Customer Reviews

The Supreme Florence Ballard: 18 Essential Original Recordings

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

OK for all you Florence Ballard Fans who have been waiting for years to hear the songs that comprised her 1968 Album here it is: The remastered CD called: The Supreme Florence Ballard. This CD contains 18 tracks 14 tracks from her April & August 1968 recording sessions for ABC Records in New York and 4 from the Supremes era. The CD contains many remakes such as "Yesterday" "Walk On By" "Its Not Unusual" & "Goin Out Of My Head" & "The Impossible Dream" with the later along with Yesterday being among the best. The original tracks featuring the opening "Like You Babe" is probably the best track on the album it is reminiscent of the Etta James "Tell Mama" sound also recorded in 1968. Like You Babe is the Florence Ballard sound, it is funky, dancey & Flo' is able to let loose, producer George Kerr is heard at times on the cut in a slight duet effect, but this is a Flo Ballard highlite. The 1st & 2nd singles "It Doesn't Matter How I Say It" the Supremes sounding track along with the improved "Love Ain't Love" are both here remastered and sounding wonderful, for new fans of Florence to here as well as the orignal ballads namely "My Heart" "Stay In Love" & "Forever Faithful" all very strong ballads and very well put together, those songs grow on you, because they're the original r&b sounds we grew up on. The one weak link on the CD is "Everything Wonderful" that song does not do much and it is not catchy. The set features to many remakes, and could have used some more dance numbers allowing for more versatility but.... The CD has 4 tracks with Flo as lead with The Supremes: "Buttered Popcorn" 1961 the Supremes 2nd single & "Ain't That Good News" from 1965 will get you on you feet Mary and especially Diana are prominently heard in the background. The two new tracks are "Hey Baby" 1961 a soundalike of "Buttered Popcorn" indicating what would have been a followup tune had "Popcorn" been a hit. "Hey Baby" is catchy and dancey a joy to hear & the final track "Heavenly Father" a soft churchy tune is another ballad which absolutely proves Florence Ballard was a versatile singer able to handle all types of tunes and this CD will have you wondering why her career had ended, just as it had begun. At last the Florence Ballard tracks are here for us to enjoy. Just imagine what could have been had Flo been able to become a major recording artist. Had this Album turned CD been released in 1968 who knows her fate could have taken a different turn altogether.

In the beginning, Florence Ballard was a very important member of The Supremes. Her voice always stood out, because it was so big. She endeared herself to fans and spectators with her sense of humor and enjoyment of performing. You get a feel for the potential and maturity in her voice upon listening to the background vocals on the album WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO. Her soprano part on "Your Kiss of Fire" is spectacular, and is excellent on the entire album. You hear the gospel, bluesy, almost operatic voice in her arresting tag line in "Long Gone Lover" from that same album. Her sass and sense of fun is eminently evident in her lead on "Buttered Popcorn," from MEET THE SUPREMES and on her solo verse in "It Makes No Difference Now," from SUPREMES SING COUNTRY, WESTERN AND POP, which I believe to be her most distinctive performance on record, in terms of delivery and personality. Yes, Florence stood out in The Supremes in those early years.

It made the music so much more interesting to hear multiple leads on the few selections where this applies. When one is part of a group, the listener expects to hear contributions from all members, especially when it's a VOCAL group. But, apparently, Diana Ross and Berry Gordy had a plan to further her career only, so the focus on team and group and fairness was shot to hell. A tremendous and unfortunate waste of talent and opportunity. Diana's voice was very commercially appealing at the time, and her personality sparkled, her ambition great. She, by all accounts, was a very hard worker. But, she certainly wasn't the only talented, ambitious, and capable one in the Supremes. There was a special quality, ability, and magic in all three. This fact was recognized by the Motown label mates. It would have helped everyone's eventual career, including, yes, Diana Ross', too, if all 3 Supremes had been utilized to full potential on leads AND backgrounds. Ms. Ross' career has never recovered, I dare say, from the backlash of her perceived spotlight-hogging, and scene-stealing "antics." We all know Ms. Ballard's fate, untimely death at 32. However, it is comforting and even inspiring to know that Mary Wilson has survived and thrived. She constantly works in music performance, lecture and motivational work, theatre, writing, civic and charity work, and even earned a college degree in recent years.

On this collection, THE SUPREME FLORENCE BALLARD, it is truly sad to see the decline of a performer with apparently so much potential. The original project had promise: a former Supreme, actually the first to ever have a solo recording; former Motown producers and writers working with the artist, and a natural curiosity on the part of the public. The opportunity was squandered, not so much in production values, but in choice of material, and of course, in apparent lack of interest or inability to overcome depression and demons of the artist herself. Sure, "Love Ain't Love," b/w "Forever Faithful," are OK. The latter especially in the Supremes groove. Since this was actually Ms. Ballard's second single, the interest and promotion were most probably lacking, and there has always been talk of possible sabotage by reps of her former record company to squash radio airplay. Who knows? The selection and performances on this project's cover tunes were misdirected and uninspired. The one standout original, and there seems to be quite a bit of agreement on this, is "Like You, Babe," which is a fun, bluesy number similar in feel to "Buttered Popcorn." but, this was never released as a single, and was never heard by the general public until this collection. No one seemed interested in developing Florence or helping her overcome her demons, and maybe she had given up, as well. By this time, the booming voice, and the promise, had faded.

As a Supremes completist, and in honor of Ms. Ballard, I purchased this collection, and am glad I have it. But, I don't actually listen much, because of the sadness it causes.

Five stars because of the history involved in this recording. Florence Ballard sounds like a person who is quite depressed, as she might well be. She also wasn't in her healthiest voice for many of the tracks, but she probably hadn't sung much the year before she recorded the majority of the work.

There is a big difference in spirit between the Supremes' tracks and those of her alone. She, Diana and Mary were in best voice with each other. It's simply a fact of life. They had worked too hard together for too long for this not to be.

If there had been more support and love, Miss Ballard would have been an excellent, confident musician in her own right. All of the songs are worth listening to and learning from. Even the text error in "The Impossible Dream" is forgivable. She probably simply lost her place. It shows that the producers didn't really care as much about quality as about handling a potential paycheck. And honey, there ain't nothin' we can do about it.

When you listen to her sing, think of the beautiful, unpretentious young girl we used to watch on so many TV shows with her talented partners. Smile and say a prayer for Flo and her family.

This is a great CD and Florence Ballard could have very easily replaced Diana Ross when she left the Supremes and held her own. She has a really, beautiful, thick voice that just mellows you out when you listen to it. It's like you have to stop in mid-track whatever you're doing, to give her your undivided attention. Her voice almost puts you in a trance.

However, her voice does sound kind of sad, she has a pain in her voice similar to Billie Holliday's. The last few tracks are songs that she led while she was still with the Supremes and you can hear the difference in her voice. She sounds much happier and bouncy on the Supremes tracks than she does on the tracks she sang alone. Bless her heart, she really did try to pick up the shattered pieces and make a new start.

This album didn't go anywhere because Florence wasn't allowed to be identified as a former Supreme (this was part of her departure agreement). Because so much attention was given to another member of the group, the public probably didn't even know her name or Mary's name for that matter. Also the ABC label didn't have a "Black" division in their department so they really didn't promote it. I also believe the Detroit radio stations refused to play it because they were completely behind Motown all the way.

This is a good CD but it's kind of sad to listen to. It's melancholy, bittersweet. It makes you thankful that someone finally released this album, but it also makes you sad to think about what could have been, how far she really could have gone.

If you want to hear how well 'Ms. Blondie' could sing, this CD is for you. Ms. Ross wasn't the only one in the group with talent, Mary and Florence just never did get their chance to shine. This CD finally gives Florence that chance. Enjoy!

Ms. Florence Ballard (formally of the Supremes) can finally be heard. This shelved collection of songs for her solo debut (1968)can now see the light. I was impressed with the original songs; "Love Ain't Love" & "Forever Faithful" as well as covers such as "It's not unusual" (Tom Jones) & "Walk on by" (Dionne Warwick). Unforturnately, I do believe it would not have faired well with the buying public, and if it did, it would have been only for two reasons: 1)Florence was a former Supreme, 2)She has a powerful voice. The material could have been better for such a strong vocalist.

I would still recommend this CD, only if you are a supreme fan who looks beyond the stardom of Diana Ross.

Buy it only for your Supreme collection!!!!!

Ok, ok, lets get it over with at the start, Florence Ballard was probably a stronger singer than Diana Ross. Why then, were Diana Ross & the Supremes the premier American group of the 1960's and Flo the "Gal that got away"? The answer to that question can be found in this album. At her best on "It Doesn't Matter How I Say It", or "Love Aint Love", Florence is a better than average singer who is just developing a charm and style of her own. Both efforts, however, are hindered by second rate musical tracks and lackluster backround vocals. At Motown, these songs MAY have been considered album tracks but are far too un-rythmic to have ever been issued as singles. On "The Supreme Florence Ballard",we get the opportunity to compare the rollicking Motown version of "Aint that Good News" to the insipid ABC version of "Yesterday". On "Good News", Ballards' genuine brilliance shines through a busy arrangement,(ala Diana Ross), while the Beatle tune underscores the fact that it really WAS the Motown Sound that put these performers on the map. When they stray too far from it, the results can be virtually un-listenable. What all of these tracks prove,however, beyond any doubt is that if Ballard had only put up with second string status for a mere 24 more months, she definately WOULD have become the lead singer of the "post Diana" Supremes (in fact, Jean Terrell who GOT the job in 1970, sounds a great deal like Florence!) Imagine Flo tearing into "Up The Ladder to the Roof".... Like Judy Garland, Florence Ballard has attained cult status partly because of her fall from grace. As the Bob Mackie gowned Supremes glittered in choreographed lockstep through Las Vegas,New York, Miami and San Francisco, Florence lost her money, her fame, her home, and finally her life. Today, she is as well known for her unabity to maintain a career as she is for her talents. This album shows only too well, the promise that her career might have held.

It's a minor miracle that fans of the legendary Supremes finally get to hear all of the tracks recorded by the tragic Florence Ballard in 1968 for her unreleased debut solo album on the ABC label after she was sacked by Motown from the supergroup. There was a time when speculation was rife among Supremes fans that tapes of these recordings had been destroyed to obliterate the memory of Flo forever. Now we have it on CD, plus four early Supremes tracks featuring Flo on lead vocals. It's often asserted and become an accepted fact that of the three original members of the Supremes, Flo had the best voice. All the more tragic because as the group quickly achieved superstar status with a non-stop run of #1 hits between 1964 and 1967, Flo found herself increasingly pushed to the background as Berry Gordy connived to groom the ambitious Diana Ross for a solo career. All that is history but the sad truth, listening to these tracks, is that despite Flo's arresting personality and her soulful sassy style, the album had it been released would have almost certainly bombed. The choice of material chosen by ABC suggests that they didn't have a clue how to record or market her. What is poor Flo doing with unimaginative covers of songs associated with cabaret artistes like Shirley Bassey, Andy Williams, Matt Monro and Tom Jones ? Why was she lumbered with such dirge when she could have been given original material worthy of the soulful torch singer she was ? Sure, Motown was guilty of the same lack of musical direction for the post-Flo Supremes during this period when they too were made to record showbizzy type songs for Vegas type audiences. But that doesn't make it alright or any less unfair considering the world would never get to hear what Flo was truly capable of. To her credit, Flo did her best with swinging versions of "The Impossible Dream" and "Going Out Of My Head" but the other covers - "Yesterday", "Yours Until Tomorrow", "Walk On By" & "It' Not Unusual" - are just plain bad. The single sides ("It Doesn't Matter How I Say It", "Love Ain't Love" & "Forever Faithful") and most of the other original material (eg, "Like You Baby" & "Stay In Love"), though sometimes less than stunning, fare much, much better and provide a clue on how her recording career might have developed had she not met her tragic and untimely death. The four early Supremes bonus tracks are great, particularly "Ain't That Good News" from the "The Supremes Sing Sam Cooke" album which showed how Flo could sing rings round the nose of Diana Ross in those days. This is an essential album to own if you're a fan of Flo or the Supremes. It's sad that the only album the talented Flo would ever record sound so misdirected but it's all we have and for that reason, I'm eternally grateful to have this in my collection.

Florence Ballard's only solo album is so good, that I cannot explain to myself why we had to wait until 2001 to have Flo on our CD players. Rumors have circulated for three decades, insinuating Motown Records did not see her solo career with good eyes, since the company was by then developing Diana Ross into a star. That may be just a rumor, but judging the album under 1968 standards (as it must be done), it's a perfect R&B collection. If one compares it to The Supremes contemporary releases, in my opinion the positive balance is on Flo's side. With the exception of "Diana Ross and The Supremes Join The Temptations", the trio's output in 1968 was rather weak." The album "Reflections" had one good side, thanks to Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland, but side B had too many producers and it was filled with uninspired covers of other artists' hits. On the other hand, Flo's CD has unity, a single producer, and she displays her powerful voice, even if one may say she was still finding her style. When "Like You Babe" opens, and Florence shouts "Alright!" you know you are in for a treat, and she fulfills her promise with the whole collection, something that not one 1968-1969 Supremes album could achieve. She also does covers -of "The Impossible Dream", "Going Out of My Head" and "It's Not Unusual"-, but with a lot of sass, and demonstrating her vocal prowess. There are many good things in this CD: it also includes her singles on ABC, and two of her best Supremes solos: the cult and campy classic "Buttered Popcorn" and her wonderful version of Sam Cooke's "Good News". It had been a long time since I did not buy something as good as "The Supreme Florence Ballard". Enjoy it!

Florence Glenda Ballard, born 30th June 1943, the eighth of thirteen children, did pretty well for someone from the Brewster Housing Project in Detroit, as did some of the Primettes, the group she founded from the neighborhood in 1957. They became the Supremes and conquered the world.

Unfortunately, the pressures of fame and fortune affected "Blondie" adversely. She developed alcohol, diet pill and drug dependencies, had weight problems and became increasingly unreliable. Berry Gordy's decision that Diana Ross should be the Supremes' lead singer didn't help, as it didn't suit Flo's temperament to be sidelined in such a way. She didn't, for example, turn up for the recording session for My World Is Empty Without You and session singer Marlene Barrow had to deputize, and she had a number of rows about her role within the group with Berry Gordy and Diana Ross.

On 29th June 1967, while the Supremes performed at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas NV, Flo was ousted from Motown for her "unprofessional behaviour." The official line was that the strain of constant touring had led her to retire.

She signed as a solo artist to ABC, but due to the terms of the annulment of her contract was not allowed to mention her former status as a Supreme, a problem the present compilers seem not to have had. Work began on an album to be called You Don't Have To in March 1968, and the sessions produced a single, It Doesn't Matter How I Say It (It's What I Say That Matters), with a version of Goin' Out of My Head on the flipside.

It Doesn't Matter How I Say It was arranged by Richard Tee and had more of a Motown type of sound than most of the album tracks, where the producer George Kerr struggled to find the right setting for her voice and style. Unsympathetic arrangements of standard material such as the flipside plus The Impossible Dream and It's Not Unusual were not entirely conquered by Florence's testing vocals, and there was some lack of direction. Yesterday and Walk On By were presumably designed to explore Florence's vocal range, while the likeable Like You Babe instead mimicked the stylings of Stax Records. Just as Mary Wells couldn't recreate the Motown magic elsewhere, and just as the Crystals couldn't find a hit without Phil Spector, so Florence Ballard struggled away from the Hitsville production line she had rebelled against.

These problems were clearly addressed as the follow-up single, Love Ain't Love, was much stronger. Produced in August 1968 by Robert Bateman, who Flo knew from his work at Motown in the Supremes days, written by Van McCoy and arranged by Bert DeCoteaux, it had a far more confident and forward looking northern soul kind of sound that should have put her career back on track. Forever Faithful, the flipside, from the same sessions but written and arranged by Bob Bateman, whilst being another strong sound and performance also emulated the Motown style, and could have been an A-side in its own right.

Unfortunately, it also failed to chart except in Detroit, and ABC canned the album and dropped her from the label just nine months after signing her. Other record labels were allegedly reluctant to sign her for fear of falling out with Berry Gordy. She made some TV and public appearances before taking maternity leave (she was pregnant with twins, and had a third child in 1972), but her career never recovered.

By 1975 she had come off welfare, reconciled with her husband, bought a car and found a new home at 17701 Shaftsbury St. in Detroit. Plans were afoot to resume her singing career, but events took a tragic turn.

Flo was always extremely popular with the fans, and when she died prematurely on 22nd February 1976 at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital of a coronary thrombosis, there was a widespread shock, and there are ripples of the outpourings of love from her fans still clearly evident from a cursory search of the internet today.

Finally, 33 years after they were recorded, most of the tracks she recorded for the album were released on this compilation, which also includes the ABC singles and four of the tracks from the early days of the Supremes on which she does sing lead. As a result, the valuable contribution she made to the Detroit music scene in its early days has been re-appraised and recognised.

Apart from the ABC singles, the four Motown tracks are of the greatest interest. Buttered Popcorn is a lively dance craze number which began life in 1961 as the B-side of Who's Lovin' You, but was switched after DJs favoured it in airplay. It was also on their debut album, Meet The Supremes. Ain't That Good News comes from the 1965 album We Remember Sam Cooke and is a real showcase for her vocal strengths. Both these tracks are in full stereo. Hey Baby probably comes from the same sessions as Buttered Popcorn. The song, by Berry Gordy, is fairly throwaway but is enlivened by a gutsy vocal and that great early Motown sound. It was previously unreleased as was the sweet, devotional Heavenly Father, from August 1961.

Berry Gordy may well have been correct in his commercial decision to make Diana Ross the group's focus and primary lead singer, but it is sad that Flo and Mary were not given a little more scope on the albums, especially Flo as she was the group's founder, original lead singer and energizer. Let us hope there are more examples of Flo's lead vocals in the Motown vaults to be discovered in the future.

I have found a couple of other released tracks on which she sang lead with the Supremes and there may be others. Let Me Go The Right Way was a 1962 A-side later included on Meet The Supremes, now to be found on The Motown Box. You Bring Back Memories was on the B-side of My Heart Can't Take No More in 1963, and is available on the CD Early Classics. Her version of Silent Night was on 1965's Merry Christmas and is on the Spectrum compilation Merry Christmas From Motown. She is also featured to dramatic effect in the closing moments of Long Gone Lover (on the album Where Did Our Love Go).

I began playing this CD in the hopes of finally being able to hear Florence in all her vocal splendor. I know that she is a top-notch first soprano (listen to her top-harmony backgrounds on "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone," "Standing At The Crossroads Of Love," and "Whisper You Love Me Boy," just to name a few)--able to belt out some of the highest notes humanly possible. My uncle knew her personally, and attended some of the recording sessions where Florence had to stand at least 8 to 10 steps back from the mic because her voice literally overpowered those of both Mary and Diana in the studio. But having a strong voice and using this instrument to generate a polished vocal delivery are two entirely different things.

I began playing this cd with my eyes closed, carefully listening to each song. I found myself silently encouraging Florence to put more "feeling" or "umph" behind her vocal deliveries of each song when an important bridge warranted such a change or a vamp at the end of the song would have fared much better with a stronger vocal finish. Imagine my disappointment when these things didn't happen!

As the previous customer ratings suggest, the material compiled for Florence's first album needed major re-working. The producers of these songs should have fully utilized the maximum potential of Florence's voice--encouraging her to sing out on songs warranting strong finishes. On some of the songs in this compilation, Florence seems dejected--almost depressed. You find your heart going out to her, wondering what pain she must have been feeling when she was recording those particularly sadly delivered songs. What fun it would have been to actually listen to Florence singing songs she actually enjoyed singing! One notable exception would be "Ain't That Good News" taken from the Supremes--We Remember Sam Cooke LP. It was smart to put that song on this compilation so that new Supremes fans could see the opposite end of the vocal spectrum that Florence could deliver.

Would I recommend the purchase of this cd to anyone? Only to the truest die-hard Supremes fans.