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  1. #1
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    Thelma Houston's "Love Masterpiece" - FIERCE Motown Disco!!

    Oh how I love this incredibly aggressive disco floorfiller from the 1978 Thank God It's Friday soundtrack...


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    Me, too, Tom. Thelma's "Love Masterpiece" is intense....and HOT!

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    Quote Originally Posted by TomatoTom123 View Post
    Oh how I love this incredibly aggressive disco floorfiller from the 1978 Thank God It's Friday soundtrack...

    I never really cared for this at the time despite being a huge Thelma fan, but listening to it now i am finding it much more enjoyable. Thelma is on fire vocally , and i think i was wrong to dismiss it at the time. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways TomatoTom123.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Philles/Motown Gary View Post
    Me, too, Tom. Thelma's "Love Masterpiece" is intense....and HOT!
    Yes indeed Gary!!!! I can't believe the song wasn't a hit... it certainly sounds like one

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    I never really cared for this at the time despite being a huge Thelma fan, but listening to it now i am finding it much more enjoyable. Thelma is on fire vocally , and i think i was wrong to dismiss it at the time. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways TomatoTom123.
    Welcome, Bluebrock! I agree that Thelma is on absolutely brilliant form with her vocals. And I'm glad you have come 'round... the song is very enjoyable, isn't it!!?
    Last edited by TomatoTom123; 02-23-2017 at 06:10 PM.

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    Tom and Bluebrock -- Thelma's highly-charged performance on "Love Masterpiece" is reminiscent of her "Stealing In The Name Of The Lord", which I also love. [[You could almost say it's the 1970's Motown Sound on steroids! HeHe!)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Philles/Motown Gary View Post
    Tom and Bluebrock -- Thelma's highly-charged performance on "Love Masterpiece" is reminiscent of her "Stealing In The Name Of The Lord", which I also love. [[You could almost say it's the 1970's Motown Sound on steroids! HeHe!)
    Yes! Great analogy Gary... lol
    I love "Stealing" too... her 1972 album is ahead of its time IMO, predating the Disco craze and all!

    Last edited by TomatoTom123; 02-23-2017 at 02:17 PM.

  8. #8
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    I absolutely love this...


  9. #9
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    And this...


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    And this one was written by Barry White!!!


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    Look what you've done now, Gary, getting me started on all this!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Yes indeed luke. Love it!

  14. #14
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    Anyways, "Love Masterpiece" actually samples a 125-year-old piano instrumental entitled "Prelude In C-Sharp Minor" by a guy called Sergei Rachmaninoff... FOR REAL!



    So eerie and weird... having heard that same piano in a funktastic '70s Disco track

  15. #15
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    Really, really love Thelma's Love Masterpiece. Just an insanely fast slice of heavenly disco. I only wish the full-length version would have been released on CD. The TGIF soundtrack really could use a proper deluxe edition treatment, including all the promo 12" disco mixes that were released -- and there were definitely a lot of them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TomatoTom123 View Post
    Look what you've done now, Gary, getting me started on all this!!
    Sorry 'bout that, Tom!!! But, hey -- you left out my favorite track from Thelma's MoWest album --"There's No Such Thing As Love"!

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    Quote Originally Posted by DJMoch View Post
    Really, really love Thelma's Love Masterpiece. Just an insanely fast slice of heavenly disco. I only wish the full-length version would have been released on CD. The TGIF soundtrack really could use a proper deluxe edition treatment, including all the promo 12" disco mixes that were released -- and there were definitely a lot of them.
    Oh you couldn't have put it better, Emile! It is a slice of Disco heaven...
    And, yes, I wish a proper, full-length remastered version of the song would get a release. For now, here is a 6-minute French 7" version of "Love Masterpiece" I found on YouTube... enjoy!

    Last edited by TomatoTom123; 02-24-2017 at 03:19 AM.

  18. #18
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    Here is an unofficially extended 10-minute version too!!


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    Wow! I had forgotten how many amazing ingredients are contained within that track -- all of which are addictive hooks. Hard to tell which one to concentrate on the most with each play -- Thelma's lead vocals, the Blackberries' soaring back-up vocals, the churchy piano, or those hot string passages! Individually and collectively, they all come together to form one HOT Motown dance masterpiece!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Philles/Motown Gary View Post
    Sorry 'bout that, Tom!!! But, hey -- you left out my favorite track from Thelma's MoWest album --"There's No Such Thing As Love"!
    Oh no! Lemme me fix that for you right now...

    Last edited by TomatoTom123; 02-24-2017 at 09:23 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Philles/Motown Gary View Post
    Wow! I had forgotten how many amazing ingredients are contained within that track -- all of which are addictive hooks. Hard to tell which one to concentrate on the most with each play -- Thelma's lead vocals, the Blackberries' soaring back-up vocals, the churchy piano, or those hot string passages! Individually and collectively, they all come together to form one HOT Motown dance masterpiece!
    Oh definitely. There's so much going on and it's all happening so fast and it's just brilliant! But the track is from 1978 - do you know if The Blackberries were still together then?

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    Thelma was the first Motown artist I saw performing live. "Sunshower" is still special as is her UK Mowest album. Excellent thread.

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    I had to buy the TGIF Soundtrack as the only way for me to get "Love Masterpiece" and Diana Ross's "Lovn' Livin' and Givin'" at the time. I don't think either of these tracks would have been made if it hadn't been for Donna Summer paving the way with "I Feel Love" the previous year.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TomatoTom123 View Post
    Oh definitely. There's so much going on and it's all happening so fast and it's just brilliant! But the track is from 1978 - do you know if The Blackberries were still together then?
    Gee, I'm not sure, Tom. We learned that The Blackberries were Motown's 1970's version of The 1960's Andantes. Since Motown was still operating under Berry Gordy's guidance in L.A. in the late 1970's, I automatically assumed that The Blackberries were still providing back-up vocals on Motown's recordings. I may be wrong, however.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TomatoTom123 View Post
    Oh no! Lemme me fix that for you right now...

    Ah, that's better! Thanks, Tom!

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    Donna's "I Feel Love" definitely made an impression on Diana's "Lovin' Livin' And Givin'". I definitely prefer the more electro version of LL&G that came on the revised TGIF soundtrack. The original version was a bit odd, to say the least. To me it lacked the punch this new version gave the song. Though I hesitate to call it a "ripoff" of "I Feel Love", as that's not really fair. I prefer the term "homage" myself.

    I speak as a massive Donna Summer fan, as well.

    Emile [[aka DJ Moch)

    Quote Originally Posted by 144man View Post
    I had to buy the TGIF Soundtrack as the only way for me to get "Love Masterpiece" and Diana Ross's "Lovn' Livin' and Givin'" at the time. I don't think either of these tracks would have been made if it hadn't been for Donna Summer paving the way with "I Feel Love" the previous year.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Philles/Motown Gary View Post
    Gee, I'm not sure, Tom. We learned that The Blackberries were Motown's 1970's version of The 1960's Andantes. Since Motown was still operating under Berry Gordy's guidance in L.A. in the late 1970's, I automatically assumed that The Blackberries were still providing back-up vocals on Motown's recordings. I may be wrong, however.
    That is good reasoning, Gary! However I was always under the impression that The Blackberries broke up sometime in the mid-'70s. I really don't know though!

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    Where is the melody in this song?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    Where is the melody in this song?
    I can hum it, so it must have a melody.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 144man View Post
    I can hum it, so it must have a melody.
    I've been humming it for the past three days

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    Quirky and not exactly one of my favourite singers but he was one heck of a songwriter. Thelma's version of this song is an absolute favourite for me but here, by way of contrast is its originator .....

  32. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by TomatoTom123 View Post
    Oh definitely. There's so much going on and it's all happening so fast and it's just brilliant! But the track is from 1978 - do you know if The Blackberries were still together then?
    Hey, Tom! Regarding The Blackberries -- as it turns out, I was wrong, and you were partially right. The Blackberries were most likely NOT singing back-up on Thelma Houston's "Love Masterpiece". In fact, when MoWest folded in 1973, The Blackberries split Motown and headed for A&M Records at which time Sherlie Matthews left the group and was replaced by Billie Barnum. Here's the article with some cool photos of The Blackberries with Berry Gordy and also with Smokey Robinson. Also included is a timeline of the group's line-up:

    http://www.marvellousmotown.com/moto...-blackberries/

    I tried to find out who actually sang the back-up vocals on "Love Masterpiece", but I wasn't successful. Anyway, there ya have it! As a group, The Blackberries were singing back-up for Motown only during the life of the MoWest label, which was far too short to suit me.
    Last edited by Philles/Motown Gary; 02-28-2017 at 02:56 PM.

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    Ah, thanks Gary! Could you check your PMs for me too

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