Released: June 1971
Well, this album disappoints.
A shame too, cuz it has what I think is the best Supremes song of the 1970s.
“Nathan Jones”, which sounds like an awesome James Bond theme song, was the first Supremes single to feature all three Supremes as lead vocalists. Granted they share the lead only because they sing nearly every word of the song in unison. But that counts!
Catchy as fuck, the song did respectably well, but not great on the American charts: #8 R&B and #16 pop. It was a different story in the UK, where it was another smash hit (#5) for the Supremes. Over the previous year they had scored two other top 10 UK hits.
“Up the Ladder to the Roof” reached #6 and “Stoned Love” reached #3. A duet with the Four Tops (“River Deep, Mountain High”) peaked at #11. So even as their US fortunes began to wane, the Supremes were hotter than ever in Great Britain.
(Future UK girl group extraordinaires Bananarama would cover “Nathan Jones”).
As “Nathan Jones” fades away on the LP, “Here Comes the Sunrise” shimmers onto the scene. Easily the second-best song on the album. It has power ballad energy written all over it. I like power ballad energy. Pump ya fist.
And that’s it for memorable songs on this album. At least producer Frank Wilson ditched (most of) the psychedelic gimmicks of New Ways But Love Stays.
“Have I Lost You” and “Love It Came To Me This Time” are pleasant but forgettable ballads. Fine listens, though. “Happy (Is A Bumpy Road)” is another pleasant listen. Wish it had a little more oomph. “This is the Story” is a little too bombastic for its own good.
Meanwhile “Time And Love” is like the 5000th iteration of that song. The Supremes do nothing different with Laura Nyro’s composition than the other 4999 artists who recorded it, but it’s better than the following…
“Johnny Raven” which begins okay, but then just falls apart trying to be too cute.
“Touch” is embarrassing. Shockingly it was released as the album’s other single. It overperformed reaching #71 on the pop chart. Yes, that’s an overperformance for this song.
“It’s So Hard For Me To Say Goodbye” is boring.
SONG SCORES
SIDE 1
This Is The Story: 4/10
Nathan Jones: 9/10
Here Comes The Sunrise: 7/10
Love It Came To Me This Time: 4.5/10
Johnny Raven: 3/10
SIDE 2
Have I Lost You: 5/10
Time And Love: 5/10
Touch: 3/10
Happy (Is A Bumpy Road): 5/10
It's So Hard For Me To Say Goodbye: 3/10
ALBUM GRADE: C-
Okay, this album is better than I remembered. Also it mercifully is only ten songs and only 32 minutes long. Producer Frank Wilson finally got the message to reduce excesses present on the previous two albums.
I think pretty much anyone would enjoy “Nathan Jones” while “Here Comes the Sunrise” is good for even the casual listener of 1970s soul and/or pop. The other three okay tracks here acquaint themselves nicely for devoted connoisseurs of 70s soul.