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I've often felt Diana's lower register was sadly under utilized. But she did use it sometimes. Besides Reese and myself, are there other fans who love that side of Diana's talent? What's your favorite example, or one of your favorite examples? Here's one of mine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nlbj1t99m8
I loved it when Diana was recorded in a lower key. Those breathy lower notes always sounded so sexy. Some noteworthy examples for me are....
Baby Doll
Reflections
My Baby My Own
Brown Baby
Stop Look Listen [[solo verse)
Friend To Friend
Let Somebody Know
To Many Nights
What Can One Person Do....[[joke)
From 2005 onwards her vocals are all pretty dusky.
From the Supremes days, off the top of my head, I really love I'M GIVING YOU YOUR FREEDOM, I'M IN LOVE AGAIN, and STORMY.
From her solo days, I think her 1979 HBO special is probably the best example of her lower register. I don't think I'd ever paid attention to it so much before. But I remember listening to that concert over and over [[I taped it off FM radio) and being struck by how different her voice was from the early days and how much depth she brought to the songs like MY MAN.
Another solo one that I really like is WHAT ABOUT LOVE.
Love most of these, but I really love LET SOMEBODY KNOW.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
I love these, especially Reflections, My Baby My Own, Brown Baby and Friend To Friend.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
I would also add Gone and Not Over You Yet.
Good thread, Ran. I'm gonna have to make a playlist. What shall I title it? :rolleyes:
Not forgetting Lovin’ Livin’ and Givin’. “Friend To Friend” is probably the lowest key in which she has recorded a song prior to 2005 when her voice naturally became deeper. Unless peeps think differently of course....Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky2012
I prefer Diana's lower register.
I just happened to hear LL&G yesterday and was reminded how much I love that song and her vocal.
Yes, absolutely Lovin', Livin', Givin'. I love her vocal on this. The synth production followed Donna Summer's I Feel Love but Diana Ross gave a poignant, human vocal in contrast to Donna Summer's distant, trancey vocals. I love and appreciate both tracks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
I've always liked 'Touch Me In The Morning", "Good Morning Heartache" and, more recently discovered, "Stormy".
Scratch it! Love Diana's first attempt at Love is Like An Itchin'.
https://youtu.be/dE1Ei3d98Qc
On "so they say" on EDAND, she navigates through lower, medium and high register with a lot of grace
"My Baby My Own" and "Brown Baby" are favs of mine as well Ollie. In fact "Brown Baby" may just be my favorite Diana non single song.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
"I'm In Love Again", yes!! Love that one! I'm gonna have to give a listen to "My Man" from the HBO special. Haven't listened to it in years.Quote:
Originally Posted by reese
Gotta give some credit to Reese. It was his comment in another thread that inspired this one.Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky2012
I would call the playlist "Ain't No Valley Low Enough".:cool:
"Good Morning Heartache"...I honestly believe this is one of the most perfect vocal performances she's ever given.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sotosound
Oh absolutely!Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
Another fav of mine where she uses some of her lower register is "Share Some Love". Also "Come On Boy" I love very much.
I’ve often wondered if the recording of “My Baby [[My Own) had been slowed down. Along with “Brown Baby” it’s probably my fave from the album as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
The only time I’ve ever seen Diana struggle with her lower register was when performing “Gone” live.
"Stormy". The maturity in Diana Ross' vocals at such a young age is phenomenal.
Love it..Did Andy and George edit it this way. It's a fun record. I like the piano.Quote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
Speaking of songs where the recording itself was slowed down, I believe there's a version of "Behind Closed Doors" where it is so obvious that the 'tape' was slowed down which brought a rather solemn timbre of Diana's voice forward. Her vocal on the original was already low enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Another song that immediately came to my mind which spotlighted Diana's lower register was "Did You Read the Morning Paper". She sings, "Baby, let me lend you mine."
"Behind Closed Doors" is another great one. I love it, believe it or not. Where is the version you're referencing found?Quote:
Originally Posted by jobucats
I really liked that one. Diana sounds a bit raspy on that one [[overwork no doubt), but it works. How that got vaulted when it should have landed as an album cut on Cream of the Crop I don't know!Quote:
Originally Posted by TNSUN
Yes, "Stormy" is one of the all time egregious Supremes omissions from the original catalog. It should never have been vaulted and would have made an excellent addition to the Cream of the Crap album.:p Diana sounds fantastic [[I love the raspy period of her singing career) and Mary and Cindy are kicking butt too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spreadinglove21
And Henry Cosby did a fine job of producing the track. What else did he produce on DRATS [[with M & C and/or Andantes) during this period?Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
I have always thought “Cream Of The Crop” a pretty solid album with some great vocals from Diana. “Stormy” would have made a good replacement for “Blowin’ In The Wind” being probably the weakest track on the album.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
On the cd "Last Time I Saw Him" 'Expanded Edition'...There is an additional Japanese Quad Version in which the 'tape' was slowed down to put it in the Key of F as opposed to the original version which is 1/2 step higher in the Key of Gb. On the ends of some of the phrases on the Japanese version, Diana is singing notes way, way down in her register. It's really amazing how this subtle difference grabbed my attention when I played the Japanese version.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
He wrote and produced "No Matter What Sign You Are" with Berry Gordy. The writers and producers of the Supremes catalog is one area I can't consider myself an authority on, so I'll defer to others who may know of more songs Hank did with the group, aside from his involvement in the Clan productions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spreadinglove21
Talk about never seeing the light of day! "Blowin'" is that song for me. How it got an album release- mind you, three or so years after it sat in the vault, even Flo is on it- and something as good as "Stormy" gets shelved for decades? Outrageous!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
I'm not too familiar with the original "Stormy". I think I've heard it once or twice. For those of you who are familiar with it, how does DRATS version stack up? In the age of a song being covered and being a hit on various artists in a relatively short period of time, is the DRATS version good enough for single release and if so, how well do you think it might have fared?
I have that set, but I may have only played the Quad versions once because I was so enamored with the outtakes. In this time of being starved of new Supremes and Ross releases from the original catalog, in addition to my homework on "Can't Shake It Loose", I now get to listen to the Japanese Quad version of LTISH as if it were new. Thanks Jobucats!!Quote:
Originally Posted by jobucats
The original version appears to have been by a group named Classics IV and was a hit in 68. This cancels any thought of single release. The DRATS version remains pretty faithful to the original, with Diana’s vocal perhaps a little more impassioned.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
Would have worked well on “Cream Of The Crop”, and nice to have another track featuring both Mary and Cindy.
I disagree. That's why I said "in the age of a song being covered and being a hit on various artists in a relatively short period of time". This was the 60s, when the same song could be on the charts by a handful of different artists in a short span.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Now that's a good ear. I've listened to that many times and didn't hear it [[and I play a G/Gb instrument!).Quote:
Originally Posted by jobucats
Never Again gave Diana an early opportunity to experiment, to inject an additional element of drama into a song for the first time. I think that she as well as Berry and others at Motown experienced surprise and delight with her ability to stretch; it was one of the many reasons she stood out from the others and earned her lead vocalist position.