''New Ways But Love Stays'' is the second studio album by the

Jean Terrell Velma Jean Terrell (born November 26, 1944) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970. Biography Early life and career She is the sister of the former WBA heavyweight box ...

-led

Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

. Building on the foundation of the group's first LP, '' Right On'', ''New Ways'' was produced by Frank Wilson and features The Supremes' most successful single with Terrell, "

Stoned Love "Stoned Love" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the last ''Billboard'' Pop Top Ten hit for the group, peaking at number seven, and their last ''Billboard'' number-one R&B hit as well, although the trio co ...

Background

The plea for peace and love was written by Wilson and a

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

teenager named Kenny Thomas. The song's title, read by many entertainment executives as a double-edged drug reference, prevented the song from making an impact in some areas; for example, footage of The Supremes performing the number was edited out of a November 1970 episode of ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 ...

''. However, the song still was a huge success on the charts, reaching number 7 on the Billboard hot 100, number 1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and number 3 in the UK. ''New Ways But Love Stays'' was originally titled ''Stoned Love'' after its hit single; the controversy over the song's name prevented this from occurring. Another change that befell the project was the alteration of the original album cover. The original design used a photograph which depicted the three Supremes in

Afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

s and dark green turtlenecks, giving them a Black Power look. Apparently feeling that such a look would go against the Supremes' established "glamour girl" image, Motown's final front cover for ''New Ways But Love Stays'' includes one of the Black power photos, but it is inset within a circle and surrounded by additional inset pictures of the three Supremes in their more familiar gowns. The individual photos of the three Supremes had already appeared in the artwork for the album ''The Magnificent Seven''. The reverse of the album cover is a full portrait of the trio in the 'black power' styling. This was a colour photograph on the US release, but black and white when released on Tamla Motown in the UK and Europe. Besides its hit single, the album also includes several notable album tracks, such as "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music" (a Spinners cover), and "It's Time to Break Down", which is today recognized as a minor "dusty groove" classic, and was sampled by hip hop producer

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

for the

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

song "JFK 2 LAX", included on the 1998 LP '' Moment of Truth''.

Critical reception

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' praised the "magnificent" "Stoned Love", before lamenting the group's slide into "mere professionalism." '' Cashbox'' published 'An apt title indeed for this new Supremes outing showcasing some of Motown's newer writers. And there's been a subtle change in the group along much the same lines as the Temps. Songs are longer with a shift in emphasis to arranging of the instrumental parts of the songs. No longer is the band just a backing group but, again as with the Temps, has become a totally integrated entity along with the girls so that the Supremes now are not simply a trio but a twenty piece group. This then is Motown's key to chart success, never stand still. "Stoned Love," "It's Time To Break Down," and "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music" are perfect examples. Paul and Artie's "Bridge" is given the best treatment since the original. Super LP!'

Covers

On ''New Ways But Love Stays'' The Supremes covered Simon & Garfunkel's " Bridge Over Troubled Water",

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' "

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with " Somethi ...

, Steam's "

Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a 1969 song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named " Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became ...

", the Four Tops' I Wish I Were Your Mirror, Martha and the Vandellas' Is There a Place (In His Heart for Me) and The Spinners' " Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music".

Track listing

Side one # " Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music" (Martin Coleman, Richard Drapkin) # "

" (Yennik Samoht, Frank Wilson) # "It's Time to Break Down" (Ellean Hendley, Wilson) # " Bridge Over Troubled Water" ( Paul Simon) # "I Wish I Were Your Mirror" (

Pam Sawyer Pamela Joan Sawyer (born 1938) is a British songwriter/lyricist, who started writing songs in the mid-1960s and whose credits as a co-writer at Motown included " Love Child", " If I Were Your Woman", "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left ...

, Frank Wilson) Side two # "

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

) # "Is There a Place (In His Heart for Me)" (Clay McMurray, Martin Coleman) # "

" (Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka) # "Shine on Me" (Frank Wilson) # "Thank Him for Today" (Vincent DiMirco) Bonus tracks # "

Love the One You're With "Love the One You're With" is a song by folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, be ...

" ( Stephen Stills) (CD bonus track, position # 7, it does not appear on the original LP)

Personnel

– lead vocals and background vocals * Mary Wilson – lead and background vocals * Cindy Birdsong – lead and background vocals *

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Ma ...

- additional background vocals Production * Frank Wilson – producer except "Is There A Place" * Clay McMurray – producer on "Is There A Place"

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1970 albums The Supremes albums Albums produced by Frank Wilson (musician) Motown albums