Jean, Lynda & Mary......what if...?

[supremesouluk2]

What if instead of the Jimmy Webb album, Jean, Lynda and Mary did a Bacharach and David album?
What songs would you use? Who would take lead?

[jim aka jtigre99]

I don't know if that would be such a good idea since Jean Terrell actually sounded more like Dionne Warwick than Diana Ross. Plus Webb was once with Motown, not sure if Motown would be happy with Bacharach and David. Still, Terrell would sound good on Walk On by, etc. Not sure how the critics or public would react since Jean had such a similar voice, would the public think well they are trying to sound like their old lead singer and now they are trying to sound like Dionne Warwick. I am sure Mary might get one lead, but not sure what song.

[RanRan79]

I don't particularly care for the idea. Unless the approach was very soulful 70s and someone other than Bacharach/David were handling production. Think Martha and Vandellas' "Anyone Who Had A Heart" from Black Magic. In that direction, here's my lineup:

Walk On By...Jean
The Look Of Love...Mary
I Wake Up Crying...Jean
Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself...Lynda
Make It Easy On Yourself...Jean
Close To You...Group Harmony
Are You There With Another Girl...Jean
I'm A Better Woman For Having Loved You...Jean
Long Ago Tomorrow...Mary
Come And Get Me...Lynda

[TYK1986]

I agree with Walk on By. I think Jean would sound good on that. Didn't Scherrie record A house is not a home.

[sup_fan]

i'm not a huge fan of the idea. The Sups had already long since had this market so i don't see this collaboration doing anything for them. to me it takes their sound back to what a lot of the DRATS music was. and frankly just not very exciting.

[TYK1986]

Sup fan have you ever heard Scherrie sing "a house is not a home"? It's Burt Bacharach but definitely worth a listen. I prefer her version to Dionne's. Also the instrumental track is less boring and Scherrie adds soul with her voice.

[gman]

Perhaps they should have done Sing Holland Dozier Holland Vol 2???? this most likely wouldn't have happened during Jean's run because of the legal battles...but it would have been a good idea, and very possible during the Scherrie years.

[sup_fan]

we've talked in a few threads on here about some other outside producers MJL could have worked with that might have been a bit more productive of a combination.

I do have to say that i don't necessarily think the idea of JML working with Webb was bad. this singer/songwriter trend was VERY hot at the time. i just think the end result failed due to the many issues we've discussed.

Also i do wonder who on earth decided no to release any singles?!?!? Same with Dynamite. just baffling. it's practically unheard of to release an lp with 0 singles.

[RanRan79]

Yeah, that's why my idea was more of "Supremes Sing Bacharach and David" as opposed to "Supremes Produced and Arranged By Bacharach and David". There's no avoiding the fact that B&D are among the greatest to ever do it. Their compositions are timeless. In the hands of Jean, Mary and Lynda, the interpretations may have been among the best. But it couldn't be that MORish feel that most of their songs seem to have. It was a different day at the point of JML. So if you take the compositions and pair them with somebody who could make the songs relevant for the time, it may have proved a better seller than JW.

Of course, I'm also of the opinion that these kinds of "Sing" albums were old hat at this point, and if the goal was to make the Supremes as relevant as possible, reaching back into the album of cover songs may not have been the right move.

[RanRan79]

Sup fan have you ever heard Scherrie sing "a house is not a home"? It's Burt Bacharach but definitely worth a listen. I prefer her version to Dionne's. Also the instrumental track is less boring and Scherrie adds soul with her voice.

Glass House's version of "House" is a knock out. This, and the Supremes/Tempts version, are really the only two versions I like, and Glass House's version with Scherrie is by far my favorite of the two.

But that's what I mean. Those B&H cuts in the hands of other producers would've been something great to hear, even if it didn't put the Supremes back on the map.

[supremesouluk2]

I don't particularly care for the idea. Unless the approach was very soulful 70s and someone other than Bacharach/David were handling production. Think Martha and Vandellas' "Anyone Who Had A Heart" from Black Magic. In that direction, here's my lineup:

Walk On By...Jean
The Look Of Love...Mary
I Wake Up Crying...Jean
Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself...Lynda
Make It Easy On Yourself...Jean
Close To You...Group Harmony
Are You There With Another Girl...Jean
I'm A Better Woman For Having Loved You...Jean
Long Ago Tomorrow...Mary
Come And Get Me...Lynda

Nice song selection

[gman]

I like most of Glass House material....If It Ain't Love is one of my favs. Sherrie does knock "A House..." out of the ballpark

[BayouMotownMan]

I don't think a Bacharach lp would have done any better than the Jimmy Webb lp. Diana was making her comeback, Gordy had invested heavily in LSTB and Motown could not have survived long had the movie failed. The overwhelming success of Diana and the movie sealed The Supremes' fate. And Jean knew it.

[johnjeb]

I also don't think a Supremes Bacharach & David album would have helped the group. It might have been too similar in style to the Floy Joy album produced by Smokey which didn't race up the charts. It's too bad Stevie Wonder wasn't enlisted at this time but I guess he was working with Syreeta.

I had always wished that The JMC Supremes recorded "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". However maybe the JML Supremes might have been a better fit for this and other Norman Whitfield songs. He had worked with Gladys and later Yvonne Fair. He would have given The Supremes a more soulful and edgier sound. Even "Just My Imagination" would have been perfect for JML. It might have worked.

If not a Supremes/Whitfield collaboration then maybe a Supremes Sing Motown 70s style with producers like Willie Hutch and Stevie recording The Supremes singing Motown songs from the early 70s. Maybe a Supremes Sing Norman Whitfield or Sing Motown would have charted as successfully as A' Go-Go did for the DMF Supremes in 1966.