Diana Ross

This is the first Supremes album in two years I haven't bought on first sight. And in the past
I've been well-rewarded for my impetuousness: no bad burns. The women just seem to
keep giving this magnanimous Pavlovian an encouraging pat up top each and every time.
But this -- "Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb," the cover reads, like the hypothesis
of an experiment -- this was putting a definite strain on my largesse. But of cours... More >

Jean Tyrell Isn't Diana Ross. Here the new appointee confronts producer/arranger/songwriter Jimmy Webb, who isn't a boy genius anymore, but with a small "i." The result is, well, confusing and schlocky, but it does feature Young Jimmy doing a Sweet Baby James imitation in the background. I remember when Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson used to have that job. (Grade: C+)