Miracles Depend on Me: The Early Albums Genres:Pop, R&B Miracles first 5 albums on 2 CDs! Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Motown are intertwined forever. The company's first hit group, led by its premier writer-performer-singer, the Miracles had the company's first mi... more »llion-selling record, its first full-length LP release, and its first artist-executive. They were the stars of the first Motortown Revues, followed by fans who knew the words to every song. Those heady, thrilling, early years are fully documented on Depend On Me: The Early Albums, a 2-CD set that collects the Miracles' first five albums, three of which are on CD for the first time, as well as rare bonus cuts. "It was exhilarating, exciting, amazing, and unbelievable that it was happening, because there were so many other groups who were dynamic, who had so many hits. But this was happening to us," says Miracle Claudette Robinson, as quoted in the collection's liner notes. Hi, We're The Miracles, Cookin' With The Miracles, I'll Try Something New, The Fabulous Miracles and Recorded Live On Stage are each in their original mono mixes, as originally issued in the early sixties. So are the five bonus cuts, which include two non-LP singles "Mighty Good Lovin'" and "The Feeling Is So Fine" and rare single versions of "The Only One I Love" and "Shop Around." For the latter, there is the "slow" regional version that's appeared on compilations, but for this set we've tracked down an earlier alternate pressing that has not been heard in nearly 50 years. Hi includes the hit versions of "Shop Around" and "Way Over There," a rare Claudette lead on "After All," and the classic slow jams "Who's Lovin' You" and "(You Can) Depend On Me." Cookin' shows the group maturing with more polished production, featuring "Everybody's Got To Pay Some Dues," "That's The Way I Feel," and surprising jazz vocal harmony in Gershwin's "Embraceable You." I'll Try Something New was another breakthrough, with the smash title track, "What's So Good About Good Bye," "I've Been Good To You" and more of the standard repertoire from the previous LP. Miracles Ronnie White and Claudette Robinson are spotlighted on "A Love That Can Never Be" and "He Don't Care About Me." The Fabulous Miracles, sometimes known as "You've Really Got A Hold On Me," has an assortment of classics all written or co-written by Smokey, from "A Love She Can Count On" to "Happy Landing." Recorded Live On Stage, compiled from Revue performances at the Regal and Apollo Theaters, documents the excitement of the early live shows. All of this wonderful Motown music has been remastered with the usual care and devotion; it's in a delightful package showcasing the original Miracles LP covers, front and back, with rare photos, detailed track annotations and a rich essay by group chronicler Stu Hackel. With Depend On Me: The Early Albums, the days of Motown fans shopping around for The Miracles' early classics are finally over.« less
Miracles first 5 albums on 2 CDs! Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Motown are intertwined forever. The company's first hit group, led by its premier writer-performer-singer, the Miracles had the company's first million-selling record, its first full-length LP release, and its first artist-executive. They were the stars of the first Motortown Revues, followed by fans who knew the words to every song. Those heady, thrilling, early years are fully documented on Depend On Me: The Early Albums, a 2-CD set that collects the Miracles' first five albums, three of which are on CD for the first time, as well as rare bonus cuts. "It was exhilarating, exciting, amazing, and unbelievable that it was happening, because there were so many other groups who were dynamic, who had so many hits. But this was happening to us," says Miracle Claudette Robinson, as quoted in the collection's liner notes. Hi, We're The Miracles, Cookin' With The Miracles, I'll Try Something New, The Fabulous Miracles and Recorded Live On Stage are each in their original mono mixes, as originally issued in the early sixties. So are the five bonus cuts, which include two non-LP singles "Mighty Good Lovin'" and "The Feeling Is So Fine" and rare single versions of "The Only One I Love" and "Shop Around." For the latter, there is the "slow" regional version that's appeared on compilations, but for this set we've tracked down an earlier alternate pressing that has not been heard in nearly 50 years. Hi includes the hit versions of "Shop Around" and "Way Over There," a rare Claudette lead on "After All," and the classic slow jams "Who's Lovin' You" and "(You Can) Depend On Me." Cookin' shows the group maturing with more polished production, featuring "Everybody's Got To Pay Some Dues," "That's The Way I Feel," and surprising jazz vocal harmony in Gershwin's "Embraceable You." I'll Try Something New was another breakthrough, with the smash title track, "What's So Good About Good Bye," "I've Been Good To You" and more of the standard repertoire from the previous LP. Miracles Ronnie White and Claudette Robinson are spotlighted on "A Love That Can Never Be" and "He Don't Care About Me." The Fabulous Miracles, sometimes known as "You've Really Got A Hold On Me," has an assortment of classics all written or co-written by Smokey, from "A Love She Can Count On" to "Happy Landing." Recorded Live On Stage, compiled from Revue performances at the Regal and Apollo Theaters, documents the excitement of the early live shows. All of this wonderful Motown music has been remastered with the usual care and devotion; it's in a delightful package showcasing the original Miracles LP covers, front and back, with rare photos, detailed track annotations and a rich essay by group chronicler Stu Hackel. With Depend On Me: The Early Albums, the days of Motown fans shopping around for The Miracles' early classics are finally over.
CD Reviews
How it all began
M. Perry | 08/04/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Along with Curtis Mayfield and Paul Simon, Smokey Robinson is one of my favorite three songwriters of all time. When one considers the vast wealth of beautiful, original compositions Smokey is responsible for creating (both for himself and countless other Motown acts), it amazes me that he does not get the credit he deserves for being one of the most important and influential musicians to ever grace this planet.
In any event, FINALLY, we have the first five Miracles albums in CD form. Although a few of these were originally released back in 1986, this is the first time a few have ever been in print. Quite simply, in these songs you can hear the beginnings of a master craftsmen honing his art.
I live for Motown records. To be brutally honest, with many of the early Motown acts, you would typically have one single that was a great song and one less creative song as a B side. More to the point, you would have albums that were thrown together because a group had one or two hits, so the label wanted to maximize the exposure of the group/song by releasing an entire album's worth of material. Many of those songs could be labelled as "filler". But largely due to Smokey's song writing ability, these Miracles albums do not suffer from this problem. Literally almost to a song, these albums are flawless; beautiful music created by extremely talented, focused musicians.
For me personally, some of the only songs on these two discs that don't quite fit in are the songs the band tried to perform as classic cover tunes. Songs like Embraceable You, On the Street Where You Live and I've got You Under My Skin just don't breathe as much life in this setting as the original songs. It was an attempt by Motown to expand their listening audience. And in this writer's opinion, this particular band didn't need to go down that path for that to happen. Smokey, Bobby, Ron, Pete, Claudette and Marv had enough original material to keep me permanently mesmerized.
Conversely, I will forever be amazed that songs as brillant as Won't You Take Me Back, Way Over There, You'll Never Miss A Good Thing, What's So Good About Goodbye and A Love She Can Count On weren't much bigger hits than they were.
If it isn't obvious by now, I can not recommend this 2 Cd set highly enough. The songs sound better than ever, and there are some nice new quotes from Smokey and Claudette about their time with the Miracles back in the day. If anyone from Hip-O happens to be reading this, please make sure "The Early Albums" is not the only release from the most important act to ever walk through Motown's doors. (I mean, Smokey and Berry ARE Motown). All of the Miracles albums and Smokey's solo efforts deserve to be released in a format as professional and beautiful as this set.
As a final note to the great folks at Hip-O, thank you for letting us hear this vital music again. It is priceless and timeless art that everyone should hear.
"
YES YES YES!!
G-Funk 4ever | Listenin' to the Delfonics | 12/03/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a guy in his 20's who gets more excited when he hears that albums and collections like Depend On Me: The Early Albums are being released than anything that is "hot" or "hip" now. I truly love the Miracles, and Smokey Robinson, and their music truly resonates with me. I already had Hi, We're The Miracles (1961), and Cookin' With The Miracles(late 1961) on cd re-issues. But, it was nearly impossible to find I'll Try Something New (1962), and The Fabulous Miracles (1963). There is also a live album with their hit songs (Recorded Live on Stage). The sound quality on the albums is awesome. I also love that they included non-album singles. "Mighty Good Lovin'" (1961) is a fantastic rock n' roller. "The Feeling is So Fine" (1959) is another groovy rocker: it is one of my favorite jams by the group. There are a couple different regional versions of the classic "Shop Around." These albums cover their wonderful early doo-wop era music, so for doo-wop and soul fans like myself, this album is a true treat. The collection has the classics such as "Way Over There [strings version]" (1960), "You've Really Got a Hold On Me" (1962), "You Can Depend On Me" (1959) (Obviously), "Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues" (1961), "Happy Landing" (1962), and many other gems from the first four albums,and the live versions of several ot them on the fifth album. The only change I would've made was to include the classic doo-wop ballad "Bad Girl" (1959) if room allowed for it. I am eternally grateful for having these albums released together. The Miracles are extremely high ranking in my growing collection of soul music."
The greatest
J. Hypothesis | Northern Jersey | 09/11/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have been asking them to re-release these albums for years, and they have done a FANTASTIC job with this set. The remastered audio has never sounded better, and as the other reviewers have noted, the packaging is first rate.
One thing I would like to add, is that the single greatest improvement for me is how much better the backing vocals sound on this release. The Miracles voices have never sounded so good! This release does them proud.
Now, I have to request that the release the next albums "Doin' Mickey's Monkey" and the super rare "I Like It Like That", which have also been out of print for years. Pretty please with sugar on top!"
Finally Available Again!
rollo | usa | 08/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Now that the cd is nearing it's end, we get a last glimpse of The Miracles first 5 albums on Motown. The packaging is first rate with all original cover art and a booklet with informative recording information. To say that the rhythm & blues music here is great would be an understatement. These recordings were done in the days when a long playing album had about a dozen songs on it and the listener would like all the songs on it except one or two tunes. This music has staying power, it has stayed with me since I was sixteen. It is also interesting to know that some of the Miracles first recordings with strings were done in Chicago and arranged by the great Riley C. Hampton. This is a superb compilation."
