Supremes "Dance Fever"

[RanRan79]

So, I first heard "Dance Fever" on a bootleg someone gave me back around 2001. Hated it. Absolutely hated it. Then comes the released mix on the LYG set. Still hated it. Absolutely hated it. Probably didn't even listen all the way through since the song wasn't new to me, and never bothered to listen to it again. But last night as I was listening to music, "Dance Fever" comes on and rather than quickly skip it, I figured to just let the music play. Imagine my surprise when I realized I was really digging this song. Everything about it, Scherrie's fantastic vocals, the background vocals, the track, everything was getting to me. It sounds like something the Pointer Sisters might have done around that time. Very funky.

While the Scherrie years produced some good to great music, very little of it I feel would've given the girls a surefire hit. I'm convinced that if "Dance Fever" had hit the street this may have been the cut that put the Supremes back on top. But I'm interested in what you all think about it.

[thommg]

I don't think it would have done much as a single. The song always sounded like a repeating chorus to me with very little verse. I think it could have been molded into a great song but this always sounded like a work tape to me, and the song unfinished.

[sup_fan]

most of the Sup 75 work [[both released and unreleased) struck me as "generic disco." even He's My Man. none of it really was super special IMO although some of the tracks were decent enough.

Out of all the material, I think I Can Never Recover was the missed opportunity. it has enough melody to do something with and is more interesting than Where Do I Go From Here [[which isn't a bad song, just a bit generic).

HMM, Dance Fever and Mr Boogie were fine enough for the dance floor but i think their lyrics and all were just too silly for serious release as a radio song. they were great disco album filler, not big hit singles.

The Ivey and Woodford material was frankly the strongest, the best vocals and the most pop-friendly for radio. That material was recorded rather early [[i think) in the process of getting the girls back into the studio and they should have IMMEDIATELY put that stuff out as an lp. maybe done another track or two with them, thrown in It's All Been Said and Shoop Shoop to pad out the album.

[sup_fan]

the Hollands struck gold with Walking, not with their Sup 75 material. and the material Hal Davis provided just wasn't of the caliber either.

with IGLMHDTW you have:

1. a fierce and powerful track
2. actual verses that make sense and are intelligent
3. very sing-able melody and chorus
4. high-flying vocal work with the backgrounds - nicely showing off the group
5. sassy, confident "you go girl" lead from Scherrie
6. the great and interesting vocal flourishes from Susaye

finally the group had a sound and style that was unique and appropriate. hadn't had something IMO that fit so well since the Frank Wilson work. The Hollands did a masterful job of developing that sound further with the tracks on MS&S - Wheel, Let Yourself, Tied down and Love I never Knew are sensational follow up material from Walking. then the broadened the sound with the more experimental tracks like Dream Machine and Come Into.

just a shame things fell apart and they never received the exposure and chart positions they deserved

[Circa 1824]

It is noise, not music. Flop

[jobeterob]

Even Let My Heart Do the Walking - only made it to around number 40 nationally. Basically, the Supremes were way old by then although it was nice to see them come back.

I'm still surprised how quickly that little resurrection fizzled. I think if they'd come up with an edit of High Energy, it would have had a chance to do better.

But certain members did not want to see Susaye make a big splash and take over the group.

[sup_fan]

yeah i know Walking only made it to 40 but that was far better than anything since Auto Sunshine in 72. And being released on the exact same date as Diana's Love Hangover definitely didn't help. It got lost

Still the point is they had a sound. While i like HE and sort of like You're What's Missing, i do agree that given the reaction to Walking, they were right to jump onto the next collection. Let Yourself Go should have been the follow up single. It shared enough the direction and sound of Walking to be an excellent follow up. sort of like Baby Love after Where.

[daviddh]

Bend a little was the gem along with Sha La Bandit.
Not really liking Dance Fever

[RanRan79]

I don't think it would have done much as a single. The song always sounded like a repeating chorus to me with very little verse. I think it could have been molded into a great song but this always sounded like a work tape to me, and the song unfinished.

I agree that it does sound unfinished, but I usually factor in these kinds of details with the unreleased cuts [[mixes, additional vocals, etc). But the base was there for what I think could've potentially been a big hit.

[RanRan79]

most of the Sup 75 work [[both released and unreleased) struck me as "generic disco." even He's My Man. none of it really was super special IMO although some of the tracks were decent enough.

Out of all the material, I think I Can Never Recover was the missed opportunity. it has enough melody to do something with and is more interesting than Where Do I Go From Here [[which isn't a bad song, just a bit generic).

HMM, Dance Fever and Mr Boogie were fine enough for the dance floor but i think their lyrics and all were just too silly for serious release as a radio song. they were great disco album filler, not big hit singles.

The Ivey and Woodford material was frankly the strongest, the best vocals and the most pop-friendly for radio. That material was recorded rather early [[i think) in the process of getting the girls back into the studio and they should have IMMEDIATELY put that stuff out as an lp. maybe done another track or two with them, thrown in It's All Been Said and Shoop Shoop to pad out the album.

You've made the silly lyrics argument before about various songs and it always leaves me scratching my head, as if the record buying public in the 60s and 70s cared about song lyrics. Not when songs like "Louie, Louie" and "Fly Robin Fly" [[and "up, up to the sky" it's only lyrics) were major hits. And it's not like they were the exceptions to the rule. The 60s and 70s were a hodgepodge of lyrical content taking the music world by storm. All anyone seemed to care about is how does the song make them feel. Does it make them dance? Does it make them sad? Happy? I hardly think people would've heard Scherrie singing about having the dance fever and how she can't stop and would've said "what the fuck is this shit about?"

As good as "Recover" is, most of that kind of stuff just sounds too disco. "Dance Fever" and "Mr. Boogieman" [[another one that I absolutely hated upon first listen) had more of a funky vibe to it than disco. I think the Supremes would've succeeded with a straight r&b sound, like the Emotions. Sure some of the songs were danceable, but not necessarily disco. And of course the Emotions had beautiful mellow cuts too. The Supremes should've been going in that direction. Of course "Dance Fever" is a bit funkier than anything I would've given them, but I think it might have worked.

[RanRan79]

the Hollands struck gold with Walking, not with their Sup 75 material. and the material Hal Davis provided just wasn't of the caliber either.

with IGLMHDTW you have:

1. a fierce and powerful track
2. actual verses that make sense and are intelligent
3. very sing-able melody and chorus
4. high-flying vocal work with the backgrounds - nicely showing off the group
5. sassy, confident "you go girl" lead from Scherrie
6. the great and interesting vocal flourishes from Susaye

finally the group had a sound and style that was unique and appropriate. hadn't had something IMO that fit so well since the Frank Wilson work. The Hollands did a masterful job of developing that sound further with the tracks on MS&S - Wheel, Let Yourself, Tied down and Love I never Knew are sensational follow up material from Walking. then the broadened the sound with the more experimental tracks like Dream Machine and Come Into.

just a shame things fell apart and they never received the exposure and chart positions they deserved

I just think nobody was interested in the Supremes doing that kind of music, as great as some of those cuts were. "Heart Walking" was just absolutely catchy. The fact that it did as well as it did with what was apparently as little promo as Motown would give it, speaks volumes about just how special a song it happened to be. And everything you outlined about it is spot on. Had Motown pushed it like it did "Hangover", might it have gone top 10? The world will never know.

[RanRan79]

Even Let My Heart Do the Walking - only made it to around number 40 nationally. Basically, the Supremes were way old by then although it was nice to see them come back.

I'm still surprised how quickly that little resurrection fizzled. I think if they'd come up with an edit of High Energy, it would have had a chance to do better.

But certain members did not want to see Susaye make a big splash and take over the group.

"High Energy" definitely had potential. I am not a fan of Susaye's voice but the song has the makings of a potential hit. I hardly doubt anyone in the group was concerned with Susaye making a big splash and taking over. She was the main one all over the place during the live performances, although they were all competing in the harmony [[for some silly reason).

[RanRan79]

Bend a little was the gem along with Sha La Bandit.
Not really liking Dance Fever

"Bend A Little" is growing on me. I love the version of "Sha La Bandit" on the 70s Anthology with all three sharing leads, but I don't care for the Scherrie only versions.

[sup_fan]

You've made the silly lyrics argument before about various songs and it always leaves me scratching my head, as if the record buying public in the 60s and 70s cared about song lyrics. Not when songs like "Louie, Louie" and "Fly Robin Fly" [[and "up, up to the sky" it's only lyrics) were major hits. And it's not like they were the exceptions to the rule. The 60s and 70s were a hodgepodge of lyrical content taking the music world by storm. All anyone seemed to care about is how does the song make them feel. Does it make them dance? Does it make them sad? Happy? I hardly think people would've heard Scherrie singing about having the dance fever and how she can't stop and would've said "what the fuck is this shit about?"

As good as "Recover" is, most of that kind of stuff just sounds too disco. "Dance Fever" and "Mr. Boogieman" [[another one that I absolutely hated upon first listen) had more of a funky vibe to it than disco. I think the Supremes would've succeeded with a straight r&b sound, like the Emotions. Sure some of the songs were danceable, but not necessarily disco. And of course the Emotions had beautiful mellow cuts too. The Supremes should've been going in that direction. Of course "Dance Fever" is a bit funkier than anything I would've given them, but I think it might have worked.

Oh i know that there are novelty songs and silly songs that become hits. It isn't that the public won't ever accept that. But look at the vast majority of the Sup catalog - the vast majority of their songs are built on strong melody and strong lyrics. sure not every single one but that majority of their hits definitely are. Songs like Symphony, Love Child, Someday, Ladder, Stoned Love, Reflections, Love is here, my world is empty, i'm gonna make you love me, etc etc.

That's one reason i struggle with many of Jean's live performances - the Frank Wilson music was SOOOOOO focused on melody and lyric. when jean would ad lib the hell out of the track, IMO it suffered. not denying her vocal talents. but some songs dictate a very straight and clean approach. the power of the words.

anyway i just think HMM was too corny and silly to justify the girls. the vocals are very impressive on it - great 3-part work. with a better story line and a Scherrie lead, it would have worked much better

[sup_fan]

"Bend A Little" is growing on me. I love the version of "Sha La Bandit" on the 70s Anthology with all three sharing leads, but I don't care for the Scherrie only versions.

Bend is fine - but i certainly do not view it as the "lost magical hit that could have been"

Better than some of the other early Scherrie stuff but no where near as good as the later work

[RanRan79]

Bend is fine - but i certainly do not view it as the "lost magical hit that could have been"

Better than some of the other early Scherrie stuff but no where near as good as the later work

Yeah, I don't know about "Bend" being a hit, but it's definitely a cool cut. I didn't care for it at first, but I'm starting to get into it.

[sup_fan]

i was searching on here for some old EE posts and ran across an older comment from George about some of the unearthed tracks for the Let Yourself Go set. He mentioned they ran out of time with doing an extended or new mix of LYG. Also said there's a much longer version of Where Do I Go From Here that could have been a potential 12". would be interesting to here. as is right now, it's a perfectly fine song but nothing overly exciting. but perhaps that extended version might have some components that could have added some sizzle

[Boogiedown]

RE: DANCE FEVER : Boy Hal Davis really failed The Ladies with this one . Sounds like he wanted to see if there was some Pointer Sisters route to take them [[ although vocally I hear Patti)




[[and what's with the glaring harmonica that shows up halfway in the song ?)

[RanRan79]

i was searching on here for some old EE posts and ran across an older comment from George about some of the unearthed tracks for the Let Yourself Go set. He mentioned they ran out of time with doing an extended or new mix of LYG. Also said there's a much longer version of Where Do I Go From Here that could have been a potential 12". would be interesting to here. as is right now, it's a perfectly fine song but nothing overly exciting. but perhaps that extended version might have some components that could have added some sizzle

"Where Do I Go From Here" is a great song IMO, but I just don't hear it attaching itself to the public in the way the Supremes deserved. Forgetting about it's worthiness as a single, on it's own I love it. The track is nice but it's Scherrie's voice that really reels me in.

[sup_fan]

Where is perfectly fine enough. I just don't find it special. Scherrie of course is a rock star and makes it work. maybe more 3-part harmony on the choruses. the backgrounds aren't too exciting. "Tell Me" "Where"

i do like the bridge "beeee-fore you leave" Wait a minute baby!"

[daviddh]

I heard a remix of Where Do I Go From Here that was really good. Now this is what gets me with Universal. Why not release the new LYG dance mix now as a new single???
We are waiting Universal....give us something...
Download???? Something....
I take a single or two

[sup_fan]

I heard a remix of Where Do I Go From Here that was really good. Now this is what gets me with Universal. Why not release the new LYG dance mix now as a new single???
We are waiting Universal....give us something...
Download???? Something....
I take a single or two

i was crushed when i heard George and Andy wanted to do another mix of LYG and then ran out of time. that's one of my all time fav Sup songs of any lineup. Had always hoped there was something more in the vaults with it. I'm guessing if there was they would have included as an alt version. I'm assuming they were going to tinker with it and do a 2015 [[or whatever year it was) version

[marv2]

So, I first heard "Dance Fever" on a bootleg someone gave me back around 2001. Hated it. Absolutely hated it. Then comes the released mix on the LYG set. Still hated it. Absolutely hated it. Probably didn't even listen all the way through since the song wasn't new to me, and never bothered to listen to it again. But last night as I was listening to music, "Dance Fever" comes on and rather than quickly skip it, I figured to just let the music play. Imagine my surprise when I realized I was really digging this song. Everything about it, Scherrie's fantastic vocals, the background vocals, the track, everything was getting to me. It sounds like something the Pointer Sisters might have done around that time. Very funky.

While the Scherrie years produced some good to great music, very little of it I feel would've given the girls a surefire hit. I'm convinced that if "Dance Fever" had hit the street this may have been the cut that put the Supremes back on top. But I'm interested in what you all think about it.

I think this song was recorded in 1975, two years before the release of "Saturday Night Fever", 3 years before "Night Fever" topped the charts and 4 years before the popular TV show "Dance Fever"!

[daviddh]

Gonna Let My Heart was a tremendous return to form for the Supremes.
Great song.great vocals.
Should have hit top ten.no doubt.wtf.
Motowns lack of support n the Supremes inner structure was crumbling. Why invest if.....but BG did offer to manage them and he was told NO Thanks

[TomatoTom123]

This is proper funky... reminds me a bit of a Commodores track from the same time... I like it a lot!

[Boogiedown]

I think this song was recorded in 1975, two years before the release of "Saturday Night Fever", 3 years before "Night Fever" topped the charts and 4 years before the popular TV show "Dance Fever"!

True ! ................but...... not before: