20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: Best of the Contours

The Contours were Motown's most rockin' group. Known for their wild stage antics and raucous songs, their big hit was the deathless "Do You Love Me." That good-time oldies staple plus ten other tracks are included on this collection. The Contours had no other hits, but "First I Look at the Purse" gained some fame when covered by the J. Geils Band. The original is a solid rocker, as are other tracks like "Shake Sherry" and "Can You Jerk Like Me." A couple tracks feature the group trying to update their sound in an attempt to be more Motown; "It's So Hard Being a Loser" and "Just a Little Misunderstanding" sound like labelmates the Temptations. This collection replaces 1999's The Very Best of the Contours, which had 15 tracks. If you have that already, you certainly don't need this new compilation, as there are no songs that are unique to it. In fact, there is really no reason for this collection to exist — The Very Best of the Contours was just fine; cutting four tracks off and repackaging it as part of 20th Century Masters — The Millennium Collection does no one any favors. If you want the best of the Contours, hit the used CD stores and ask for The Very Best of the Contours.