Let The Sun Shine In/Cream Of The Crop - Diana Ross & The Supremes > Reviews > Teh End Of The Road

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	The beautiful Someday We'll  Be Together
Disadvantages:	Too many mediocre tracks

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Diana Ross And The Supremes Let The Sunshine In album was released in mid 1969. It had originally been titled No Matter What Sign You Are and posters promoting the album were sent to record stores with that title. For some reason it was hastily re-titled Let The Sunshine In and advertising promotion for the album changed accordingly.

Tamla Motown Records always had a conveyor belt way of recording tracks by Diana Ross and the Supremes (and indeed other Motown artists). Diana Ross and the Supremes had several singles released between 1968-69 and a host of albums including Reflections (1968), Love Child (1968), Diana Ross and the Supremes Join The Temptations (1968), Diana Ross and the Supremes Live At London's Talk Of The Town (1968) to name but a few. Diana Ross and the Supremes had recorded so much material that still remians untouched to this day but what was considered by Motown to be the best of the bunch were dusted off from the vaults and assembled for the Let The Sunshine In (1969) LP.

Let The Sunshine In (1969) opens with a song written and produced by the genius Smokey Robinson. Titled The Composer it all the more surprisingly seemed to lack the immediacy and spark of their previous hit singles though was still curiously catchy in its own way. Hardly one of their best efforts though, The Composer endured only moderate record sales, creeping it's way into the lower reaches of the U.S. Top 40 charts.

I'm Living In Shame, which explored social issues of the day, returned Diana Ross and the Supremes to more solid ground and was a successful follow up to their blockbuster classic Love Child.

Ross' slightly nasal delivery that still proves stunning, really cuts through those driving musical arrangements, provided by, as always, Motown's great unsung heroes, the legendary and absolutely unbeatable Funk Brothers, I'm Living In Shame failed to follow Love Child to pole position in the charts but still swept into the Top 10, peaking at number 9.

The only other hit to be found on Let The Sunshine In (1969) was the totally stunning No Matter What Sign You Are, by far one of Diana Ross and the Supremes most overlooked classics. Ross' purely soulful delivery compliments the electric, tempo-shifting orchestrations. There's not really much to comment on Mary Wilson or Cindy Birdsong as their backing vocals were only used as decorative obligation and these were practically all Diana Ross solo efforts. On numerous tracks between 1968 - 69 neither Mary Wilson or Cindy Bridsong didn't even appear on certian tracks with backing vocal duties provided by the powerful gospel-influenced trio, The Andantes, who certainly injected a grittier edge to the Supremes sound.
(Incidentally Mary Wilson considered The Composer and No Matter What Sign You Are to be the worst ever Supremes recordings).

Amongst the scattering of album tracks there's not much to recommend it apart from the odd above average album track. Their cover version of the frequently covered EveryDay People for instance, sounds rushed, uninspired and a complete watse of opporunity. Their take on Jimmy Ruffin's What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted may come as a surprise to some that it was in fact Diana Ross and the Supremes that had actually recorded it FIRST.

Apparently Jimmy Ruffin loved the song so much he decided to record it as well. Diana Ross and the Supremes version does admittedly pale next to the more famous and now classic Jimmy Ruffin recording.

However Ross really delivers on the striking Medley - Aquarius/Let The sunshine In. Ross packs in a breathless, impressive tour de force performance that arguably even outshines the original whilst certainly proceeding to be one of the major highlights alongside the small ratio of hits to be found on the LP.

Hey Western Union Man and Will This Be The Day are standard Motown fare that are both decidely enjoyable enough even if not particularly memroable.

With A Childs Heart is a rather ghastly, sickly-sweet ballad which had originally been recorded for the slightly disjointed I Hear A Symphony (1965) album though had (sensibly) been canned only to see the light of day on this rather scrappily assembled studio collection. Exactly the same sentiments could be used for another ghastly track, Let The Music Play, a chintzy, cringefully dated showbiz tune.

Discover Me (And You'll Discover Love) was thoroughly excellent for a mere album track and though could never have been a hit was far superior to some of the more mediocre offerings on here with Ross excelling herself vocally with her stirring, beautifully understated performance that sounds at its best on the climax.

Closing the Let The Sunshine In album is the simple, easy-going though surprisingly effective I'm So Glad I Got Someone (Like You Around) with subtle backing vocals from Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong against the breathy, seamless tone of Diana Ross.

But, all in all, Let The Sunshine In is a rather disappointing , patchwork effort though it does also hold some bright spots and for the mainstream Diana Ross and the Supremes fan, this is certainly a recommended album though casual fans will probably not care for the groups reneditions of various hits of the day (What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted , Everyday People etc). Diana Ross and the Supremes were at their peak now and were no longer hitting the charts with as much sure-fire regularity as they once had. The Let The Sunshine In album climbed to a so-so No.24 on the U.S Billboard Album charts whilst failing to chart altogether in the U.K.

Cream Of The Crop (a questionable title) was yet another merely routine exercise by Tamla Motown Records to gather together canned material, B-sides and filler with a few hit singles thrown in and assemble them for an album. It was a cheap, easy and obvious marketing ploy on the part of Motown but indeed as the case with most albums by other of Motowns key artists, they usually contained a handful of really great, worth while tracks.

Like their previous studio album, Let The Sunshine In (1969), Cream Of The Crop (1969) carried many cover versions where some really hit their ultimate potential whilst others seem slightly misguided. The only purpose of these diverse cover versions was to show off what an adept and versatile a vocalist Diana Ross had became. Her solo career was now, of course, waiting in the wings. Ross' performances are rich, passionate and brimming with emotion. Ross' sparkling vocals are often some of the tracks only saving grace. All too often the arrangements are too formulaic, lacking any real adventure or invention compared to their golden years.

The only International hit single to be found scattered on Cream Of The Crop (1969) was Diana Ross And The Supremes touching swan song SomeDay We'll Be Together. Songwriters Jackey Beavers, Johnny Bristol (who provides brief backing vocal interludes on the track) and Harvey Fuqua show off their lyrical finesse whilst lead singer Diana Ross delivers a beautifully understated performance. Her seamless, easy-going performance sounds extremely effective when riding along the smooth and soulful rhythms courtesy of Motowns unsung heros, The Funk Brothers. SomeDay We'll Be Together became Diana Ross And The Supremes twelth and final No.1 smash hit and became a great trailer for the much hyped and eagerly anticipated solo career of Diana Ross, launched in early 1970.

Another hit single (albeit a very minor one) was also added on to the Cream Of The Crop collection - The Young Folks. This much underated recording, featured an impeccable lead from Ross on what was an untypical sound for "the girls" as boss Berry Gordy always referred to them as. The Young Folks had been used as the flip side to their Top 40 hit, No Matter What Sign You Are (another underated gem). After No Matter What Sign You Are was issued to D.J.'s, The Young Folks eventually generated a lot of interest and soon became a hit in its own right, climbing to No.68 on the BillBoard Charts.

Some of the recordings recall The Supremes earlier sound which proves contagious when it comes to riviting tracks like You Gave Me Love and Can't You See It's Me. They are prime examples of the Motown genre and subsequently emerge as the real highlights of the album. Ross is in glorious voice on both You Gave Me Love and Can't You See It's Me with her vocals glowing across the well-crafted orchestrations and cutting through those sharp, pulsating, repetitive arrangements like a sharp knife.

Diana Ross And The supremes lightweight but equally infectious cover version of The Four Top's Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever has a far more group oriented sound in comparison to most other tracks on here that are all practically Diana Ross' solo efforts. The harmonies of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong all blend divinley together.

Their electric cover version of The Beatles famous classic, Hey Jude, is somewhat debatable. On a personal note, I love hearing Ross' exuberant delivery on Hey Jude but it is also decidely out of context to the original and the harshest rock music critic failed to take Ross' renedition very seriously. Still to her credit she holds her own and injects the song with her oqn magical and individual touch.

Diana Ross and the Supremes made more social statements on the earthy, Shadows Of Society, which obviously had taken its cue from the social and political commentary on their chart topping soul classic, Love Child and the gritty I'm Living In Shame. Whilst Shadows Of Society certainly doesn't have the fire and edge of those familiar soul classics, it is still quite compelling within itself. The swirling, pshychedelic sounds zoom in and out of each verse, merely adding to the atmospheric feel.

The Beginning Of The End, i'm convinced, could have been a big hit single and a great swan song for The Supremes had the preferable and far superior SomeDay We'll Be Together not been released. ross' delivery on The Beginning Of The End is both sensitive and sensual and yet at the same time strong and effective. The Beginning Of The End also emerges as one of the albums ultimate highlights.

What remains of Cream Of The Crop then is pretty much standard Motown fare. Some tracks are pedestrian some totally fail to ignite. When It's To The Top (Still I Won't Stop Loving You) for instance is catchy enough with Ross putting another fantastic performance.

Surprisingly more lacklustre was the Smokey Robinson produced Till Johnny Comes where as the detour into Folk Music on their cover of bob Dylans Blowin' In The Wind is an adventurous though failed experiment. Simply injecting soul music with folk music proves to go together like oil and water.

Cream Of The Crop (1969) lacks the consistency of many of Diana Ross And The Supremes classic studio albums such as More Hits By The Supremes (1965), The Supremes A Go Go (1966), The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland (1967) and Love Child (1968), though the inclusion of the gloriously timeless SomeDay We'll Be Together alone justifies buying the album. Fans will be delighted - other wont partcularly care.

Ian Phillips