"precious little things" - subtle little bits of songs that we love

There are countless magical moments in Sup and DR songs: the amazing bass intro to You Can't Hurry Love, the amazing strings and vocals in Stoned Love and The Boss, the killer tracks on diana 80

but there's MUCH MUCH more that we all love. and i know we've all listened to the songs 10,000X to pick up on all of those subtle little bits that might escape the average listener, but not us fans!!

so what are your favs? what are the non-obvious little flourishes and bits you always listen for, sing along with or do an extra wiggle in your dance?

for me it's:

learning about the accordion used on Reflections. i know hear that so clearly

in Here Comes The Sunrise, I love the "hey, hey, HEY" that just pops out at 2:13 and 2:14

the glissandos leading to the downbeats on Up the Ladder during the choruses at the end

on Sweet Dream Machine, when Susaye does her brief verse she sings "You take me high, You take me low" but on "high" she slides down the scale and on "low" she flips the note up at the end!

Off the top of my head, I love the moments in CAN'T SHAKE IT LOOSE when Diana and Mary harmonize on the lines "But I love him in such a way. I'll never try to get away..."

In SHAKE ME, WAKE ME, Diana's reading of the lines "As the tears stream down my face, I can't believe I've been replaced."

In MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY, Diana's phrasing on the lyric "Fame, if you win it. It comes and it goes, Lord, in a minute."

Countless magical moments is right!

But the two that immediately came to mind were [[Lol):

"And there ain't nothin' I can do about it!"

Diana's low, husky but breathy " A hey hey!" after "All I wanna do is cry" on Someday We'll Be Together

There are so many wonderful vocal and instrumental surprises and little things I listen for each time, but here's one that I love: after the instrumental break on Come See About Me, there is a rhythmic drum roll just before Diana sings, "Sometimes up..." It's subtle but emphatic, drawing the listener back in, and I missed it, on a conscious level, for years, then discovered it and now can't help but always pay attention at that point.

One vocal that especially gets me is Diana proclaiming, "you're here for the day, gone for the week, now" in This Old Heart Of Mine. The way she adds the word "now" after a split-second pause, like an impromptu after-thought, and the way she breaks "now" into several syllables, gives me a tiny thrill of elation.

here are a few more

You - the word, not the song on Last Time lp lol. Diana really knows how to milk this word. I'd put it up there among her top talents such as her iconic "ooo ooooo" in Baby Love. In Someday, after the bridge she sings "i long for YOU". Then in her duet with Marvin on You Are Everything she opens with "today i saw somebody who looked just like YOU" again - magic

DMF trio magic - their 3 part was always great. but there are a couple moments i adore. In There's A Place For Us on Put On A Happy Face, when they do the 2nd "Spread sunshine all over the place" they do it in 3 part and they're fabulous on the word Spread. Also at the end of 2nd chorus in Back In My Arms Again they just rip that last "satisfied!!"

There are far too many to be exhaustive.


In general her sexy, sensual meowing makes me shiver.
I like when her voice soars, like in Missing you, Reach Out I'll be there".
I like her intro of "you are everything"
I love his frenetic ad libs on "swept away"
In "so they say" I'm crazy about "you have a friend in me".
I love it when she sings the phrase "I'm gone" "moving on" in "free I'm gone".
I love the whole "Until we meet again".

"There's No Stopping Us Now" is literally nothing but one euphoric moment, one amazing lyric after another, for me.

"Now that we've face the unknown, AAaaaaa-nd we can't make it alone, we're closer together now more than ever but now that we've found love we've got to hold on love THERE'S no stopping us now." HOW DID SHE SING ALL OF THOSE WORDS IN ONE BREATH? But as great as that moment is, the capper is later; you think the song is ending and the song has already been perfect, but then you get that one last great statement: "NEVER again shall foolish pride keep us apart, never again shall stubbornness break our hearts" [[and extra points for the use of the Biblical-sounding word "shall", as if it's been commanded from above that these two SHALL live happily ever after.)

Something about how Diana sings this last line- it sounds like the most profound truth ever uttered, almost like you'd want to cry just from the sheer sincerity with which she sang it.

oK, since I asked about this on another thread, just though about "Mirror Mirror." it's such a little thing, but when Diana sings the line "I thought you had the answer to it all", when she hits the word "all", the bass plays this riff where it goes way low, then goes back up way high and ends back where it started. Something about that. It feels like it literally digs right into my heart and soul. I get the warmest feeling every time from that.

Great thread idea! Off the top of my head I'd go with:
Mary & Cindy belting "Move over!" at the end of "You're Gonna Hear From Me"
Mary & Cindy's "Ay yays!" between the first and second verse of "The Tears Left Over"
Mary on the bridge of "I Can Never Recover": "Never, never, no, no, nevahhh!"
Susaye vamping on the Terrana mix of "I Don't Want To Lose You"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sup_fan

learning about the accordion used on Reflections. i know hear that so clearly

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Are we sure that was an accordion used on Reflections? I'd bet it was more likely a harmonium.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danman869

Are we sure that was an accordion used on Reflections? I'd bet it was more likely a harmonium.

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i'm not 100% certain. Brad mentioned this a year or two ago when there was a thread about unique instrumentation. I thought he said accordion. but could be mistaken

perhaps the Reflections EE will solve the mystery ;)

I love the way DR sings "But this is it!, I'm calling it quits" on I'm Giving You Your Freedom...I'm In Love Again, Who Could Ever Doubt My Love, Remember Me to name a few, excellent phrasing.
And although the bridge seems to be out of place, love the way she sings "In one way, there's nothing I can say" in I'm Gonna Make It [[I Will Wait For You)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Albator

There are far too many to be exhaustive.


In general her sexy, sensual meowing makes me shiver.
I like when her voice soars, like in Missing you, Reach Out I'll be there".
I like her intro of "you are everything"
I love his frenetic ad libs on "swept away"
In "so they say" I'm crazy about "you have a friend in me".
I love it when she sings the phrase "I'm gone" "moving on" in "free I'm gone".
I love the whole "Until we meet again".

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Some excellent selections Albator.
I would also add the final “so you say you wanna leave” on “Sparkle” and the final heartbreaking plea “didn’t we almost make it this time” from “Didn’t We” to the list.

One Love In My Lifetime is a beautiful song...hampered by too much going on in the background vocally. I like the mix on the GH Lp better than the one on the parent LP. I always forget to put that LP on my list of DR favs...because I got a bit sick of LH early on...but I do like the entire Lp...can't say that for The Boss or even what I claim is my #1 Baby It's Me... there seems to be one song that I abhor on each LP and it ruins a "perfect 10" rating from me...[[I am still a 70's classic rock freak, and this is true with all my favs)