The Supremes: Reflections - The Definitive Performances 1964-1969

I've been a fan of The Supremes for as long asI can remember listening to music. I'm in my early 40's, so unfortunately I wasn't born when their first hit dropped. So even though I got to listen to all their major and minor hits growing up thanks mostly to oldie radio stations, it finally occurred to me that I've never really seen much real video on them, much less any live performances. Not only did I like their music, but I always thought they'd be great performers, plus I always thought all 3 of them were quite easy to look at.Luckily, I seemed to have looked at the right time. There appears to be only a few such complete dvd's with them like this one.I must say I was taken in with them from the first live performance on it of Where Did Our Love Go taken from the Steve Allen Show in Sept. 1964. It had a nice spirit to it, if not a slight ackwardness that would be expected given in was clearly early in their career. It sounded great too though. Man did I love Florence Ballard's smile! I also loved the two separate performances on what looks to be a tv show called "Shivaree" of Baby Love & Stop In The Name Of Love. They appeared to be the only black people on a set full of young white kids happily clapping and dancing to their music. A pretty big feet probably given the times in 1965. They lip-synch while standing and dancing next to each other on a platform surrounded by the kids, some slightly above them. I also liked the other performance of Stop In The Name Of Love from Its What's Happening, Baby in 65. It's pretty much an early music video that has white and black kids dancing together, although not really with each other. A sign of the progressive times I hope. Coolest part was watching Diana sing directly to two of the white male teens sitting in front of them. Some have talked about Diana messing up the beginning of I Hear A Symphony while on the Mike Douglas Show in Nov. of 65. I've been to many concerts, and have seen singers forget entire lines to songs, so I didn't think it was that bad, plus I thought she recovered well even though it appeared to throw her off initially. The promotional short video of You Keep Me Hanging On was fun to watch because they looked to be having fun. Cracked me up when Mary busted the bubble from Flo's gum. Lastly my favorite performance was You Can't Hurry Love from The Ed Sullivan Show in Sept. of 66. I just like the way it was shot and put together. Starts out with a shot of Diana, with Diana coolly working her way over to Mary & Flo. Just thought it was very cool, especially given this was way before music videos became an everyday staple. What I loved most was the energy and spirit of it though. I've heard stories that Berry Gorgy frowned on them performing like that sometimes, well he must have been really mad at this one if true. Diana really got into it, and Mary and Flo were shaking more than what their mothers gave them.Yeah I thoroughly enjoyed this all-around. Some of it, especially the beginning are shot in black and white, but it progresses as it goes. The quality, while not great in spots, was actually pretty good given how long ago it was shot. The sound quality was surprising good in spots. I can't recommend this more for anyone wanting to go back down memory lane, or who want to know what all the hype was about. Growing up I've seen these three women (later with Cindy Birdsong who's here also by Dec. of 67) copied and imitated in many ways by many acts, but I now have visual proof that none did it better.

For years, I've been wanting a DVD consisting of (original) Supremes' performances, and finally this comes out. For that alone, this gets 5 stars from me! They are truly the best female group ever: the fragile, sexy Mary Wilson; the tall, demure Florence Ballard; and, the lively, energetic Diana Ross. The highlights of the DVD are the performances that are live. Among them:Where Did Our Love GoThis was recorded shortly after the song became their first of many #1 hits. You get a sense of things to come. The girls look lovely and happy.Come See About MeThis is the standout performance! What's so great is that it's a live performance with the funk brothers actually playing the music behind them. Also great is that the group stand and sing together into one microphone, which shows how well their voices blend together (and, how awesome a voice Florence has! The definitive background sound of the Supremes is because of her). This is the performance I play over and over again, and makes me wonder why Gordy later made the decision to make them less of an overall group, and more of a Diva-up-front, two-in-the-shadows group.Back In My Arms AgainA good performance, but one with Diana on one platform in front, and Mary and Florence on another in the back. The camera remains focused on Diana. You can hardly make out Mary and Florence. And, their mic is on a much lower frequency, so you can barely hear the background vocals. I have a different live version of this song on tape (I'm not sure which TV show), where they share the stage and sing with the same frequency (and again, Florence jams!). Hopefully, that performance will be on volume 2 (I hope there is a volume 2!).Nothing But HeartachesAnother of my favorites (but this is also one of my favorite Supremes' songs!). Unfortunately, the audio sounds muffled, but all three are given ample camera shots, and they look gorgeous. The choreography is somewhat rare for the Supremes.I Hear a SymphonyThis was sung on the same show as "Back In My Arms Again", with the same setup. However, though Diana's mic is still on a much higher frequency, you can hear the background vocals much better.You Can't Hurry LoveA lively, energetic performance. Still, you get the sense that something is not right (or, perhaps one senses this because, in hindsight, we all know the group was now in turmoil behind-the-scenes, with Florence becoming more uphappy with the group's Diva-Diana direction).All the other original member performances (Baby Love, Love Is Here and Now You're Gone) are lip-synched on stage. 'Stop In The Name of Love' is basically a music video filmed in a park. 'You Keep Me Hanging On' plays while the girls are shown playing ping-pong, and then joking in front of the camera--jockeying for position. They actually seem to be having fun together. 'My World is Empty Without You' is a lip-synched version of them in the recording studio.The extras has a live performance of "Whenever The Lovelight Star Shines Into His Eyes". Diana actually seems nervous in the performance.But definitely buy this DVD! A Supremes fan must!

My wife and I are BIG fans of the Supremes. They were out for us when we were in late junior high school through college. These videos cover all their career. The wonderful thing is, there are NO CLINKERS in this whole set. Just their absolute best music - and it is SO COOL to see them again as they were. You will not be sorry getting this if you love this music!