If I had to pick one girl group box set and take it to a desert island with me, it would be this one. Yes, the Supremes weren’t vocally the best girl group there was and they certainly weren’t even the most soulful. Also, their output was patchy after the exit of Diana Ross but they were hugely influential and made some of the greatest soul-infused pop records ever. And, of course, they helped validate the idea of the girl group – so without them, there wouldn’t have been the likes of Bananarama, En Vogue or any distaff group you care to mention (including Little Mix).

 This sterling 3-CD collection includes in chronological order all of the groundbreaking trio’s 45s (plus B-sides) spanning the years 1961-1969. The Supremes came to epitomise soulful elegance both sonically and visually but initially on their debut, back at the start of the ‘60s, they were far from refined – songs such as ‘I Want A Guy’ – their debut single – was rough hewn while image-wise and in terms of presentation, the girls lacked glamour, poise and seemed to resemble homely girls next door. But all that changed, of course, within the space of three years – from being derided by Motown backbiters as the ‘no hit Supremes’ they eventually hit the big time with ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and never looked back after that. 

More memorable records followed, among them ‘Baby Love,’ ‘Stop! In The Name Of Love,’ ‘I Hear A Symphony,’ ‘You Can’t Hurry Love,’ and the incredible ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On.’ They embraced the late-‘60s zeitgeist with the psychedelic-tinged ‘Reflections’ and even veered towards socially-conscious lyrics with the then controversial ‘Love Child.’ During this period, Diana Ross’ burning ambition got the better of her and the trio was re-titled with her name appearing in front of the group’s moniker. Ross, of course, wasn’t even content with leading the group and at the end of 1969 quit for a solo career. This compilation – which also features many of the group’s superb duets with The Temptations – closes with the swansong of the Ross-era Supremes, ‘Someday We’ll Be Together,’ though it didn’t prove to be a prophetic title. 

Packed with informative liner notes and lots of colour archive pictures, this fantastic set soundtracks an important era in world history as well as popular music and with that in mind it’s not only a must-have item for soul and Motown aficionados but also is very desirable in the eyes of devout pop music fans too. Essential.