The Supremes – Meet The Supremes (1962/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

The Supremes – Meet The Supremes (1962/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 29:29 minutes | 1,19 GB | Genre: Soul, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Motown

The album that introduced the world to the biggest female group in recorded music returns, expanded supremely with rare cuts from their first sessions, unissued live tracks and more. Along with the hits Your Heart Belongs to Me; Let Me Go the Right Way , and the rest of this 1962 LP (here in both mono and stereo), you’ll hear I Want a Guy; Time Changes Things; Run, Run, Run; Make Someone Happy (those four live in ’62 and ’64); alternate versions of Buttered Popcorn and You Can Depend on Me; stereo mixes of Save Me a Star and The Tears , and more.

‘Meet the Supremes’ is the debut album by The Supremes, released in late 1962 on Motown. The LP includes the group’s earliest singles: ‘I Want a Guy’, ‘Buttered Popcorn’, ‘Let Me Go the Right Way’, and ‘Your Heart Belongs to Me’. The earliest recordings on this album, done between fall 1960 and fall 1961, feature the Supremes as a quartet composed of teenagers Diane Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Martin. Martin is not pictured on the album because of her departure earlier in the year; although her vocals are present on the majority of the recordings on the album.

Though the album made little to no impact on the US album charts, in 1962, when it was released in the UK in 1964 it managed to peak at #13 on the UK Albums Chart, with some versions of the UK album having a slightly different track listing which featured some songs from their next album ‘Where Did Our Love Go’.

The romantic and sentimental ‘Your Heart Belongs to Me,’ written by Smokey Robinson, should have been the Supremes’ first hit. It’s every bit as charming as his chartbusters for Mary Wells. Diana Ross’ sweet tender lead, assisted by Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard’s warm harmonies, could melt icebergs. Ross’ vocals on ‘Who’s Lovin’ You’ are intense and bluesy; Wilson leads the soulful ‘Baby Don’t Go’; and Ballard leads the raucous ‘Buttered Popcorn,’ a tune more suited for the Contours. ‘I Want a Guy,’ their first recording, had been done by the Marvelettes the backing voices are buried, and Ross’ voice sounds whiny and high-pitched. This song, along with the ’50s-sounding ‘He’s Seventeen,’ are the only bummers. Ballard shines again on ‘Let Me Go the Right Way,’ delivering a tough vocal on top of Ross and Wilson’s enthusiastic vocals. ‘Time Changes Things,’ written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Janie Bradford, was a forerunner to later efforts by Holland-Dozier-Holland. Blues lovers will relish the torching ‘Play a Sad Song.’ ‘Never Again’ is straight ’50s doo wop; if you didn’t know, you would think it was the Chantels.

Tracklist:
01. The Supremes – Your Heart Belongs To Me (02:38)
02. The Supremes – Who’s Lovin’ You (02:47)
03. The Supremes – Baby Don’t Go (02:11)
04. The Supremes – Buttered Popcorn (02:34)
05. The Supremes – I Want A Guy (02:52)
06. The Supremes – Let Me Go The Right Way (02:31)
07. The Supremes – You Bring Back Memories (02:36)
08. The Supremes – Time Changes Things (02:31)
09. The Supremes – Play A Sad Song (02:55)
10. The Supremes – Never Again (03:06)
11. The Supremes – He’s Seventeen (02:42)

Personnel:
Diane Ross – lead and background vocals
Florence Ballard – lead and background vocals
Mary Wilson – lead and background vocals
Barbara Martin – lead and background vocals
The Funk Brothers

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