More Video Footage on Expanded Editions
First let me say that it is great that we are getting both The Supremes albums and the Diana Ross solo albums in Expanded/Deluxe Editions. For me, some have been better than others. What they have done with the Diana solo albums is near brilliant. If you look at it beginning with the Bones Howe tracks added and that wonderful tease of "Somethings on My Mind" from the Cocoanut Grove's "Let's See if Diana Ross can Make it On Her Own" show on her 1970 debut, through the complete and much better story of "Everything is Everything", the brilliance of "Surrender", the Starbucks release of "Blue" when restrictions prevented it from being a part of an Expanded "Lady Sings the Blues" to I believe the completed works of "Diana & Marvin", onto a commendable expansion of "Last Time I Saw Him" skipping forward to the Chic mixes of "diana: Deluxe Edition" and the more realized Michael Masser expansion on "To Love Again" and now pedaling backwards to now be in chronological order with "Diana Ross 1976:The Black Album".
What I am hoping to see added to the mix is more television clips. Imagine on "Diana Ross 1976/The Black Album", we finally get a great copy of her performance of "Mahogany" on Dinah Shore, and a rare clip of her performing "Love Hangover". At now $40.00 a pop, I think it is high time that a DVD disc be included in these Expanded Editions. [[I forgot the brilliant Expanded "Touch Me in the Morning" that included the easily could have released alone of "To the Baby" made that one quite a good deal).
I won't even begin to fantasize making "An Evening with" a completed works by either a Deluxe Edition with a disc that has the Japanese television taping of the Broadway Show or possibly the NBC Big Event of the television special. Even if they only gave us a DVD with the recreation of her homage to Baker/Smith/Waters coupled with the expanded full audio including the full version of"Love Hangover" and the inclusion of "One Love in My Lifetime". [[But I guess I just did). That would make these reissues all the more exciting and bargain worthy.
For The Supremes, while it is nice to have the mono and stereo versions of the 3 that have been released thus far, "Meet the Supremes", "Where Did Our Love Go: 40th Anniversary" and now "More Hits by". For me, they have limited replay value and mainly for collecting purposes. The addition of the live tracks has been a bonus. But considering the amount of television the ladies did, living with 3rd and 4th generations on YouTube is not very fulfilling. The Ed Sullivan appearances had been floating around for years in good to poor quality so it was really great to finally have them on DVD. On "More Hits by" imagine a DVD with the Sammy Davis Jr. Announced "Nothing but Heartches" and the Tennessee Ernie Ford special with "Mother Dear". That would have made the rather pricey $40 more palatable.
With "I Hear a Symphony" up next, imagine if we had the Swedish concert from the tour that promoted that album and would also be the basis for "Live at London's Talk of the Town". Since "Live at London's Talk of the Town" has already been remastered, making "I Hear a Symphony" a Deluxe Edition and include a DVD disc with that concert would be tremendous.
On the previous Supremes releases, if they would have included the local Detroit television show, Teen Town" would have captured live video performances of songs like "Let Me Go the Right Way". While Ed Sullivan appearances may have been too expensive to license, getting them from Teen Town would have been probably quite economical. The ladies I think did that show through "Come See About Me", I believe. Remember they had 3 back to back #1s from August 1964 to December 1964. Though they were now doing films like "The T.A.M.I. Show", I think they still did Teen Town through the end of 1964. I gave the Teen Town performances on DVD. They're sold by a company that looks legit so I don't think these are bootlegs.
We live in a visual age. The Supremes were very visual, as is Diana, of course. To capture some that visual magi on DVD would be a perfect compliment to these costly reissues. I know and understand that Mr. Gordy along with loads of investors control the television specials. But Sony recently released an Aretha box set with a separate DVD of her appearances on the Steve Allen show, I think it was. That made this box set all the richer.
We are the target audience for this material. We are all now in our 40s, 50s and 60s. It is not a given that The Supremes [[nor Diana's for that matter) legacy will carry on from one generation to the next supporting a continuous pipeline for reissues. Billie Holiday's catalog languished for years until the success of "Lady Sings the Blues". It would be nice to have this material while our five senses are intact. The Beatles, The Supremes pop counterpart has the benefit of being passed on generation to generation. Though they are still respectable catalog sellers for Motown/Universal, I think it is safe to say, we have not had the kind of legacy support to warrant some expansive that The Beatles anthology. [[imagine if "The Supremes in the Orient" was a DVD companion to "sings Holland, Dozier, Holland"). So the time for Motown/Hip-O/Universal to capitalize on The Supremes aging fan base now. I am sure they are more than aware of this. But can the true story of The Supremes really be told, without the visuals. Already seeing some of the gowns on YouTube is a revelation. Imagine if finally "Sings and Performs "Funny Girl" did make it to CD, but, with the brilliant Ed Sullivan medley....the chances of a Vol. 2 of Ed Sullivan is not a given, maybe they would license that appearance for a reasonable price.....then a release of "Funny Girl" on Cd would be a masterstroke.
Living in a visual age where both CDs and DVDs are beginning to look vulnerable next to streaming, makes a well thought out reissue near mandatory to insure vibrant sell through.
I know, I for one am exhausted from buying bootleg DVDs with either poor sound or picture or both is just so frustrating. At 40/50 or 60, our disposable income is a lot better than when we were teens or in our 20s. I just spent near $100 alone in the last 30 days with "50th Anniversary Singles Collection" and "More Hits by". Clearly, there is a dedicated albeit shrinking fan base that is ready and willing and somewhat able. In retirement and with the dawn of the Internet, I had visions of all that material being more accessible. We've waited, some of us since 1964, to celebrate this body of work. Please hear our requests and work in partnership with the fans. [[ It was gratifying to finally note on the recent 50th Anniversary box set that it only be from when Diana was in the group and that there was an extra shoutout to Barbara Martin because that was more in keeping with which configuration made up the magical period. Even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored only Diana, Florence and what's her name).
Thanks for hearing me out. And if you feel as passionate as I do about wanting more film footage, let's stand in solidarity. The fans win! The Motown/Hip-O/Universal team look even more brilliant besting Sony's Legacy team. And all that great footage is there for the world to see. Heaven forbid if this only happened in reaction to a tragedy. The Diana Ross and The Supremes fan base is possibly the greatest legacy of the Motown era. And that's saying a lot when you look at the formidable careers of The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and The Temptations for starters.
Diana Ross and The Supremes were magical because of the great songwriting and production genius of Holland, Dozier, Holland guided by the Master, Berry Gordy. Broadcast television was MTV for The Supremes. Those songs were iconic. And the execution of the songs were as well. Future Expanded Editions with the inclusion of a DVD of television appearances aptly completes the picture.
