Mary Wilson - "Shelter Me"

**marv2** · 07-18-2019, 09:51 PM

One of my favorites from the "Walk the Line" CD, "Shelter Me"

**detmotownguy** · 07-18-2019, 10:31 PM

Hey Marv! Too darn bad CEO records closed down. Not a bad song on it. I saw Mary perform Walk the Line at the Pine Knob now renamed DTE something or another. Was def a killer performance.

**marv2** · 07-18-2019, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by detmotownguy

Hey Marv! Too darn bad CEO records closed down. Not a bad song on it. I saw Mary perform Walk the Line at the Pine Knob now renamed DTE something or another. Was def a killer performance.

I loved that CD. I bought my first copy when it first came out in Detroit and a few years later, a second copy when I was living in Boston from Tower Records on Newberry.. CEO records had the right idea, just not the financing to go BIG!

**RanRan79** · 07-19-2019, 12:52 PM

Yes, definitely a good song. Just the kind of stuff I would want Mary recording at the time. I don't have a copy of the Walk the Line album. I saw a cassette copy in the bargain bin at Value City back in the 90s and because I was just starting to collect the Supremes albums, I bypassed Mary's, but now I wish I had picked it up. I had "Shelter Me" on my Ipod rotation for awhile a few years ago. It really is a good song.

**thommg** · 07-19-2019, 01:56 PM

Took me a while to track down the CD, though Tpower Records had the cassette single of One Night With You. The only song I didn't care for was My Bodyguard. It was a little too low for Mary, and I didn't really care for the song. The rest of the cuts make up a fantastic recording.

**carlo** · 07-27-2019, 09:24 AM

This has always been one of my favourite Mary tracks as well. My first introduction to her Walk the Line material was when I first purchased her I Am Changing compilation CD, the first time I saw her in 2005. I ended up finding the Walk the Line album a year or two later online on gemm.com and was pleasantly surprised to hear a few of the album cuts that didn't make it onto the subsequent compilation. I'm guessing she didn't include this particular track because it sounds a lot more dated than some of the other tracks. It definitely has an early 90's sound to it, but I love love love it. I also remember when I purchased this cd, the seller asked me if I was ok with the fact that there's a rather risque photo of Mary on the inner side of the booklet. Little did he know that I was an under aged gay kid!

**gman** · 07-27-2019, 01:55 PM

It was a good LP....the CD single One Night With You was out weeks before the CD. Tower Records NYC Village location had a good supply of both on hand. Apparently there was an entire management tie in to this release. Ian Levine commented MW had a new tough manager...how his OOH CHILD Motorcity recording managed to be included on the CEO CD was not explained...perhaps it was an attempt to reimburse himself for the pro shot video?
The Motorcity cut Don't Get Mad Get Even and the Walk The Line CD are the first releases to have Mary's live concert voice preserved on recordings....everything prior featured the whispery subtleness...Motown canned the excellent 1980 track YOU DANCED MY HEART AROUND THE STARS which if released would have shown MW's growth and power as a capable pop vocalist.
I don't care for the song I AM CHANGING...but there are a few really good cuts on WALK THE LINE...the title cut, the initial single One Night With You, Shelter Me and Under Any Moon are my favs....and I even like the "rap" track...which surprises the hell out of me....not a fan of hip hop or rap at all.

**TheMotownManiac** · 07-27-2019, 11:09 PM

This this is a wonderful collection far beyond what I expected with several credible shots at Sirius pop and black radio play. I think each cut need a little tweaking production wise, like this one is wonderful except for that all too familiar melody during the chorus “… Let me lean on you “certainly they could’ve come up with something a little fresher than that derivative and over over over you just succession of notes. Other than that I think it was totally radio friendly and had it come out in the 80s could easily have been a top 10 record. Mary’s vocal is spot on. By the time Mary recorded these she was really poised to go all the way as a vocalist.

**mwmr** · 07-28-2019, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by gman

It was a good LP....the CD single One Night With You was out weeks before the CD. Tower Records NYC Village location had a good supply of both on hand. Apparently there was an entire management tie in to this release. Ian Levine commented MW had a new tough manager...how his OOH CHILD Motorcity recording managed to be included on the CEO CD was not explained...perhaps it was an attempt to reimburse himself for the pro shot video?
The Motorcity cut Don't Get Mad Get Even and the Walk The Line CD are the first releases to have Mary's live concert voice preserved on recordings....everything prior featured the whispery subtleness...Motown canned the excellent 1980 track YOU DANCED MY HEART AROUND THE STARS which if released would have shown MW's growth and power as a capable pop vocalist.
I don't care for the song I AM CHANGING...but there are a few really good cuts on WALK THE LINE...the title cut, the initial single One Night With You, Shelter Me and Under Any Moon are my favs....and I even like the "rap" track...which surprises the hell out of me....not a fan of hip hop or rap at all.

The recording on the CEO CD of Ooh Child is NOT the Motorcity recording. It is a brand new , different recording.

**marv2** · 07-28-2019, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by mwmr

The recording on the CEO CD of Ooh Child is NOT the Motorcity recording. It is a brand new , different recording.

That is correct. She re-recorded it for her CD.

**gman** · 07-29-2019, 04:13 AM

thank you both...I'll have to give them a side by side listen. I never cared for MWs version of the song and skipped it often when playing the CD and hardly listened to my 12" single....loved the 5 Stairsteps orig.

**Bluebrock** · 07-29-2019, 04:38 AM

Originally Posted by gman

thank you both...I'll have to give them a side by side listen. I never cared for MWs version of the song and skipped it often when playing the CD and hardly listened to my 12" single....loved the 5 Stairsteps orig.

The Stairsteps version is an absolute gem.

**detmotownguy** · 07-29-2019, 06:07 AM

Originally Posted by gman

thank you both...I'll have to give them a side by side listen. I never cared for MWs version of the song and skipped it often when playing the CD and hardly listened to my 12" single....loved the 5 Stairsteps orig.

The video is fantastic!

**detmotownguy** · 07-29-2019, 06:15 AM

Originally Posted by gman

thank you both...I'll have to give them a side by side listen. I never cared for MWs version of the song and skipped it often when playing the CD and hardly listened to my 12" single....loved the 5 Stairsteps orig.

The video is fantastic!

**marv2** · 07-31-2019, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by detmotownguy

The video is fantastic!

I agree that the formal music video is very nice. Also Mary's performance of the song on television was "Red Hot"! LOL!

**RanRan79** · 08-02-2019, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by gman

thank you both...I'll have to give them a side by side listen. I never cared for MWs version of the song and skipped it often when playing the CD and hardly listened to my 12" single....loved the 5 Stairsteps orig.

Interestingly, I always thought had the Supremes covered "Ooh Child" that Mary would've done a very good job on it. I think it would've made a great addition to New Ways.