono sides which in most cases are vastly superior to these awful stereo mixes. Remember you people MONO was industry standard when these discs were released, and as I remember the stereo versions even in LP format were hard to come by. Back to Mono on all Motown compilations!!

This is my all time favorite album ever. No kidding. Diana Ross at her absolute best with the best backup singers ever to pick up a mike and record the best love songs of all time. I love the cover, but that's nothing in comparison to the music. My hat goes off to Motown for this wonderful gift to the world. Thanks!

Since the 1981 advent of the compact disc, Motown has shamelessly released reissue after reissue of its extensive catalog. For The Supremes, just like most of the major Motown acts, there is an endless plethora of albums, compilations and box sets, all of which had wildly-varying audio quality, regardless of mono or stereo content.

These ten 2007 Japanese mini-sleeve CD's are the best sounding stereo Supremes CD's I've heard yet. The separation and clarity is absolutely nothing short of miraculous and revelatory.

For me, the real joy of these new remasters is the ability to hear James Jamerson's playing in perfect, note-for-note clarity. That cat may have been one of the greatest to ever play the instrument, and being able to hear him so clearly is so enjoyable in a manner I haven't experienced before with any other release.

I own the 2000 box set, several of the latest anthologies, and the 2006 HIP-O "Where Did Our Love Go" 2CD. None of these sound as good as these Japan issues.

I just checked my Japan-based source for mini-sleeves, and as of this writing, six of these Supremes CD's are already OOP (all `sleeves are limited edition). If you're a fan, don't delay in getting these, as they are priceless.

Link by title to the 2007 Japan mini-sleeve Supremes catalog:

Where Did Our Love Go
More Hits by The Supremes
Supremes A Go-Go
Sing Holland Dozier Holland
Reflections
Join The Temptations
Love Child
Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In
Cream Of The Crop

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

My favorite '60's Supremes song is here, My World Is Empty Without You. Also I Hear A Symphony. Besides Symphony the background vocals on 1-6 are very muted. Also somewhat true on My World but I think it makes that song even more sophisicated and haunting. Songs 8-12 have more background vocals. Diana, Mary and Florence give A Lover's Concerto their own style, one of my favorites on here.

A big fan of the Supremes. Had this exact album when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's. Enjoy their popularity and this CD brought by memories. All the song from I Hear A Symphony to Yesterday were a masterpiece. I CD condition was better than good.

In honor of Motown's 50th anniversary, this vinyl album has been re-released and serves as a reminder of why The Supremes remain the top female vocal group in pop music. Prior to this release the group recorded other albums geared to the crossover market including A Bit Of Liverpool,a salute to the groups of The British Invasion and released in the UK as From Us To You; a Country Western & Pop album, a Sam Cooke tribute album,We Remember Sam Cooke and the seasonal favorite,Merry Christmas. Following their successful run at the Copa, this album was a bridge to appeal to their teen fans with the title hit single, the single,My World Is Empty Without You and Northern Soul favorite He's All I Got (the B side of Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart) and standards to appeal to the adult market. When released in 1966 the LP reached number 8 on the US Charts, where it stayed in the top 40 for 14 weeks. Upon the 2004 release of the shelved album There's A Place For Us, we learn that the cover art was intended for that album and that during the I Hear A Symphony Sessions, the track All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings, (from the film Anchor's Aweigh) was not used; and for There's A Place For Us an alternate picture was used for that long awaited album's cover. The superior tracks are the hits mentioned above and the Holland Dozier Holland originals, Any Girl In Love and Everything Is Good About You (the B side of My World Is Empty Without You). Diana Ross fans will enjoy her solo versions of Yesterday and Without A Song. As was the practice at that time there are cover versions of other artists hits including The Righteous Brother's Unchained Melody and The Toy's Lover's Concerto, based on a The Anna Magadelena Notebook, a Bach Minuet. Pop trivia fans will recall that A Lover's Concerto was often mistaken as a Supremes hit and that The Supremes would appear with The Righteous Brothers in the movie Beach Ball wearing the gowns from the cover shoot. This album has been released on eight track, audio cassette, re-released in 1981, on CD and paired with the Where Did Our Love Go album on CD. When the title cut became the sixth number one hit the group used it as the overtures of their concerts and often performed the standards medley from this album including With A Song In My Heart; Stranger In Paradise, Wonderful Wonderful, Without A Song and Yesterday as a medley with Michelle. For a mellow mood buy this album!

To broaden their appeal, Berry Gordy began having The Supremes record showbiz standards in an effort for them to cross-over into white culture as well as firmly retaining their wide black base. The I Hear A Symphony album is a pure example of Berry Gordys shrewd marketing ploy.

Whilst some may argue that I Hear A Symphony shows off The Supremes versatility, I actually hold my hands up and admit that as something of a die-hard Soul/R&B/Motown fan, I find the rather kitsch showbiz covers corny, dated and in some parts quite ghastly.

Covers of old showbiz standards such as Stranger In Paradise and Wonderful, Wonderful are too heavily over-orchestrated and in the process sound painfully dated today whilst the middle-of-the-road cover versions are little better.

Their is a rather bland reading of the Beatles, Yesterday whilst there is little ignition in their ponderous version of The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody.

However the one reason for getting this album is the handful of tracks that contain the full injection of that riveting Motown sound. The title track, I Hear A Symphony marks a cross between Pop/R&B/Jazz and is so gloriously effective in its arrangements and its beautifully delivered performance from Diana. I Hear A Symphony saw their style maturing slightly and becoming more sophisticated. The track quickly became their sixth chart topper.

More powerful was the raw, rip-roaring, My World Is Empty Without You where Diaas surprisingly gritty, earthy vocal performance ignites this atmospheric recording that glided into the U.S Top 5 (though had all the momentum to go to No.1). More laid back and mellow is the sensational, Any Girl In Love (Knows What I'm Going Through) which was lyrically a re-working of Ask Any Girl. A fantastic album track!

The bouncy, Everything Is Good About You encapsulates the magical Motown sound and sounded ideal single material where as the Northern Soul vibes of He's All I Got goes down as one of their very best album recordings. Their harmonies blend so beautifully together and Diana just whips along the verses with such coviction.

So on the whole, (in my eyes at least) the I Hear A Symphony album is worth having purley on the recordings that receive an injection of the Motown sound.


Ian Phillips