THE SUPREMES/SUPREMES SING HOLLAND DOZIER HOLLAND MT-650 (-66) US MONO

The trio's tenth LP and the last made through full cooperation with Holland-Dozier-Holland before the songwriting/production team left the label. The whole album consists of material written and produced by H-D-H. A couple of older previously unreleased cuts mixed with songs earlier made hits by other Motown acts and some newly written. So what I get is a favorite label's contemporary top act doing numbers by some of the best US songwriters at the time and backed by an excellent studio band. It must be love. You could call it slightly uneven, though on such a high level the grading almost loses its meaning. Martha And The Vandellas may have made "Love Is Like A Heat Wave" slightly cheekier, there might be more emotions bursting from The Isley Brothers "I Guess I'll Always Love You" and Four Tops version of "It's The Same Old Song" considered the true classic, but the ones here are so good too there's not much competition. And I do get two original Supremes classics - "You Keep Me hangin' On" and "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone" - both reaching #1 on Billboard. From a Motown loving mono collectors veiw this also has a value as rarity. Apparently apart from dissimilar mixes "Love Is In Our Hearts" has different versions for the formats and since the one-channel tapes were never reissued on vinyl or CD (at least I can't find any) the original monos are the only way to get that. Issued as such in US, Canada ( MO-650), Australia (TMLO 10007) and parts of South America. In UK released 1967 as "The Supremes Sing Motown" with alternate front sleeve design (TML/STML 11047). I always get confused trying to establish secure time-lines for US Motown issues, but positive this copy is very early, having stamped -1/-1 martixes, ridged labels, thick vinyl and time characteristic ad inner. (TÖMÖ*) (ZYZÖ*) (YZÄ*) (ÖXCÅ*) (FÄV*)