Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
Sure it’s commendable to experiment but still just about ANYTHING would have been better then IWAG lol. After all. Never again. Not that those tunes were sensational but still...
I like "After All", mostly it's attraction for me is being the only cut with all four original Supremes on lead, but I don't think it was any better a choice for a single than "I Want a Guy". "Never Again" would have been the best choice of those very late 1960/early 1961 recordings. Diana's lead is nice, the background is nice, the groove [[with the finger snaps) is nice. Whether it would've hit- probably not- is anyone's guess, but it would've definitely been a better choice than "I Want a Guy". I will admit though, I think "I Want a Guy" might have been better with Mary on lead. I don't think Diana found her ability to interpret a slow song until "Your Heart Belongs to Me".

The Marvelettes just had better songs and that's probably due to them coming out of the gate with "Please Mr. Postman", which of course it is said they brought with them to the label. Motown didn't have to "experiment" on them. "Postman" was a monster hit out of the gate and that told Motown what direction to move the girls in. I think it's been "argued" in this forum before that the Marvelettes got pigeonholed into that direction even as the other girl groups- both at Motown and in the general industry- were moving on.