Search - Florence Ballard :: The Supreme Florence Ballard: 18 Essential Original Recordings

LISTEN WITH SADNESS

VINCENT P TARSITANO | PORT ORANGE, FL USA | 04/06/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In the beginning, Florence Ballard was a very important member of The Supremes. Her voice always stood out, because it was so big. She endeared herself to fans and spectators with her sense of humor and enjoyment of performing. You get a feel for the potential and maturity in her voice upon listening to the background vocals on the album WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO. Her soprano part on "Your Kiss of Fire" is spectacular, and is excellent on the entire album. You hear the gospel, bluesy, almost operatic voice in her arresting tag line in "Long Gone Lover" from that same album. Her sass and sense of fun is eminently evident in her lead on "Buttered Popcorn," from MEET THE SUPREMES and on her solo verse in "It Makes No Difference Now," from SUPREMES SING COUNTRY, WESTERN AND POP, which I believe to be her most distinctive performance on record, in terms of delivery and personality. Yes, Florence stood out in The Supremes in those early years.



It made the music so much more interesting to hear multiple leads on the few selections where this applies. When one is part of a group, the listener expects to hear contributions from all members, especially when it's a VOCAL group. But, apparently, Diana Ross and Berry Gordy had a plan to further her career only, so the focus on team and group and fairness was shot to hell. A tremendous and unfortunate waste of talent and opportunity. Diana's voice was very commercially appealing at the time, and her personality sparkled, her ambition great. She, by all accounts, was a very hard worker. But, she certainly wasn't the only talented, ambitious, and capable one in the Supremes. There was a special quality, ability, and magic in all three. This fact was recognized by the Motown label mates. It would have helped everyone's eventual career, including, yes, Diana Ross', too, if all 3 Supremes had been utilized to full potential on leads AND backgrounds. Ms. Ross' career has never recovered, I dare say, from the backlash of her perceived spotlight-hogging, and scene-stealing "antics." We all know Ms. Ballard's fate, untimely death at 32. However, it is comforting and even inspiring to know that Mary Wilson has survived and thrived. She constantly works in music performance, lecture and motivational work, theatre, writing, civic and charity work, and even earned a college degree in recent years.



On this collection, THE SUPREME FLORENCE BALLARD, it is truly sad to see the decline of a performer with apparently so much potential. The original project had promise: a former Supreme, actually the first to ever have a solo recording; former Motown producers and writers working with the artist, and a natural curiosity on the part of the public. The opportunity was squandered, not so much in production values, but in choice of material, and of course, in apparent lack of interest or inability to overcome depression and demons of the artist herself. Sure, "Love Ain't Love," b/w "Forever Faithful," are OK. The latter especially in the Supremes groove. Since this was actually Ms. Ballard's second single, the interest and promotion were most probably lacking, and there has always been talk of possible sabotage by reps of her former record company to squash radio airplay. Who knows? The selection and performances on this project's cover tunes were misdirected and uninspired. The one standout original, and there seems to be quite a bit of agreement on this, is "Like You, Babe," which is a fun, bluesy number similar in feel to "Buttered Popcorn." but, this was never released as a single, and was never heard by the general public until this collection. No one seemed interested in developing Florence or helping her overcome her demons, and maybe she had given up, as well. By this time, the booming voice, and the promise, had faded.



As a Supremes completist, and in honor of Ms. Ballard, I purchased this collection, and am glad I have it. But, I don't actually listen much, because of the sadness it causes."

"Florence's "You Don't Have To" At last

frances smv baugh | brooklyn ny | 05/28/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OK for all you Florence Ballard Fans who have been waiting for years to hear the songs that comprised her 1968 Album here it is: The remastered CD called: The Supreme Florence Ballard. This CD contains 18 tracks 14 tracks from her April & August 1968 recording sessions for ABC Records in New York and 4 from the Supremes era. The CD contains many remakes such as "Yesterday" "Walk On By" "Its Not Unusual" & "Goin Out Of My Head" & "The Impossible Dream" with the later along with Yesterday being among the best. The original tracks featuring the opening "Like You Babe" is probably the best track on the album it is reminiscent of the Etta James "Tell Mama" sound also recorded in 1968. Like You Babe is the Florence Ballard sound, it is funky, dancey & Flo' is able to let loose, producer George Kerr is heard at times on the cut in a slight duet effect, but this is a Flo Ballard highlite. The 1st & 2nd singles "It Doesn't Matter How I Say It" the Supremes sounding track along with the improved "Love Ain't Love" are both here remastered and sounding wonderful, for new fans of Florence to here as well as the orignal ballads namely "My Heart" "Stay In Love" & "Forever Faithful" all very strong ballads and very well put together, those songs grow on you, because they're the original r&b sounds we grew up on. The one weak link on the CD is "Everything Wonderful" that song does not do much and it is not catchy. The set features to many remakes, and could have used some more dance numbers allowing for more versatility but.... The CD has 4 tracks with Flo as lead with The Supremes: "Buttered Popcorn" 1961 the Supremes 2nd single & "Ain't That Good News" from 1965 will get you on you feet Mary and especially Diana are prominently heard in the background. The two new tracks are "Hey Baby" 1961 a soundalike of "Buttered Popcorn" indicating what would have been a followup tune had "Popcorn" been a hit. "Hey Baby" is catchy and dancey a joy to hear & the final track "Heavenly Father" a soft churchy tune is another ballad which absolutely proves Florence Ballard was a versatile singer able to handle all types of tunes and this CD will have you wondering why her career had ended, just as it had begun. At last the Florence Ballard tracks are here for us to enjoy. Just imagine what could have been had Flo been able to become a major recording artist. Had this Album turned CD been released in 1968 who knows her fate could have taken a different turn altogether."

From Upper Michigan-600 Miles North of the Motown

David L. Short | Lake Linden, Michigan USA | 06/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five stars because of the history involved in this recording. Florence Ballard sounds like a person who is quite depressed, as she might well be. She also wasn't in her healthiest voice for many of the tracks, but she probably hadn't sung much the year before she recorded the majority of the work.There is a big difference in spirit between the Supremes' tracks and those of her alone. She, Diana and Mary were in best voice with each other. It's simply a fact of life. They had worked too hard together for too long for this not to be.If there had been more support and love, Miss Ballard would have been an excellent, confident musician in her own right. All of the songs are worth listening to and learning from. Even the text error in "The Impossible Dream" is forgivable. She probably simply lost her place. It shows that the producers didn't really care as much about quality as about handling a potential paycheck. And honey, there ain't nothin' we can do about it.When you listen to her sing, think of the beautiful, unpretentious young girl we used to watch on so many TV shows with her talented partners. Smile and say a prayer for Flo and her family."