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In reading reviews of the Mary Wilson Motown anthology, a few critics signaled out You Make Me Feel So Good as the best track on her solo album. And in the booklet, there's a quote from Mary citing the song as being the most Supremes like of the songs on that album.
I must admit the song has grown on me and I now enjoy listening to it when I play the Anthology. What do others think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEv_A7SBRMw
I had this album and honestly the only two songs I even remember were Summer Nights and Pick Up the Pieces.
Mary’s voice is an acquired taste. Possibly many of her biggest fans had personal interactions with her that cemented their loyalty. I never met her, and thus never felt any fondness for her vocal skills. Diana, on the other hand, had an instantly likable sound that appealed to the masses worldwide who could only dream of personally knowing her.
From what I recall, I Love a Warm Summer Night was the most appealing track to me, but this one was not bad.
You Make Me Feel So Good was considered for single release as I recall. I like Mary's lp, it just came out a year too late. Disco was dying. I remember Side A, I payed little attention to it because the three songs had the same structure. Side B was far better, all four of those cuts were great. Warm Summer Night was indeed the highlight of the lp for me and most others. A remix without so much "Ai Yi Yi" at the end of the song would have made a great single. Midnight Dancer to me was the clear single from that lp. Also to me Red Hot was the weakest cut, was just cheap disco. Little imagination here. All in all I still say the lp was great but not the direction Mary should have gone in. Obviously the lost Gus Dudgeon tracks were far superior and Mary was more in her element.
That being said, Mary's solo lp was simply a contract breaker. What little promotion afforded it was pulled shortly after the release when Mary's NYC debut drew mixed, at best, reviews. Also, she went directly overseas and had no bookings in the USA to promote the album. Mary was still letting Pedro call the shots and Motown was not having it.
It also came out at a time when Motown was swimming in red ink. Gordy nearly lost Motown that year. There simply was no budget and even less interest in Mary or with the Scherrie and Susaye lp. Motown was going in a different direction. In 1980 BG took renewed interest in the recording side and turned to his A listers to resurrect his dying record company. Massive sales that year by Ross, Wonder, Commodores and comeback sets by Smokey and Jermaine put the company back on track. Later Rick James, Teena Marie and especially Lionel Richie exploded on the scene along with DeBarge and the Dazz Band. Motown 25 breathed new life in the catalog division which also spawned new budgets to promote the newer acts. This lasted a few years but by 1987 Gordy knew Motown was lost.
Yes, I agree. This has always been my most favourite track from this LP. A stand-out.
I have seen Mary bring the house down on many occasions so she has the chops-but I've always found her to be frustrating as a vocalist. In some performances, she does the Supremes' hits really well, other times she seemed to be not even trying, talking the lyrics rather than singing them. She did If I Were Your Woman extremely well, as good as Gladys, and she did a fantastic job on Do Right Woman. I don't know why she did so little material in that vocal register--it totally suited her. But this 1980 album? IMO not good at all. Bland, forgettable songs, and an equally bland delivery. I think Mary lacked confidence, at least in the early days of her solo career. Just a year or so later, Mary sounded spectacular on those Gus demos--like it wasn't even the same singer! So what changed in a year? I have no idea but I guess she just chose a producer who knew where to take her voice.
I agree Bobby in that Mary sounded really at home performing songs such as “If I Were Your Woman”, “I am Changing” etc. To me she spent the best part of her career singing material of the wrong genre.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyC
I agree with Beyou in that the album might have been better received had it been released 76-78. Even then it would best be classified as disco schlock.
“Summer nights” was the only vaguely commercial song on the album imo, though it had some truly crass lyrics to overcome. The ‘going out to the disco’ line almost kills the song stone dead lol.
I agree, Ollie. in my experience, there was a huge difference between disco and dance music in the late 70's. To me, disco got obnoxious when every other song was about dancing, going to discos, quitting your "9 to 5" to go to the disco, etc. I could not relate to the empty-headedness. Is that a word? LOL! But anyway, I found Mary's album to be filled with that kind of song so I had no interest. I had my snout in really innovative work like Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key of Life and Labelle's Chameleon. Those songs spoke to me. And not to be a nit-picker, I have to say any song that rhymed the words "dance" and "romance" just turned me off, and Mary did it on her record. I mean come on. Anybody, even a person as talentless as myself, could write that stuff.
But it does take talent to rhyme "Old movie show" with "disco", lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyC
With chorus lines such as “You make me feel so good good good”, the album was sadly up against it from the off.. If one dare compare it to Diana’s sparkling “Boss” set of the same year or indeed Stevie’s “Hotter Then July” it’s pretty disposable stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyC
Yeah, the Boss was far superior, I'm with you. I think the Gus tapes could have given it a run for its money, though.
i like this but,.. Warm Summer Night was my favorite
This album was Mary's solo debut. For years she was told by Gordy that she "couldn't sing" and was currently in a physically and verbally abusive marriage. I am surprised she had any confidence left at all. The album was given to her so she would drop her very strong lawsuit against Motown. I liked her first album, but it definitely wasn't her forte. I always thought the best tracks were Midnight Dancer[[if you were going to choose a disco track) and [[I Love) A Warm Summer Night. The two "lightest" songs were I've Got What You Need and You Make Me Feel So Good-in fact, they sounded quite similar that you can hardly tell which was which. Pick Up The Pieces and You're The Light That Guides My Way were solid tracks but don't stand out as singles. When Mary recorded the Gus Dudgeon tracks that were far stronger with strong vocals, Motown dropped her from the label and gave her her masters back. They only signed her to get her to drop the lawsuit. It was a pity because she was finding direction and I am sure that caused her to lose confidence again. Other labels looked and wondered if she could sing which was very degrading for someone who sang in the iconic Supremes. By the time she found a label in 1992, it was one that folded the day her CD was released. The first solo LP has grown on me over the years and had Motown possibly kept Mary, she could have ended up as their premiere soul balladeer. I know there is nothing truly bad on her first LP, yet Red Hot is certainly polarizing as a single choice. I know in Pittsburgh, it was #7 on the local WAMO chart and I did hear it on WAMO.
This is an alright track to me, but definitely not my favourite. I prefer "Red Hot", "You're The Light That Guides My Way" and "Pick Up The Pieces". I think "Pieces" is the only track that really stands out, especially from the very disco sound and theme of the whole album. :D
LOVED Mary Wilson's first solo album, i also LOVE Mary Wilson The Motown Anthology 2 CD set.
She sounds good, but the song isn't anything special.