Where Did Our Love Go / I Hear A Symphony [CD, JP-Import]

Supremes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: CD, JP-Import
• Label: Motown
• ASIN: B000F5DQMY
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,152 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2 All Time Great Classic Motown Albums On 1 Compact Disc by Diana Ross & The Supremes. "Where Did Our Love Go" & "I Hear A Symphony". Original cover Art. Motown Label Made In Japan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5, BUT ONLY FOR WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO, April 5, 2005

By 

VINCENT P TARSITANO (PORT ORANGE, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Did Our Love Go / I Hear a Symphony (Audio CD)

WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO is an excellent, excellent collection of music. The album reached #2 on the pop lp chart, and is reportedly the best selling POP album of 1964. That was a tremendous accomplishment for The Supremes and for Motown Records at the time.

The Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and producing unit had hit its stride, if not its peak, at the time this music was released. They are represented with several of the tunes here, including 3 pop #1's [Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me], as well as the girls' first top 40 hit [When The Lovelight Starts...], which is somewhat of a Phil Spector soundalike, and is quite a production and performance. It also includes the classic H-D-H production/composition, "Ask Any Girl," which is one of the prototypes of symphonic soul, and features that incredible, and incredibly hummable "La-La-La" background by Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. The very first H-D-H/Supremes collaboration, "I'm Giving You Your Freedom," which is a major gem, is also included.

I particularly like the 2 Smokey Robinson-produced selections, "Long Gone Lover" and "A Breathtaking Guy." The former, a real soul-rocker, starts out with Mary's great alto part, and ends with an arresting, gospel-tinged tag by Florence, the latter featuring fill-in lines on the chorus by Florence and Mary, which gives an additional glimpse at "the other 2 singers'" glorious talent, which was squelched more and more as time went on in order to promote Diana Ross' supremacy within the group.

In my opinion, it was an incredulously unfortunate move to suppress 2/3 of the group's talent, in spite of Diana's effective, exciting leads on so many classic hits.

Anyway, an early Norman Whitfield effort is included, as well, and it is pretty stunning ["He Means The Word To Me"]. One of the very great treats on this album is a Robert Gordy production, "Your Kiss of Fire," which features absolutely knockout backing vocals, especially Flo's soprano part. Amazing! H-D-H's "Run, Run, Run" was meant to capitalize on the success of "Lovelight," and failed, in spite of it being an above-average early effort. Also, their "Standing At The Crossroads of Love," is a gem.

That should account for all 12-tunes on this extraordinary set, which needs to be in any pop, r&b, Supremes, Motown, or early-mid 60's music enthusiast's collection.

As for I HEAR A SYMPHONY: the title tune is one of Motown, The Supremes, and H-D-H's best. "Everything Is Good About You," is very beautiful, and is almost a Diana solo. "He's All I Got" and "Any Girl In Love" are above-average H-D-H productions. All of the cover tunes, though well produced, are uninspired. Diana's voice seems somewhat clunky on some of these tunes, and there is a suppressed sound to the background singing, when present. Here is a classic example of an album that had those good Motown intentions of expanding the artists' appeal, but that would most certainly have benefitted from including the "other 2 singers'" immense talent and contributions, which might have better suited certain songs. In spite of these shortcomings, The Supremes still had enough draw at this point for this effort to reach #8 pop.

Note that the packaging of the above is quite interesting, featuring a slip case and novel jewel case. The booklet isn't anything special, just a few pictures and track annotations. Overall, a good buy, with WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO constituting absolutely ESSENTIAL Supremes.

Also note that, via Hip-O-Select, and released in early 2005 in limited edition, is available a beautiful, deluxe 2 cd edition of WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO. It features lovely packaging and full-color booklet with copious notes and photos. Disc One contains BOTH mono and stereo versions of the album, from start to finish, and in that order. Disc Two contains many previously unreleased tunes that were either recorded during the WDOLG sessions, or during the same time period, a handful of which were probably worth releasing back then, and none of which feature lead vocals other than Diana's. It is a rather expensive deal at nearly $40. As a huge Supremes fan and near-completist, I sprung for it. Worth considering.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Unviersal/Motown, March 23, 2001

By 

John P. Reed "John in Sacramento" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Did Our Love Go / I Hear a Symphony (Audio CD)

When the Original "2 on 1 CD" series came out in 1986, I purchased all of them. When I saw these re-released last fall with "remastered" on them, I was suspicious. I bought this one and listned to it track by track, back to back with the 1986 release. This remastered version is just that! Fantastic! The 1986 releases sounded so "compressed" and flat in comparison to the 2000 releases.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two contrasting albums from the Supremes, April 12, 2003

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Did Our Love Go / I Hear a Symphony (Audio CD)

The Supremes began their period of success with the first of these two albums and the singles taken from it. The second album was recorded a couple of years later.

Where did our love go yielded three number one American hits, two of which (Where did our love go, Baby love) were also huge UK hits, while the third (Come see about me) was a more modest top thirty UK hit. Baby love was the only Supremes single to top the UK chart, though Diana Ross has also reached number one in the UK as a solo singer. The whole of this album comprised original material, either written by Holland-Dozier-Holland or by Smokey Robinson. The three famous songs are typical of the album. They are also the best tracks, but the rest of the album is well worth hearing.

By contrast, I hear a symphony is dominated by covers, although it contains some original songs. The originals include the title track, another American chart-topper, and My world is empty without you, an American top five hit. In the UK, the first only just made the top 40 and the second didn't chart at all, but both are well-known in the UK despite that.

The covers show another aspect of their music, including such classics as Stranger in paradise, Yesterday, Unchained melody, With a song in my heart, Without a song and A lover's concerto - a wide range of sources that demonstrated their versatility.

I have no idea why these albums were paired, but both of them are excellent.