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Sep 30, 2024 Web Exclusive By Frank Valish

By 1968, famed writing team Holland-Dozier-Holland was no longer involved with The Supremes, who the year prior had forsaken the solidarity of its original moniker for the augmented name Diana Ross and The Supremes, which brought the group’s most famous member more directly into the spotlight. This was no longer your mama’s Supremes.

The group’s fifteen full length, Love Child, bore the consequences of these changes. Less cute and overtly pop than its predecessors, more soulful and gritty in both sound and lyric, Love Child is something of a turning point for The Supremes.

Reissued here on 140 gram vinyl with faithfully recreated front and back cover art, Love Child jumps from the speakers. Songs like “Does Your Mama Know About Me” and the title track betray somewhat darker themes than the hits of The Supremes of old. “He’s My Sunny Boy,” penned by Smokey Robinson, leans on the horn-filled pop smarts that the group perfected years before. Ashford and Simpson’s “You Ain’t Livin’ Till You’re Lovin’” is smooth, slinky soul. And “Can’t Shake It Loose” is a George Clinton and company production, finally emerging as a Funkadelic track years later.

The whole of Love Child feels like a vehicle for Diana Ross’ vocal prowess. Soon, however, Ross would be gone, leaving for her own solo career, and The Supremes would muddle through the ’70s without her with varying degrees of success. Love Child, however, while representing something of a left turn from its past legacy, still found The Supremes at the height of their powers. (www.elemental-music.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10