A Simple Thing Like Cry

[RanRan79]

I've never wasted an opportunity in this forum to mention how much I adore the Surrender album. Definitely my favorite Diana Ross album. I can play it from top to bottom [[or front to back, depending on the format) without skipping a single cut. Not sure there's another Diana album that I can say that about. Anyway, this is my go-to Surrender cut. She sang the hell out of this one. Anyone else a fan?

[sup_fan]

oh this is a great one. so underrated. i didn't get it until later in my career collecting so i wasn't as familiar with it as with other lps. but it's thoroughly enjoyable - all tracks

but if we were to compare - i'd probably pick The Boss over this one

[reese]

SURRENDER is one of my favorite Diana albums as well.

Re A SIMPLE THING LIKE CRY, I wonder what happened to Diana before she went into the session? She sounds as if she has just had her heart broken. She is absolutely wailing on this one, especially near the fade.

[Bluebrock]

oh this is a great one. so underrated. i didn't get it until later in my career collecting so i wasn't as familiar with it as with other lps. but it's thoroughly enjoyable - all tracks

but if we were to compare - i'd probably pick The Boss over this one

For me it is a straight four way fight between Diana Ross70, Surrender, Baby it's Me and The Boss. Fantastic production, very strong songs and of course outstanding vocals. These would be my desert Island Discs.

[Ollie9]

If anyone ever tells me Diana Ross cannot sing I always direct them to this song. Nick and Val really knew how to coax a performance out of her. Now if only just one of those rca efforts had been an A & S production all might be forgiven lol.
I love the soulful simplicity of the song and wish Diana had recorded more material in that tradition. The vocal interplay with the backing vocals at the end is terrific. Reminds me of the end of “Sparkle”.

[blkfrost]

I agree totally about this song. So underrated, but she sings her ass off on this song. It is my favorite from the Surrender album, even though I love the entire album.

[Boogiedown]

I'll give this one a thumbs up and worthy of future revisits....

[Circa 1824]

I've never wasted an opportunity in this forum to mention how much I adore the Surrender album. Definitely my favorite Diana Ross album. I can play it from top to bottom [[or front to back, depending on the format) without skipping a single cut. Not sure there's another Diana album that I can say that about. Anyway, this is my go-to Surrender cut. She sang the hell out of this one. Anyone else a fan?

I’m triple digging it.

[gman]

I liked [[and still do) side 1 better than side 2....although Didn't You Know is my fav song on here….followed by Remember Me....I like Baby It's Me and the Debut LP the best...for a comp LP, To Love Again [[Cd Expanded Version)

[florence]

Wouldn't be one of my favourite albums although Remember Me is my all time favourite Diana Ross track and I love I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You which I think would have made a great single in the UK.

Considering Diana was pretty hot at the time coming off a successful debut solo album and Mountain and Remember Me which made the top 20 [[Top 10 in Cashbox and Record World) and sold over 500k you've got to wonder why it only reached #56 in the album chart - the US public certainly voted with their feet.

I wonder if Reach Out I'll Be There could have killed it?

As an attempt to recreate Mountain imo it failed pretty miserably which probably impacted on the album.

[sup_fan]

For me it is a straight four way fight between Diana Ross70, Surrender, Baby it's Me and The Boss. Fantastic production, very strong songs and of course outstanding vocals. These would be my desert Island Discs.

agreed - if in the panic of the evacuation, any one would be good to take lol. it probably just comes down to which songs really fall into "loved" category. I adore the title track to The Boss. Mountain too. Surrender and Remember are wonderful but not quite in the LOVE category

[Bluebrock]

SURRENDER is one of my favorite Diana albums as well.

Re A SIMPLE THING LIKE CRY, I wonder what happened to Diana before she went into the session? She sounds as if she has just had her heart broken. She is absolutely wailing on this one, especially near the fade.

It was Nick and Val coaxing the kind of emotional performance out of Diana that only they could. Simply sublime.

[sup_fan]

Wouldn't be one of my favourite albums although Remember Me is my all time favourite Diana Ross track and I love I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You which I think would have made a great single in the UK.

Considering Diana was pretty hot at the time coming off a successful debut solo album and Mountain and Remember Me which made the top 20 [[Top 10 in Cashbox and Record World) and sold over 500k you've got to wonder why it only reached #56 in the album chart - the US public certainly voted with their feet.

I wonder if Reach Out I'll Be There could have killed it?

As an attempt to recreate Mountain imo it failed pretty miserably which probably impacted on the album.

this is mostly due to the schizophrenic approach Motown was taking to the release dates of her material in the US

Reach out 4/70
DR lp - 6/70
Mountain 7/70
Everything 11/70
Remember Me 12/70
Diana! 3/71
Reach out i'll be there 4/71
surrender single 7/71
Surrender lp 7/71
I'm still waiting 10/71

there was SO much material being released and so out of order. the whole Everything Is Everything and I'm Still Waiting problem really messes things up. I get it they wanted an album for holiday shopping period and perhaps Surrender just wasn't available or completed. both Remember me and Surrender were completed in time so either could have been the follow up to Mountain. but not sure of the rest of the album.

[Bluebrock]

Wouldn't be one of my favourite albums although Remember Me is my all time favourite Diana Ross track and I love I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You which I think would have made a great single in the UK.

Considering Diana was pretty hot at the time coming off a successful debut solo album and Mountain and Remember Me which made the top 20 [[Top 10 in Cashbox and Record World) and sold over 500k you've got to wonder why it only reached #56 in the album chart - the US public certainly voted with their feet.

I wonder if Reach Out I'll Be There could have killed it?

As an attempt to recreate Mountain imo it failed pretty miserably which probably impacted on the album.

I can't give back the love was certainly considered for single release in the States, but i am not sure about the UK.

[RanRan79]

oh this is a great one. so underrated. i didn't get it until later in my career collecting so i wasn't as familiar with it as with other lps. but it's thoroughly enjoyable - all tracks

but if we were to compare - i'd probably pick The Boss over this one

The Boss is another fav. As is Touch Me, Baby It's Me and Everything. But I can skip "I'm In the World" and "All For One" on the Boss; "We Need You" and "Imagine" on Touch Me; the title track on Baby"; and "Come Together" and "Long And Winding Road" on Everything. I can sit through every single cut on Surrender and not be disappointed.

[RanRan79]

SURRENDER is one of my favorite Diana albums as well.

Re A SIMPLE THING LIKE CRY, I wonder what happened to Diana before she went into the session? She sounds as if she has just had her heart broken. She is absolutely wailing on this one, especially near the fade.

Yup! She sounds like she is really living this one. I wonder if she and Gordy were breaking up around this recording. That would explain some of the passion.

[RanRan79]

If anyone ever tells me Diana Ross cannot sing I always direct them to this song. Nick and Val really knew how to coax a performance out of her. Now if only just one of those rca efforts had been an A & S production all might be forgiven lol.
I love the soulful simplicity of the song and wish Diana had recorded more material in that tradition. The vocal interplay with the backing vocals at the end is terrific. Reminds me of the end of “Sparkle”.

This one and a few others. Diana was gifted, but her voice was thin, and unfortunately to some, if a Black woman's singing voice isn't robust, it's a negative. Some thin voiced singers get a pass if they can sing really high, but Diana's range is [[was) incapable of hitting Susaye or even Jean type notes. The lady did the most with what God gave her. Surrender album is a great example of this.

[detmotownguy]

Haven’t listened to Surrender in years, but Is there a left over DRATS/Sups on it? Maybe Can’t Give Back? As I remember there was a song that at least sounded like a DRATS or Sups.

[reese]

Yup! She sounds like she is really living this one. I wonder if she and Gordy were breaking up around this recording. That would explain some of the passion.

Probably so. I think it was recorded around the time of the end of Berry and the beginning of Bob.

In an interview, when David Nathan mentioned her impassioned vocals on this album, Diana answered that she had lived some by that point and also that she trusted herself more as a vocalist.

[reese]

The funny thing is my cousin gave me a copy of SURRENDER that actually had a cut-out hole in the vinyl. On Side 1, it affected the end of I CAN'T GIVE BACK THE LOVE I FEEL FOR YOU. On Side 2, if affected the end of A SIMPLE THING LIKE CRY and the beginning of DID YOU READ THE MORNING PAPER?

For years, I missed the great ending of CRY because I had to lift the needle so that it wouldn't get messed up. It was many years before I finally bought another copy of the album.

[thommg]

I don't think there is a bad track on Surrender. All The Befores is genius track, the vocal melding perfectly with the setting of the song. I always love when Diana does this type of song [[Summertime, More And More, for examples). But she showed so many sides on this LP, from soft, injured, to fierce and forceful. It's very interesting to me now that so much was released in such a short period of time - 3 albums in just over a year, not to mention all the singles. I know that I didn't have the money for all of those at the time. And I think the Diana! soundtrack LP had to wait over a year before I could pick that one up.

[detmotownguy]

When I was a kid I remember hiding this album behind some obscure bin because I didn’t have the money to buy it. When I had enough cash I walked 2 mi to the Spartan store and the album was where I hid it. The best part was it rang up at $.99.

[RanRan79]

Probably so. I think it was recorded around the time of the end of Berry and the beginning of Bob.

In an interview, when David Nathan mentioned her impassioned vocals on this album, Diana answered that she had lived some by that point and also that she trusted herself more as a vocalist.

Makes a lot of sense.

[RanRan79]

The funny thing is my cousin gave me a copy of SURRENDER that actually had a cut-out hole in the vinyl. On Side 1, it affected the end of I CAN'T GIVE BACK THE LOVE I FEEL FOR YOU. On Side 2, if affected the end of A SIMPLE THING LIKE CRY and the beginning of DID YOU READ THE MORNING PAPER?

For years, I missed the great ending of CRY because I had to lift the needle so that it wouldn't get messed up. It was many years before I finally bought another copy of the album.

Well glad you've had the chance to rectify this musical crime!