The Supremes -- "Promises Kept" and "Dreams"

When I decided to put together The Supremes' unreleased Promises Kept album, I didn't quite understand what I was getting myself into. It didn't take long for me to realize that Motown continues to sit on a crazy amount of unreleased songs. I'm not sure what the lack of motivation is, but it seems ridiculous. A true embarrassment of riches.

There were reportedly 19 songs recorded for the Promises Kept sessions. But there were also leftover tracks from a previous album, Right On, and stray tracks from a couple of compilations. In all, I came up with 24 songs, enough for two albums. (Actually, there are quite a few other tracks from 1970-71 that are either lost or collecting dust somewhere). 

Although Motown created a catalog number for Promises Kept, it apparently never produced a tracklist. So to create Promises Kept, I compiled my own, and I made a second album with the rest that I've titled Dreams.

Promises Kept
SIDE A

1. Oh My Poor Baby

2. I'll Let Him Know I Love Him

3. Chained to Yesterday

4. If I were Your Woman

5. I Ain’t Easy to Lose

6. The Day Will Come Between Sunday and Monday

SIDE B

1. Life Beats

2. It’s Too Late

3. Take a Look Inside

4. Eleanor Rigby

5. Can't Get You Out of My Mind

6. May His Love Shine Forever

In selecting the songs for Promises Kept, I think I took a unique approach: I chose only songs that had been co-written by women. The one exception is Lennon/McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby,” which of course is about a woman. The first side is dominated by the writing team of Gloria Jones and Pam Sawyer. “If I Were Your Woman” had already been recorded by Gladys Knight and The Pips. "The Day Will Come Between Sunday and Monday" had been originally scheduled for The Supremes’ Right On album, and ended up being the debut Motown single for Kiki Dee.

The second side kicks off with “Life Beats,” which had been scheduled to be an A-side of a Supremes single in 1970 but was pulled and removed from the Right On album as well. Besides “Eleanor Rigby,” this side includes another cover in Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.” The album ends on a spiritual note with “May His Love Shine Forever,” which was included on a 1971 Motown compilation Rock Gospel, The Key to the Kingdom.

For the Promises Kept album cover, I found the group photo online and added titles. 

Dreams

SIDE A

1. Walk with Me, Talk with Me, Darling

2. I Ain't Got the Love of the One I Love

3. Still Water (Love)

4. Take Your Dreams Back

5. Never Can Say Goodbye

6. Tears Left Over

SIDE B

1. Steppin’ on a Dream

2. All I Need

3. And I Thought You Loved Me

4. I Don't Want to Own You (I Just Want to Love You)

5. Make It with You

6. You've Got To Pay The Price

This Dreams album contains more cover tunes, including “Still Water (Love)” [Four Tops], “Never Can Say Goodbye” [Jackson 5], “Steppin’ on a Dream” [Jimmy and David Ruffin], “All I Need” [Temptations], “Make It with You” [Bread] and “You’ve Got to Pay the Price” [Gloria Taylor].

“Steppin’ on a Dream” was originally meant for The Supremes’ Right On album. “Still Water (Love)” is the only track on either of these albums to feature Mary Wilson on lead vocals rather than Jean Terrell. With two of the song titles including the word “dream” or “dreams” I decided to use that for the title.

For the Dreams album cover, I found this on the Soulful Detroit message board and just made some alterations.