The Supremes - The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland Motown Records/Speakers Corner 650 Format: LP Originally Released: 1967 Reissue Released: 2008 by Joseph Taylor josepht@soundstage.com Musical Performance Recording Quality Overall Enjoyment

Of all the popular Motown acts of the '60s, the Supremes were perhaps the closest to mainstream. The work of the Four Tops, Temptations, and Smokey Robinson all maintained strong connections to African American musical traditions, despite the success of the label in shaping and marketing them as "The Sound of Young America." But when Berry Gordy chose Diana Ross as the lead singer for the Supremes instead of Florence Ballard or Mary Wilson, he created a vehicle for crossover black pop music and show-biz glamour. All of Motown’s groups had talent, many of them had big hits, but it was the Supremes that led the label’s roster to high-class establishments in New York, London, and Las Vegas.

The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland was an accurate description of the group’s career when it recorded this LP in 1966. Beginning with "Where Did Our Love Go" in the summer of 1964, the Supremes had five straight #1 singles, all of them written and produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland. Two of those hits, "You Keep Me Hangin’ On" and "Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone," are included on this LP, along with songs other Motown acts had recorded, such as "Same Old Song" (the Four Tops) and "(Love is Like a) Heatwave" (Martha and the Vandellas). The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland was one of the most consistent LPs recorded by the group and the last to be piloted by HDH, who left Motown soon after because of royalty disputes.

This Speakers Corner pressing is quieter than a typical Motown LP and the mastering is very well done. Ross’s voice is sharply focused throughout, and the bass line on "You Keep me Hangin’ On" is clean and driving. The intake of breath during the first recitative in "Love is Here and Now You’re Gone" is strikingly immediate. Small details, such as muted guitars and percussion, are precisely placed in the soundstage and clearly etched. The mix is hot, but that is typical of Motown’s productions.

Aside from the three-LP Anthology, The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland is probably the Supremes album to own, and this is undoubtedly the best pressing of it.

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