If you listen to soul, or motown styles in general, you have likely heard of the Supremes. This being their second release, the Diana Ross momentum hadn't quite taken over yet, and Florence Ballard was still part of the group. May she rest in peace, after everything she went through. This album remained on the Billboard 200 chart for a consecutive 89 weeks. It was held back from #1 by the Beatles 65. Not an achievement to scoff at.
"Where Did Our Love Go" starts the album, and is a very pleasant track. The horn parts grate me a little, but the song itself is very pretty. I wish the singing from an emotional perspective was a little more driving, as she seems to be begging a lover to stay lyrically.
"Run, Run, Run" is slightly less pleasant instrumentally, but Diana definitely is a great vocalist. I got to give her that. A bit reminiscent of the Jackson 5 here.
Well now I know where the song "Baby Love" comes from. The arrangement feels just right here. The horns don't overtake, the vocals are soft and convincing, and the lyrics are easily connectable. Defeinitely a gem that holds the test of time.
"When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" feels like it has a little too much going on. The claps, the horns, and melody seems choppy as well. Makes it thus far the least appealing track.
"Come See About Me" thankfully did not carry on the last track. It returns to the softer element. Very easy to listen to. I do wish there was more emotion in the vocals. This is a problem I sometimes have with Motown releases - there's nothing particularly wrong with them, but they just aren't sung in a way that I am convinced the artists really felt anything while they sang the songs. A few artists like Stevie Wonder rose above this, but others were a mixed bag.
"Long Gone Lover" has some vocal transitions that make you stay a bit more interested. I think they found a better balance with something different sonically here than with Lovelight where it was too choppy.
"I'm Giving You Your Freedom" has the most emotion on the album I have heard and I am appreciating it greatly.
"A Breathtaking Guy" carries so well from the last song. I like the way they made it seem a bit more like a love song with a bittersweet twist in it from the loss of love.
"He Means the World to Me" kind of takes from the cohesion of the last two songs but also feels like it has too much going on instrumentally.
There's something too pleasant about "Standing at the Crossroads of Love". She hasn't convinced me quite that there's an intense decision to make here, or she's struggling with the decision.
"Your Kiss of Fire" is so syrupy sweet you'll get lost in the sugar bowl. Sometimes you just crave some bubblegum sugar though.
The album closes with "Ask Any Girl", which actually closes the concept kind of well. If you think about it, love makes us laugh but it can also break us and make us cry. So any girl will in fact know why she cries.
LYRICS: 7/10 - The lyrics are rather timeless love and loss songs but these never go out of style, and many of them have lasted far beyond their years.
MUSIC: 7/10 - The arrangements were usually quite pleasant and cohesive, but other songs had too much going on and took away from the singers.
OVERALL: 7/10 - If you need a good introduction to Motown and the heart of Diana Ross's future endeavors, this is a great starting point. I do think at times it lacks the driving emotion I'd like to hear. It seems a lot of songs are just being "sung", but it is by no means a bad album and has some solid high points. Take a listen if you are interested in this sort of sound.
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