Anthology - Diana Ross & The Supremes (1986)

 


Diana Ross and the Supremes have more than one compilation called Anthology, the first being a triple vinyl album that came out in 1974.

The one that I have came out in 1986 on CD -- I chose this one because I knew the sound was dynamic, and it had a good amount of songs on it, including all the  Supreme songs which I am familiar with except for maybe "Buttered Popcorn." (which was inlcuded on a later Anthology.) It also didn't include any hits from Diana Ross's almost equally successful solo career ,which is good: I have other compilations for her solo Motown and later RCA years and prefer to keep them all separate.

This 2-disc compilation does what it's supposed to do. It's in chronological order and collects their early Mary Wells-like singles, continues on into their hit period which included an enormous number of brilliant singles written by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, which, in terms of culture-defining hits ought to be mentioned up there with Goffin-King, Lennon-McCartney and other hyphenated greats. Diana Ross is somehow kind of underrated in my opinion: her breezy delivery makes what she does sound easy: but her understated, unshowy phrases shows off these songs to their maximum, in my opinion.

The collection continues to the post HDH denouement of the Diana Ross years and continues with a half-dozen or so singles from the post-Diana period, which saw them retreating from the pop heights back to a more hardcore R&B/soul sound. Along with the hits are a few notable covers and show tunes and the like sprinkled liberally throughout the collections.

There are 49 songs on this collection: a hefty amount and while maybe, I don't know,  only 25 or so are absolutely essential to me, the others are still brilliant.

Also this comp is absolutely fantastic sounding.  Apparently these early Motown CDs were done quickly and without a lot of oversight while Motown was in the throes of bankruptcy and being sold: hardly "mastered" at all, just transferred from the master tapes. As a result a lot of those early Motown CDs can be pretty hit and miss sound-wise, but this is simply incredible sounding, clearly done from a very low generation tape. One of the best-sounding CD sets in my collection, it sounds almost like you are listening to the master tapes themselves. 

Very highly recommended if you like Motown pop. in fact, essential.


5/5

Coming Up:

A.M. Wilco

A.T.O.M. - Carbon Silicon

ABBA - ABBA 

ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits

Abbey Road - The Beatles

Achtung, Baby! U2

Actually - Pet Shop Boys

Adult/Child- The Beach Boys

Aerosmith's Greatest Hits

After The Gold Rush - Neil Young

Afterglow - Crowded House

Aftermath (UK Version) - The Rolling Stones

Against The Odds: 1974-1982 Blondie (three disc version)

Aimee Mann Live at St. Ann's Warehouse

Aiming For Your Head - Betchadupa

The Album -- ABBA

The Album That Never Was - The Kinks

All Four One - The Motels

All Over the Place - The Bangles

All Summer Long -- The Beach Boys

All the Great Hits -- Diana Ross

All Things Must Pass -- George Harrison

All This Useless Beauty -- Elvis Costello & the Attractions

All-Time Greatest Hits - Neil Diamond

Alluvium -- Eddie Rayner

Almost Blue -- Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Almost Summer - Celebration

Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- Wilco*

The Alphabetchadupa - Betchadupa

Altitude - ALT

American Idiot Green Day*

American Prayer -- The Doors

Amnesiac Radiohead*

And I Feel Fine...The Best of the IRS years (1982-1987) - R.E.M.

Animals - Pink Floyd

Anodyne - Uncle Tupelo

Another Life - Another Life

Another Music in Another Kitchen: The Buzzcocks

Another Side of Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

Anthology: Diana Ross & The Supremes

Anthology: Smokey Robinson & The Beatles

Anthology 1: The Beatles

Anthology 2: The Beatles

Anthology 3 The Beatles

Anthology: North South, East West - Tim Finn

Apple Venus: Volume One -- XTC

Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants

The ArchAndroid: Janelle Monae

Are the Village Green Preservation Society -- The Kinks

Are Well-Respected Men - The Kinks

Armed Forces -Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Around the World in a Day - Prince

Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) - The Kinks

At My Piano - Brian Wilson

Autoamerican - Blondie

Automatic for the People - R.E.M.

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