Originally Posted by
RanRan79
Yeah, for me there is no comparison between Blue and the masterpieces Marvin and Stevie were hitting on. The Lady material and Blue material weren't really all that different from the stuff Diana had been recording as a Supreme since 1964/65. The early MOR stuff, the R&H sessions, the Funny Girl album...Diana had been there and done that. As a vocalist she had surely grown, and the Lady and Blue material certainly showcased her depth as a songstress, but she was indeed following a decades old trend of covering someone's previously released recording. It's one thing to point out how great the project turned out, creatively, but then a whole other thing to suggest this was on par with Marvin and Stevie. What Diana did had been done before, even for herself, and at the time there were other artists recording these same songs, surely. Meanwhile Marvin and Stevie were coming up with fresh, new directions.
To Sup's point about Diana's interpretation skills, it should not be overlooked the importance of having the ability to sing a song and convey the feeling of a song that people can feel in the heart. Diana was great at this. She didn't need to be a singer/songwriter. That was not the gift God gave her. Her beautiful voice and her interpretation skills were a great combination. And to that point, I personally feel the Surrender and Touch Me In the Morning albums are the ones to talk about in the same conversation as What's Goin On or Talking Book. No, she did not write any of the songs, but her emotional readings of them, from the heartbreaking "A Simple Thing Like Cry" on Surrender to the haunting lullaby of "Brown Baby" on TMITM, should firmly place these two works as evidence of her artistry.
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