I Hear a Symphony

by

The Supremes

Edit

The only problem I have with Motown Reissues is that they never include the original 45 RPM mixes of their sides. If anybody out there remembers, My World Is Empty Without You in it's hit 45RPM mix had the girls in a echo chamber with the violins more prominent in the mix. The stereo version is flat noisy and both the violins and the back-up voices of Flo and Mary are inaudible. I grew up and have all the vinyl mono sides which in most cases are vastly superior to these awful stereo mixes. Remember you people MONO was industry standard when these discs were released, and as I remember the stereo versions even in LP format were hard to come by. Back to Mono on all Motown compilations!!

To broaden their appeal, Berry Gordy began having The Supremes record showbiz standards in an effort for them to cross-over into white culture as well as firmly retaining their wide black base. The I Hear A Symphony album is a pure example of Berry Gordys shrewd marketing ploy.

Whilst some may argue that I Hear A Symphony shows off The Supremes versatility, I actually hold my hands up and admit that as something of a die-hard Soul/R&B/Motown fan, I find the rather kitsch showbiz covers corny, dated and in some parts quite ghastly.

Covers of old showbiz standards such as Stranger In Paradise and Wonderful, Wonderful are too heavily over-orchestrated and in the process sound painfully dated today whilst the middle-of-the-road cover versions are little better.

Their is a rather bland reading of the Beatles, Yesterday whilst there is little ignition in their ponderous version of The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody.

However the one reason for getting this album is the handful of tracks that contain the full injection of that riveting Motown sound. The title track, I Hear A Symphony marks a cross between Pop/R&B/Jazz and is so gloriously effective in its arrangements and its beautifully delivered performance from Diana. I Hear A Symphony saw their style maturing slightly and becoming more sophisticated. The track quickly became their sixth chart topper.

More powerful was the raw, rip-roaring, My World Is Empty Without You where Diaas surprisingly gritty, earthy vocal performance ignites this atmospheric recording that glided into the U.S Top 5 (though had all the momentum to go to No.1). More laid back and mellow is the sensational, Any Girl In Love (Knows What I'm Going Through) which was lyrically a re-working of Ask Any Girl. A fantastic album track!

The bouncy, Everything Is Good About You encapsulates the magical Motown sound and sounded ideal single material where as the Northern Soul vibes of He's All I Got goes down as one of their very best album recordings. Their harmonies blend so beautifully together and Diana just whips along the verses with such coviction.

So on the whole, (in my eyes at least) the I Hear A Symphony album is worth having purley on the recordings that receive an injection of the Motown sound.

Ian Phillips