The Return of the Magnificent Seven

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The Return of the Magnificent Seven
Motown
ProducerFrank Wilson
The Supremes chronology
New Ways but Love Stays
(1970) 		The Return of the Magnificent Seven
(1971)
Touch

(1971)
The Four Tops
chronology
The Magnificent 7
(1970) 		The Return of the Magnificent Seven
(1971) 		Dynamite
(1971)

The Return of the Magnificent Seven is the second collaborative

Temptations duet albums (ironically loaded with covers), what they did have instead were original tunes, soulful lead vocals by Jean Terrell and Levi Stubbs
and high production values in terms of arrangements and orchestration.

This second release is probably the best of the three Supremes/Four Tops albums. It includes two early songs by

Valerie Simpson: respectively, the romantic ballad "I'm Glad About It" and the up-tempo, Latin-flavored "One More Bridge to Cross", a typical Ashford & Simpson song with a social commentary. McMurray also produced Tom Baird's "I Wonder Where We're Going" (sung almost collectively by the seven singers) and his own composition, "Where Would I Be Without You Baby". Veteran producer Henry Cosby was in charge of a cover of Petula Clark's hit "Call Me" (written by Tony Hatch); a smooth love song of his own, "If You Could See Me Now", and a third contribution by Zesses and Fekaris, the ballad "Let's Make Love Now". Johnny Bristol produced a remake of Tammi Terrell's solo hit, "I Can't Believe You Love Me", and Bobby Taylor closed the album with a happy ballad about puzzling lovers, written by Pam Sawyer and Gloria Jones, "What Do You Have to Do (To Stay on the Right Side of Love)", also featuring solo vocals by Mary Wilson
. Despite being issued as a duet recording, the lone single "You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart" was obviously a Jean Terrell solo with Levi Stubbs' paltry four lines of vocal added later. Regardless of getting off to a good start on the pop singles charts, Motown mysteriously pulled the song possibly because of ongoing negotiations with the Four Tops to re-sign with the label.

A collection of compositions handled with the expertise of the Motown production machine, supervised by late Rev. Frank Wilson. While charting low on the Billboard Pop Album charts, on the Cash Box Pop Album charts this album charted much higher, closer to being a successful release. Levi Stubbs was said to be particularly upset with the failure of this lp. The Four Tops left Motown a year later.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Cashbox(Favorable)[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

In a contemporary review Cashbox published:[2]

'What was that you were saying about supergroups and supersessions? Give a listen to what may be the last word on the subjects. Joining together of these two dynamic groups results in an LP which is chock full of excitement and charm. "You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart" kicks the set off and it's non-stop action all, the way through as the seven take on a bevy of new songs, along with the standard "Call Me." Should find a ready following among fans of both groups.'

Track listing

  1. "You Gotta Have Love in Your Heart" (Nick Zesses, Dino Fekaris)
  2. "I Wonder Where We're Going" (Tom Baird)
  3. "Call Me" (Tony Hatch)
  4. "One More Bridge to Cross" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson)
  5. "If You Could See Me Now" (Janie Bradford, Joe Hinton, Henry Cosby)
  6. "I'll Try Not to Cry" (Nick Zesses, Dino Fekaris)
  7. "I'm Glad About It" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson)
  8. "Let's Make Love Now" (Nick Zesses, Dino Fekaris)
  9. "I Can't Believe You Love Me" (Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol)
  10. "Where Would I Be Without You Baby" (Clarence McMurray, Martin Coleman)
  11. "What Do You Have to Do (To Stay on the Right Side of Love)" (Pam Sawyer, Leon Ware)

Personnel

Chart history

Chart (1971) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[4] 154
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[5] 18
US Record World[6] 72
US Record World R&B[7] 20

References

  1. ^ The Return of the Magnificent Seven at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b "Pop Picks" (PDF). Cashbox. June 12, 1971. p. 31. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. ISBN 9780857125958
    . Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  4. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  5. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  6. ^ "THE ALBUM CHART: Week of July 24, 1971" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. July 24, 1971. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  7. ^ "THE R&B ALBUM CHART: Week of July 17, 1971" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. July 17, 1971. p. 39. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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