The #1's [2003] (CD - 2003)

Additional personnel: Lionel Richie, The Temptations (vocals); Nile Rodgers (guitar); Bernard Edwards (bass); Tony Thompson (drums); Johnny Bristol (background vocals).

Producers include: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Frank Wilson, Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson.

Compilation producers: Harry Weinger, Andrew Skurow, Jeff Moskow.

Recorded between 1964 & 1981. Includes liner notes by Brian Chin.

Surprisingly, very few artists can float a digital-age collection of number one singles without resorting to trickery involving foreign countries or obscure charts. The Beatles had little trouble (The Beatles 1) and Elvis Presley managed both a disc of number ones (Elvis: 30 #1 Hits) and one of number twos (2nd to None), but Michael Jackson bent the rules so far that calling his disc Number Ones is tantamount to consumer fraud. Additionally, a collection of number one singles may not be the best representation of an artist's career; the Elvis volume included nothing from his Sun years, and the Beatles' set skipped "Strawberry Fields Forever." The #1's, Motown's collection of chart-toppers by Diana Ross & the Supremes, fares much better. It benefits from two Supremes characteristics: as a pop group through and through, their biggest hits were often their best songs, and, with the help of the solo Diana Ross, they spent a long time on the charts (nearly 20 years separates the Supremes' debut at the top from Ross' last number one single). While Motown's separate volumes on Diana Ross and the Supremes (in the Ultimate Collection series) remain the best source for a single-disc picture of either act, The #1's works remarkably well. It includes 19 number one pop singles (13 from the group, six from the solo Ross), plus various number ones on the R&B and dance charts, and there aren't any glaring omissions. Granted, fans of early Motown can't live without the girl-group chestnuts "Buttered Popcorn" and "Your Heart Belongs to Me," while those who enjoy latter-day Ross won't find "One More Chance" or "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" -- but of course, this collection wasn't created with them in mind. For the group who recorded more hit singles during the '60s than any other act except the Beatles, and for one of the reigning solo artists of the '70s, The #1's is a worthy tribute. ~ John Bush

Though not as critically revered as label-mates Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, the Supremes were the most popular Motown act of the 1960s. Not only did the group rack up a string of #1 singles, that, in terms of frequency and quality often rivaled that of the Beatles, they were one of the first black combos in America to truly achieve mainstream white acceptance.

In many ways, the Supremes' music represented the Motown sound distilled to its essence; Hitsville USA's throbbing bass, relentlessly danceable drum beats, and ingenious arrangements were never so purely and perfectly geared for maximum pop appeal as on early hits such as "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Stop! In the Name of Love." On later, edgier tracks, like "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Love Child," the Supremes managed to adapt to the changing times without losing fans. Of course, even the Supremes' massive success couldn't match the superstar status garnered by their lead singer Diana Ross, with her definitive pop-soul classics such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Endless Love." THE #1'S comes as advertised, collecting all of the Diana Ross and the Supremes chart-toppers and delivering them with excellent sound and eye-pleasing packaging. minimize