Track Listing

1. Love Child - Diana Ross & The Supremes
2. Keep An Eye - Diana Ross & The Supremes
3. How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone - Diana Ross & The Supremes
4. Does Your Mama Know About Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes
5. Honey Bee (Keep On Stinging Me) - Diana Ross & The Supremes
6. Some Things You Never Get Used To - Diana Ross & The Supremes
7. He's My Sunny Boy - Diana Ross & The Supremes
8. You've Been So Wonderful To Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes
9. (Don't Break These) Chains Of Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
10. You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin' - Diana Ross & The Supremes
11. I'll Set You Free - Diana Ross & The Supremes
12. Can't Shake It Loose - Diana Ross & The Supremes
13. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart - The Supremes
14. This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) - Diana Ross & The Supremes
15. You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes
16. Shake Me Wake Me (When It's Over) - The Supremes
17. Baby I Need Your Loving - The Supremes
18. These Boots Are Made For Walking - The Supremes
19. I Can't Help Myself - The Supremes
20. Get Ready - Diana Ross & The Supremes
21. Put Yourself In My Place - The Supremes
22. Money (That's What I Want) - The Supremes
23. Come And Get These Memories - The Supremes
24. Hang On Sloopy - The Supremes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25672 in Music
• Released on: 2000-10-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 63 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great music, poor quality CD
My copy of this CD was returned to Amazon. One track had an audio drop-out in the middle of the song; another track had a loud hum on the back end of the fade out.

Another CD from the same series (Martha and the Vandellas) had similar faults.

Annoyed? YES!

Party time
Since a number of Supremes albums have long been unavailable on CD, re-issues such as can be found on the excellent 2 Classic Albums 1 CD series are to be warmly encouraged. This is a slightly unexpected pairing of albums, with Love Child the more recent of the two, from the time when they had become Diana Ross and the Supremes. The Supremes A' Go-Go dated from a couple of years earlier, and featuring the classic line-up of Diana, Flo and Mary.

Love Child followed the departure of Holland/Dozier/Holland from the fold and the policy at Motown of encouraging a new lyrical realism, addressing issues of the day, hence the downbeat album cover with Diana cast in the role of the "Love child" (you can tell by the T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Love child"), seemingly ostracized by Cindy and Mary. Some of the tracks were produced by rising stars Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, including the pre-album single Some Things You Never Get Used To and a new version of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin', with other production duties shared by The Clan, Frank Wilson, Deke Richards and other relatively new blood, and including Smokey Robinson on his song He's My Sunny Boy. All reflect Motown's new found sophistication and a move towards the mainstream, but there is diversity and funkiness throughout the grooves. Cindy and Mary do not appear on the singles Love Child or Some Things You Never Get Used To, and are augmented throughout the album by the Andantes, in preparation for Diana's solo career which was launched around eighteen months later. One song, I Can't Shake It Loose, had been learned from Pat Lewis of the Andantes, as she'd had it out on a single for Golden World a couple of years earlier.

The Supremes A' Go-Go was hurriedly put together to capitalize on the runaway hits Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart and You Can't Hurry Love, and these classics are among the strongest tracks, as recycled runs-through of recent hits for other Motown acts the Four Tops, the Isley Brothers and the Temptations, though efficient and enjoyable, are filler and sound rushed; a number of the vocals were overdubbed in one day in Los Angeles. The album is further fleshed out with novelties such as a version of Nancy Sinatra's Boots, the McCoys' Hang On Sloopy, Martha and the Vandellas' Come And Get These Memories (featuring a rare Mary Wilson lead vocal) and a stomping version of the Barrett Strong hit Money, which had by then become a standard thanks to covers by the Beatles and the Stones amongst others. The Supremes had earlier released a whole album in tribute to the British invasion groups including the Beatles, with the geographically inaccurate name A Bit Of Liverpool.

Apart from the two A-sides, there are no original songs on the album, unless Put Yourself In My Place is included. The Supremes had been the first to record this back in 1964, but their attempt had been shelved and the song assigned to the Elgins. This later re-visit was also the flipside of You Can't Hurry Love and is one of the highlights of this unpretentious and lively party album.

Excellent Studio Albums By The Worlds Top Girl Group Of All Time
Diana Ross And The Supremes were often generally disregarded as an important albums act. This was unfair to a point as they certainly notched up a series of worthwhile, quality studio albums such as Where Did Our Love Go (1964), More Hits By The Supremes (1965), The Supremes A Go Go (1966), The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland (1967), Diana Ross And The Supremes Join The Temptations (1968) and Love Child (1968). In late 2000 Motown finally re-issued these classic albums as a 2 on 1 CD series (and not before time).
Love Child (1968) was perharps their most versatile studio album. Whilst lacking the earlier Holland-Dozier-Holland sound and phenomenon, the album is made up for with a string of highly origanal and diverse material that if anything showcased Diana Ross' unique craft for versatility. The album features a vast amount of contributions from the genius songwriters/producers Ashford and Simpson, who after Holland-Dozier-Holland were surely the most significant "in-house" producers Motown had. The title track itself is an absolute masterpiece. The lyrics offered profound, (though fairly tame by todays standards even though it was deemed as controversial at the time) social commentary and encapsulated an urban, earthy, raw Soul sound to it which was further complimented by Dianas impressive, considerably stark and chilly delivery. If anything this shed Diana Ross And The Supremes previously squeaky clean phenomenon and made critics stand up and realise that these were indeed three sassy, streetwise ladies (despite their enduring glamour on stage) who were certainly no stranger to poverty having each grown up in the ghetto areas for blacks in Detroit. Reflecting the general ethos of the Love Child album was the startling cover where, gone had all the glamorous sequinned gowns and big wigs, in replacement of torn off jeans, sweaters and afro hairstyles. Diana, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong are each standing down a back alley in a ghetto area of Detroit, with Diana alone standing in a passage way in the wall, gazing suspiciously at Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong who each have beaming smiles on their faces in contrast to Dianas rather frowned look. The Love Child album opens with the title track itself and steadily leads into a startling Ashford and Simpson composition, Keep An Eye. Containing another urban feel to it, Diana breathes fire and soul into this popular recording (though I have to admit I much prefer Dianas solo version on her debut solo set, Diana Ross (1970) ) where as the fantastic How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone is superbly orchestrated with James Jamerson doing a wonderful job with that effective saxophone played gently in the background which gels neatly into the well-crafted production and Diana sounds utterly fabulous. Their cover of Does Your Mama Know About Me is done amicably enough and certainly carries a fine performance from Diana but encapsulating their more familiar sound was the superb, Honey Bee Keep On Stinging Me. Diana proved she could muster her voice into an effective lower throat register on this infectious recording and the track defintley had strong commercial potential. However instead Motown opted for another Ashford and Simpson composition, Some Things You Never Get Used To as a release as a single. Whilst not quite having the immediacy of some of their earlier work, the track was still vastly catchy and enjoyable though struggled onto the U.K/U.S Top 40 Singles charts. Another fantastically orchestrated tune was the vibrant, upbeat He's My Sunny Boy which had a distinct feel of their earlier work whilst steering gently into a more broadway-cabaret feel was the sensational, You've Been So Wonderful To Me and the beautiful (Don't Break These) Chains Of Love. Dianas effective delivery breathes new life into their amicable cover of Marvin Gayes and Tammi Terrells golden classic, You Ain't Livin Till Your Lovin whilst her full-throated, red blooded performance on I'll Set You Free is quite remarkable. Finally this album closes on a high with the bouncy, infectious I Can't Shake It Loose, making the album as a whole, utterly compelling and worth a thorough lisen all round.

The Supremes A Go Go (1966) was an earlier effort combining the dynamic combination of Holland-Dozier-Holland, that familiar and distinct Motown sound and Diana Ross' unique vocal delivery. The album vastly consists of a series of Motown covers though offers some highly inventive origanal material. The rip-roaring, soulful Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart is an explosive recording featuring Diana delivering a sassy, sexually charged performance whilst You Can't Hurry love is one of their most infectious tunes in their astoundingly huge catologue. Of the covers, most of them are solid productions with Diana making these already classics, remarkably her own. Their cover of The Temptations, Get Ready is done in their own effective, inimitable style, whilst their series of covers of The Four Tops classics, Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over), I Can't Help Myself and Baby I Need Your Loving are all rock solid productions that equal the sheer dynamic quality of the origanals! Their job on the blusey, Money (Thats What I Want) which seemed to echo the restrictions of ghetto life is adequate enough whilst their version of The Isley Brothers Put Yourself In My Place easily surpasses the origanal. On top of that are some fun side steps with covers of Nancy Sinatras These Boots Were Made For Walking and a catchy remake of Hang On Sloopy where as Mary Wilson takes lead vocal duties for an enjoyably average version of Martha Reeves And The Vandellas classic, Come And Get These Memories. Some may argue the point that The Supremes A Go Go was a merley routine, formulaic production but contrary to that it makes great listening and has stood the test of time incredibly well despite the lack of origanal material.

Diana Ross And The Supremes unique style comes into full force on these pair of classic albums and both are excellent in their own right which will enthrall any Diana Ross or indeed Motown fans. Solid pieces of work!