I Hear a Symphony (The Supremes album)

I Hear a Symphony
Studio album by The Supremes
Released February 18, 1966 (1966-02-18)
Recorded 1965
Studio Hitsville U.S.A., Detroit
Genre
Length 33:43
Label Motown
Producer
The Supremes chronology
The Supremes at the Copa
(1965)
---
Merry Christmas
(1965)The Supremes at the Copa1965		 I Hear a Symphony
(1966)		 The Supremes A' Go-Go
(1966)The Supremes A' Go-Go1966
Singles from I Hear a Symphony
  1. "I Hear a Symphony"
    Released: October 6, 1965
  2. "My World Is Empty Without You"
    Released: December 29, 1965
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

I Hear a Symphony is the eighth studio album released by American girl group the Supremes on the Motown label in 1966. According to Motown data the album sold over 1,900,000 copies.[3]

Overview

Positioned as a successful attempt to further bridge the gap between traditional pop music, the traditional Motown sound and soul, the album included the title track, the Supremes' sixth number-one single, and the Top Ten single "My World is Empty Without You". Also included are the group's covers of pop standards such as "With a Song in My Heart", "Without a Song", "Stranger in Paradise" and "Wonderful! Wonderful!". The original plan was to have the Supremes record an entire album of pop standards, to be entitled There's a Place for Us. The album was indeed recorded but shelved and left unreleased by Motown until 2004. The cover for I Hear a Symphony was the cover shot intended originally for There's a Place For Us. When that album was eventually released in 2004, an alternate shot from that photo session was used.

Also included are originals such as "Everything Is Good About You" and "Any Girl In Love (Knows What I'm Going Through)", and covers of the then-current hits "Yesterday" (originally by the Beatles), "A Lover's Concerto" (sung by the Toys) and "Unchained Melody" (popularized by the Righteous Brothers). "Everything Is Good About You" was yet another B-side that got substantive airplay and became a fan favorite. It was one of several such B-sides that would be included on the group's 1967 Greatest Hits collection.

The I Hear a Symphony album peaked at number 8 and remained on the Billboard 200 album chart for 55 weeks, on the strength of the title track and the top 5 "My World Is Empty Without You." While originally issued in both mono and stereo versions, several of the tracks on the released stereo edition of I Hear a Symphony were sourced from mono mixes.[4]

The Supremes promoted the album with a successful European tour. While in Sweden, the grouped filmed a television special that incorporated a number of the songs on I Hear a Symphony. The DVD of the special is available under the title Greatest Hits: Live in Amsterdam.

Expanded edition

On September 21, 2012, Universal Music Group released I Hear A Symphony: Expanded Edition, a two-disc limited edition re-release. Disc one contains the digitally remastered original mono and stereo editions of the album, with most of the stereo edition being sourced from an alternate 1966 master done in true stereo as opposed to the original stereo LP release of the album.[4] Also on disc one are alternate vocals and extended mixes, and an additional song "All Of A Sudden (My Heart Sings)," recorded for (but not included on) the original album. Disc two features a complete unreleased live show recorded at the Upper Deck of Detroit's Roostertail night club on September 26, 1966.

Track listing

All songs produced by Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier, except for "Yesterday", produced by Norman Whitfield.

Side one

  1. "Stranger in Paradise" (Alexander Borodin, Robert C. Wright, George Forrest) – 3:03
  2. "Yesterday" (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:28
  3. "I Hear a Symphony" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 2:41
  4. "Unchained Melody" (Alex North, Hy Zaret) – 3:47
  5. "With a Song in My Heart" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:02
  6. "Without a Song" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose) – 2:59

Side two

  1. "My World Is Empty Without You" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 2:33
  2. "A Lover's Concerto" (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) – 2:35
  3. "Any Girl in Love (Knows What I'm Going Through)" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 2:59
  4. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" (Sherman Edwards, Donald Meyer, Ben Raleigh) – 2:51
  5. "Everything is Good About You" (James Dean, Eddie Holland) – 2:59
  6. "He's All I Got" (Holland–Dozier–Holland, Dean) – 2:46

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Name Chart (1966) Peak
position
I Hear a Symphony U.S. Billboard 200 8
U.S. Billboard R&B Albums Chart 1

Singles

Name Chart (1965–1966) Peak
position
"I Hear a Symphony" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 2
UK Singles Chart 39
"My World is Empty Without You" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 5
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 10

See also

References

  1. ↑ Eder, Bruce. I Hear a Symphony at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Brackett, Nathan (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Page 797: Fireside Books. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  3. ↑ http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F116321-the-supremes-diana-ross-stevie-wonder-and-ray-charlesusa-album-sales%2F
  4. 1 2 I Hear a Symphony (Expanded Edition) (booklet). The Supremes. New York City: Hip-O Select/Motown. 2012. B0017308-02.
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