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  1. #1
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    Diana Ross "Sleepin"

    It took some years for this to grow on me, but I think it's an underrated performance by Diana. I love these kinds of dramatic songs and Diana was one of the best at it. I know it's not a fan favorite but it's one of mine. Anyone else dig it?


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    I think it is a great song and performance, although it took a while to grow on me as well. I just think it was an awful choice for a single.

    I would think it would even be a downer in performance. One of its writers, Ron Miller, said he went to see Diana in Vegas and she sang it. Afterwards, Ron said she cried her eyes out.

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    Maudlin is the only way I can describe this song. I understand wanting to have a social conscience in a pop song [[“Love Child) but a song about your man having OD’ed, lying there dead, is really over the top.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I think it is a great song and performance, although it took a while to grow on me as well. I just think it was an awful choice for a single.

    I would think it would even be a downer in performance. One of its writers, Ron Miller, said he went to see Diana in Vegas and she sang it. Afterwards, Ron said she cried her eyes out.
    Horrible choice as a single. I don't know who greenlit that. I recall you mentioning Diana crying after a performance of this. I sure would love to hear her sing it [[minus the tears).

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigAl View Post
    Maudlin is the only way I can describe this song. I understand wanting to have a social conscience in a pop song [[“Love Child) but a song about your man having OD’ed, lying there dead, is really over the top.
    No more over the top than Black bodies swinging in trees for the sun to rot and being plucked by crows. Death is a part of life and if a singer is going to tackle life in their songs, I don't know why death would be off the table. I do understand dark subject matter not being everyone's cup of tea. It sure isn't mine and I tend to avoid songs that are so depressing, which was why I passed on "Sleepin" after hearing it for the first time 15 or so years ago. But Diana's vocal performance makes the lyrics real. And when she does that part about leave him alone can't you see he's sleepin mister, she kills me.

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    I agree with Ranran79. Great performance, beautiful delivery, shows what a good actress Diane is with her reading of the song. But terribly depressing and a total downer. Hard to get through for me which is too bad because I do think it one of Ross’ finest performances. Unbelievable that it was a single.

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    If I'm in a good mood, I don't want to be depressed and if I'm depressed, I want to hear a record that will cheer me up, Therefore I never play "Sleepin'".

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    No more over the top than Black bodies swinging in trees for the sun to rot and being plucked by crows. Death is a part of life and if a singer is going to tackle life in their songs, I don't know why death would be off the table. I do understand dark subject matter not being everyone's cup of tea. It sure isn't mine and I tend to avoid songs that are so depressing, which was why I passed on "Sleepin" after hearing it for the first time 15 or so years ago. But Diana's vocal performance makes the lyrics real. And when she does that part about leave him alone can't you see he's sleepin mister, she kills me.
    That was a dumb song to release in the "Have A Nice Day", sunny, upbeat and sometimes goofy 70s! Heck, songs like "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree" was the type the public were buying around that time. Not depressing drug overdose songs!

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    That was a dumb song to release in the "Have A Nice Day", sunny, upbeat and sometimes goofy 70s! Heck, songs like "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree" was the type the public were buying around that time. Not depressing drug overdose songs!
    Well a lot of songs werent sunny or upbeat. Songs like.
    Needle and the Damage Done
    He aint Heavy
    Ive got to get am message to you
    Daniel
    12th of Never
    Delta Dawn
    Billy Dont be a Hero
    Annies Song
    Ben
    Seasons in the Sun
    Ode to Billy Joe

    And a whole lot more so your aurgument doesnt stand..

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    Don't remember the vegas gig or the final recording but I wonder if the timing of the single and the death of her brother brought things home.

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    Quote Originally Posted by captainjames View Post
    Don't remember the vegas gig or the final recording but I wonder if the timing of the single and the death of her brother brought things home.
    Her brother wouldn't pass for roughly another 22 years after this performance in Vegas.

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    part of the power of Strange Fruit is the amazing use of lyrics and imagery. That and the almost way Billie delivers it adds to the power

    Sleepin' isn't a bad song [[a hideous single) but it lacks the subtly and beauty of the composition of Fruit

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    I always liked the song and for me it displayed her versatility as an artist. I kind of put Last Time I Saw Him in the same category although admittedly Sleepin is more depressing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    It took some years for this to grow on me, but I think it's an underrated performance by Diana. I love these kinds of dramatic songs and Diana was one of the best at it. I know it's not a fan favorite but it's one of mine. Anyone else dig it?

    Not especially. Her vocal performance was outstanding, but it should have remained an album cut and not a single. The album was a major disappointment and there were no obvious follow up hits to the title track. Here in the UK we got Love Me which was very nice and a minor hit, but i would have gone for No-ones gonna be a fool forever. Having said that this album should have been canned. It was rush released when there were other potential hits from the Touch me in the morning that got bypassed, and of course there was also the Diana and Marvin album. Far too much product in too short a space of time which was all the more frustrating considering how long we had to wait for the next studio album. I know Diana was busy having babies during this period, but these releases should have been better spaced out.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    No more over the top than Black bodies swinging in trees for the sun to rot and being plucked by crows. Death is a part of life and if a singer is going to tackle life in their songs, I don't know why death would be off the table. I do understand dark subject matter not being everyone's cup of tea. It sure isn't mine and I tend to avoid songs that are so depressing, which was why I passed on "Sleepin" after hearing it for the first time 15 or so years ago. But Diana's vocal performance makes the lyrics real. And when she does that part about leave him alone can't you see he's sleepin mister, she kills me.
    If i'm in that mood, i really enjoy a good wallow in a morbidly sad or depressing song. It has a kind of cathartic effect on me that makes me feel a little better. It's like what Streisand talks about in her intro to the song "Let The Good Times Roll". Sometimes it's more comfortable to be sad then happy. Does that make sense?
    I loved "Sleepin'", from the first time i heard it as a kid, which is surprising. Superb, heartfelt vocal from Diana. The song was definitely wasted on such a rag bag album.

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    Too depressing for a single, but a nice song. It’s not one I listen to often.

    I’m alone in that Last Time I Saw Him is in my top 10 Diana Ross albums, and is my favourite from the first half of the 70s. Stone Liberty, Love Me, No Ones Gonna Be A Fool Forever, You and Behind Closed Doors are all cracking songs.

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    Quote Originally Posted by alanconnor_1 View Post
    Too depressing for a single, but a nice song. It’s not one I listen to often.

    I’m alone in that Last Time I Saw Him is in my top 10 Diana Ross albums, and is my favourite from the first half of the 70s. Stone Liberty, Love Me, No Ones Gonna Be A Fool Forever, You and Behind Closed Doors are all cracking songs.
    You're not alone! I've always loved the lp and the songs you listed are among my favorites as well. I've often said I'd like Diana to add LTISH to the dance section of her concerts; I think the audience would love it. And 'Sleepin' is a great performance by our girl. A 'minor; lp as all mega-successful performers are bound to release but still a nice one. Best to you -

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    Great vocal, but does the song have a melody and chorus? I rate the vocal a 10, the song and arrangement a 4

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    Quote Originally Posted by alanconnor_1 View Post
    Too depressing for a single, but a nice song. It’s not one I listen to often.

    I’m alone in that Last Time I Saw Him is in my top 10 Diana Ross albums, and is my favourite from the first half of the 70s. Stone Liberty, Love Me, No Ones Gonna Be A Fool Forever, You and Behind Closed Doors are all cracking songs.
    The album isn't a bad album, but it isn't very cohesive. Most of the better songs were left in the can IMO. And in the case of "Why Play Games" I think it had hit single potential [[although it sounds like it was unfinished). I think a lot of the songs that actually made the album could've been held over for the Mahogany soundtrack. But I do love "I Heard a Love Song", "Stone Liberty", "When Can I Come Home to You" and "Behind Closed Doors" [[the latter of which took years to grow on me).

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    The album isn't a bad album, but it isn't very cohesive. Most of the better songs were left in the can IMO. And in the case of "Why Play Games" I think it had hit single potential [[although it sounds like it was unfinished). I think a lot of the songs that actually made the album could've been held over for the Mahogany soundtrack. But I do love "I Heard a Love Song", "Stone Liberty", "When Can I Come Home to You" and "Behind Closed Doors" [[the latter of which took years to grow on me).
    Those are the songs I liked except for Behind Closed Doors; I liked Sleepin but it’s quite an unusual song. No One’s Gonna Be a Fool Forever could have been a single.

    Didn’t care for Love Me, You or BCD

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    I actually really like the album, very listenable with the best tracks for me I Heard A Love Song, Stone Liberty, You and Behind Closed Doors [[one of my favourite Diana tracks.)

    Having said that apart from the title track there's not really another "successful" single on it. Much as I love it Doors wasn't a single.

    While Diana is brilliant vocally on Sleepin' the track is a dirge and it's impossible to understand how anyone could have thought this would be a hit single - I suppose the Billie Holliday overtones had an impact.

    Supposedy the Last Time single sold pretty well and it did go top 10 in Cash Box and Record World but in the UK I was pretty shocked at how poorly it did in the charts.

    I don't even think No-one's Gonna Be A Fool Forever probably the second most commercial song on the album would have been a UK hit.

    Bluebrock has explained why Love Me was chosen as the follow-up single here but its poor showing wasn't a surprise.

    I suppose the record label was trying to push the album but the annoying thing is that there were more than a few tracks from the previous albums which could have been sizable UK hits and they had been very pro-active up until 1973 although I do think they dropped the ball in 1972 only releasing the one single.

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    Quote Originally Posted by alanconnor_1 View Post
    Too depressing for a single, but a nice song. It’s not one I listen to often.

    I’m alone in that Last Time I Saw Him is in my top 10 Diana Ross albums, and is my favourite from the first half of the 70s. Stone Liberty, Love Me, No Ones Gonna Be A Fool Forever, You and Behind Closed Doors are all cracking songs.
    I never liked the album when I was young but it has grown on me and I've come to really like it. I love Diane's later albums from her first gig at Motown, especially the work she did with Michael Masser, with whom I think she really excelled. I think the LP "Last Time I Saw Him," which does include the title song by Masser, is kind of an overlooked gem.

    @Florence, I hadn't thought of the Billie Holiday influence on "Sleepin'," but I think you are spot on in that conjecture.
    Last edited by kenneth; 08-07-2019 at 03:58 PM.

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    I’ve enjoyed this thread as I’ve a lot of thoughts and most gave already been mentioned - BUT

    @Florence, your post mirrors Exactly my thoughts for nearly the last 50 years. I love those same exact songs, I’ve referred to Sleepin’ As a dirge many times, it’s like reading my own mind. Last Time, I’m told, sold nearly 900k as told to a bud by Pam Sawyer. I knew it was top ten on the sales charts, but that surprised me if it’s accurate. My choice for a follow up? I would have to hold my nose, drop Stone Liberty and hope for the best. if not, “Love Me” but I don’t have a lot of faith in either.

    What I don’t get, is why they would release two singles from an album that doesn’t have two singles on it, and only one single from the previous album that had maybe as many as four or five singles on it. I have no idea what they were smoking, but I hope it’s illegal by now and no longer in use. I thought maybe they were just going to crank albums out every six months with only one single on them, but after the release of sleepin’ And then no new album for over two years, I just threw my hands up in the air.

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    i think, based on all of the tracks on the EE, there was the possibility to assemble a strong album. The work of Michael Masser and Ron Miller, while being two different producers, sounds relatively seamless. and even some of the other producers too. So you could have done a set like:

    Last Time I saw him - full, unedited version [[Masser)
    No one gonna be a fool [[Masser)
    Love Me [[Baird)
    Get it all together [[Miller)
    You [[Miller)

    Where did we go wrong [[Miller)
    Behind closed doors [[Ross)
    I'll be here [[Bristol)
    Why play games [[Wilson)
    Old Funky Rolls [[Miller)

    I like the work with Bob Gaudio but frankly it's not inline with the other tracks. it's more rock and the others are more lush pop/soul

    I know some people will have a fit that i included Funky lololol. It's a totally silly track but i find it to be a fun song and sort of bookends with the fun vibe of Last Time

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    in regards to Last Time I Saw Him, i think the released lp and single mix is inferior to that used in the unedited version. on this version, there's just such a fun jam feeling with all of the band and vocalists really letting go on the long ending and fade. listen to that clarinet!! it's like you're really in a hot and jumping bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans listening to a Dixieland Band! that feeling is missing from the original versions

    I do like the little extra line in verse 2 but understand that for the single you needed to trim it. but they shouldn't have trimmed as much of the ending. that's what makes this such a fun song.

    Sort of like the ending to the Sup/Tops Gotta Have Love. how on earth did they agree to chop all of jean's entended ad libs and high notes?!?!?

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    After the success of LSTB soundtrack, the TMITM lp and single topped off by the Diana & Marvin lp and singles, Motown got a bit glib on Ross. TMITM was such a lush, exquisite lp and it holds up to the day. When I first heard LTISH on the radio I was disappointed as clearly Motown was copying the sound of Tony Orlando. When I bought the lp I was even more disappointed; clearly this was material not selected for the previous lp because of quality issues. Ross did a large amount of recordings from 71-73 as she had her baby and dove into LSTB

    When the LTISH lp flapped around on the lp charts Motown desperately needed another single to pick up the sales. Face it, nothing much on that lp was single material. So the company remixed Sleepin' but it did nothing to turn around the sales of the lp.

    Many fans loved the LTISH lp and some who didn't grew to love it. I'm afraid I fall in the third category: Like with the Supremes Jimmy Webb lp I have never grown to like this lp. And I've tried.

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    LTISH [[the song) is one i always include on playlists and often hit "repeat" on. while i'd never label it as something of a major artistic statement like Touch Me or LSTB, i find it a fun and exciting track.

    it definitely though should have been held to allow the TMITM album to have a 2nd single. LTISH could have been held for a year to allow Motown to milk everything out of the TMITM set

    as for the D&M duets, that's a pretty weak set. there are a few songs worthy of the pairing but overall a bit let down. hmmm - perhaps time for a new thread hehehe

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    I’ve enjoyed this thread as I’ve a lot of thoughts and most gave already been mentioned - BUT

    @Florence, your post mirrors Exactly my thoughts for nearly the last 50 years. I love those same exact songs, I’ve referred to Sleepin’ As a dirge many times, it’s like reading my own mind. Last Time, I’m told, sold nearly 900k as told to a bud by Pam Sawyer. I knew it was top ten on the sales charts, but that surprised me if it’s accurate. My choice for a follow up? I would have to hold my nose, drop Stone Liberty and hope for the best. if not, “Love Me” but I don’t have a lot of faith in either.

    What I don’t get, is why they would release two singles from an album that doesn’t have two singles on it, and only one single from the previous album that had maybe as many as four or five singles on it. I have no idea what they were smoking, but I hope it’s illegal by now and no longer in use. I thought maybe they were just going to crank albums out every six months with only one single on them, but after the release of sleepin’ And then no new album for over two years, I just threw my hands up in the air.
    Totally agree. Touch me in the morning had 3 or 4 potential hits on it. The UK wisely released All of my life which went top 10, but there were other worthy choices too.
    LTISH should have been held over for 12 months to allow more singles from TMITM, and even then it would have had to have had major surgery to make it half decent.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i think, based on all of the tracks on the EE, there was the possibility to assemble a strong album. The work of Michael Masser and Ron Miller, while being two different producers, sounds relatively seamless. and even some of the other producers too. So you could have done a set like:

    Last Time I saw him - full, unedited version [[Masser)
    No one gonna be a fool [[Masser)
    Love Me [[Baird)
    Get it all together [[Miller)
    You [[Miller)

    Where did we go wrong [[Miller)
    Behind closed doors [[Ross)
    I'll be here [[Bristol)
    Why play games [[Wilson)
    Old Funky Rolls [[Miller)

    I like the work with Bob Gaudio but frankly it's not inline with the other tracks. it's more rock and the others are more lush pop/soul

    I know some people will have a fit that i included Funky lololol. It's a totally silly track but i find it to be a fun song and sort of bookends with the fun vibe of Last Time
    Your LTISH song lineup is fairly close to mine with a few tweeks sup. I agree about the Bob Gaudio songs...... not alas about "Old Funky".

    Last Time I Saw Him
    Fool Forever
    Love Me
    Get It All Together
    Sleepin'

    Part Of You [[2nd single)
    To The Baby
    Behind Closed Doors
    Why Play Games
    Cupie Doll

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    TMITM was a wonderful album as is. But it could have been equally as wonderful if they'd pulled My Baby and the Brown Baby medley for the To The Baby album. they could have pulled another track or two [[maybe even No One Gonna Be A Fool) and still had a quality set. Where Did We Go Wrong was being wrapped up right around the time TMITM was being assembled as an album. would have fit beautifully here

    Then follow up with To The Baby. stylistically, it would have been a natural sequel. And i think the mature sound initiated with Lady and Touch would have flowed nicely. Plus the celebration of her baby would have made for a touching and important artistic statement.

    TMITM def could have had 2 or 3 singles. then 1 or 2 from Baby. at that point, it would be time to evolve to the next sound.

    which allows for a revamped LTISH. wonder if a country/rock mix would have worked? By this time you would have had access to some additional songs not ready when the original LTISH was released

    country - Last Time, Together, Sorry Doesn't, Behind Closed Doors and You.
    rock[[ish) - Stone liberty, I Heard a love song, why play games, I don't care where the money is, since i don't have you

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    TMITM was a wonderful album as is. But it could have been equally as wonderful if they'd pulled My Baby and the Brown Baby medley for the To The Baby album. they could have pulled another track or two [[maybe even No One Gonna Be A Fool) and still had a quality set. Where Did We Go Wrong was being wrapped up right around the time TMITM was being assembled as an album. would have fit beautifully here

    Then follow up with To The Baby. stylistically, it would have been a natural sequel. And i think the mature sound initiated with Lady and Touch would have flowed nicely. Plus the celebration of her baby would have made for a touching and important artistic statement.

    TMITM def could have had 2 or 3 singles. then 1 or 2 from Baby. at that point, it would be time to evolve to the next sound.

    which allows for a revamped LTISH. wonder if a country/rock mix would have worked? By this time you would have had access to some additional songs not ready when the original LTISH was released

    country - Last Time, Together, Sorry Doesn't, Behind Closed Doors and You.
    rock[[ish) - Stone liberty, I Heard a love song, why play games, I don't care where the money is, since i don't have you
    Sorry sup, but 100% disagree. There is no way any of the songs from LTISH would have been right for TMITM, especially not "Fool Forever". The album has a smooth, cohesive flow to it that is perfect. Motown really got it right with the album. The only songs that might have fitted on TMITM are those recorded for the "To The Baby project..........imo.

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    ^don't disagree. and as i think of it, only No One would MAYBE fit.

    another idea would be to pull Smile off of DR 76 and put onto TMITM. then put No One on DR. and maybe To Love Again on there

    some people dislike Kiss Me Now on DR 76. i like it. sound-wise, it would have worked well on LTISM but was recorded far too late.

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    I think TMITM is a total yawner! Easily my least favourite Diana album, and I’m including Workin’ Overtime in that.

    Maybe you had to be there. I was only 2 at the time.

    Great pair of singles. We Need You was OK but the rest I can leave.

    I know. I know. I’ll go hide under a chair!

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    Quote Originally Posted by alanconnor_1 View Post
    I think TMITM is a total yawner! Easily my least favourite Diana album, and I’m including Workin’ Overtime in that.

    Maybe you had to be there. I was only 2 at the time.

    Great pair of singles. We Need You was OK but the rest I can leave.

    I know. I know. I’ll go hide under a chair!
    You are entitled to your opinion, but i suspect most would disagree with you, myself included.

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    Quote Originally Posted by alanconnor_1 View Post
    I think TMITM is a total yawner! Easily my least favourite Diana album, and I’m including Workin’ Overtime in that.

    Maybe you had to be there. I was only 2 at the time.

    Great pair of singles. We Need You was OK but the rest I can leave.

    I know. I know. I’ll go hide under a chair!
    hahaha - that's what makes this forum fun. the difference of opinions. I know i'm in a minority with like things like Funky Old Rolls, Girls. but that's ok

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    I personally agree with alanconnor_1 to a certain extent about the Touch Me album.

    While the title track and All Of My Life would be in my top 10 Diana singles and We Need You, Leave A Little Room, Imagine and I Won't Last A Day are all good tracks others such as Little Girl Blue, My Baby and Brown Baby are in the Sleepin' category for me.

    I am personally grateful that we never got a full To The Baby Album.

    Overall I find Last Time the more listenable album.

    It's really it hard to believe that no-one at Motown in the US did not see the potential of All Of My Life as a follow-up single to the monster Touch Me In The Morning.

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    After the enormous success of the LSTB soundtrack, motown decided Diana needed to return to the charts with a huge pop hit. This they achieved with TMITM. For the subsequent album they decided to keep a little of the flavour of LSTB by adding more adult contemporary material. The result was a beautiful, soulful cohesive album that struck just the right balance. I would imagine that those who find songs such as "Brown Baby" OR "Little Girl Blue" a big yawn would also be turned off by anything Billie Holiday had to offer.
    Berry Gordy realised long ago that Diana had the potential to be so much more then just a pop singer. Albums such as TMITM gave her the chance to really showcase what she could do with her voice and prove she could tackle just about any kind of music genre..
    Last edited by Ollie9; 08-09-2019 at 07:12 AM.

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    i agree that Brown Baby wouldn't make for an appropriate single. And Little Girl Blue wouldn't either. but that's not the point. they weren't intended for that but as for exquisite album tracks that show off the versatility of the artist. it is amazing that with so many producers involved that TMITM is as solid and cohesive of an album.

    Little Girl Blue is one of the best vocal performances EVER by Diana Ross. even if this type of a jazz ballad isn't your primary go-to sound, you can't deny the fact that her singing, tone, lyric interpretation is one of the best of this song by any artist at any time. I'm including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie and the many many others that tackled this sad and emotional song.

    as for To the Baby, i realize that it might have hit or might have not. but by the early 70s, many other artists were really using the LP as a form of artistic expression. While the songs are certainly not as strong as Tapestry by King, the statement Diana would have been making here would have been just as powerful. i think the public would have at least respected it. and if something as blah as Everything Is Everything and Ross 78 could bubble around the mid-range of the Top 100, Baby would have done at least as well if not better. simply because people would have respected it

    IMO that is

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    as for To the Baby, i realize that it might have hit or might have not. but by the early 70s, many other artists were really using the LP as a form of artistic expression. While the songs are certainly not as strong as Tapestry by King, the statement Diana would have been making here would have been just as powerful. i think the public would have at least respected it. and if something as blah as Everything Is Everything and Ross 78 could bubble around the mid-range of the Top 100, Baby would have done at least as well if not better. simply because people would have respected it

    IMO that is
    I probably would have considered To The Baby as a specialty release from Diana as the Supremes released through their career. It wouldn't have taken the place of a regular album but been a sweet addition to the catalogue as were We Remember Sam Cooke, Sing Rodgers & Hart, etc.... I was surprised that another single didn't come from Touch Me In The Morning. I wasn't fond of the song Last Time I Saw Him, but enjoyed the r&b sound of the album which was a little different for Diana. That said, I would not have been in favor of including Old Funky Rolls on that album. I didn't care for the hokey songs - not my favorites.

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    I like Sleepin'....I don't love it, but I like it. It is a downer and a bit over the top.

    The title track? LTISH..I think its very under rated…I goes thru Pop, Country/Swing and Ragtime in one single...I also think Gettin' Ready For Love, the 12" mix of Your Love is So Good For Me and the fabulous Ross LP mix of Lovin' Livin' & Givin' are worth more attention and applause then they generally receive.

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    ^ Agree with all this.

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    haunting

    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    It took some years for this to grow on me, but I think it's an underrated performance by Diana. I love these kinds of dramatic songs and Diana was one of the best at it. I know it's not a fan favorite but it's one of mine. Anyone else dig it?

    Sleepin' would have been a strong concluding song on side two of the Touch Me In The Morning album. It was consistent in theme with Save The Babies, Brown Baby and Imagine; Young Mothers also could have fit well. [[I Won't Last A Day Without You and Little Girl Blue were the two sides that seemed somewhat out of place to my ear on this contemporary statement album.) Too, the haunting tones at the end of Sleepin' would have paired well as a bookend with the stark, somber chord introducing the Touch Me In The Morning opener. It would have been a fitting finale, fading away, leaving the listener to contemplate the sorry state of the world where disappointment and cynicism flourished, in part due to the waning VietNam situation, the Agnew scandal and the Nixon Watergate troubles. The keening trumpet had something of the impact of Taps.

    Diana's performance on Sleepin' was stellar and touching, and the song's issued version was beautifully arranged, balancing her quiet, comforting, sorrowful tones and angry near-shouts, the latter punctuated and accentuated also by soulful human-sounding background vocalists. Her spoken words were wrenching, demanding some dignity and privacy for the departed soul and the mourner. The "fix don't fix a fix" lyric was clever in an undistracting way, illustrating, with three separate meanings of one simple word, how commonplace drug use/abuse had insinuated itself into the fabric of the times.

    The alternate version of Sleepin' on the Anthology double CD showed how delicate the recording process must have been. The alternate had most of the same elements as the issued version, but the backup singers' parts and one or two other details and aspects were dispatched with slightly less sensitivity, and the version somewhat failed to connect. The issued version got everything right.

    But I agree; Sleepin' was not, necessarily, the best choice for a single, although the marketing department made the best of it, claiming in a Billboard ad that it was the sleeper single of the week or some such. That boast did not prove out.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    in regards to Last Time I Saw Him, i think the released lp and single mix is inferior to that used in the unedited version. on this version, there's just such a fun jam feeling with all of the band and vocalists really letting go on the long ending and fade. listen to that clarinet!! it's like you're really in a hot and jumping bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans listening to a Dixieland Band! that feeling is missing from the original versions

    I do like the little extra line in verse 2 but understand that for the single you needed to trim it. but they shouldn't have trimmed as much of the ending. that's what makes this such a fun song.

    Sort of like the ending to the Sup/Tops Gotta Have Love. how on earth did they agree to chop all of jean's entended ad libs and high notes?!?!?
    I agree with all of this Sup. Other than the Muppet Show, did Diana ever perform this song live?

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I agree with all of this Sup. Other than the Muppet Show, did Diana ever perform this song live?
    There was supposedly an early 1974 appearance on the Merv Griffin show. It would seem likely that she might have performed it but I have never seen any evidence of it. And other than Ron Miller saying that he saw her sing it and SLEEPIN' in Vegas, I don't think it stayed in her act long.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I agree with all of this Sup. Other than the Muppet Show, did Diana ever perform this song live?
    She never cared for the song and indeed the whole album which makes her decision to perform it on the muppet show all the more baffling.

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    The single LTISH was the #1 adult contemporary single of the year in 1974 according to Billboard Magazine

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    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    The single LTISH was the #1 adult contemporary single of the year in 1974 according to Billboard Magazine
    I am amazed it was not a much bigger hit on the pop charts both here in the UK and the USA. Over here despite extensive airplay it barely made the top 40 and i know it failed to breach the top 10 in the States. It was ridiculously commercial and Motown probably expected a top 5 hit and possibly even a no.1. It was never one of my personal favorites but i did expect it to do much better.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    I am amazed it was not a much bigger hit on the pop charts both here in the UK and the USA. Over here despite extensive airplay it barely made the top 40 and i know it failed to breach the top 10 in the States. It was ridiculously commercial and Motown probably expected a top 5 hit and possibly even a no.1. It was never one of my personal favorites but i did expect it to do much better.
    Apart from the inexplicable failure of Do You Know Where You're Going To when it was first released in the UK this is the one which baffles me as to how it wasn't a big hit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by florence View Post
    Apart from the inexplicable failure of Do You Know Where You're Going To when it was first released in the UK this is the one which baffles me as to how it wasn't a big hit.
    I was always amazed that "Last Time I Saw Him" charted as well as it did in the USA. To me it's just a nice, fun little song. Nothing amazing..........just nice.
    I'm not the least surprised that it failed to create much interest in the UK. I remember my mother buying me the single from our local Co-Op when i was 11, [[i think it was 50p). Why i remember this little moment in time god only knows lol.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    The single LTISH was the #1 adult contemporary single of the year in 1974 according to Billboard Magazine
    Every morning before I went to school, my mother used to tune into the local AC station and they played this record incessantly. At first, I didn't even know it was Diana as it didn't sound like something she would sing. But my mom insisted it was indeed her. I only believed her when I finally heard the DJ announce Diana as the artist.

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