The Supremes re-issues question

[djessie]

I have been wanting to buy all the albums Diana Ross recorded with The Supremes, but had been holding out for the expanded versions. Since I guess we can give up on further Diana Ross and The Supremes re-issues making it to CD in the future, I have decided to start buying previous releases. Could you please advise which versions out there are the best ones, sound quality wise? There are several versions available of some of the albums, both international and from Japan but I understand that releases from some companies sound better than others. Which ones would you advise me to get? Thanks a lot in advance!

[thanxal]

The Expanded Editions from the now defunct Hip-OSelect are the best, IMHO. But they are getting hard to find. I didn't buy "Last Time I Saw Him" and now I regret it. Its the only one I don't have of the Diana Ross/ Supremes reissues. I have the original CDs from the 1990s and they are impossible to find, as are the twofer sets from the UK. I think the best option other than the expanded editions are the Japanese reissues, but they do have sound quality issues. I bought "Love Child" and it sounds awful. However, I also bought the Japanese reissue of "Black Magic" [[Vandellas) and it sounds pretty good. And of course, if you're a hipster you can go to Jerry's Records in Pittsburgh [[Murray Ave) and find pristine copies of every single record except "Meet the Supremes".

[RossHolloway]

What is your opinion on digital releases? I know some hard core collectors don't care for them and they're not my first choice, but I do find comfort in digital releases. I'm of the opinion that I'd rather have the digital releases than nothing at all. I made the horrible mistake of waiting too long and missed out on This Is The Story and volume 2 of both the David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick solo albums releases. I may one day just break the bank and find copies at a premium, but I'm still holding out.

[RobertZ]

What is your opinion on digital releases? I know some hard core collectors don't care for them and they're not my first choice, but I do find comfort in digital releases. I'm of the opinion that I'd rather have the digital releases than nothing at all. I made the horrible mistake of waiting too long and missed out on This Is The Story and volume 2 of both the David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick solo albums releases. I may one day just break the bank and find copies at a premium, but I'm still holding out.

I’m with you in the “better than nothing” school! I’ve finally given up hunting down absurdly overpriced second-hand copies; I love music but no physical product is worth what is being commanded price-wise. I’ve recently subscribed to one of the streaming services and am totally happy listing to the music I love in place of “owning” it. I miss the Hip O / Motown Select days like everyone else, and buy affordable Funkytown Grooves, Big Beat, etc reissues when the wallet allows.