Search - Spinners :: A One of a Kind Love Affair: The Anthology

Almost the perfect compilation

Blue! | Kent, OH USA | 10/10/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love the Spinners; I have for most of my life. They are second only to the Stylistics as my favorite vocal group of all time. And so, happy was I the day I happened to run into this collection, by far the finest ever done on this, one of the definitive groups of the entire Philly Soul subgenre.What distinguishes this collection from all which come before it (and I've seen 'em all) are three things: Length--this collects more than twice the songs of any of the previous collections; The extensive liner notes, which not only give the listener a strong grounding in the history and development of this group, the turbulent musical struggles they went through, and how each coped with their subsequent success (for good or ill), but also treat each song as an individual entity worthy of careful scrutiny. Details such as date of recording (when known) are given for each song (I had never known that the first song I ever learned by heart was recorded at the same session as my favorite Spinners song...!) Most importantly, this compilation presents each song *in its entirety.* No editing, no cutting for time, no you-know-what. The listener may find himself discovering for the first time that his favorite Spinners tune is nearly twice as long as he thought--and what a pleasant discovery that is! Even more pleasant are a couple of gems--songs like "(Oh, Lord) I Wish I Could Sleep," which had never been released until this collection. Had the previously mentioned song *been* released, I think The Spinners would have entered their period of nonstop hits a year earlier.Yet, for all this, the compilation is less than perfect; less than definitive, and the sole reason for this is the significant songs which were omitted, shining gems from their more lackluster early days like "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music," "Can Sing a Rainbow/Love is Blue," their version of the Five Stairsteps smash "O-O-H Child," and the poignant "In My Diary," and others. But I will never understand (or forgive) the omission of one of their later chart-toppers, "Cupid/I've Loved You For a Long Time," which is not present, despite being mentioned in the liner notes!But don't let that small flaw stop you from buying this collection. It is simply the only "must-have" collection for the Spinners fan."

BOBBY SMITH ....THE SPINNERS' REAL LEAD SINGER !!

willgee | ca | 01/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've always been one for giving credit where it's due...and in the case of THE SPINNERS, one person always gets way TOO MUCH, and another doesn't get NEARLY ENOUGH.That person is the fantastic BOBBIE SMITH. BOBBIE has been the REAL LEAD SINGER OF THE SPINNERS FROM DAY ONE !!! He sang lead on the SPINNERS VERY FIRST HIT BACK IN 1961... ( That's What Girls Are Made For )...and also their first million seller ( "I'll Be Around" ). In between ,he lead virtually ALL of their PRE MOTOWN HITS ("Too Young, Too Much, Too Soon","What Did She Use " ,etc.)and such MOTOWN CLASSICS AS "TRULY YOURS" (my favorite SPINNERS song },"I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU "(the group's second biggest Motown hit} ,"SWEET THING",AND TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE SUCH SWEET MUSIC "("IT'S A SHAME WAS LED BY G.C. CAMERON,who couldn't go with the group when they went to ATLANTIC,because he was still under contract to MOTOWN). And SMITH also led THEIR BIGGEST ATLANTIC HITS "COULD IT BE I'M FALLING IN LOVE " ,"GAMES PEOPLE PLAY ","MIGHTY LOVE",(a shared lead} and "THEN CAME YOU"...Yet , Bobbie get's VIRTUALLY NO CREDIT FOR HIS PART IN THE SPINNERS' SUCCESS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS..AND NEVER HAS !! In newspaper & magazine articles, music history books , even in ATLANTIC RECORDS own liner notes... all the credit goes to PHLLIP WALKER {aka PHILLIPPE WYNNE )!! Some music writers have even gone so far as to credit Phillippe for songs BOBBIE ACTUALLY SANG LEAD ON!! While I don't take anything away from Phillippe (he was a fantastic singer & dancer ), the REALITY is that his initial single with the SPINNERS, "HOW COULD I LET YOU GET AWAY"(which he sang lead on), ONLY REACHED #77 ON THE BILLBOARD pop chart! It was only after the nations' disc jockeys TURNED THE RECORD OVER TO IT'S FLIP SIDE,"I'LL BE AROUND" which BOBBIE SMITH sang lead on,(and that producer THOM BELL has said was SUPPOSED to have been the original "A" side in the FIRST place) , that the group had it's FIRST MILLION SELLER !! BOBBIE ALSO SANG LEAD ON THE GROUP'S SECOND MILLION SELLER, " COULD IT BE I'M FALLING IN LOVE ".By the time their 1st ATLANTIC ALBUM'S 3rd single , the WYNNE- lead "ONE OF A KIND LOVE AFFAIR" came out, (which also sold a million ),the two SMITH -LED SONGS had already established the SPINNERS as SUPERSTARS,and propelled the sales of that album to GOLD RECORD STATUS. The fact is that while PHILLIPE was hopping and skipping across the stage,driving audiences wild ,it was BOBBIE SMITH that was selling all the records,WYNNE having led on only one other million seller,the fun and funny novelty song "RUBBERBAND MAN "(Most of the WYNNE-led tunes were bigger on the R&B charts than on the POP. BOBBIE also sang lead (with DIONNE WARWICK}, on the million-selling # 1 smash,"THEN CAME YOU", and another million seller "GAMES PEOPLE PLAY".(Can you believe MOTOWN rejected his voice ? BIG MISTAKE !!) However , Wynne's powerful performance of "I COULD NEVER REPAY YOUR LOVE " was also a highlight of their INCREDIBLE FIRST ATLANTIC ALBUM,many radio stations having played the song right off the album.Sadly, Wynne's DAVID RUFFIN-LIKE attitude , demanding TOP BILLING, and causing turmoil within the group, and with their producer,THOM BELL,threatened to tear the SPINNERS apart. But the SPINNERS existed long before PHILLIPPE WYNNE,and they still exist today.....And,GUESS WHAT? BOBBIE SMITH is still their lead singer.It's time HE got the credit he deserves.

"

Best two-CD soul album ever

Timothy R. Sullivan | 11/12/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like the Spinners and the 70's soul sound, this is the definitive album. It takes you through the early days of the group with the fiery "It's a Shame" to their glory days with the bestsellers "Could it be I'm falling in Love," "One of a Kind, Love Affair," and "Then Came You." Don't miss Phillpe Wynn's great improvisations of Al Green, Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett on the album's lone live track: "How Could I Let You Get Away." And the late Wynne cuts loose on "Mighty Love" and "I'm Coming Home." Just a phenomenal album from a highly underrated group. The Temptations are great, but not any better than the Spinners. Take a break from the Motown and test out the Detroit/Philly sound of the Spinners, and perhaps the best soul producer of all time in Thom Bell."