As I said in the thread about the album's re-release, my introduction to Mary's debut album was via a vinyl rip that someone made for me. As many of you are probably aware, there are some vinyl rips that sound almost as good as a remastered cd, while others are painful reminders that it's not a remastered cd. The rip I had wasn't exactly painful, but it was very apparent this was a copy from a well worn album. Upon listening to the EE, it's even more glaringly apparent how the sound is affected from one source to another. I feel like I'm hearing Mary's debut album for the first time. Overall my feelings on the album hasn't changed. This was not the direction for Mary. Much of the album did not fit her or play to her strengths. However, the album isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was as recently as a few weeks ago. Thoughts:

-"Red Hot", a song I've previously thought of as absolutely horrible, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I kind of like it now. That track is real nice. The "Red hot, this feeling is red hot, just for you" fits Mary very well. The problem is a lot of the song doesn't show Mary off in a good light. There's portions of the song where her voice is almost like nails on a chalkboard. She's screeching through some of it. But then there are other portions of the song where she's in the groove and I dig it. I wonder if the song were slowed down to a sexier groove and there's never a point where Mary has to really raise her voice, if it would've worked for her? It's like the song is tailormade for Mary in theory but is disappointing when executed.

-"You Make Me Feel So Good" is pedestrian disco. Nothing special about it. However, Mary handles it very well. Yes, her strength is ballads and smoother cuts, but she has proven before that she could handle songs with a faster tempo and I think this is a good example. She sounds pretty damn good here.

-"I Love A Warm Summer's Night" would've been interesting to see how well it may have done as a single. It reminds me of some of the stuff Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was doing at the time. Mary sounds great and comfortable. The track is really nice. Easily one of the standouts from the album.

-"Pick Up the Pieces" I've commented on a million times as it's been the one song from the album that I previously rated well enough to keep in constant rotation. IMO if Mary were going to have a hit from this album, this cut was it. It's slow and sexy. The groove is great. Mary sounds great. As great as I thought the song was before, having it now in an excellent condition, it's even better than I originally thought.

-"You're the Light That Guides My Way" has it's moments, but I think it would've been better with a different track. The lyrics are almost religious. I think had the lyrics been paired with a Natalie Cole type track instead of this generic disco it wouldn't be much better. As is, it's listenable and that's about as good a compliment as I can give it.

-"Midnight Dancer" probably should've been the first single if Motown was hellbent on trying to sale Mary to the discos. I find the song to be pretty enjoyable even if it's still not anything that knocks my socks off. Mary sings it pretty well. The track is cool.

-"I've Got What You Need" is the one track on the album I still find unlistenable. Is it a bad song? I guess not, but there's something about it that I just can't stand. I sat through it once during my initial listen to the expanded edition. I won't do it again.

So yeah, I stick with my same opinion that the album wasn't going to do Mary any favors. Any producer who understood her voice would've never handled it this way. That being said, the album isn't anywhere as bad as I once labeled it. I can't remember all of the adjectives I've previously used to describe the album but it all basically boiled down to me calling the album "shit". It's actually better than shit. Huge thumbs up to Andy and George for working their magic.