Customer Reviews

Kim Weston - Greatest Hits & Rare Classics

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During her years at Motown (1963-1966), Kim Weston displayed one of most impressive vocal ranges in popular music. She could soulfully shout out the big ballad "Love Me All The Way" up in the stratosphere, settle in nicely at mid-range for the breezily melodic "Looking For The Right Guy," and then hit the duskier regions with the slow-building ballad "A Thrill A Moment." Whatever the range, none of these early Motown singles of Weston's were big hits, though each has its moments.

Stylistically, Weston was most adept at uptempo tunes, as her biggest solo hits, the infectious and rowdy "Take Me In Your Arms" and "Helpless," as well as her hit duet with Marvin Gaye on "It Takes You" attest. Still, she preferred ballads and they dominate the solo tracks - the A and B-sides of her eight Motown singles - which largely comprise this collection as well as the out of print 1991 US version of Motown's Greatest Hits And Rare Classics.

For the more "mature" side of Motown, get this CD today. For more of Weston, check out her post-Motown Volt album Kim, Kim, Kim (also available as an import). It's great too!

Burning and passionate is the effect of the great and under exposed voice of Motown great Kim Weston who continued to record tremendous albums after leaving Motown buy strangely without commercial success which must have been frustrating and confusing for a singer who was recording so many great albums and singles. Kim recorded many wonderful sides at MGM then went on to an independent label for the classic "Big Brass Four Poster" which is a truly extraordinary album then off to Volt Records for the overlooked brilliant "Kim, Kim, Kim" which is a stunning collection that shows the full extraordinary range of this magnificent singer and thankfully is available on compact disc (but sadly now a hard to obtain import) and essential to any lover of great singers in peak form with great songs and arrangements! Opening this wonderfully eclectic collection is the hit duet with Motown legend Marvin Gaye "It Takes Two" and these brilliant singers match each other note for note and create a masterpiece which is one of many in this great collection. Soulfully stirring with a driving rhythm track and a burning Weston vocal is the thrilling "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me For A Little While)" which is high on the list of all-time Motown classics and should have gone to #1 and was very successful in clubs!! Equally great and also a dance club hit is the riveting athem "Helpless" recorded by other Motown greats but none close to this urgent Weston version which features a red hot vocal and a driving rhythm track that burns. Additional duets with Marvin are classic pairings while it is amazing that gorgeous athems such as "I'm Still Loving You" and "Love Me All The Way" were not huge hits as they are the cream of the crop of Motown's classic sixties output. In my teens I will never forget hearing Kim for the first time on the car radio singing the unforgettable classic that still gives me a rush every time and "A Thrill A Moment" is above and beyond the finest from Motown...smoldering is Kim's exciting and passionate vocal that is peerless and this great singer has not receive the acclaim that she justly deserves!! Do not miss this awesome collection of Motown classics and listen to the bluesy passion of "Just Loving You" and wonder how a singer this incredibly gifted slipped through the cracks...an extraordinary singer for all time...Thank you Kim Weston for sharing the gift of your voice...for anyone who loves classic Motown and loves great singers, DO NOT MISS THIS!!!

Kim Weston should have been a big star. But Berry Gordy was more interested in promoting some of his other artists and Kim remained under appreciated (and under exposed).
The first three tracks (IT TAKES TWO; TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS; HELPLESS) are outstanding, as good as the best of mid-60s Motown. There are 20 tracks included and other standouts are A LOVE LIKE YOURS (DON'T COME KNOCKING EVERYDAY); DON'T COMPARE ME WITH HER; and GO AHEAD AND LAUGH. Most of (if not all) Kim's forgotten singles and B-sides are included here, including several duets with Marvin Gaye. Kim never got her own solo Motown album back in the day, so this is a REAL TREAT for her fans and a great addition to the collections of all Motown/soul fans who might not be especially familiar with her.

Kim Weston is the most underappreciated Motown artist. Her "Take Me In Your Arms" and "Hopeless Situation" are anthologized, and deserve it, but here are some of the rest, and the ratio of gold to dross is high. Undiscovered Motown treasures--who could ask for more than that?

I first remember hearing Kim in Junior High when "Helpless" came on the radio. Its driving beat and Kims powerful voice was pure guts and emotion... dang, I went out and bought that single jiffy quick. I soon waited for an album, but that never came, but did find "Helpless" in STEREO on an old Motown collection LP. It was magnificent, and still is. I then found some older 45s in a favorite record store around 1967 and bought "Just Loving You", a soulful and bluesy cut, then "Take Me in Your Arms", which totally blew me away. Soon the Marvin Gaye-Kim Weston "Take Two" album came out around that time and I enjoyed that a great deal... I wish I could find that masterpiece on CD. Finally Kim made an MGM album around 1968 and I finally had a real Kim Weston album. That one is long out of print.

To find this CD now is marvelous... even though it is only released in monaral sound. Her great Motown-Tamla hits are here, including the above, "It Takes Two", "Go Ahead and Laugh" (which Martha and the Vandellas" recorded on their "Watch Out" album, and "Don't Compare Me With Her".. this is an awesome CD from one of the most powerful and rich voices to grace the Motown label. Highly recommended!
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"A Thrill A Moment" (Track 17) should have been the title for this greatest hits and rarities album. Kim Weston sings "Love, exciting you are. Hey love, inviting you are. So raw, so rare, so sweet, how fair. Thrill A Moment, just loving you. Each precious moment, I find anew." *I* say she is singing about this album, which will reside in your CD player for at least three weeks before you consider putting anything else in. Some songs are rare, some she sings in a style best described as raw, the whole album is inviting and exciting. Each song features Weston's vocals which range from a low slinky purr to a powerful gospel belt that you feel down your spine. Classic Weston hits like "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye, "Looking For The Right Guy" "Love Me All The Way" and the percolating "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)" are there to enjoy but don't miss rare stuff like her subtle "Do Like I Do", the effortless rise and fall of her voice in "A Little More Love" and the dreamy and restrained (well, for Weston restrained!) "Teach Me Tonight" with Marvin. Did I mention "A Thrill A Moment"? I'm mentioning it again! Weston lets the clutch out on her soul and infuses such energy into this song, you wish you could hug her to say thanks. Her voice in this tune stuck in my head for days. I'm betting the also-underrated Motown backup singers, The Andantes, were in on that one. Motown deserves a slap on the wrist for not utilizing or promoting Weston to her full, soulful, potential. Hear her voice then wonder why she isn't mentioned in the same breath as Martha Reeves and overrated "Diva" Diana Ross. I'd actually give this wonderful CD SEVEN stars out of five for being a superb showcase for this totally underrated Motown star. *Trivia: Look in the liner notes to see which song was supposedly Kim Weston's all-time favourite. I'd love to ask her why... And thank her for giving her fans a thrill a moment.

I LISTEN TO THIS DISC ALL THE TIME BECAUSE IT REMINDS ME OF BEING A TEENAGER AND OF ALL THE GREAT MUSIC THAT WAS COMING OUT OF DETROIT IN THAT ERA. KIM WESTON IS CONSIDERED BY SOME AS THE BEST SINGER AT MOTOWN. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR DIANA ROSS TO DELIVER "A THRILL A MOMENT". IF YOU LIKE OLD MOTOWN THIS SHOULD BE IN YOUR COLLECTION.

Kim Weston is the most underappreciated Motown artist. Her "Take Me In Your Arms" and "Helpless" are anthologized, and deserve it, but here's the rest, and the ratio of gold to dross is high. Undiscovered Motown treasures--who could ask for more than that?

I'm new to the music of Kim Weston. The only song I ever heard from her was the hit duet with Marvin Gaye "It Takes Two" which I always thought was Tammi Terrell.

Anyway, I decided to give KIM WESTON GREATEST HITS & RARE CLASSICS a try after reading the reviews left by other Amazon customers and I'm glad I did.

Weston has a strong melodic voice that sounds like velvet. At times she sounds like a cross between Diana Ross and Patti Labelle, but without the reediness of Ross or the nasally sound of Labelle, and is at home with the up-tempo songs as well as the ballads.

This compilation is a good mix between up-tempo songs and ballads and has that Motown sound that was so unique to the 60s. Some of the standouts:

***Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)
***Helpless
***I'm Still Loving You
***A Little More Love

Actually I really like most of the songs on this cd, and all the duets with Marvin Gaye are good too.

I recommend this cd to any fan of Motown or the 60s. And also for those who are looking for a wonderful songbird who slipped under the radar.