Diana Ross Swept Away [Japan Edition] (2005).rar

[Pablo Barjavel]

Diana Ross and/or The SupremesReviewed on this page:
Where Did Our Love Go - A Bit Of Liverpool - Sing Country Western And Pop - More Hits By The Supremes - Merry Christmas - I Hear A Symphony - At The Copa - A Go Go - Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland - Sing Rodgers & Hart - Reflections - Live At London's Talk Of The Town -Join The Temptations - Love Child - Let The Sunshine In - Together - Let The Music Play: Supreme Rarities 1960-1969- Farewell - Right On -Diana Ross (1970) - Everything Is Everything - The Magnificent Seven - New Ways But Love Stays - Surrender - The Return Of The Magnificent Seven - Lady Sings The Blues - Blue - Floy Joy - Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb - Touch Me In The Morning - Diana & Marvin - Last Time ISaw Him - The Supremes - Diana Ross (1976) - High Energy - An Evening With Diana Ross - BabyIt's Me - The Boss - Diana - Why Do Fools Fall InLove - Ross - SweptAway - Eaten Alive - RedHot Rhythm and Blues - Workin'Overtime - The Force Behind The Power - The Lady Sings Jazz and Blues... Stolen Moments - Take Me Higher - Every Day Is A New Day - I Love You The most commercially successful of all Motown's 60s acts, which is saying quite a bit. Sinceeveryone at Motown used the same backing musicians, and theSupremes didn't write their own material (Smokey Robinson was theonly Motown artist during this period who wrote all his own hits),what set them apart? Well, a lot of it is due to lead singer DianaRoss, who coasted through Motown's most complex arrangements with a cool voice that could carry a heavy emotional payload. Also, they had Motown's mostconsistently original songwriting/producing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. I also think that for whatever reason the Supremes inspired HDH more than the Four Tops did (HDH also wrote all of the Tops' hits).Motown's Quality Control people usually released the best cuts assingles, so you can get away with buying an anthology, but isn't itmore fun to listen to the whole album, weak tracks and all? Anyway,if you get bored with Diana you can always listen to bassist JamesJamerson and drummer Bennie Benjamin pounding away, and Mike Terry laying down genre-defining bari sax solos. Plus groovy vibes parts. Thesefolks were so far ahead of the standard R&B rhythm sections (to saynothing of rock and rollers) it's not even funny. Because I don't get enough hate mail, I've compared songs sung by Ross, Dionne Warwick andAretha Franklin on our Diva Demolition Derby page. Special thanks to Bob Wilhite for information on the Supremes' post-Diana years. (DBW)Lineup (all vocalists):Florence Ballard, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, MaryMcGlown. McGlown left 1961, replaced by Barbara Martin, whoalso left 1961. Ballard left 1967, replaced by Cindy Birdsong(ex-Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles). Ross quit, replaced by JeanTerrell, 1969. Birdsong replaced by Lynda Laurence, 1972, butreturned in 1974; Terrell replaced by Sherrie Payne, 1974.Birdsong replaced by Susaye Green, 1975. Wilson quit, groupdisbanded, 1977. Meet The Supremes (1964)
Famously, the Supremes were the last early Motown act to have a hit single before becoming the most popular group on the label. Berry Gordy was so determined to break the Supremes that he not only put out flop single after flop single (his own "Let Me Go The Right Way") he collected them onto an LP. The group worked with almost every house production team except Holland-Dozier-Holland, and it's one four-chord bubblegum soul tune after another ("Buttered Popcorn") with no distinguishing features. If you're a Flo or Mary partisan, othing to spend your meal money on.(DBW) Where Did Our Love Go? (1964)
Okay, break out your meal money for this one, the beginning of the Holland-Dozier-Holland run. A bunch of smashesthat still work fifty years later - "Baby Love," "Come See AboutMe" and the title song all went to #1 - and helped define the Sound of Young America.Inventive arrangements, with unusual percussion including the feet-in-sandbox intro to "Baby Love," and a stunning octave leap on the chorus of "Standing At The Crossroads Of Love." The album is padded out with some earlier unsuccessful singles - "Long Gone Lover," "I'm Giving You Your Freedom," "Run, Run Run" - though even these are well constructed. Throughout, this is the single best album to hear Mike Terry on baritone sax, perhaps the most underacknowledged of all the Motown musicians ("When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes"). (DBW) A Bit Of Liverpool (1964)
At this point Motown viewed singles as their main moneymakers, and LPs as opportunities to cross over to new audiences... this time they targeted Beatlemaniacs. Producers Berry Gordy, Hal Davis and Marc Gordon stick pretty closely to the original arrangements ("You Can't Do That," right down to theending chromatic guitar lick), though they modify the harmonies here and there ("Can't Buy Me Love"). They return tothe original lyrics of the bad-girl lament "House Of The Rising Sun," while copping the Animals'instrumentation. And I applaud Gordy's restraint in not re-recording "Money" or "Please Mr. Postman," the other Motown hits covered by the Beatles. Diana's tonal purity works wonderfully on the melodic tunes ("World Without Love") though it works against her on numbers calling for passion ("A Hard Day's Night").But is there any reason to listen to this cash-in forty years later, unless you're a demented music critic? Of course not.(DBW)
They do cover several Beatles tunes here, but the real idea was to rip off the entire British invasion. So they do "House Of The Rising Sun," a hit for the Animals; the Dave Clark Five's "Do You Love Me" (a Contours cover), "Bits And Pieces," and "Because"; and the Beatles' aborted first single "How Do You Do It," given to Gerry and the Pacemakers. There's also "You've Really Got A Hold On Me," which was covered by the Beatles, but originally was a hit for the Miracles. And there are some L & M tunes that were hits for other Liverpool acts, like "World Without Love," done by Peter and Gordon. (JA) Sing Country Western And Pop (1965)
Ludicrously ill-conceived. Evidently an attempt to follow in the over-crossing footsteps of Ray Charles, but where he carefully selected the country songs most ripe for his radicalreintepretations, it seems Gordy just told producer/songwriter Clarence Paul to go write a pile of country-western soundingtunes, and record them all with the same 2/4 beat. The only bona fide country hits here are Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Bobby Nolan's silly "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"; Paul's contributions ("My Heart Can't TakeIt No More") are almost bad enough to count as parodies of the genre, but not quite. And just for weirdness value, there'sa run through the Mercer-Carmichael tune "Lazy Bones" (I guess that's how "Pop" got into the album title). But there is asilver lining of sorts: in his quest to throw together originals in a hurry, Paul pressed his thirteen-year-old charge intoservice, and so it is that this album contains the first known original compositions by StevieWonder: "Baby Doll" is stale 50s bubblegum, but "Sunset" is a curiously effective, downtempo mood piece that's worth hearing. (DBW) More Hits By The Supremes (1965)
More of the Where Did Our Love Go? formula: great singles ("Stop! In The Name Of Love" withthe speeding-up glissando sound on the intro - actually played by an organ, not a sound effect - and "Back In MyArms Again" both went to #1; the delightful sax-fueled "Nothing But Heartaches" missed the Top Ten) and overlooked album tracks ("Who Could Ever Doubt MyLove?," "Honey Boy"). The material is mostly new - although "Ask Any Girl" is repeated from Where Did Our Love Go, and two songs were originally written for Mary Wells - and everything sounds good. (DBW)We Remember Sam Cooke (1965)
This could hardly be more tasteless; Cooke had just been shot to death months earlier. All of his biggest hits are here, including "You Send Me," "Chain Gang," "Twistin' The Night Away," "Bring It On Home To Me," and "Shake." (JA) Merry Christmas (1965)
There's something for everybody here, just not much: "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" gets a Motown makeover, with BennieBenjamin pounding the drums, rhythm guitar chicks on the two and four, and the horns blowing, recalling hits like "Same OldSong." "My Favorite Things" is dolled up as big band jazz, with prominent drummingand unpredictable strings. And there are a couple of decent originals (Harvey Fuqua and Isabelle Freeman's sweet "Children's Christmas Song"). But most of the LP is exactly the sort of syrupy orchestrated kitsch you'd expect, with Diana gamelypiping her way through the most over-recorded tunes imaginable, from "White Christmas" and "Little Drummer Boy" through"Joy To The World."(DBW)
Actually, this wasn't too crass as mid-60s cash-ins go; the Beach Boys cut a similar record the year before. (JA) I Hear A Symphony (1965)
Most of this record was cut over a couple of days in LA, without the usual Motown rhythm section, and it shows: heavy on the orchestral arrangements and strings, and unusually soft-hitting. It does show off the group's versatility ("Unchained Melody") and willingness to flirt with MOR ("Yesterday"), but it's far from their best work.The really good news is the irrepressibly melodic title track (another #1) and the dynamic "Any Girl In Love" (lyrically a variation of "Ask Any Girl"); you may find the hit "My World Is Empty Without You" entrancing, though I find it monotonous. (DBW) Supremes At The Copa (1965)
Live at the Copacabana with liner notes by Sammy Davis Jr., and it's even cornier than you'd imagine. The Motown arrangements are turned into brassy nightclub pap, spoiling the big hits, and the show tunes like "Put On A Happy Face" and "I Am Women" are painful to hear. Ross' voice is high and lovely, but she camps it up instead of projecting any real emotion. This is only worthwhile for lounge lizards, and Ross-haters looking for ammunition against her. Orchestra arranged by Gil Askey; produced by Berry Gordy and Lawrence Horn, who in 1993 hired a hitman who murdered Horn's ex-wife, quadriplegic son and the boy's nurseso Horn could collect $2 million in insurance. Just thought you ought to know. (DBW)
Amazing - six full LP's in one year. This one has a bunch of covers like "The Boy From Ipanema" and a Sam Cooke medley, in addition to hits like "Baby Love" and "Stop!" (JA)Supremes A Go-Go (1966)
- The Supremes' entry in "Go-Go" mania (Stevie Wonderrecorded "Love A Go Go" and the Miracles released both Here WeA Go Go and Away We A Go Go). Anyway, besides the hitsingles ("Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" with experimentalecho effects, and "You Can't Hurry Love") there are Supremesversions of big Motown hits by other artists - they do both theIsleys' "This Old Heart Of Mine" and the Four Tops' "(Shake Me WakeMe) When It's Over" better than the originals - plus theunbelievably straight-faced cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These BootsAre Made For Walking." Wilson gets a rare lead on "Come And Get These Memories." (DBW)
- I guess H-D-H were just burned out after their madcap recordingthe previous year. There are so many covers here it's a chore just totrack everything down - the Four Tops get victimized three times,for example. And four of the weakest walk-throughs were produced byFrank Wilson and Hal Davis ("These Boots..."; "Get Ready"; "Money (That's What I Want)"; "Hang On Sloopy"). Because H-D-Hhad such a rich songbook to mine, the end result is still solidlyenjoyable. But it's extraordinarily unoriginal, even more so than otherMotown albums from this era. I've given it an extra half-star just onthe strength of "You Can't Hurry Love" and some other amazing Jamersonbass lines. (JA) Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (1967)
An interesting title, because this was released after Holland-Dozier-Holland had gone virtually on strike and were preparing to leave Motown for their own label. "You Keep Me Hangin' On,"which still rocks after outliving terrible cover versions byeveryone from the Vanilla Fudge to Kim Wilde, is here; the other#1 hit is the breathy, desperately emoting "Love Is Here And NowYou're Gone." The album is filled out with remakes of other artists'tunes, mostly recorded in 1964 or 1965: "Heat Wave"; "It's The Same Old Song"; "I Guess I'll Always Love You" (originally a flop single for the Isley Brothers). This year's other big HDH hit, "The Happening," was only released on a greatest hits record. (DBW) Sing Rodgers & Hart (1967)
There were no singles released from this collection of show tunes, which charted more poorly than any Supremesrelease since A Bit Of Liverpool. Despite that inauspicious showing, it's been re-released a couple of times with numerous outtake bonus tracks, first as The Rogers & Hart Songbook, and then as Sing Rodgers & Hart: TheComplete Recordings, which is the edition I have.Produced by Gordy and Askey, and arranged in full-out orchestral mode, with lots of over-the-top bombast (Diana camping up "The Lady Is A Tramp"). The usual bases are covered, from "My Funny Valentine" through "Blue Moon."But the Motown rhythm section does get to play some (mellow jazz on "This Can't Be Love"; uptempo stomp on "My Heart Stood Still"), it's all well recorded, and despite lapses of taste, Ross's pitch and tone are flawless. So as Rodgers & Hart songbooks go, it's not bad... better than Carly Simon's, anyway.The bonus tracks are roughly of the same quality as the original ones (check the groovy strings on "Manhattan," which seem to be at 33 rpm while everyone else is at 45), so if you're going to buy the thing at all, make sure you get the full version.(DBW) Reflections (1968)
Nominally produced by Holland and Dozier, but the only tracks HDH hadanything to do with were two hit singles recorded in early 1967:"Forever Came Today" fortified with theremin, and the title track, which opens with extremely weird sound effects that are either synthesizer or tape loop manipulation.(Besides HDH leaving, Florence Ballard had just been fired, which didn'taffect the group's sound as much as you might think.) Gordy didn't knowwhere to go next: most of the disc sounds like a collection of outtakes.The musicians and Ross are at their usual high standard, but the tunesare familiar covers ("What The World Needs Now Is Love") andunsatisfying originals. The best non-single is "Then," another wittyformulaic Smokey Robinson number, although Diana's version of "Ode ToBillie Joe" has substantial amusement value. (DBW) Live At London's Talk Of The Town (1968)
Am I actually reviewing another mediocre Motown live album? Shouldn't I be doing something more productive, like pulling lint out of my belly button? Anyway, in addition to the big hits, there are a bunch of show tunes, mostly shoehorned into medleys ("Thoroughly Modern Millie"/"Second Hand Rose"/"Mame"). Thus, the only songs that get full runs-through are the hits from the previous year or so ("The Happening"). And since, for whatever reason, the group's 1967 singles are underrepresented on oldies radio, the renditions of "In And Out Of Love"and "Reflections" (which admittedly suffers from the too-fast live performance) sound relatively fresh. Thankfully, Ross's insufferable stage patter is kept to a minimum, except on the encore "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You." (DBW)
A rushed live album, repeating the formula of hits - mostly strung together into medleys - plus covers; soyou'll find a few oddities here like the Beatles' "Michelle" and HerbAlbert's "Mame." (JA)Sing And Perform Funny Girl (1968)
What a bizarre project - Funny Girl was a successful Broadway musical that had been turned into a movie starring Barbara Streisand, who also scored a hit with "People," which you'll find here with the rest. (JA) Join The Temptations (1968)
Both the Supremes and the Temptations were huge hits on the nightclub circuit at this point, and they pooled their talents on several network television specials. They also came up with a few highly orchestrated albums. On this one (the Supremes' first full post-HDH outing) the producers made some excellent use of the vocal talent at their command, particularly on the delightful single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and the followup "I'll Try Something New." The record is filled out with listless covers of earlier Motown successes ("I Second That Emotion," "A Place In The Sun"), a couple of current soul hits (a nice take on "Funky Broadway" and the overrecorded ballad "This Guy's [Girl's] In Love With You") and some blatant pandering to middle America ("The Impossible Dream"). (DBW)Love Child (1968)
- After all the turmoil of the preceding year,the group now known as "Diana Ross and the Supremes" came back with a solid album. The #1 title song, of course, and Ashford & Simpson's complex pop tune "Some Things You Never Get Used To," plus the standard Motown Sound of "He's My Sunny Boy" and "Honey Bee," and some weird stuff: Jamerson goes space-age on "How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone," and Dr. Funkenstein (George Clinton) serves his internship here, writing "Can't Shake It Loose," which turned up under a different name on a Funkadelic album ten years later. (DBW)
- With Birdsong replacing Ballard and the 12 songs nearly being outnumbered by the production teams, I wasn't expecting much from this patchwork effort - even Tommy Chong (that Tommy Chong) shows up in the roomfull of songwriters. But Chong and Tom Baird's "Does Your Mama Know About Me" is sleek and romantic, and it's just one of many surprisingly good efforts here - it helps that Ashford and Simpson contribute three numbers, including their forcefully emotional "Keep An Eye" and swinging "You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin'." (JA)TCB (with the Temptations: 1969)
This is the first of two live records to come out of the Temptations/Supremes collaboration. The track selection is really unimaginative, unfortunately; the title track resurfaced on Farewell, and other than that it's all hits - and just a few of them are covers of other people's hits that the Supremes didn't do elsewhere, like Otis Redding's "Respect." (JA) Let The Sunshine In (1969)
The three singles are so good, they alone justify buying this album: theClan's tale of filial impiety "I'm Livin' In Shame"; Smokey's gorgeous"The Composer" and Berry Gordy's pop/funk "No Matter What Sign You Are"with groovy electric sitar. It's a lucky thing, because there's nodepth here - there are a zillion covers, either servicable butpedestrian (Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted," JerryButler's "Hey Western Union Man" cowritten by Gamble and Huff,Bacharach/David's "Let The Music Play"), or painful attempts to be upto date (title track, Sly Stone's "EverydayPeople" including fuzz guitar). According to Mary Wilson, she andBirdsong were barely participating in the studio by this point; Rossmeanwhile was indulging her taste for Vegas kitsch ("Discover Me (And You'll DiscoverLove)"). No producers listed; I'm sure this is a group effort like most ofthe act's later work. (DBW) Together (With the Temptations: 1969)
In the year since the first album cut with the Temptations, everything had changed: Norman Whitfield had taken the band psychedelic, Vegas showtunes were out, and Sly Stone-style rock/funk was in (there's a cover of Sly's "Sing A Simple Song" here). The covers of Motown standards are more gritty and soulful than the last time around: Marvin Gaye's "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" and "I'll Be Doggone," Stevie Wonder's "Uptight" (complete with hilarious distorted guitar).The problem is, gritty soul is not Ross' forté, and in addition there are almost no new tunes (the single was The Band's "The Weight"). The weirdest moment is a medley of "My Guy" and "My Girl" (both by Smokey Robinson) featuring some pumping bass lines from Jamerson, but switching from one tune to another so often it's downright confusing. The one pleasant surprise is the bopping "Why (Must We Fall In Love)" by Deke Richards. (DBW)On Broadway (with the Temptations: 1969)
The second live Tempts/Supremes record. A couple of the tunes are pulledfrom early Temptations collaborations, like "Funky Broadway," and theyreprise "Let The Sunshine In" as well; but mostly it's covers ofBroadway standards like "Fiddler On The Roof" and the title track thatneither group did on their other records. (JA)
Apparently, this is a "fake live" release: studio recordings with crowdnoise dubbed in. How many of these damn things did they need, anyway?(DBW)Cream Of The Crop (1969)
Emphasizing the point Diana was a de facto solo act, the classic "SomedayWe'll Be Together" (yes, another #1 single) doesn't feature the othertwo Supremes at all. (DBW)
Surely a must-have as it includes their versions of "Blowin' In The Wind" and "Hey Jude" (argh). Actually, it does looklike most of the tracks are originals. (JA) Let The Music Play: Supreme Rarities 1960-1969 (rel. 2008)
This two-CD set is aimed squarely at obsessive collectors: who else would want to hear early rejected singles ("(You Can) Depend On Me"), silly covers ("Not Fade Away"; "It's Not Unusual")and alternate vocal takes ("Back In My Arms Again")? And within those parameters the package delivers, with terrific liner notes and a handy guide to tracking down all the rarities that didn't make it onto this release. Mostly it's of no general interest, but there are a few special moments: "Don't Let True Love Die" (cooked up by Holland/Dozier/Holland and cousin James Dean) and "The Beginning Of The End Of Love" (by Richards) are gorgeous outtakes. Ross does a lovely version of "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" (an Ashford/Simpson number originally a hit for Rita Wright, a.k.a. Syreeta). And the girls' takes on gospel ("What A Friend We Have In Jesus") and jazz ("Autumn Leaves") aren't great but they're odd.(DBW) Farewell (1970)
Berry Gordy's self-importance went out of control here: not only didMotown set up a gala event to celebrate Diana leaving for a solo career,the company released this two-LP boxed set to preserve the hit lineup'sfinal performance for eternity. It's uneven to say the least: thereare full versions of show tunes like "The Lady Is A Tramp," "BigSpender," "The Impossible Dream," etc., while the HDH hits aremostly consigned to a brief, tossed-off medley. Birdsong and Wilson'sbacking vocals are mixed way up, which is good, but they're frequentlyway off key, which is not so good. If you believe Mary Wilson's careerwas destroyed by a Gordy-led conspiracy, listen closely to her solofeature, the Frank Valli hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and I thinkyou'll change your mind. The surprise is the band (Jimmy Garrett onbass, Napoleon Allen on guitar, and Curtis Kirk on drums), which doesn'thesitate to stray from the original arrangements, and stays freshand alert even during the show's dullest moments. There's endlessself-congratulation and stage patter (a lengthy missive from Ed Sullivanis read aloud) that nobody would want to hear twice. And the 22-minuteversion of "Let The Sunshine In," with all the celebrities in the house(including such vocal talents as Steve Allen) singing one chorus each,is unlistenable, though Marvin Gaye nearlymakes the whole thing worthwhile. But fanatics will want to have this piece of history. (DBW) Right On (1970)
The first post-Diana album, and producer Frank Wilson works hard to restore the original Supremessound, with new lead singer Jean Terrell closely imitating Diana("Take A Closer Look At Me"), and back-to-basics arrangements thatavoid all the late 60s gimmicks. Commercially, the strategy worked:"Up The Ladder To The Roof" was a Top Ten single, and "Everybody'sGot A Right To Love" was also reasonably successful. Though there's noinnovation, there are several memorable tunes, including "Then We CanTry Again" and "I Got Hurt (Trying To Be The Only Girl In Your Life),"both by subsets of The Corporation.Though there are some ho-hum numbers like "Bill, When Are You Coming Back?" and Smokey's tossoff "The Loving Country," and oftentoo much string sweetening, it's harmless, mostly pleasant nostalgia.(DBW)Diana Ross (Ross: 1970)
- Ross' commercial sense seems uncanny here. She could have gone with a producer like Frank Wilson or Norman Whitfield who might have put her into dangerously experimental territory and loaded her down with overblown covers. But instead, she teamed with Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who not only produced but wrote all but one of the songs. The result is a great collection of elaborately produced, mostly three-minute Motown ballads - the orchestration is so baroque it's mind-numbing.But the arrangements are always clever enough to be bearable, the song material is uniformly strong, Ross and Jamerson's performances are as solid as ever, and the high points are significant.The first single ("Read Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)") is a memorable, if slightly sappy message tune - and the second, a thundering six-minute remake of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was a #1 hit. There's even some light, but clever funk ("Keep An Eye," originally done on Love Child). Supremes fans will find this one really satisfying because it doesn't stray from the Motown sound as much as Diana's later output. (JA)
- The string arrangements are superb, the tunes are memorable, and Ross' glass-clear voice is a perfect complement to the gentleness of the ballads - for my money, Diana's version of "You're All I Need To Get By" is even better than the original. Ashford & Simpson apparently decided to save all their gospel and R&B influences for Simpson's concurrent solo album, and mixing things up a bit would've given this set more variety, but it's still probably Diana's brightest moment as a solo artist. (DBW) Everything Is Everything (Ross: 1970)
Actually, Ross did indeed record a routine collection of covers and forgettable experiments(the echoey, interminable "Come Together"), and it duly flopped, peaking at #42.Produced by Deke Richards and Hal Davis, the record is like Cream Of The Crop II, with such unimaginative remakes as "The Long And Winding Road" and "(They Long To Be) Close To You."The new material is no more commercial (the single "I'm Still Waiting" did go all the way to #1 in the UK, though it did nothing in the States - thanks Reese!), and contains too much trivial perkiness (title track).Still, there are some moments: the multipart "Doobedood'ndoodbe Doobedoobe" sounds like Motown's shot at a Brian Wilson pop symphony, and the opening "My Place" is a perfect, jubilant slice of pop.(DBW) The Magnificent 7 (with the Four Tops: 1970)
With both groups struggling in the post-HDH era, and the Tempts/Supremescollaboration a huge success, the company threw the Tops and Supremestogether to see what they could come up with. At first, the gamble wassuccessful, both commercially and musically: Ashford & Simpson produced a fine hitcover of the Phil Spector/Ike & Tina Turner classic "River Deep -Mountain High" (a flop in its original 1966 incarnation), plus theLaura Nyro-penned Fifth Dimension hit"Stoned Soul Picnic" and two of their own tunes ("Reach Out And Touch,"cut concurrently by Diana; "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing"). ClayMacMurray, best known for his work with Gladys Knight, contributed several trackswiththoughtful, laid-back string arrangements - "Baby (You've Got What ItTakes)," the HDH leftover "Without The One You Love" - even his versionof Sly Stone's "Everyday People" is relativelybearable. Duke Browner produced several fine if lightweight pop numbers:"Knock On My Door," Ed Townsend's "ForYour Love," a surprisingly funky version of "A Taste Of Honey," earlierrecorded by the Temptations and the Beatles. (Though Frank Wilson was producingeach act individually, he had nothing to do with this project.) The discis thoroughly listenable, with Levi Stubbs doing most of the attentiongrabbing, but it relies so heavily on covers it's hardly a standout.(DBW) New Ways But Love Stays (1970)
This late 1970 album features their third, biggest, and possibly most Diana-esque post-Diana single, producer Frank Wilson's "Stoned Love" (it reached #7).Wilson, who had also taken over the Four Tops from H-D-H, went for the trendiest Sly Stone-inspired production values possible: sound effects, cross-fades between songs, stereo gimmicks, massive echo, sitar, congas, and especially that grating distorted rhythm guitar.He also filled the record out with a couple donated tunes and some really embarassing covers of popular contemporary rock songs - "Come Together"; a nearly six-minute "Bridge Over Troubled Water"; "Love The One You're With"; even one-hit wonder Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," a #1 single for them in 1969.The desperate effort to keep up extends even to the self-conscious title and the cover portraits sporting new Afros and sombre black turtlenecks. But at least Wilson's original tunes are a little interesting, with some serious funk backbeat; and although some tracks are long, they're never endless like Norman Whitfield's Temptations epics. (JA) The Return Of The Magnificent Seven (with the Four Tops: 1971)
Running the formula into the ground, the Supremes and Tops got togetheragain. Surprisingly, though, they didn't do any covers this time out,settling for sappy, Vegas-style tunes from the likes of Dino Fekaris,affectionately known as "Mr. Schlock" - "You Gotta Have Love In YourHeart" (a sing