DRATS and Burt Bacharach

[sup_fan]

the DRATS definitely had inconsistency with their singles. A&S didn't click, neither did Smokey.

When Diana went solo, Berry even explored the idea of bringing an outside producer in.

In their struggle to find the right material for DRATS, i wonder if they ever considered going outside of the motown stable of producers? Was listening to a Dionne album last night and the Burt B songs made me thing how it might have worked with DMC

[reese]

the DRATS definitely had inconsistency with their singles. A&S didn't click, neither did Smokey.

When Diana went solo, Berry even explored the idea of bringing an outside producer in.

In their struggle to find the right material for DRATS, i wonder if they ever considered going outside of the motown stable of producers? Was listening to a Dionne album last night and the Burt B songs made me thing how it might have worked with DMC

They might have. Remember there was one weird moment when Bacharach/David's WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW was slated as a Supremes single. But things happened so fast there might not have been time.

When you think about it, there were only 2 flop releases between IN AND OUT OF LOVE and LOVE CHILD. But because they were so used to the Supremes being megasuccessful, it caused serious concern. After they rebounded with LOVE CHILD, TCB, the Supremes/Tempts duets, and I'M LIVIN' IN SHAME, most effort in 1969 probably went to firming up Diana's upcoming departure, with outside producer Bones Howe doing her initial solo sessions.

It would have been nice if they had done work with Burt and Hal. Most of the Supremes remakes of their material came off well, IMO. Songs like the unreleased WISH I KNEW also seem Bacharach-ish.

[sup_fan]

exactly - i think the DRATS grouping would have done well with Bacharach. Whereas i think the JMC lineup would have done well with a 5th Dimension sound like on Bill When Are You Coming Back

[bradsupremes]

Almost happened. Bacharach and David were in talks at one time to write and produce for DMC.

[sup_fan]

^wow - very cool. wonder if any of the material they were considering went to others. Much of the Dionne work could easily have been DRATS songs

[RanRan79]

I think it would've been a good fit, artistically speaking. I don't believe it would have kept the group on top. There needed to be an R&B edge to Supremes singles. For all the talk about their "pop" sound, very few of their hits- if any- were straight pop records. And while I will admit that I'm not a Bacharach/David scholar, what I do know of their work seems like it would be completely out of place among the hits Motown was placing on the charts during that same DRATS period for other artists. So I would pass on the opportunity had I been a Power That Be.

[gman]

I don't think it would have went over better than any of their niche LP's...Diana CAN do lush....[[any of her Masser work, LSTB and parts of the Richard Perry project) but Bachrach's work generally needs a lot of gentleness...Dionne can swing it easily..I think we would have had something very parallel in unevenness matched only by the Supremes Jimmy Webb LP