The Best of Diana Ross & The Supremes: 20th Century Masters (Millennium Collection);

The Supremes' catalog (as well as that of every other hit-making artist who ever recorded for Motown) has been packaged and repackaged so many times that yet another go-round of the same material would seem pretty uninviting if the music weren't so good. The songs collected here certainly constitute some of the Supremes' prime stuff. But like many of the entries in MCA's 20th Century Masters collection, it's a product of flawed logic. The set is made up entirely of No. 1 hits, except for "Reflections," which charted at No. 2. It's unclear why that song takes precedence over two of the group's other No. 1s, "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" and "The Happening" (both of which end up on Volume 2). The album could have stuck to the Supremes' early period, before Diana Ross became front woman in name as well as in fact. In that scenario, earlier hits could have subbed for "Love Child" and "Someday We'll Be Together," and those songs saved for a subsequent volume. Maybe these are quibbling arguments, but the perpetual mishandling of Motown's peerless catalog continues to puzzle. --Daniel Durchholz