@Carlo,
I can’t wait to hear your impressions of the set once you finally get it.
Fondly [[as our dear Roberta always says),
Kenneth
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@Carlo,
I can’t wait to hear your impressions of the set once you finally get it.
Fondly [[as our dear Roberta always says),
Kenneth
Seems like such an odd arrangement, especially considering the "donut hole" between the set's initial release by RG and then it being another month for Amazon to release their copies. But I know very little about the music business, so maybe it's not so unusual. It just seems this way that the release gets "watered down" in a way because of these hiccups in the release rollout.
I wonder why Universal would take distribution back over at this point? It would have to be either selling better than expected or Real Gone didn't do something it was supposed to. Or maybe they planned it this way and production delays upended the schedule?... everything is so convoluted these days.
So now the question is: will the Universal release be the same as the Real Gone release?
That's interesting? I'm in UK so I've not seen it obviously. The Blinky release had Real Gone's logo on the back alongside Motown and Universal. If you check the link attached, it's on image two.
So if there's no reference to Real Gone, maybe Universal offered them an initial batch with a view to distributing later pressings themselves?
Blinky – Heart Full Of Soul: The Motown Anthology [[2019, CD) - Discogs
If the switch in distro was by prior arrangement, the ones without the logo are probably already printed! I have to guess this weirdness is also caused by expected low number of sales [[in addition to pandemic issues). I can’t imagine they projected much for this set. As much as I love Mary, there just aren’t enough of us diehard fans to scoop up enough copies. I’d love to be proven wrong, of course.
Funny Brad, as I used to do the same when I was a kid! I would embarrassingly turn down the break in the song with Mary's moaning. lol.
This is very sweet, Kenneth! Thank you for thinking of me :) I got my copies today, so I was busy working and listening to the set, simultaneously this afternoon, while writing down my thoughts on four post-it notes [[lol). I didn't want to forget mentioning anything in my initial post. I took a second listen tonight and spent some time catching up on this thread. I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts thus far!
First off, this set is exceptionally beautiful. Lovely rare photos and heartfelt tributes. I especially love the photo of Mary in her yellow knitted hoodie. I don't think I've previously seen such a clear version of this photo. You can see her Supremes ring in full detail and clarity! I also love that b&w film strip series of photos, as well as that b&w shot from her solo album photo shoot, which Sophisticated_Soul kindly shared in this thread. I wish a colourized version of that photo could have been on the original album cover of her solo LP. Also, that glamour photo of Mary on the steps, featured on the back of the booklet, has been one of my favourite photos of her, ever since I first saw it. I seem to recall that Tony Vaughan took that picture himself on his phone? I'm so glad they decided to include it!
Now, onto the the amazing music. Every track is a gem. I felt like a little kid in Disneyland, hearing the unreleased tracks and new mixes. I felt overwhelmed, in a good way, by so many of the new vocals and instrumental bits. First off, Son of a Preacher Man sounds incredible. I was reading some comments in another thread about some saying that Mary's version is lacking...I did not feel that way at all. This new version is light years better than the version that surfaced on Youtube some time ago. When I first heard that Youtube version, I had originally thought that perhaps Mary only did one lead for this track, since it was said at the time that it was an incomplete demo. I remember that vocal being a bit pitchy in a few places, so I thought for this new set that they would need to auto-tune the vocal or something, but this vocal on the anthology must be a different take? I also don't remember that version having Mary's background vocals, like this one does? I'll have to go back and re-listen to that version. Either way, this released version is great!
I thought of Brad when I was listening to Witchi Tai To, as I know he was very excited about this one being released. It is SO different from everything The Supremes had done up to that point in 1969. I really wish it could have been released at that time, but obviously due to the meaning of the song, I understand why it wasn't. It is spiritual. Mary's vocal and the production did a great job of conveying that feeling.
The live tracks from the January 13th Farewell show are great. They feel much more like group performances, with those background harmonies on these versions, versus the originally released versions. The included banter from Mary and Diana is also a lot of fun. Diana sounds like she was a little tipsy, but I'm sure they all were! :)
The alternate verse of Automatically Sunshine was an amazing surprise! I agree that this version, along with many on this set, are superior to the originally released versions.
I love that we got an alternate version of "I Keep It Hid". I think Mary's lead vocal is better on this new mix and I like that the background vocals were turned down a bit, to spotlight Mary. However, I have always liked the 'Webbernacle Choir' [[I smiled at that reference made in the thread)!
The new mix of "Can We Love Again" is amazing. It improved the song so much! I noticed some lovely new "mmmhmmm" harmonies on "Early Morning Love" and a new instrumental bit...wow! "You Turn Me Around" has always been one of my top favourites and this new mix is also the definitive version. The new vocal on "You're What Is Missing In My Life" is so much more soulful...love it! "Till the Boat Sails Away" also has new background vocal parts and is extended...perfect way to end disc one! I got teary eyed. The new mix of "Don't Let My Tear Drops Bother You" made me feel like I was listening to it for the first time, which was a nice feeling. I think there was an unearthed drum track added to the choruses? That drum initially felt a tinge too loud for me [[I think it was just the 'newness' of it), but then as I listened more, I felt that it did give the song extra power, emotion and oomph in this new mix. I like it.
"You Are The Heart Of Me"...I love hearing a new different vocal. Although, is it just me, or is the pacing of Mary's delivery just a tiny bit too fast at times, compared to the instrumental and background vocals? I seem to remember noticing this mostly during the choruses. However, I do love being able to hear a new version of this song after many years. The mix is amazing, as she sounds very up-front. This mix made it feel like Mary was singing it in the room. :)
Finally, "Why Can't We All Get Along"...I started to get emotional hearing Mary's spoken introduction and I had to pull myself together. It makes me continue to hope that we will get another album or compilation in the future, with these Richard Davis tracks. I know those songs were special and personal to Mary.
I could really go on and write so much more, but will leave it at this for now. I've written an encyclopedic review! Oops. :rolleyes:
Also, I don't know where all of this talk is coming from about Real Gone's logo possibly being removed from the March 4th release? I am willing to bet that the version of the anthology that has been shipped out early by Real Gone will be identical to the version that others will receive via the general March 4th retail release.
This release is a beautiful labour of love by Andy, George, Joe and Kevin. I think this anthology now tops my list of favourite releases :) I am so thankful that we can remember Mary with this wonderful release.
One last comment from me for the night...there is a photo of Mary in the booklet, which is an unseen shot from the photo shoot that was featured on the cover of the EU/UK releases of "The Supremes Sing Motown"...it's an adorable photo! The glimmer in her eyes and the smile is everything. It captures her inner joy and child-like spirit :) It's a new fave!
Lovely to have "Send Him To Me" and "If You Let Me Baby" in clear quality!
I tend to wonder if one of the reasons for "If You Let Me Baby" remaining in the vault for so long is due to the fact that it sounds so similar to Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People"? The extended outro with the background vocals is great.
Yes, this new mix of Automatically Sunshine is fantastic too! It comes across as still soulful, but softer than the original mixes, which are good, but those mixes are more loud and thumping. I think this new mix works well for Jean and Mary's soft vocals.
Same goes for "I Keep It Hid", which I had commented on earlier. The turned down background vocals allow us to focus more on Mary's vocal and the lush instrumentation, especially the strings.
It just goes to prove how important mixing is. Not trying to put down the originally released versions, as I love those too, but changing even just a few things really does give a totally different effect and brings out other elements in these recordings that have always been there. Love that!
While I'm waiting for my own set to arrive, I just wanted to ask about the 4 unreleased songs. Which eras were they recorded for -- Diana or Jean? I was planning to add them to their respective albums in my iTunes, and I'm hoping someone can shed light on that for me.
I can't wait, I'm beside myself. I did listen to Son Of A Preacher Man. I thought it was great, the negativity I've been reading has been a bit depressing to be honest. I'm not letting it spoil my excitement of this set. I've waited a dang long time for this.
I can certainly identify with your excitement, DJMoch. I was checking the tracking updates for my package multiple times a day!
Yes, you just have to do your best to ignore and brush off the negative comments on this forum. Some of those negative comments come from people who were never true Mary fans to begin with and were always critical of her on this forum. Some of the others are fans who have become very cranky and jaded in their old age and have a hard time finding anything to be positive about. You will notice that their posts almost always tend to gravitate toward negativity and criticism, and they sadly do not try to contribute anything else of value to this forum. However, there are a number of us who are still here that discuss the music and the things that we enjoy. I know you will love this set. :)
Great hearing and reading your comments, Carlo. I so appreciate you sharing them this way.
Did you find as I have that you heard facets of her voice you never really heard before? I don’t know if I’m just listening harder, but hearing her do so much material and hearing it all at one sitting, as opposed to just one track on an entire album, made me appreciate her voice that much more. I found her voice richer and more present than I have in the past where I just kind of thought of her as having a breathy alto. I think these mixes brought out the power of her voice instead of trying to sweeten it or soften it somehow. What is your opinion? And of course anyone else is welcome to share their thoughts as well.
Thanks Kenneth :)
Funny you said that, because similar to your experience, I have also been noticing different facets/elements of her voice that I had not noticed before either. For instance, I remember listening to Send Him To Me this morning and noticed her lower vocals, just before the fade. She is singing lower than usual on some lines and hearing her sing in that lower register gave her voice a different soulful tone that I had never noticed before. As you said, I think that also has a lot to do with these new mixes. I'm glad you mentioned this!
I can't stop dwelling on the fact that she should have been here to enjoy this. How she would have basked - finally - in some well deserved glory.
The 4 unreleased songs are all Diana era. The two live tracks were from the January 13, 1970 show. "Son Of A Preacher Man" could be considered Jean era as the annotations say some work was done in 1970, but the track and vocals were done in 1969 and it could have been included on Cream of the Crop. "Witchi Tai To" doesn't have all the complete track annotations but it was cut in early 1969 and Deke Richards did state on this board years ago he recorded it when they were still Diana Ross & the Supremes so it should be considered a DRATS era song.
i'm still having a great time with this new AS. it's always been a favorite song of mine and i've really enjoyed the alt versions that have popped up over the years. One of the sets prior [[either 70s Anthol or Pink Box) had the version of AS with the little extra instrumental break. was thrilled to get it at the time and have often included that one in play lists. but the instrumental break did seem a bit superfluous and while i liked, i could agree with the decision to cut it
according to George's comment on here, this AS version is the full, completely unedited version. the instrumental break is much bigger and much more substantial. and it works great! it's not so much of a oddity now. love it!
If i could go back in time, i would have used this longer version on the lp. then using this mix, done the 45 version off of it. obviously trimming the instrumental breaks, maybe still cutting verse 2 from the single version. that way the album version and single version really are different and would have added more weight to the album. given people more reason to buy it
i've been trying to hear if i can pick up Jean in the backgrounds, like on If You Let Me. sometimes i think i can hear her, sometimes not lol. all 4 leads i think are strong enough to have been included. obviously WTT wasn't gonna make it. but it is a very interesting and fun track
all 3 could have easily fit onto Cream of the Crop. If You Let Me also fits pretty well IMO on Right On. Send Him To Me might have also worked on RO - not 100% sure. i don't think Preacher works especially well - too much of a slower groove. sort of breaks the rhythm of the album too much.
and i don't think any of these would really fit on NW or Touch.
I agree that Mary would have loved to have been here, but rest assured she experienced much glory. She understood it and felt it very much. I knew Mary over 40 years and she had a high, though not egotistical, opinion of herself and acknowledgment of who and what she was. Marry knew she was fabulous and knew that she was beautiful. The glory of experiencing this release would of course been the icing on the cake, but I believe one of the reasons why Mary was so well loved by her friends it’s because She knew how to be humble and fabulous at the same time and, I believe, I was completely realistic ofher place in the world. Somewhere right now she has a freshly opened bottle of Dom Perignon and is loving this release!
After a long long wait, I finally received my set today - I completely forgot that I did indeed order from Real Gone's website when it first became available. And oh my god, was it ever worth the wait. Absolutely amazing. Exceeded my expectations by a long shot. What a glorious musical tribute to a wonderful lady.
The new mixes are breathtaking! I got stuck in a loop listening to Touch, Floy Joy, and Automatically Sunshine over and over and over again - they are probably my top 70's Supremes songs, and these new mixes are simply incredible and I simply couldn't get enough. Especially Automatically Sunshine. I had no idea it contained an additional verse. It brings a feeling of completeness to me. Same with Floy Joy. I always found it irritating how there were so many small edits i.e., those repeating instrumental bits between the verses and choruses. I mean, they literally cut off Jean's vocal mid-word in both the single and LP versions. Having the song uncut is a revelation to me. My only qualm is I was never a fan of that saxophone in Floy Joy, I always found it very reedy and grating. Despite that, it's a wonderful musical treat.
I only wish Mary would have been alive to see everyone's reactions to this amazing set. Thank you so much to everyone who made this set possible. And of course, thank you Mary for your immense talent. May your star shine brightly for the rest of time. God bless you.
*bumping up this thread for today's retail release*
Immediately SOLD OUT at Dusty Groove. Not sure how many copies they get, but they usually restock. Does anyone know how it's doing over at Amazon?
Nice! Here are the current chart stats over at Amazon US...
Attachment 19610
It's climbing up the ladder to the roof! :) See the latest Amazon US chart positions below. It's also currently at #78 in the Top 100 CDs and Vinyl on the Amazon UK charts.
Attachment 19611