Search - Supremes :: Sing Rodgers & Hart

Magical milestone

04/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Berry Gordy from the beginning felt the Supremes had a magical ability to sing standards. He tried them in several projects (including an unreleased Disney album) before settling on the Rodgers and Hart songbook as the one to release. Two-dozen songs were recorded but he felt a single L.P. would prove the best to market so that's what came out but the truth is all the tracks recorded for the project deserved release. It wasn't a matter of 12 great sides released and 12 also-rans unheard. This new C.D. version of the entire project, remastered in technicolor, is just terrific. It is so interesting to hear Diana Ross just three years before going solo spreading her vocal wings. The girl certainly learned fast and grew fast as an artist, that's for sure. Mary and Florence provide outstanding vocals (Motown's greatest mistake after Florence left was recording studio background singers as Supremes--it totally compromised the group's distinctive sound and converted its recordings into Diana Ross solos basically). The three voices--Diana's high and kittenish, Mary's low and air conditioned and Florence's soaringly gospel--just made such an unusual and thrilling blend. The orchestrations and production are first-rate with no sense of the girls singing to prerecorded tracks though that's what they were doing (on the earlier "I Hear A Symphony" album there was by comparison no sense of the girls being in the same studio with the orchestras). The cover is fabulous. Wow, has this effort stood the test of time. I will place the Supremes' version of "There's A Small Hotel" against anyone's."

Diana, Florence and Mary: Thou Swell

Todd J. Brandt | New York, NY United States | 03/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This classic, but rarely-heard, album is an important milestone for both The Supremes and Motown. It is one of the two most famous recorded examples of Motown's 1960's policy of grooming their stars for career longevity (i.e., appealing to a more affluent, adult audience)--the other being "The Supremes At the Copa." At a time when nearly every pop or R&B star has culled from the Great American Songbook or the Great White Way for material (often indifferently performed), many have forgotten that The Supremes were one of the first acts to do so--and they did it better than most who followed.Clearly, The Supremes were the ideal ambassadors to conquer the stages of supper clubs and Vegas, network television variety shows and albums of show tunes and standards. Their beauty, charm, innate sophistication and glamour made them seem less comparable to "girl group" contemporaries like The Marvelettes or Martha & The Vandellas than it did to adult chanteuses like Nancy Wilson, Diahann Carroll and Dionne Warwick.Also key was the girls' obvious enthusiasm for the material at hand. Unlike some other Motown stars who were clearly ill-at-ease with belting out a Broadway ballad or swing number, The Supremes excelled at it, and "Sing Rodgers & Hart" is the happy result.Originally slated to be a lavish double album, the release was eventually trimmed to 12 tracks for a single disc. In reviewing the original 12 songs chosen, it's apparent that several were chosen because of their more modern, quasi-Motown arrangements ("Mountain Greenery," "This Can't Be Love," "My Heart Stood Still"). These are also the weakest on the set.When the arrangements are lovingly, carefully done, without a nod to the patented Motown Sound, this album soars. The opening number, "The Lady is a Tramp," features a pile-driving big band arrangement that rivals the Sinatra version, and Diana Ross gives one of her most robust performances as a Supreme--especially on the thrilling climax. A sweetly swinging "Lover" and "My Romance," and a wonderfully poignant "My Funny Valentine," are also highlights of the original album.Sadly, many of the sessions' best work was left "in the can" until 1987, when all but one of the tracks was issued on CD as "The Rodgers & Hart Collection." It took twenty years to hear absolute gems like "It Never Entered My Mind," "There's a Small Hotel" and "Little Girl Blue," which rank among the most polished singing The Supremes ever committed to tape.Making its debut on this commemorative release is a frenetic "I Could Write a Book," as well as a live version of "The Lady is a Tramp" performed at the Copa in 1967, for a planned second live album. With only a few missteps (the aforementioned attempts at modernizing a few songs, a clumsy "Manhattan"), these 26 songs are a timeless tribute to not only the pure genius of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, but the artistic bravery and fearlessness of Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson."

A Rare Gem

Todd J. Brandt | 04/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As an avid fan of The Supremes for forty years, and a collector of nearly every single and LP, I had "skipped" over the Rodgers and Hart album many years ago, convinced that I'd be disappointed. How wrong I was! Avoiding the clumsy vocal and orchestral arrangements found on the earlier "I Hear A Symphony" LP, Gil Askey's polished instrumentals and very tight and mature vocals by The Supremes make this a rare gem of a collection. "My Romance," "Little Girl Blue," and "My Funny Valentine" really shine.What I've really enjoyed about listening to this CD (again and again, I might add!) is that it showcases the really lovely harmonies The Supremes could produce when Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard weren't relegated to a few obligatory "baby, babys" or completely overshadowed by Diana Ross.Every Supremes fan should have this CD!"