Customer Reviews

Live in Japan

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

 

 

This live album is a rare treat because, recorded from a performance in Japan in 1973, this album was only released in Japan and the UK. Now we americans can finally hear this spectacular live performance by America's Sweethearts. The Supremes (Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, & Lynda Laurence) really brought down the house with the performances of their greatest hits, some of the 60's Supremes greatest hits, and just a few fillers. True I wasn't born yet and even if I was I probably would never have gotten to a performance in Japan. However, it all made for a great show. The girls truly shine on their performances of Liza Minelli's "Cabaret", "T.C.B" from the collaboration of Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations back in the late 60's. They also performed medleys of their hits, featuring "Up The Ladder To The Roof", "Automatically Sunshine", "Nathan Jones", and Floy Joy". However, they also revisited the classics of Diana Ross & The Supremes with a medley of "Reflections", "Where Did Our Love Go?", "Baby Love", and "My World Is Empty Without You". Also featured is their, at the time, new single release "Bad Weather". Also featuring MAry, performing her signature song "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", and a slow little ditty "Cherry, Cherry Pie", and finale of "Somewhere", this album is really worth buying. A word of advice however, if you really want this album, but don't want to wait for a long delivery if you buy it used, Hip-O-Select.com, is selling used special editions. Definitely worth your while, I highly suggest this album to all those Supremes fans out there.

The Supremes turned out some outstanding material in the years immediately following the departure of Diana Ross, as Mary Wilson attempted to keep the executives at Motown Records interested in promoting the group.

This live set, recorded on June 3, 1973, in Tokyo, though, has the kind of rocky history that began to plague the Supremes in their final years. It was initially only released in Japan in 1973 for a brief time. One year later the cover art turned up on a United Kingdom compilation release of the group's singles from 1970-1973.

In Japan was reissued in 2004 as a limited-edition CD - 5,000 produced -and retains the original artwork and liner notes. The group features Wilson, with Jean Terrell and Lynda Laurence. The trio was promoting the album, The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb, with the latest single, the Stevie Wonder-penned Bad Weather, as part of the set.

Terrell handles the lead vocals on the 1960s hits, but it is the New Hit Medley: Automatically Sunshine, Floy Joy, Nathan Jones, Up The Ladder To The Roof, that proves the trio can pack an artistic punch given quality material.

The final four songs - Bad Weather, Cherry Cherry Pie, Tossin' and Turnin' & Somewhere - finds the group feeding off the energy of a truly appreciative audience.

It has been speculated over the years that album was pulled from the Japanese market and not released in the United States because Terrell and Laurence left the Supremes in 1973. But it was also at the point where Wilson began to have mounting problems with Motown Records concerning material and contracts for the group.

Through it all, In Japan is a great live set and shows beyond a doubt that it was the unfortunate corporate drama that squandered this great opportunity to present the Supremes to their fans throughout the world.

I brought this CD and yes, I love it like I love everything else the Supremes ever did. Mary Wilson is so talented, I love the way she entertains with her sexy smokey voice. She is talented and I don't understand why periodically i will here that she cannot sing. Well whoever says that need their hearing checked. It is probably a disgrunted Diana Ross fan. I love this CD.

The Supremes were always great entertainers, singers and statement of fashion since the 1960's and always packed concert halls, tv appearances were expected with great anxiety by the fan base, when Diana Ross left the group, Jean Terrell took over the lead, a great voice, often describe as been better, quoted from a remark from Berry Gordy, than Diana Ross, but in all fairness, two different singers two different styles. This CD if you are a fan, should be in your collection, but it shows as to why The Supremes, did not survive, because the show itself reflects copying from old shows, and in the performance of the new recordings, people usually expect the songs to be sang if not like the recordings, but similar and this performance shows a distruction of those tunes. I bought it because as a fan of the group, I had to have it, but I have to admit that this is a poor performance of the girls, they could have done better. Perhaps this is also a verification of what Mary Wilson had been saying all along, that no guidance and direction was given to them once Diana Ross left the group. Talented they were and are, but not well directed and produced.

I am really happy that this album has world distribution after so long. To my knowledge, it is the only live recording of The Supremes in the 1970s and fills a void in their discography. However, I recommend it only for those who witnessed in person the greatness of the group during those years or are die hard fans. There are hints of that excellence in these recordings but the over all product suffers from bad production and mixing. The audio quality is dull, lacks brilliance, there's almost no stereo effect and the voices seem drawn as if muffled or recorded with inferior equipment. Jean Terrell could have benefit from a louder sound as well as the background vocals by Mary Wilson and Lynda Laurence. It is odd that this release comes with a great tasteful design and packaging but no effort was spent in improving the sound. (?) My favorites from the whole program are "Cherry, Cherry Pie" and "Tossin' and Turnin'" where the ladies seem to be having a lot of fun. Long waiting on my wish list are CDs of the last three albums by The Supremes ("He's My Man" album, High Energy and Mary, Scherrie & Susaye)

I only bought this album because I was a Supremes fan but there's a problem when the liner notes refer to the lead singer of the Supremes as "Tina Duress" instead of "Jean Terrell", even Lynda Laurence's name wasn't that bad "Linda Lorenz". The show didn't seem well put together as the good songs ended very quickly. I only bought it to hear Lynda sing something lead (I heard Mary and Jean all the time) but it wasn't worth it. I loved all of the Supremes and its a shame to see these women didn't get proper credability for doing such a good job, they were stressed out all the time because Motown kept dumping on them. I could hear it in Jean's voice that she was just tired of everything and she just did the concert to do it. I even felt the tension when she introduced Mary Wilson to do her solo song. The Supremes were FANTASTIC! All of them! Beautiful in their own ways, creative, intelligent ... but without proper pushing (and undercover haters in the management office) your spirit will begin to break and the fans will pick up on other music. The Supremes did their best to survive through the 70s but they were all tired of Motown and Pedro. Still the memories and songs from this era are the best hidden and recovered gems to exist.

i will always be a supremes fan but is no good a waste of money