Anyone care to speculate what may have been if the Supremes had went full blown into Disco with their 1975 album? Any why didn't Motown pursue a more disco sound of the late 70's? Yes I know there are a few disco songs and albums during that period.
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Anyone care to speculate what may have been if the Supremes had went full blown into Disco with their 1975 album? Any why didn't Motown pursue a more disco sound of the late 70's? Yes I know there are a few disco songs and albums during that period.
I don't know,but "He's My Man" was a U.S. Billboard Disco number 1 hit in 1975.
Not a bad song but I think it needed that typical disco instrumental break
I wonder if that version would have faired a little better
They cut some magnificent uptempo stuff on those final three albums. Most of the material was strong enough, the girls were in fine voice and they looked sensational but they did not sound like the traditional Supremes from the Diana and Jean eras. They were in a catch 22 situation. Should they maintain their sound and be accused of not evolving , or should they attempt to update their sound and be accused of selling out? They couldn't win. Having said that it didn't really matter in the long run. Motown had lost interest in the Supremes and didn't promote them nearly enough.
IMO He's My Man is a nice song and kinda catchy. but i felt most of the Sup 75 songs were what i call "generic disco" meaning that they were songs anyone could sing. Love Hangover is totally Diana. it's hard to imagine anyone else. Same with the original I Will Survive and many other songs of the era.
when the girls did I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking, they seemed to be gathering speed. out of the sessions for Sup 75, i think the best track was I Could Never Recover. that's the one that seems to most of a new sound for the girls. a tougher, go-get-em mentality, great vocals, etc. IGLMHDTW really seems to establish a potential sound for the girls and if they'd both had the support of Motown and had some unity within the group, things might have been different.
this sound really was solidified with the MS&S lp and songs like Driving Wheel, Love I Never Knew and especially Let Yourself Go. again had they not been fighting internally, had Pedro not been involved, had motown supported them, things might have been different
also the issue of follow up single. while i like a lot of the tracks on HE, after the power of IGLMHDTW, they needed a great follow up. to me, none of the tracks on HE quite cut it. the vocals of the single, amazing production and track, the woo-hoo-woo-hoo backing vocals, nothing else quite sparkled like that. i think the title track is great but it's 180 degrees different. slower paced, more mysterious in tone and sound, lacks a catchy chorus. they should have gone directly to Let Yourself Go. both are in major keys, clear singable choruses. it's like how Baby Love and Come See About Me were patterned after WDOLG. Driving Wheel was the wrong follow up. perhaps has the follow up to Let Yourself it might have worked.
Surprised what's missing in my life wasn't a single
I think it was. It was just a quick failure
Bend A Little was really good.my pick for single
Perhaps it was because Mary Wilson didn't really care for Disco [[according to what she said about disco music in her second book). However, The Supremes might have been able to get back on top of the music world if they went head long into Disco [[with more songs like "Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking") and if Motown had put a full blown marketing campaign behind them.
im referring to your whats missing in my life. It ws performed on soul train in 76
This group had great potential. Only you reworke w more of a disco flavor could have worked as a folow up t walking and released in sept of 76
the last three albums were good and No Andantess!!!! all vocals by Supremes. I think Its All Been Said B4 could have done something along with Sha La Bandit. I like the original version of High Energy as opposed to the released version.
MSS is filled with great high energy vocals.
It's All Been Said Before was perfect for pop top 40 at that moment in time, whoever pulled that from being a single really f***ed up their chances to be re established at Top 40 radio, which they needed to do more than anything else
I heard a remix of Where Do I Go From here that was really good, so much better than the original. made it so much better and if that version was released in 75, think it could have been a hit
Bluebrock, since I respect your opinion. what is your take on Bad Weather.
I never cared for it and it took a while for me to warm to it but now, I think the vocals are good and the lyrics but to me it sounds over produced. no real climax at all. I always thought this song needed a remix,.but the version on the pink box set was a bit better.;like how it fades and comes back in
Bad weather is, in a word, clunky.. and the record felt like it was several minutes of waiting for it to really get started, but it never did.. I was rooting for the 70's Supremes [[and writing about them) every step of the way, but this was just Bad News..When I heard "The Day Will Come Between Sunday And Monday" i was like,'why wasn't THAT a single? why wasn't the cover version of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" a single? even "Tossin And Turnin" but of course Motown didn't own the publishing which is where the money is, so there ya go
"It's Time To Break Down" should have been the follow up single to "Stoned Love"!
Agreed.I liked Shine On Me as well. Think I read Together We Can Make Sweet Music was considered but then the Spinners released it in 71.
Not owning the publishing to a song [[like 'Tossin And Turning') hasn't stopped Motown from releasing a song as a single before. Some examples include Michael Jackson's 'Rockin' Robin'; The Supremes & Four Tops' 'River Deep Mountain High', Stevie Wonder's 'Blowing In The Wind' & DRATS & The Tempts' 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me'.
I loved Bad Weather David, in fact it was one of my favourite Supremes songs of any era. I think it should have been a big hit but it followed the dismal Jimmy Webb album which all but killed off Jean's Supremes career. I would have loved a Stevie produced Supremes album but by this time the internal strife within the group was at an all time low and nothing could save them, but yes i adored Bad Weather,
I liked their original material like Time To Break Down.
agree, the Webb lp was a mess. I think I liked 2 tracks. Keep It Hid and Silent Voices.
also When Can Brown Begin was lovely but I would have preferred 3 part harmony ,not Blossoms.
I liked BW but ,to me it wasn't danceable like Gonna Let My Heart was in 76. it needed something .
The Supremes R&B version of "Bridge" would have been recieved like Issac Hayes Top Twenty version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971, or Aretha's "Bridge Over Troubled Water' which went to #6 pop in 1971, just a year after The Supremes 1970 cover..there are numerous examples of r&b covers of white pop hits during the Jean Terrell era, which is why i think "Bridge' would have also been a great choice for a single.. Aretha was notorious in this regard; she went Top Ten with "I Say A Little Prayer" only one year after Dionne Warwick went Top Ten with that song.. as Tom Jones might say, back then it was "..Not Unusual"
yes, that rocked, actually..
The rhythm track is kicking and the ladies singing in unison makes it rock for me.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFVW90ssieI
I've often wondered if the reason that it was cancelled was because of Mike Curb and Berry Gordy having some disagreements around this time, especially since he didn't use many Jobete published songs. Mike Curb was also trying to break his contract with Berry on his 1/2 ownership of the MC country label around this time and take TG Shepherd and Pat Boone with him to his Warner/Curb label. Plus, I think that Berry wasn't happy when Curb struck gold with The 4 Seasons on Who Loves You and December 1963 after they left Motown/MoWest. Curb, I know was jealous that Frankie Valli solo material had to go to Larry Uttal and Private Stock for that 3 year period and beat him to releasing My Eyes Adored You that the 4 Seasons recorded while at Motown/MoWest.
I know the plans for a Supremes album being produced by Michael Lloyd and Mike Curb quickly came to end after It's All Been Said Before was cancelled. Michael and Mike wanted to sprinkle the album with some more '50's/ '60's remakes, similar to what they had done with other Curb artists and on The Shoop Shoop Song [[It's In His Kiss.)
wow, I never heard any of this! Big news.. thanks Greg.. i thought it had something to do with publishing but it obviously went much deeper.. and helped keep the group underwater, sadly..