Release Date: August 21, 1965
Runtime: 32:00
After the smashing success of Where Did Our Love Go, the Supremes were probably the biggest American pop group in 1964 entering 1965. Motown decided to milk this cash cow for all it was worth.
Two unnecessary albums of cover material were released in 1965; one titled A Bit of Liverpool and the other We Remember Sam Cooke. You astute observers can probably guess the former was full of Beatles (and other British Invasion) covers. This was quite the hilarious reversal because British Invasion bands (Beatles included) stocked their early albums full of Motown covers. That other cheap release was obviously full of Sam Cooke covers.
A Bit of Liverpool sucks. It’s a D. Only “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Hard Day’s Night” are worth any sort of listen. We Remember Sam Cooke is also a D. Pure laziness. Only “Shake” manages anything approaching excitement. Probably because the original sounded like the cousin of a Motown jam.
Well, with that crap out the way, Motown got around to doing a proper follow up album for the Supremes.
More Hits By The Supremes is a fucking cocky album title and it’s 100% accurate.
Two more of its singles went to #1 on the pop chart giving the Supremes five consecutive #1s. Motown’s absurdly high expectations were revealed when a third single from More Hits finished disappointingly at #11. A year before all this, a Supremes single hitting #11 on the pop chart would have caused a parade. Now Berry Gordy was demanding the group only release singles guaranteed to go to #1.
Sheesh.
Anyways, every single song on More Hits By The Supremes could have been released as an A-side or a B-side. There is not a single filler track on this ridiculously good album.
And I love how the album cover shows the name of each Supreme. As you probably know, very quickly, the other two Supremes would be increasingly pushed into the background in favor of making Diana Ross a solo star.
It was already starting to happen to poor Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson, but in 1965 they were still a group with a lead singer. By 1967 it’d be Diana Ross and the Supremes with “the Supremes” not even offering backing vocals in the studio anymore. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s check out this fantastic album.
SIDE 1
Ask Any Girl * Nothing But Heartaches * Mother Dear * Stop! In The Name Of Love * Honey Boy * Back In My Arms Again
If you read my review of Where Did Our Love Go, you already know I love “Ask Any Girl”, which was the album-closer there. So I’m not gonna repeat myself here.
(if you haven’t read that review, why not? Don’t you wanna support this shabby endeavor?)
Next up is “Nothing But Heartaches”, the song that pissed off Berry Gordy by “only” reaching #11 on the pop chart. Truth be told, it shouldn’t have been the third single released from the album. It is a very very good song, but it’s a clone of “Back In My Arms Again”, which did reach #1.
(Guess the brass at Motown thought they could do with “Heartaches” and “Back in My Arms Again” what they had previously done with “Baby Love” and “Where Did Our Love Go”.)
Both songs are heavy floor stompers about a no good man, but from different perspectives. “Back In My Arms Again” is about a woman reuniting with her no good man after having gotten bad advice from friends (“How can Mary tell me what to do when she lost her love so true? And Flo she don’t know cause the boy she loves is a Romeo”). Well “Heartaches” reveals the friends were right.
“Mother Dear” is what should have been the third A-side from this album. It is a certified banger. Emphasis on that bang.
This album is much more muscular than its predecessor as the Motown Sound was reaching its titanic apex. Within these powerful dance songs therewere sweet moments featuring strings and/or vibes, but the bass and drums are not fucking messing around at this point.
Which brings us to “Stop! In the Name of Love”.
This is a song that don’t play at all. It just sounds physically strong. But it’s also kind of pitiful. As the song’s lead narrator, Ross pleads with her shithead boyfriend to stop messing with her heart. She knows all about the philandering he’s doing, but is still begging the sorry ass man to stay. It’s a dramatic song from the whirling organ and dramatic “STOP!” that kicks things off to the begging “think it over” as the song fades away…
This song also kind of serves as a conclusion of sorts to the story begun by “Where Did Our Love Go” and “Baby Love”. The “baby baby” backing vocals from Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson are back, but not as prominently as before because we can kind of tell this is indeed the end of this rocky relationship. The Supremes can beg for salvation, but it ain’t coming.
Obviously, this song went to #1. And it was helped by the group’s dynamic performance of it. STOP SIGN HAND AND ALL.
And now we end with “Honey Boy”. Not trying to be cute, but this is just a sweet song. A stupid, silly, sweet love song. Sometimes that’s all you need.
SONG SCORES
Ask Any Girl: 9/10
Nothing But Heartaches: 8/10
Mother Dear: 9/10
Stop! In The Name Of Love: 10/10
Honey Boy: 8/10
Back In My Arms Again: 8.5/10
SIDE 2
Whisper You Love Me Boy * The Only Time I’m Happy * He Holds His Own * Who Could Ever Doubt My Love * (I'm So Glad) Heartaches Don't Last Always * I’m In Love Again
“Whisper You Love Me Boy” was originally done by Mary Wells and I believe was going to be her follow-up single to the smash “My Guy”. But then she she left Motown under acrimonious terms, so the release was scrapped. Wells’ version is the one to go for if you have to have just one. But this rendition by the Supremes is extremely good too.
That sultry number is followed by “The Only Time I’m Happy” and “He Holds His Own”. “Happy” always starts off not really having my attention and by the end I’m bopping along with it. It’s sickening how infectious Holland-Dozier-Holland could make a song. “Holds” meanwhile is the weakest song on the album. It’s dramatically (purposely?) understated in both sound and lyrics, especially considering how loud and in-your-face the rest of the album can get. Being the weakest song on this album still means it’s a really good track.
“Who Could Ever Doubt My Love” and “I’m In Love Again” foreshadow the dark despondent music from H-D-H that would later coalesce into Jimmy Ruffin’s iconic “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”. But these are foreshadows and not as good as that perfect tune. These are damn good though. Especially the album closer “I’m In Love Again”.
“(I'm So Glad) Heartaches Don't Last Always” is the hidden gem on this album. “Mother Dear” and “Whisper You Love Me Boy” often get included on compilations and anthologies. “Heartaches Don’t Last Always” never gets that kind of love. Even on mega box sets.
This gorgeous song start off with a jumping and bumping bass that sits on a bed of floating strings. It’s practically a lullaby it’s so luxurious and soothing. It’s another song I wish H-D-H had a chance to record a five-minute version of because just as you feel it cooking into another gear, the three minutes are up. Just the kind of song that would turn into sweet, quiet storm soul a decade later in the mid-1970s.
SONG SCORES
Whisper You Love Me Boy: 8.5/10
The Only Time I’m Happy: 8/10
He Holds His Own: 7.5/10
Who Could Ever Doubt My Love: 8/10
(I'm So Glad) Heartaches Don't Last Always: 9/10
I’m In Love Again: 8/10
ALBUM GRADE: A
Consistently great with peaks of perfection. Not a dud in the bunch. That’ll make an A album. I think it’s one of the essential pop albums of the 1960s and the Supremes would never make one better… at least in their years with Diana Ross at the lead.
There’s an LP they made in the early 1970s that I think gives this one a run for its money. But we’ll get to that when we get to that…