https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2_Kala2A0
Back in those days, Gladys could have sung the phone book and it would have sounded great!
She never misses! Give her an even half way decent song and she'll turn it into something special. She is one of those rare vocalists that has that kind of talent. She doesn't need to be told how to sing a song.Quote:
Originally Posted by daviddesper
Love Gladys but this should be in the Motown Forum!
perhaps it was posted here to compare it with the Supremes version and discussQuote:
Originally Posted by vgalindo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S10jcZpeU8
And she still has that quality.Quote:
Originally Posted by daviddesper
Listen to the brilliant harmonies by Mary and Flo! They all sound so crisp and clear.Quote:
Originally Posted by milven
Unfortunately Mary & Flo are not on this. Those harmonies are the Andantes.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
I disagree. That is Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson. Andantes may be backing Mary and Florence, but I know Flo's voice.Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
I know we're not suppose to believe anything on Wikipedia, but it states that Florence, Mary and the Andantes are singing on "Any Girl In Love" from the "I hear a Symphony" album.
I think you’re right marv2. If you compare the backing vocals on the Supremes’ and Kim Weston’s versions there is a difference. Sounds like Mary, Flo and one or more Andantes.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Oh ok. Makes since.Quote:
Originally Posted by milven
Mowest, their voices are too distinct to miss! The producers added the Andantes to that track to give it a fuller sound. It is very difficult to create 3 part harmony with just two voices.Quote:
Originally Posted by mowest
Love Gladys Knight and the Pips but this song does not fit them. The Supremes version is so much better IMO. Better lead by Diana and better backgrounds with Mary and Florence.
With all due respect, the best version is the original by Kim Weston.Quote:
Originally Posted by vgalindo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9aBAGt9_o8
I so agree. I love Kim’s version the best. I was only comparing Gladys Knight and the Pips with Diana Ross and the Supremes which I prefer the Supremes over Gladys Knights.Quote:
Originally Posted by 144man
Those high notes hit by flo and Mary sound awful to me. I think that is why I never liked this song.
She still can! Her voice has barely aged at all and sounds more like her prime than any other diva.Quote:
Originally Posted by daviddesper
that being said, I still prefer The Supremes version, followed by Kim and then, Gladys - who I feel is over singing the intent of the song style and losing the meaning of the lyric.
That’s because it’s the Andantes, not Mary & Flo. HDH just took the track they did for Kim Weston and added Diana. Mary & Flo weren’t added.Quote:
Originally Posted by Circa 1824
I hear Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson with other voices backing them.Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
Hmm I always took several peoples words for it that it's the Andantes as I dont listen to this track often but after listening to Kim's version and then the Supremes after, dare I say Mary and Flo were added in with the Andantes? They do sound a bit different.
It sounds almost the same, but Kim’s is slower which might effect the sound, but, I agree with Marv that I think I hear Flo anyway, but Marlene can sound a lot like her at times. If Flo is there, Mary is as well as I don’t think she ever missed studio dates Flo was in. I read on YouTube that HDH had said that the track was the same. Last night, my resident live-in expert on such matters swore `the tracks are different and he takes these important questions very seriously!
Thats real possible FloyJoy.Quote:
Originally Posted by floyjoy678
Marlene’s voice had a similar timbre to Flo’s. Listen to “Slow Down” during the line “How could she love him.” That’s Mary & Marlene. It sounds like Flo, but it isn’t.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac
Compare “Any Girl In Love” to “Mother Dear [[Version 3).” The Andantes are on the first track. Second track is Mary, Flo & the Andantes. They are certainly different.
I assure you, Mary & Flo are not on “Any Girl In Love.” Strictly the Andantes only. I believe Andy or George has confirmed that on here.
I'm not gonna stick my neck out and say who is on BV's BUT although the Supremes were dubbed onto Kim's version the backing tracks are also new. In both recordings the BV's are on the same one of three tracks along with the lead. So the lead vocal and backing parts were recorded live on one track. If you listen to them carefully they are similar [[but then they would be) but they are different.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
I still have to disagree. That is definitely Florence. She has that twang, almost Southern accent. You'll hear it on "Ain't That Good News". I am going by my own ears on this one, but curious, who put the info about this on Wikipedia?Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
Anybody can make changes on Wikipedia. I’ve noticed a battle of changes on the “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Reflections” pages where it goes back and forth between Mary & Flo to Mary & Marlene. Both songs are Marlene.Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Before I knew Mary and Flo were not in Merry Christmas, I assumed any girl in love was recorded around the same time because the background vocals sounded very similar. And what I think is amazing is that 50 years later people are still marveling at how well the on Dantes substituted for the Supremes. It never dawned on me that Florence was not on you can’t hurry love, but my friend said the first time he heard it he could not hear Florence and wondered where she was since she was also not on my world is empty and she was his fave. So he’s been separating her voice out for 53 years. And it makes sense that this is the on Dantes because they were being used more and more at this time by all producers.Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
And I always bow to George and Andy, and those like you who have a better ear than I when I’m not sure who it is. And the thing is, I don’t care who it is I just want to know for some crazy reason…… But I don’t have a preference in that I’m not sad or unhappy that Diana is frequently the only real Supreme. It bothered me initially, years ago, but gas is over a dollar now.....
For years I just assumed it was Flo and Mary on "Any Girl In Love", but one day I was listening and I realized the Andantes are definitely present. But I also thought I still heard Florence's voice. I think when I did my personal assessment in the thread about who is on what Supremes song, I credited "Any Girl In Love" to the Andantes in place of Flo and Mary. I know the Andantes are there, but I'm willing to give on Florence, maybe even Mary, being mixed in.
For years some people said that it was Mary and one of the Andantes on "My World Is Empty Without You" when it was Florence Ballard all along singing with Mary. It became very clear when that Motown Remixed project was released around 2002. Pay close attention to the very end of this video and you will hear Florence Ballard say....."Let's hear that back".Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsupremes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKZMijnB2ws
I personally have always thought it was Flo and Mary with the Andantes. The sound is fuller than on Kim’s version like it is on Stop In The Name Of Love and In and Out Of Love. Nowadays it's hard to say because memories are not clear anymore and session logs were not always accurate. It's best to follow your ears regardless of any new so called revelations. After hearing the Supremes for years l I have learned to pick out the voices pretty accurately. I can also hear when something a bit extra is going on in the mix. The Kim BG version sounds different to my ears. Flo and Mary's vocals are usually straight up and the Andantes sometimes sound a bit exaggerated and a tad generic in some cases. Just listen to the Happening and then Detroit is Happening where they backing Willie Horton and you'll hear what I'm saying.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_nixon
I will say that IMO he two groups together sound great though with the Flo and Mary a bit more upfront with the additional vocals filling in the extra gaps and adding the extra strength that only over dubbing or extra singers can add. But when you had just Flo and Mary the sound had a lot more charm and personality.
Originally posted by CoolKatz:
...when you had just Flo and Mary the sound had a lot more charm and personality.
You hit the nail on the head CoolKatz! As good as the Andantes were on many, many recordings, sometimes when it was just them their voices lacked these two traits: charm and personality, something Flo and Mary always demonstrated.
The Andantes added EXTRA harmony on the original but Flo and Mary are indeed singing on it.
Gladys' version is cool but I see why she pitched a fit over the label giving them leftovers.
I made a similar comparison in their sounds in a thread not long ago. I agree 100 percent. I think there was a technical way the Andantes approached singing, whereas the Supremes were more natural. Sort of like cooking. I see some of these cooks with their world class culinary educated skills and the dishes they pull off. Beautiful looking, and in many cases a wonderful taste. But there's a different feel to what Moms and Grandma made from scratch in their own kitchens with no culinary education aside from what they learned at the feet of their own people, and those meals will knock you out. The Andantes are Le Cordon Bleu. The Supremes are Mama's kitchen. If that makes any sense.:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by CoolKatz
Did she really? That's crazy considering everyone at Motown recorded leftovers. The Supremes were Motown's undisputed bread and butter and even they were singing other Motown artists songs, sometimes with the same backing track. Someone should have told Gladys to have several seats.Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman
That makes PERFECT sense!Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79
^ Ditto! RanRan always makes sense.
As RanRan wrote, "[the meals] Moms and Grandma made from scratch in their own kitchens...[would] knock you out..."
Their untutored culinary skills were so powerful that, as one young woman explained, "Mama died while making homemade jam..." And I won't even tell you what Granddad did when he ate something Grandmom came up with in their kitchen, but apparently that concoction had some punch.
But seriously, I get RanRan's point and am happy Motown had so many things on the menu: the pristine, precise Andante backing on The Four Tops' version of Baby I Need Your Loving, the less polished, more pure Supreme backing on Long Gone Lover, and the blend of the two flavors on, reportedly, Stop! In The Name Of Love.
Generally, Motown recognized which backing choice was best, so the output ended up seeming heartfelt, rather than clinical.
Ha!! I was going to tie in the "homemade jam" in my post but couldn't figure out a way to make it work so I left it alone. You are clearly more clever than I.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by benross