Making Twenty Grand Out Of Fifteen Cents

Photo courtesy of Soulful Detroit

The Supremes: I Am Woman (Live)
from Where Did Our Love Go (40th Anniversary Edition) (Hip-O Select/Motown 2004)

The Supremes: People (Live)
from Where Did Our Love Go (40th Anniversary Edition) (Hip-O Select/Motown 2004)

The Supremes: Where Did Our Love Go (Live)
from Where Did Our Love Go (40th Anniversary Edition) (Hip-O Select/Motown 2004)


Believe it or not, the success of The Supremes was not always written in stone. First signed to Motown in 1961, they released several singles that made no noise and making their first chart appearance a year later with "Your Heart Belongs To Me" at no.95. In fact in these early years they were alleged to be referred to within Motown as the No Hit Supremes. But that would all change in 1964 with the release of the single "Where Did Our Love Go" and the album of the same name, in fact seven of the twelve songs on the album would chart in the top 100 with three reaching number 1.

As the title single was released, the ladies went on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour, literally receiving bottom billing but over the course of the tour that would change. With the popularity of their single rising, they would be received by wilder and more vocal crowds to their amazement, because they were on tour they hadn't realized how fast their single had risen on the charts. After the tour ended they came back to Detroit and performed a homecoming show at the Twenty Grand nightclub that was recorded for what was supposed to be a live album, succinctly titled "Live, Live, Live" it was even issued a catalog number but which was never released. However with the 40th anniversary of the single and album in 2004, Hip-O Select and Motown released the entire performance on a two disc cd set that also includes both the mono and stereo versions of the album, unreleased cuts and album out-takes which I can't recommend enough.

The first song presented here, I Am Woman (Live), is The Supremes version of the Funny Girl song made famous by Barbara Streisand. The song floats along nicely with it's finger snapping rhythm and despite its antiquated lyrics the song is magic in the hands of The Supremes. Ross' silvery vocals takes on a slightly sensual growl towards the songs end and the crescendo it reaches with the final chorus showcases the strength of the groups vocals, which is something that isn't always highlighted in a Supremes song.

People (Live) is surprise song of the bunch. Led by Florence Ballard, the song has a slightly macabre overtone when you listen to it now considering the circumstances of Ballards life (alcoholism, pill popping and being kicked out of the group, an abusive marriage and financial woes and her death at 32 years of age due to cardiac arrest). Ballard was in fact the founder of The Supremes nee the Primettes a sister group to the Primes who would later be known as The Temptations. The fullness of her voice and its lower register serves the song well and offsets Ross' verse at the end of the song.

The last track is the song that put the Supremes on the map. Where Did Our Love Go (Live) starts off with the familiar double time clap and the foot stomps being replaced with the drums before Ross' familiar vocals kick in. Nothing much needs to be said about this song as this performance perfectly captures the original studio recording, something that doesn't happen much in live performances. Even Mary Wilson's and Ballard's backing vocals mirrors the recording perfectly.

If you have some spare change lying around and you're looking for a complete and near perfect CD acquisition, your money will be well spent purchasing this album.