Please note this is an old page and Fly Global Music has now moved. Please follow this link and search for the entry in the new site.

Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong were at the top of their game, managing to put down some of their most mannered and sincere vocals, making Touch the best of the Terrell led LPs. This album occupied a space that was far more evocative, moodier, and sensual than anything The Supremes had recorded previously. A synergy of lyrical ideas, vocalizing, and musical arrangements provided a hushed soul-pop canvas for Terrell/Wilson/Birdsong to soar to new heights.

Mary Wilson herself would finally get her moment to showcase her smoky range on the haunting title track

Opening on the tear-drenched ‘This Is the Story,’ a tale of unrequited love and heartache; it is beautifully expressed through Terrell’s interpretive skill. Moving between various highs and lows, Terrell proves herself as Diana Ross’ equal, if not superior in her ability to read a song, making it her own. The theme of love’s frustration is continued, with an elevated tempo on ‘Nathan Jones.’ An amalgam of handclaps, frenetic guitars, and vocal phasing effects, this future forward jam was another hit for the ‘70’s Supremes (#16 U.S. Pop, #8 R&B, #5 U.K.). It would later be unremarkably covered by British pop darlings, Bananarama, in 1988 becoming a minor hit (#15 U.K.).

The quirky ‘Johnny Raven’ is another uptempo addition, all pluck and ache rolled into one. Songs such as these prove that all three women added something to the pot, making each of them indispensible in what made this line-up of The Supremes so interesting and varied.

The blissful bursts of ‘Here Comes the Sunshine’ and ‘Love It Came To Me This Time’ bring a much needed hue of affirmation to the romantically tense affair. ‘Love,’ however, takes on an almost gospel like stance in its delivery, with ethereal vocals from Wilson, Birdsong, and Terrell.

Mary Wilson herself would finally get her moment to showcase her smoky range on the haunting title track, which stalled (#71 Pop) in America sadly. Despite this, the song ranks as one of Mary’s finest moments, and thankfully started a trend that would see her handling more leads throughout the remainder of the 1970’s with The Supremes.

Touch rounded out the trio of records Wilson would produce for The Supremes, and would be his last. Smokey Robinson would head up the follow-up, 1972’s Floy Joy, which was a welcome, if slightly retread return to a simpler approach thematically.

Touch, along with every other Jean Terrell featured Supremes record, would be bundled and remastered in Hip-O-Select’s lush This is The Story: 1970-1973: The Jean Terrell Years boxset in 2006; to critical acclaim and fan delight.

The mature staying power of Touch hasn’t diminished and bewitches any who listen to it. While not as pleasantly garish as the record that preceded it, or as carefree as the record that came after, Touch is an emotionally challenging set that requires more than one listen to appreciate its vibe.