The supremes right on album 50 years later

I am sitting in my living room listening to this album right on 50 years after its release in may 1970 by the summer I was playing it to death trying to get a take on Jean Terrell whose voice was growing on me with every track that came after the needle moved on to the next cut. That summer after up the ladder to the roof cleared smoke selling. over 800,000 copies they released everybodys got the right to love, which was a mild mid tempo number and only went to number 21 in America. I cannot for the life of me understand with so many great tracks on this album particularly. Wait a minute before you leave me, I got hurt trying to be the only girl in your life, and take a closer look at me and even the lovin country, why they didn't consider one of the more uptempo songs, so many wasted efforts here. However it's one of the best post diana Ross albums even the cover of the supremes sparks except for the recycled gowns which shows a flaw on Jean's upper sleeve. Right on supremes. Even new ways and touch weren't as good but I'd give new ways a nod closer to right on.

If I had to pick one Supremes album, it would be this one. It's really incredible and still very much overlooked, in my opinion. I hope for an expanded release someday. I also love the cover and the foldout poster :) I've bought a few copies over the years.

A great debut for the jean led Supremes.
Classic . I hope we get an expanded edition one day.so many gems left in the vault.
I always thought but I love you more and you move me were beautiful tracks as well as then I met you

I think that Right On was a very strong debut for the new Supremes, it seemed to have some of the strongest written songs for the group. It ALMOST seemed like Motown cared. New Ways had great covers and an updated sound. Touch had the strongest singing from Jean and Mary sharing a lead.Floy Joy seemed to harken back to a previous sound, it was well written but the sound was a bit light and bouncy and here Mary sang even more leads and co-leads.By the time of the Jimmy Webb LP, they were trying anything for a new sound and while it was not totally successful as a new variation of the Supremes sound it was an interesting experiment. By the time we got to The Supremes 75, they were searching for a new sound with new lead singers and a variety of producers, it was far more successful in recapturing a sound that was not present in Jimmy Webb. With High Energy, they had strong songs with a split of disco and ballads that was quite successful and catchy and is one of their best 70's efforts. Mary, Scherrie & Susaye was quite strong with sound and tried to evolve the sound that worked successfully in HE. At the time, I thought New Ways was great and Right On was very good. I think Right On has grown on me, as listening now the songs are all quite strong. Perhaps, had Motown put more strong songs on New Ways like Stoned Love and continued to evolve the sound it would have been better without covers.

I like this album and is also one of the few album alongside, Touch that I can listen to without skipping songs. Already said that I don't really like the cover. Never been a fan of glamour style. I guess it was to keep the familiarity for the fans. Wonder what would have happened if they went for a cover like the one of New ways without the small pictures of the bottom. Just to announce "Here are the Supremes with new member Jean".

If feel with some songs on this album that Jean is withholding her voice. The Loving country is a beautiful song and the layers are fantastic. But the bit around 1:40 where she sings "Free" sounds weird. It's as if she wants the scream Free but is holding herself in and it comes out a bit strange.

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Originally Posted by TYK1986

I like this album and is also one of the few album alongside, Touch that I can listen to without skipping songs. Already said that I don't really like the cover. Never been a fan of glamour style. I guess it was to keep the familiarity for the fans. Wonder what would have happened if they went for a cover like the one of New ways without the small pictures of the bottom. Just to announce "Here are the Supremes with new member Jean".

If feel with some songs on this album that Jean is withholding her voice. The Loving country is a beautiful song and the layers are fantastic. But the bit around 1:40 where she sings "Free" sounds weird. It's as if she wants the scream Free but is holding herself in and it comes out a bit strange.

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I agree but I read in a few books that she was held back in the studio by t producers. Mary said she did beautiful runs especially on but I love you more, but was told t scale back on letting it out.

I think there were definitely other songs on the album that would've made a better single than "Right to Love", but suspect that the decision was based on the music of the time. Message songs were definitely the in-thing and I assume that the hope was "Right To Love" would become something like "Everything Is Beautiful" or any number of hits around that time that were about everybody being together and loving one another, etc.

The song is one of my favs. Jean sings it so well, and the live versions are often times even better, IMO. But I don't think all the ingredients were there to take the song much higher than it ultimately ended up. I wonder how well the song would've done with a completely different backing track.

I think it would have only added to the song and probably made it stronger. But that's just my opinion. I've read it too but don't fancy diving into the books at the moment :p. It's a moment in the song where you feel it's coming but then the producers were waving their hands disturbing Jean.

I think overall this was the Supremes' strongest album of the post-Diana years.
Only the 1975 "comeback" album and maybe High Energy come close in my opinion. I never really got into New Ways or Touch and the Jimmy Webb album was only so-so. And by the time Mary, Scherrie and Susaye came out, they were on the verge of disbanding so there were standout tracks on that one for me. Floy Joy was "OK" I guess but a little short on cuts to suit me. Did I cover them all?

Right On
Touch
High Energy
New Ways
1975 Album
Jimmy Webb
Floy Joy

About the way I felt about them

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Originally Posted by jobeterob

Right On
Touch
High Energy
New Ways
1975 Album
Jimmy Webb
Floy Joy

About the way I felt about them

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Mary scherrie and susaye

RO is a superb album. And frankly one of the only albums in their discography that i wouldn't necessarily play "producer" and do a alt version as a playlist. Now i do have a few alt versions of the album in my playlists but that because i pulled a few tracks from it to use on other revamped albums. For instance Baby Baby would have worked great on NWBLS as it has a similar Rock Opera sound and approach. And you could easily drop Between Sunday and Monday into RO and hardly miss a beat.

As for Everybody, i find it the weak tune on the album and not a fav of mine. in a previous post, George mentioned that an earlier version of the RO didn't include Everybody and in looking at the track history, it was completed JUST before the album was released. The unreleased version on Greatest Hits and Rare Classics is better. but still not stupendous. IMO i think Frank and the others working on it were super excited from the success of Ladder and thrilled that Everybody had such a strong message of peace and love. They sort of got blinded by it and ended up producing a pretty weak track. perhaps in a rush to get it onto the LP. had they taken their time with it and cleaned it up, it could have worked much better.

as for the cover, i think we fans were far more concerned about the dresses than motown. Motown seemed more concerned with debuting gowns on tv and didn't care about the pics for the records:

Sing R&H - on the cover they're wearing the red fringe from late 64 and on the two versions of the back cover, they're wearing old gowns too. The pink ones with the ruffles on the bottom and the ruffled wrap or the yellow ones from Itching on Sullivan. and this album was released in mid 67

Greatest Hits - the cover painting and interior drawings they're wearing the yellow chiffon gowns from early 66. album released in late summer 67

Reflections - a mix of old and new pics and gowns on cover, back is an old pic of Diana from fall 66. Album was released in March 68

TOTT - the cover here is stunning and they're in relatively new gowns. but one of the back pics is of them in the red sequin gowns from the Flo years

Funny girls - the multi colored chiffon caftans were a year old. they were designed when Flo was leaving and worn through fall 67. FG was released in fall 68.

Together - another rehashing of the multi colored caftans from 67. now we're in 68

Cream - the butterfly gowns were a year old. and on the back the girls are wearing those old silver gowns from late 67. and they're off the rack too!! lolol not designer ;)

Diana solo debut - the gold dress she's wearing on the back cover is the gown she wore in fall 69 doing the Hair medley with the girls on Hollywood Palace

what is odd IMO during the 70s is that they continually used DRATS era gowns for the album art. during the jean years there were TONS of new costumes and outfits. the claim that the group didn't have many new outfits after Diana left is just false.

over the 3 year period between 70 and 72 the girls had 22 new outfits and costumes.

during the 3 years of DRATS, once Cindy joined the girls had 28 new outfits.

i think the difference can be attributed to the slow down in late 72. they only had 4 or so outfits during the MJL years as i think by then there was enough trouble brewing within the group and the discussions of leaving motown that they weren't looking to spend tons of money on more gowns.

When the hits thinned and the bookings were less financially rewarding, of course everything becomes an issue

As Mary has said, the albums didn’t sell well. Gowns would have been one of the first cuts to be made.

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Originally Posted by TYK1986

I like this album and is also one of the few album alongside, Touch that I can listen to without skipping songs........
I feel with some songs on this album that Jean is withholding her voice. The Loving country is a beautiful song and the layers are fantastic. But the bit around 1:40 where she sings "Free" sounds weird. It's as if she wants the scream Free but is holding herself in and it comes out a bit strange.

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That's one of the things that I love about Jean's voice on the early albums as compared to some of her later efforts. Although I did not understand it then [[I just loved that voice and its sexy, kittenish quality), she demonstrated her prowess of reigning in the power of her vocals. By doing so, her voice's inherent attractive sweetness invited the listener into the message and emotion of the song, all while still adding depth and color to every word she sang.
On later efforts when she was let loose in the studio [[especially on certain selections of the Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb album) some vocals would become shrill and distract from the beauty of the song itself. [[And, alas, the added 'Webben Tabernacle Choir' Blossoms' amplified background vocals did little to smooth things over).
Performing live allowed her to open up and demonstrate her sheer power which was most effective in large arenas.

I love Jean's versatility. She could sing a smooth vocal and yet make it the most exciting thing you've ever heard, or she could go hard and really hit you in the heart. I know I may sound like a broken record, but it is definitely one of the biggest tragedies in music history, in my personal music history book, that Jean Terrell wasn't one of the most successful vocalists in the world, and that her voice never won her a Grammy. Some of her vocal performances were as captivating as any other woman ruling the music world at the time.

i too love Jean's voice but i find that some of the live versions she's too focused on ad libbing and riffing. songs like SL have such an amazing melody, lyric and message. there's a time and place for "letting loose" and i time to not

in a Mike Douglas interview she talks about how before Diana was all into these extras but is now pure voice. and how she [[jean) is always pure voice. Given that this was her philosophy and quote, i think she should have applied it more to her music live.

There was a reason Frank asked her to sing the song straight. vocal gymnastics can be fun but pure straight honest singing can actually be harder. the pyrotechnics can easily raise the audience to their feet clapping. but they're rather commonplace within r&b music. to elicit that same response for a pure, straightforward approach really commands respect

I guess that would come down to a matter of taste. While I do believe there's a time and a place for everything, I feel like when Jean lets loose, it's often more appropriate than not. On the flip, I find that Diana is the opposite. She holds back more often than she should have. I don't think I've ever heard a moment of Jean singing where I thought she was doing too much. Jean could sing me the phone book and riff and run on every other page and I'd be in heaven.:cool:

But that's how I feel about Jean. I'm different when it comes to, say, Patti Labelle. I love Patti, definitely one of my favorite singers period. But there were countless times over the years where I thought she did too much, either in the studio or live. And whatever too much is, just depended on the song. Some songs I felt it was called for, others no so much. Patti could not sing me the phone book and acrobat her way over every other page. I'd slam the book shut with her fingers still in it.:p

I kinda like that about Jean. You never know what you are going to get. I've got multiple live versions of Stoned Love and she never sounds the same. I've once tried to cut and paste the best bits of each version. But I'm crap when it comes to mixing, cutting and pasting.

now don't get me wrong - i LOVE jean letting lose on Bad Weather. she really jams with it.

I guess i'm just picky about Stoned Love and a few other tunes. as a song, SL was so perfectly structured around the harmonies and the various moving pieces. the first time the group sings "Stoned Love" its unison. then they do it in 3 part harmony. Then during the choruses, the first time Jean sings "i tell ya i ain't got no other" by herself. after 2nd verse, the girls sing the same line in 3 part harmony. plus lots of other things

Given how much is happening throughout the song, it's important to allow each it's moment. that's part of what makes this such a spectacular production. All of this culminates in the magical bridge which wraps up with the celestial On And On And On And On. on the record you have the swirling strings, the dynamic orchestra and the glorious 3 part harmony. Most of the live versions i've heard of from jean, she rarely joins in with M and C in the lyrics and harmony. she's often still riffing "you and you and you and you..." Musically she's missed the apex of the song and lyrically she's also missed it - through brotherhood, love and understanding we can achieve peace which will last on and on.

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Originally Posted by sup_fan

now don't get me wrong - i LOVE jean letting lose on Bad Weather. she really jams with it.

I guess i'm just picky about Stoned Love and a few other tunes. as a song, SL was so perfectly structured around the harmonies and the various moving pieces. the first time the group sings "Stoned Love" its unison. then they do it in 3 part harmony. Then during the choruses, the first time Jean sings "i tell ya i ain't got no other" by herself. after 2nd verse, the girls sing the same line in 3 part harmony. plus lots of other things

Given how much is happening throughout the song, it's important to allow each it's moment. that's part of what makes this such a spectacular production. All of this culminates in the magical bridge which wraps up with the celestial On And On And On And On. on the record you have the swirling strings, the dynamic orchestra and the glorious 3 part harmony. Most of the live versions i've heard of from jean, she rarely joins in with M and C in the lyrics and harmony. she's often still riffing "you and you and you and you..." Musically she's missed the apex of the song and lyrically she's also missed it - through brotherhood, love and understanding we can achieve peace which will last on and on.

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The only thing that is an issue with
RO album are omitting of m and c on some of the tracks and use of the A' S INSTEAD

I'm probably one of the few who hear Mary and Cindy less and less every time I listen to Right on. It is confusing that they used too many different BG singers. We have the Andantes and I think the Blackberries. Then there's probably Mary, Cindy and Jean on some and Mary, Cindy mixed with the Andantes. As a semi obsessed fan I do like to know lol. I do like it when the guys from the expanded edition tell us who is on what song. I take their version more as a fact rather then hear it from random people online. Too many conflicting stories.

I will say that Loving country is beautiful and I don't care how many BG singers they used. With different headphones I hear different and of course higher volume helps as well. Only recently heard a higher register voice [[sorry not very good with music terms) in the Loving Country at around 1:45 till 1:50 singing "Me, running blind through your mind".

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Originally Posted by TYK1986

I'm probably one of the few who hear Mary and Cindy less and less every time I listen to Right on. It is confusing that they used too many different BG singers. We have the Andantes and I think the Blackberries. Then there's probably Mary, Cindy and Jean on some and Mary, Cindy mixed with the Andantes. As a semi obsessed fan I do like to know lol. I do like it when the guys from the expanded edition tell us who is on what song. I take their version more as a fact rather then hear it from random people online. Too many conflicting stories.

I will say that Loving country is beautiful and I don't care how many BG singers they used. With different headphones I hear different and of course higher volume helps as well. Only recently heard a higher register voice [[sorry not very good with music terms) in the Loving Country at around 1:45 till 1:50 singing "Me, running blind through your mind".

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agreed - i'd like to know too. it's obvious on many of the tracks produced by Clay that he used other BG singers. now does that mean M and C are not on the track at all? don't know. but there are other singers and they're definitely more prevalent than M and C.

Some theorize that the A's are all over Ladder too. it is a full sound but i'm not sure if that's supplemental voices, studio effects, layered voices, etc. Also with J joining in on some of the BG vocals, you obviously have a fuller sound too

I got hurt seems to have male background vocals near the end of the song. The bit where they sing yeah yeah yeah.... Right headphone seems to have deeper male voices and the left headphone female high voices.

Problem with the background is that I can't hear Mary distinctively on the songs, except for her, where we can be, lines on Up the Ladder. Same with Cindy unlike with "I'll set you free" where you can hear them both so clearly. I hear Cindy clearer on everybody got the right to love.

Right On was a solid album. I played it all the time when it came out. I have not heard it in decades.

I do not begrudge the fans who want to know who exactly is behind Jean, but I have to be honest, for me, the only backgrounds that really matter is Flo and Mary together. And let me stress that when I say "really matter", I'm referring only to my personal preference and not lumping anyone else in with me, or suggesting that anyone's opinion should be like mine.

My love of the original Supremes is because of the totality of chemistry and vocal beauty that they possessed. When it comes to the original trio [[and even the quartet with Barbara) I'm a completist. I want everything and I want to know everything. So even though whenever it's revealed by reliable sources that Flo and/or Mary are not on a particular song, said information bothers me, I'm still glad to know it.

When the DRATS era comes in, honestly Diana is my main attraction. Mary and Cindy do their jobs beautifully, but I really don't care if they're on a song or not. I still criticize the heavy use of the Andantes during this period because their sound had become so stale and mechanized, losing some of the gorgeousness and personality of their early to mid 60s harmonies. But I rarely care if Mary and Cindy are backing Diana at this point. Same with Jean, except I never care if Mary and Cindy are backing Jean, that's just how much I'm in love with Jean's voice. So I'm never really curious delving into who's who during the Jean years on backup. I will say that I love Mary and Lynda's sound together, but there's so little of their studio work available that it's unnecessary to even question who the singers are. We know its Mary and Lynda, except on JW when it's Mary and Lynda and another girl group who couldn't buy a hit.:p

But I definitely understand the fascination among some fans.

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Originally Posted by RanRan79

I do not begrudge the fans who want to know who exactly is behind Jean, but I have to be honest, for me, the only backgrounds that really matter is Flo and Mary together. And let me stress that when I say "really matter", I'm referring only to my personal preference and not lumping anyone else in with me, or suggesting that anyone's opinion should be like mine.

My love of the original Supremes is because of the totality of chemistry and vocal beauty that they possessed. When it comes to the original trio [[and even the quartet with Barbara) I'm a completist. I want everything and I want to know everything. So even though whenever it's revealed by reliable sources that Flo and/or Mary are not on a particular song, said information bothers me, I'm still glad to know it.

When the DRATS era comes in, honestly Diana is my main attraction. Mary and Cindy do their jobs beautifully, but I really don't care if they're on a song or not. I still criticize the heavy use of the Andantes during this period because their sound had become so stale and mechanized, losing some of the gorgeousness and personality of their early to mid 60s harmonies. But I rarely care if Mary and Cindy are backing Diana at this point. Same with Jean, except I never care if Mary and Cindy are backing Jean, that's just how much I'm in love with Jean's voice. So I'm never really curious delving into who's who during the Jean years on backup. I will say that I love Mary and Lynda's sound together, but there's so little of their studio work available that it's unnecessary to even question who the singers are. We know its Mary and Lynda, except on JW when it's Mary and Lynda and another girl group who couldn't buy a hit.:p

But I definitely understand the fascination among some fans.

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I suppose I’m pretty much the same. Cindy did a wonderful job in replacing Flo, but i find her voice quite generic when singing background. It would have been fitting for her to have been given at least one solo to prove just what she was capable of.
Flo’s stronger, more distinctive vocals lent character and personality to so many of those early songs that at times you listened as much to the background as you did the lead vocal. With hand on heart, i can’t really say the same same of Cindy and Mary.
I would have loved to have heard Flo and Mary doing there thing on the “Funny Girl” soundtrack.

I tend to only have that with Mary and Cindy. I love their sound together and some might not like it. Their blend worked during the late 60's. I'll set you free is an example of the blend I like.
But I'm sure one of the Andantes can imitate Cindy's voice on some songs and I've been wondering about that if it is really her on not. The puzzling makes it for me interesting because you can pick out most of the songs easily with Florence on background "I have been wrong multiple times lol" but with Cindy and Mary is more difficult.
I like Lynda but do tend to think she takes over on the background. With blending I like to hear both girls. On several live performances I've got of Stoned Love Lynda is way above both Jean and Mary and it distracts a bit from Jean singing. I think Lynda, Mary and Jean could have easily handled the background on Jimmy Webb without them other girls. It took way, for me that is, the whole group feeling. It seemed a solo album for Jean with a bunch of background singers.

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Originally Posted by Ollie9

I suppose I’m pretty much the same. Cindy did a wonderful job in replacing Flo, but i find her voice quite generic when singing background. It would have been fitting for her to have been given at least one solo to prove just what she was capable of.
Flo’s stronger, more distinctive vocals lent character and personality to so many of those early songs that at times you listened as much to the background as you did the lead vocal. With hand on heart, i can’t really say the same same of Cindy and Mary.
I would have loved to have heard Flo and Mary doing there thing on the “Funny Girl” soundtrack.

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Cindy has a whole verse on "Baby, You've Got What It Takes". I'm not impressed, but it's entirely possible that it wasn't the right song for her. I suppose Cindy's lead voice probably sounds best on a ballad.

With Flo, the backing vocals have personality and energy. Cindy's voice was neither as distinctive nor energetic as Florence's, and so the backing vocals take on a completely different feel between the two lineups.

The Andantes were basically stand-ins for all the Motown girl groups in those last two to three years of the 60s and so there's no concrete evidence that this would have changed with any other circumstances. However, I always hypothesize that had Flo remained with the group during DRATS, the Andantes would not have been utilized half as much. I like to think- true or not- that Flo and Mary would've been on most, if not all, of the DRATS singles. I would've loved to hear them on "Love Child", "The Composer", "No Matter What Sign" [[The Blackberries are on this one), and of course the Tempts duets. And yes, the Funny Girl album would've also highlighted their abilities.

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Originally Posted by TYK1986

I tend to only have that with Mary and Cindy. I love their sound together and some might not like it. Their blend worked during the late 60's. I'll set you free is an example of the blend I like.

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They could achieve a beautiful blend, and "I'll Set You Free" is a prime example. Definitely a highlight for them. Another one that I enjoy Mary and Cindy on is "Land Of Make Believe". Also "Sunny Boy". With the right song, they definitely work well together. But they still lack the energy of the original trio and I think that energy is necessary on the singles. I still can't hear Mary and Cindy singing background on any of those DRATS singles as well as the other backing vocalists did. Well, I do think Mary and Cindy could've done "The Composer" very well. Maybe "Living In Shame" too.

i agree that Cindy isn't the strongest on You Got What It Takes. but i love her lines on Bridge Over Troubled Water. i think both ballads and sexy numbers would work more with her voice.

Yes they sounded off on Love child and not very good on Someday we'll be together "I mean both songs Live". I like I'm living in shame and think they could handle that one. Florence and Mary definitely had that early girl group sound during the early 60's which I like. Also worked so well during the hit years. Come see about me only sounds good with Florence. But she didn't sound very good on songs she recorded when she left. There's only a few of them I can listen to.

The loving country "yes again" would have never sounded so good with just Mary and Cindy on it. The other songs, on Right on, could have easily been the 2 plus Jean on some. They should have tried to get that group feeling back by just using the Supremes. Alas it didn't happen. Anyone else think that Life beats wouldn't have fit this album. The only two songs from this period which, to me, sound like they could have been included are "the day will come between sunday and mondy" and "you've got to pay the price".

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Originally Posted by TYK1986

Anyone else think that Life Beats wouldn't have fit this album. The only two songs from this period which, to me, sound like they could have been included are "The Day Will Come Between Sunday And Monday" and "You've Got To Pay The Price".

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I agree that "The Day..." and "...Price" would have been perfect for Right On. I actually have them included on my Right On Playlist.

I think "Life Beats" would have been perfect for New Ways and the best follow-up single after "Stoned Love". I have also included LB on my NW Playlist.

I don't like "Lovin' Country" at all - never did. Jean is too shrill. The ethereal nature and sound of the song seem out of place on Right On. It would have been a better fit on New Ways - but I still would dislike it. [[I recently played LC to see if I still feel the same - ugh, yes I do! It is not on any of my Playlists.)

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Originally Posted by TYK1986

Anyone else think that Life beats wouldn't have fit this album. The only two songs from this period which, to me, sound like they could have been included are "the day will come between sunday and mondy" and "you've got to pay the price".

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I agree with all of this. "Life Beats" was perfect for New Ways, and the other two you mentioned would've been good fits for Right On, especially "Sunday and Monday".

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Originally Posted by johnjeb

I don't like "Lovin' Country" at all - never did. Jean is too shrill. The ethereal nature and sound of the song seem out of place on Right On. It would have been a better fit on New Ways - but I still would dislike it. [[I recently played LC to see if I still feel the same - ugh, yes I do! It is not on any of my Playlists.)

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I agree that "Loving Country" would've fit better on New Ways, but feel differently about the song than you do. It's one of my go to cuts on that album. Admittedly, it was never a fav of mine until the last 8 or 10 years. And the reason why I came to love it was because of Jean's vocal. Incredible.