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  1. #1
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    Clean video Supremes MSS Montreux 1976

    Thoughts?


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    Only watched a snippet. Great quality.

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    Quote Originally Posted by khansperac View Post
    Only watched a snippet. Great quality.

    Amazing quality - I wish everything was this clear - thanks for posting!!

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    stunning quality in both picture and sound. this was one of the first bootleg tapes i got decades ago. and at the time the quality was pretty good. there were a few squiggles and jumps. picture was much more washed out than this of course. and the upper ranges of the sound wasn't nearly as crisp

    overall this is a quite a solid MSS live performance. sure the choreography gets a bit out of control a few times, like during Walking. but on both HE and Heavy, M and S are back at mic stands providing lovely backing harmonies and Susaye is out front. it's a relief to just see and enjoy them standing and singing.

    Scherrie is wonderful of course on Maybe This Time and My World. My World is really a showstopper for her - i think this is one of my fav versions. Again, M and S stand back and provide strong backing vocals and Scherrie is up front and shining.

    This was an early show for this lineup. Susaye did her stage debut in April 76 I think at the Royal Hawaiian in Virginia. this video is i believe from May when the girls headed to Europe for a tour

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    Scherrie is incredible on the reinvention of “My World Is Empty”. A real powerhouse. I just wish Mary had performed something from one of their albums as opposed to “The Way We Were”.
    All three women are in superb vocal form here.
    I agree with sup in that it’s nice the choreography is kept to a minimum, although they appear to be sweating buckets.

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    Talented performers, dated flailin' and wailin' performance. At this point, the 'Who-premes' & the public had moved on.

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    Love how it's the whole performance instead of snippets I've seen appearing on Youtube over the years. I have to agree with PeaceNharmony to a certain extend. I can't stand the Supremes hits medley and think is was always a hot mess, even with Jean and Diana. I only tend to like, My world is empty because Scherrie can be so dramatic. Also never been a huge fan of the standards but performing in front of the audience, I see in this video, it might have been the right choice. I think by then, not having a few huge hits, hurt the whole show as a whole. I mean mid 65' - 66' people were probably waiting for the hits like Stop, You can't hurry love etc but by 76' there was only I'm Gonna let my Heart do the walking, I love the song but it was still only a top 40 single. Wonder why they omitted all the earlier 70's singles.

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    I agree about the hits medley. These poor girls are practically tripping over themselves keeping up with the tempo!! Scherrie slowed down My World is Empty and it totally worked. Seems like nobody likes the speeded up version of the old hits. They should have done full length versions of the hits IMO and scattered them throughout the show. And is it me, or does Mary seem to be almost glaring at the audience from time to time?

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    Quote Originally Posted by TYK1986 View Post
    Love how it's the whole performance instead of snippets I've seen appearing on Youtube over the years. I have to agree with PeaceNharmony to a certain extend. I can't stand the Supremes hits medley and think is was always a hot mess, even with Jean and Diana. I only tend to like, My world is empty because Scherrie can be so dramatic. Also never been a huge fan of the standards but performing in front of the audience, I see in this video, it might have been the right choice. I think by then, not having a few huge hits, hurt the whole show as a whole. I mean mid 65' - 66' people were probably waiting for the hits like Stop, You can't hurry love etc but by 76' there was only I'm Gonna let my Heart do the walking, I love the song but it was still only a top 40 single. Wonder why they omitted all the earlier 70's singles.
    i agree that the hits medley is the low point of the show. Of course the group had a zillion hits by 76 so to do a Supremes' show, you have to find a way to squeeze as many in as possible. and this was a condensed show as they were part of a festival. in the main shows, they also did Stoned Love, He's My Man, Early Morning Love. with the MSC lineup they did the 2 medleys - the 60 and 70s. but i've not heard a bootleg show of MSS doing the 70s medley.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    I agree about the hits medley. These poor girls are practically tripping over themselves keeping up with the tempo!! Scherrie slowed down My World is Empty and it totally worked. Seems like nobody likes the speeded up version of the old hits. They should have done full length versions of the hits IMO and scattered them throughout the show. And is it me, or does Mary seem to be almost glaring at the audience from time to time?
    or if they did do a medley it needn't be to frantic and crazy

    Maybe This Time is another highlight. although by 76 it was a bit dated. but damn scherrie just tears it up.

    with the infamous Caesar's Palace show, there are points where you clearly hear the audience really respond to the group. Maybe This Time is one. whether or not it was a packed house, on the recording you hear thunderous applause. and same with some other tunes. but the disasterous hits medley is followed by the most tepid audience response.

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    It's a quality and well-performed Vegas / lounge act for sure. I wonder if at that time Vegas, Reno etc could have been a semi-permanent venue for the group and allowed them an escape from the rigors of a changing record business as the lounge circuit did for so many performers [Bobby Darin, Dion, Connie Francis come to mind) who the record-buying audience had largely left behind?
    Last edited by PeaceNHarmony; 04-27-2021 at 01:56 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    It's a quality and well-performed Vegas / lounge act for sure. I wonder if at that time Vegas, Reno etc could have been a semi-permanent venue for the group and allowed them an escape from the rigors of a changing record business as the lounge circuit did for so many performers [Bobby Darin, Dion, Connie Francis come to mind) who the record-buying audience had largely left behind?
    the group had had a standing engagement with the Frontier through early 72. i think the last date was Feb 72 with MJC. I'm not sure Lynda played Vegas.

    MSC played the Riviera in April/May 74

    MSS played Aladdin in Set 76 and then Caesar's in Dec 76.

    In mary's book she says that the reviews at the Riviera weren't spectacular. not sure how the Aladdin date went but we all know the Caesar's gig was a bomb and cut short.

    So unfortunately the group couldn't seem to get things together in a way to secure even occasional bookings in Vegas. much less a residency.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    the group had had a standing engagement with the Frontier through early 72. i think the last date was Feb 72 with MJC. I'm not sure Lynda played Vegas.

    MSC played the Riviera in April/May 74

    MSS played Aladdin in Set 76 and then Caesar's in Dec 76.

    In mary's book she says that the reviews at the Riviera weren't spectacular. not sure how the Aladdin date went but we all know the Caesar's gig was a bomb and cut short.

    So unfortunately the group couldn't seem to get things together in a way to secure even occasional bookings in Vegas. much less a residency.
    Interesting info. My memory of Mary's books is not great at this point ... I wonder what the Vegas+ circuit was looking for that the group was no longer providing? Were they in main showrooms rather than lounges? Perhaps crowd-size expectations were just too high.

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    ps: I don't doubt that the crowds loved 'Maybe' but ... it's really ghastly. If ever there were a solo song, MTT is it. Don't even get me started on the bump-and-grind tempo and dance moves. It almost comes off like an SNL parody. And, BobbyC, yes, Mary's 'I eat my young' try at fierceness just really doesn't work.

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    Vegas/Atlantic City and other such show biz towns are looking for newer nostalgia acts--people like Billy Idol, EnVogue, etc. 80's/90's nostalgia is big time popular these days. Hell Rick James was even playing these venues!

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    On her little spoken intro to High Energy, Mary looks like she's going to attack!

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    I remember reading an article in Billboard from the 70s while doing all of my Supremes' chart run data. It might have been 71 or so? but there were some real struggles with the various show rooms. don't know if it was due to the economy in the early 70s or what. but seems like i remember show rooms were struggling. some were closing maybe?

    I don't know really anything about the history of Vegas and all, the economics with how they handle shows and major entertainers, consolidation among the properties, etc.

    were the "residencies" even a thing back then? sure the Rat Pack. maybe Ann Margaret? but groups like the Supremes wouldn't have been there for more than a couple of weeks at a time. at least back in the 60s and 70s. sure if the girls had stuck together and maintained a strong following, they might have been able to do something in 80s or 90s.

    my opinion is, just like how we've been talking about their live shows being a mess, i'm sure Vegas didn't overlook that. the internal problems within the group would not have helped either. the group had resorted during MJL days to rehashing their TCB era shows which made no sense.

    also even the MJC shows prior to that were essentially the same concept they'd been doing for years. sure some songs were swapped out but they group didn't really provide a totally re-invented package. so there's less and less excitement to see them

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    I am still amazed at how those microphone cords didn't get tangled up and those scarfs in High Energy were a mess.
    Last edited by captainjames; 04-27-2021 at 05:45 PM.

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    ive only ever seen post Ross - Supremes perform "Up The Ladder" on Sullivan..so im seeing this group for the first time - imo they are trying too hard and the band timing is off..the scarf/high energy thing was a hot mess...theyve got the pipes for sure but something about it just dosent gel ...its not bad but it isnt great [[ although i love them still using Gil's arrangement of "I Hear A Symphony" in the overture)..its somewhat frenzied and needs more polish and the lights needed to be dimmed that would have helped..sorry i know how much forum members love them and I dont wish to offend...

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    ive only ever seen post Ross - Supremes perform "Up The Ladder" on Sullivan..so im seeing this group for the first time - imo they are trying too hard and the band timing is off..the scarf/high energy thing was a hot mess...theyve got the pipes for sure but something about it just dosent gel ...its not bad but it isnt great [[ although i love them still using Gil's arrangement of "I Hear A Symphony" in the overture)..its somewhat frenzied and needs more polish and the lights needed to be dimmed that would have helped..sorry i know how much forum members love them and I dont wish to offend...
    definitely appreciate your opinions and sharing your thoughts that's what is so fun here. all the different points of view

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    see i don't mind the scarves for HE. sort of the dance of the 7 veils lol. it was a little something extra to make things interesting

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    Mary was a Lena Horne fan, and Lena was a tad known for her icy, defiant glare; I'm wondering if Mary was influenced by Lena?

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    No time now, but I'll check this out later. Got as far as the opening number. So far, so good. I have audio of this show but I think I've only listened to it once and it's not anywhere near as good quality as this video, so I'm definitely looking forward to it.

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    First off this was a modified version of their current show . Several songs were missing from this set including You’re what’s missing in my life, he’s my man, the dream sequence etc. also this was the show in which Pedro gave Mary a black eye before going on if anyone noticed her make up during this performance. This would certainly alter how she performed that night. Keep that in mind while being overly critical of this performance.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blackguy69 View Post
    First off this was a modified version of their current show . Several songs were missing from this set including You’re what’s missing in my life, he’s my man, the dream sequence etc. also this was the show in which Pedro gave Mary a black eye before going on if anyone noticed her make up during this performance. This would certainly alter how she performed that night. Keep that in mind while being overly critical of this performance.
    it would be great to get more of the bootleg shows from early 76. there are a couple clips on youtube from the Royal Hawaiian. we have HMM and [[oddly) Tossin and Turnin. surprising they pulled that back into the show

    the HE album was released in April and the Mike Douglas episode aired in May. So i wonder if Teardrops was in the show? they did it live on tv but that doesn't always mean it was in the stage act. This is at the point of the new album so it's always interesting to figure out when the stage act changed. We know they did HE, Walking, Teardrops and Missing, in one form or another, live. then Lose You/Boat were part of the HE videos a year later.

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    i have a bootleg of MSS at Bachelor III from early summer 76. set list

    We've only just begun/Tonight
    The way we were/maybe this time
    60s medley
    A song for you/how lucky
    He's My Man
    You're what's missing [[includes band intro)
    He aint' heavy
    Walking

    seems like a rather short list. but the show runs just about 1 hour.

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    Teardrops was a part of that show someone did post it years ago.
    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i have a bootleg of MSS at Bachelor III from early summer 76. set list

    We've only just begun/Tonight
    The way we were/maybe this time
    60s medley
    A song for you/how lucky
    He's My Man
    You're what's missing [[includes band intro)
    He aint' heavy
    Walking

    seems like a rather short list. but the show runs just about 1 hour.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i have a bootleg of MSS at Bachelor III from early summer 76. set list

    We've only just begun/Tonight
    The way we were/maybe this time
    60s medley
    A song for you/how lucky
    He's My Man
    You're what's missing [[includes band intro)
    He aint' heavy
    Walking

    seems like a rather short list. but the show runs just about 1 hour.
    A lot of cover songs. A manic 60s medley. The oversinging at times. Magic Genie sequence for awhile. The groundwork was being laid for the Madison Square Garden fiasco when they got booed off the stage. I read the die hard Supreme fans loved the show, but general public didn't. Didn't anyone try to intervene to change up the live act?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spreadinglove21 View Post
    A lot of cover songs. A manic 60s medley. The oversinging at times. Magic Genie sequence for awhile. The groundwork was being laid for the Madison Square Garden fiasco when they got booed off the stage. I read the die hard Supreme fans loved the show, but general public didn't. Didn't anyone try to intervene to change up the live act?
    this is only my opinion but my guess is that it was too costly to totally reinvent the show. an example being that susaye was doing solo numbers jean had done. He Ain't Heavy and also she did lead on People. now it certainly could be that she also really liked those songs. I don't know and certainly wasn't part of the decision making process. But both of those songs were already scored and prepared. so it was simply a matter of dusting them off with the core band.

    And Mary seemed to stick with her same solos for eons. The Way we were/Maybe this time was in the act for year as was A Song For You/How Lucky.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spreadinglove21 View Post
    A lot of cover songs. A manic 60s medley. The oversinging at times. Magic Genie sequence for awhile. The groundwork was being laid for the Madison Square Garden fiasco when they got booed off the stage. I read the die hard Supreme fans loved the show, but general public didn't. Didn't anyone try to intervene to change up the live act?
    I wanted to, but I was afraid to. I DID verbalize a few tines that the hits medley needed to be truer to the hits’ original sound, keep Up The Ladder and River Deep and I did say I wasn’t fond of Exedous but only cuz I was asked. River Deep went over big. It was difficult because they really tried hard and wanted to be good, they weren’t lazy that I ever saw. There was way too much Mary - her solos were great, but she just tried too hard on stage and it was uncomfortable at times. I would have used her sparingly for her ballads only - she was often memorizing and it would’ve been so much more effective plus she would’ve been appreciated so much more. Also, they had amazing harmony but overplayed their hand so much, it was almost not enjoyable. Sometimes it seemed like it took five minutes to sing one draaaaaaaaaaaawn out stanza.

    the dream sequence didn’t really work. Not enough people knew who Josephine Baker was or at least they were not familiar with her work or style, and Mary showboating too much. I thought Cindy was awful in it. Scherrie was totally under utilized. I don’t recall Susaye doing people, but I do remember her having other solos I just can’t recall him. He ain’t heavy always always always went over huge.

    they really should have let Berry Gordy manage them. Jean was gone, and he must’ve known how terrible their show was. But he wasn’t gonna go for “the Mary out front plan” and that was clearly the intent. As much as the focus was on diana in the 60s, there was a lot of focus on Mary in the 70s but it just didn’t work like It did in the 60s partly because she was just trying to hard. I think BG could’ve saved the group. He couldn’t have done any worse.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    I wanted to, but I was afraid to. I DID verbalize a few tines that the hits medley needed to be truer to the hits’ original sound, keep Up The Ladder and River Deep and I did say I wasn’t fond of Exedous but only cuz I was asked. River Deep went over big. It was difficult because they really tried hard and wanted to be good, they weren’t lazy that I ever saw. There was way too much Mary - her solos were great, but she just tried too hard on stage and it was uncomfortable at times. I would have used her sparingly for her ballads only - she was often memorizing and it would’ve been so much more effective plus she would’ve been appreciated so much more. Also, they had amazing harmony but overplayed their hand so much, it was almost not enjoyable. Sometimes it seemed like it took five minutes to sing one draaaaaaaaaaaawn out stanza.

    the dream sequence didn’t really work. Not enough people knew who Josephine Baker was or at least they were not familiar with her work or style, and Mary showboating too much. I thought Cindy was awful in it. Scherrie was totally under utilized. I don’t recall Susaye doing people, but I do remember her having other solos I just can’t recall him. He ain’t heavy always always always went over huge.

    they really should have let Berry Gordy manage them. Jean was gone, and he must’ve known how terrible their show was. But he wasn’t gonna go for “the Mary out front plan” and that was clearly the intent. As much as the focus was on diana in the 60s, there was a lot of focus on Mary in the 70s but it just didn’t work like It did in the 60s partly because she was just trying to hard. I think BG could’ve saved the group. He couldn’t have done any worse.
    on the bootleg of Caesar's palace, Susaye did People. had no idea she ever did the song and don't know when/where it was put back into the act

    but i agree with pretty much everything you've said. Mary was coming across too forced, as if she was trying to make the audience excited by being crazy excited herself. and it just didn't work. It's also as if they thought "hey if things are fast that'll feel energetic and that'll make people excited." Wrong.

    This is why i've been saying Scherrie should have been 60% or so of the act. the bulk of the leads and content on stage. i feel her stage presence is more natural. Mary had been so cool and sexy in the early and mid 60s. but by 68 or so [[at least in some of the tv clips) she starts trying too hard. like she's trying to compete with Diana's presence by being overly animated.

    The Dream Sequence was just not right in any sense. The couple of audios i have of it are fine enough, in terms of singing. I thought Cindy doing a breathy Marilyn was fine. and yes, Mary seemed to really ham it up, which i'm not sure if that really accurately portrayed Josephine. So IMO the execution of the segment wasn't bad but the core idea was. it was outdated by then. Diana was doing similar in her Evening With show but she had already done LSTB and also used it as a segment to trace her musical roots. That might have been more effective. The Genie was funny the first time i heard it because i'm a dork of a fan and was super excited to hear it. but now it's too cheesy. I think a lovely spoken intro by the girls that really highlights someone that was important to their music development would have been more interesting. Cindy saying her bedroom eyes remind people of Marilyn was hardly a substantial rationale for choosing that character

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    I barely made it through the first eight minutes of this sad, silly video, which only built me up to let me down as some Motown writer might proclaim.


    First, the opening instrumental medley included I Hear A Symphony. While inclusion of this song, recorded eleven years earlier, was meant to remind the audience of “the group’s” golden era, the sound and the success of that single had nothing to do with the newest trio’s then-current output. It must have been sheer desperation and/or sheer lunacy to feature the 1965 song, on which only one member of the newest trio had participated long ago, singing the background. In short, the medley delivered a promise that wasn’t kept.


    Next, for their opening number, the new trio raced through a medley of a hit song, not connected with them or any Motown group, that was popular a half-decade earlier, and a Broadway show tune that was, in context, even more dated that I Hear A Symphony. Yes, I know that Jean, Mary and Cindy performed the first of these, We’ve Only Just Begun, years earlier on a television show, and yes I know that Diana, Mary and Florence sang the second song, Tonight, in their early appearances at the Copa and elsewhere, although many of us were unaware of that in 1976. But instead of utilizing these songs to establish a relationship with the audience – and, in fact, Mary had her back to the audience as this medley began -- the new trio changed the lyrics of both songs to tell listeners, in effect, “Don’t expect too much from us, because we began working together just a few weeks ago, we’re unrehearsed, we are going to sing some second-rate, unmemorable songs from this point forward and we anticipated being here this evening solely because we wanted to see what we could get away with, to see if we could stretch out this tired act’s money-making ability for another year or two.


    Then, having explained their intention to present unpolished material and saying they just didn’t care how unprofessional they seemed, they decided to prove that they didn’t need either discipline or Diana Ross to put on a great show. In that Diana had half-knelt at one point per concert, nine years earlier, to bring The Lady Is A Tramp home with show business panache, they decided that if all three of them half-knelt a half-dozen times, for no apparent reason, during their sloppy, pointless choreography, they would be six times or eighteen times as good as Diana. As if.


    Scherrie strolled across the stage casually, like a high school teen on her way to detention; she had a very unenthusiastic, unconvincing smile that did not mask her lack of involvement in the process. Susaye seemed to want to be there, unaware that she, too, came across as an anonymous nobody that nobody wanted to see. If they were aware of her as a former Ray Charles’ Raelette, of course, they may have had good reason to prefer not seeing her again; her odd look and approach in that line-up did not endear her to many. And when Mary flashed her over-practiced smile and presented herself as less spontaneous than usual it was clear she was relying on old tricks but knew, deep down, the three women were a sorry sight indeed.


    Finally, remembering they were trying to masquerade as a famous vocal trio, the group members did exactly what everyone expected and what they had paid to see. Or not. They pulled out some cheap-looking chiffon scarves and attempted, alternatively, to do an embarrassing hybrid dance mixing moves of harem members/concubines and Busby Berkeley hoofers and to hide behind the fabric when they realized how much they resembled sixth graders aping Sally Rand. This unexplained, unwanted display was hilariously bad and sad, and I recalled again the feeling I had back then that this final trio was less than adequate in upholding the image of the 1964-1970 team.

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    ** DISCLAIMER ! ** This statement is not meant to comment negatively on any Supreme

    So. For me the 'valuable' lesson to take from this concert is that the most logical reason for the ultimate dissolution of the Supremes is one of lack of identity and absence of direction. Everything about the presentation is random & all over the map and there is nothing of an identifiable sight or sound of the Supremes trademarks. To the average viewer these are 3 talented yet random women performing an outdated lounge act.

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    I agree with everything above but wish to tell Sup that seeing the dream sequence as a Supremes fan was tantamount for soldiers getting water boarded. Plus, it comes as the centerpiece of an act that isn’t working anyway, then, unbelievably goes downhill even further with this monstrosity. It was so amateurish - like a very low rent drag show bit.

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    i finally watched this again ,great quality.thanks for sharing this. some saturday afternoon fun for me.
    i think the show was short, and i am disapointed in the rushed kentucky derby hits medley, who came in first. wow. as fans , most want to sing along with these classics but at that pace no way.
    what is concerning is with the talent in this group they could have done some great vocals arrangements on songs like love is here and reflections as well as someday well be together. dont like the broadway stuff but maybe this time was great.
    where was Up the ladder to the roof,stoned love,nathan ,hes my man,dont let my teardrops bother you.
    not sure who was calling the shots here but .... good show but not great which for these talented ladies. it should have been

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    I can't believe they were still doing 10-15 YO songs like People. Depressing

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    I think the combo of The Way We Were and Maybe This time works really well.

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    The cowbell in Baby Love and WDOLG is ridiculous

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    Quote Originally Posted by benross View Post
    I barely made it through the first eight minutes of this sad, silly video, which only built me up to let me down as some Motown writer might proclaim. First, the opening instrumental medley included I Hear A Symphony. While inclusion of this song, recorded eleven years earlier, was meant to remind the audience of “the group’s” golden era, the sound and the success of that single had nothing to do with the newest trio’s then-current output. It must have been sheer desperation and/or sheer lunacy to feature the 1965 song, on which only one member of the newest trio had participated long ago, singing the background. In short, the medley delivered a promise that wasn’t kept. Next, for their opening number, the new trio raced through a medley of a hit song, not connected with them or any Motown group, that was popular a half-decade earlier, and a Broadway show tune that was, in context, even more dated that I Hear A Symphony. Yes, I know that Jean, Mary and Cindy performed the first of these, We’ve Only Just Begun, years earlier on a television show, and yes I know that Diana, Mary and Florence sang the second song, Tonight, in their early appearances at the Copa and elsewhere, although many of us were unaware of that in 1976. But instead of utilizing these songs to establish a relationship with the audience – and, in fact, Mary had her back to the audience as this medley began -- the new trio changed the lyrics of both songs to tell listeners, in effect, “Don’t expect too much from us, because we began working together just a few weeks ago, we’re unrehearsed, we are going to sing some second-rate, unmemorable songs from this point forward and we anticipated being here this evening solely because we wanted to see what we could get away with, to see if we could stretch out this tired act’s money-making ability for another year or two. Then, having explained their intention to present unpolished material and saying they just didn’t care how unprofessional they seemed, they decided to prove that they didn’t need either discipline or Diana Ross to put on a great show. In that Diana had half-knelt at one point per concert, nine years earlier, to bring The Lady Is A Tramp home with show business panache, they decided that if all three of them half-knelt a half-dozen times, for no apparent reason, during their sloppy, pointless choreography, they would be six times or eighteen times as good as Diana. As if. Scherrie strolled across the stage casually, like a high school teen on her way to detention; she had a very unenthusiastic, unconvincing smile that did not mask her lack of involvement in the process. Susaye seemed to want to be there, unaware that she, too, came across as an anonymous nobody that nobody wanted to see. If they were aware of her as a former Ray Charles’ Raelette, of course, they may have had good reason to prefer not seeing her again; her odd look and approach in that line-up did not endear her to many. And when Mary flashed her over-practiced smile and presented herself as less spontaneous than usual it was clear she was relying on old tricks but knew, deep down, the three women were a sorry sight indeed. Finally, remembering they were trying to masquerade as a famous vocal trio, the group members did exactly what everyone expected and what they had paid to see. Or not. They pulled out some cheap-looking chiffon scarves and attempted, alternatively, to do an embarrassing hybrid dance mixing moves of harem members/concubines and Busby Berkeley hoofers and to hide behind the fabric when they realized how much they resembled sixth graders aping Sally Rand. This unexplained, unwanted display was hilariously bad and sad, and I recalled again the feeling I had back then that this final trio was less than adequate in upholding the image of the 1964-1970 team.
    nasty and vicious

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i have a bootleg of MSS at Bachelor III from early summer 76. set list

    We've only just begun/Tonight
    The way we were/maybe this time
    60s medley
    A song for you/how lucky
    He's My Man
    You're what's missing [[includes band intro)
    He aint' heavy
    Walking

    seems like a rather short list. but the show runs just about 1 hour.
    I was living in Miami at the time and was at one of these shows at Bachelor's III.
    It was a great show. Mary did her 'tribute' to Flo with "How Lucky Can You Get"
    and Susaye about brought the house down a couple of times. They wore the white,
    beaded gowns at the show I saw. Also saw the Pointer Sisters there. Bachelor's III
    was a cool venue back in the day. I believe it's gone, now.

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    I know that a small group of Supremes fans want desperately to believe that Mary was 'the' talent in the group and was cheated out of superstardom and a glorious solo career. So be it. I've always thought Ronnie Spector should have had a more significant solo career, so there you go. But ... this video presents evidence that none of the talented ladies on stage had star power. I have no doubt that for those in the audience it was a fun and exciting event. I attended club shows by Formerly The Harlettes/Redd, Hedwig & Crossley, Sarah Dash, Ellen Foley etc that tore the house down for the small group of dedicated fans who were there. That's different from having what it takes to create and maintain a career. Gordy was correct in his assumption that without Diana or Jean the group had run its course. Logically [as if ...) if the success potential was there another label would have signed the group. Demonizing Gordy is both easy and senseless - there were other record labels who would have engaged the group if the potential were there.
    Last edited by PeaceNHarmony; 05-02-2021 at 08:20 AM.

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    I don't like the set they choose to sing. I generally prefer it when groups or artist just sing their own songs, which shows they got a good repertoire at that moment. That's why I prefer live performances of for example Fleetwood Mac or even ABBA. Even with the fantastic show Pointer Sisters life in Paris I tend to skip to just the big hits. Although their added songs were much better choices. I think, correct me, that the standards the Supremes sang during the mid-late 70's were well passed it best.

    The energy definitely seems to be missing. Personal problems, lack of hits, problems within the group all didn't help. Although you have to give them credit for even continuing the show after the disgusting incident before this show. Go back a year or 2 and Mary, Cindy and Scherrie looked far more energetic on stage in Japan. The set of songs was far more to my liking. [[I do like the snippets I've heard of their farewell concert in 1977 and hope we'll get a clearer audio of that one day)

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    I agree with everything above but wish to tell Sup that seeing the dream sequence as a Supremes fan was tantamount for soldiers getting water boarded. Plus, it comes as the centerpiece of an act that isn’t working anyway, then, unbelievably goes downhill even further with this monstrosity. It was so amateurish - like a very low rent drag show bit.
    haha - no i completely get it. i never saw them in person. love hearing fans share their memories and thoughts from those days.

    i was eager to hear it after reading about it Mary's book. It was a period of time where i was eager to grab up anything Sups. and even though the quality was poor, i really enjoyed Scherrie on Wagon.

    But as I've spent more time learning about the group, i've come to share the opinion that the Dream sequence was just way off. Even if perfectly executed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lakeside View Post
    I was living in Miami at the time and was at one of these shows at Bachelor's III.
    It was a great show. Mary did her 'tribute' to Flo with "How Lucky Can You Get"
    and Susaye about brought the house down a couple of times. They wore the white,
    beaded gowns at the show I saw. Also saw the Pointer Sisters there. Bachelor's III
    was a cool venue back in the day. I believe it's gone, now.
    nice!! did you only see them that one time there? I think they played Bachelors quite often, at least during the Scherrie years. would love to hear any additional memories

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    I know that a small group of Supremes fans want desperately to believe that Mary was 'the' talent in the group and was cheated out of superstardom and a glorious solo career. So be it. I've always thought Ronnie Spector should have had a more significant solo career, so there you go. But ... this video presents evidence that none of the talented ladies on stage had star power. I have no doubt that for those in the audience it was a fun and exciting event. I attended club shows by Formerly The Harlettes/Redd, Hedwig & Crossley, Sarah Dash, Ellen Foley etc that tore the house down for the small group of dedicated fans who were there. That's different from having what it takes to create and maintain a career. Gordy was correct in his assumption that without Diana or Jean the group had run its course. Logically [as if ...) if the success potential was there another label would have signed the group. Demonizing Gordy is both easy and senseless - there were other record labels who would have engaged the group if the potential were there.
    well let's face it - Jean certainly didn't have the star magnetism of Diana Ross. but then again neither did most. IMO Martha Reeves didn't, Gladys Horton didn't. Gladys Knight didn't. Diana was truly exceptional.

    Now that doesn't mean Martha or the two Gladys weren't stars. frankly GK is IMO probably the best of these in terms of what i've heard from stage and tv. she's a very different personality but still captivating. at least during the 60s, I found Martha stiff and a bit too awkward. she didn't come alive enough. of course all of them were great singers. But that's different.

    Jean, like Martha, often appeared awkward. especially on the tv gigs. but in some of the bootlegs she seems much more animated in the dialog and interacting. of course we're having to go off of very limited content in these reviews

    as for MSS, I see what you mean about Scherrie coming across as quite reserved. she's definitely a more low key personality, from what i've seen. I wonder if she simply accepted her role as the #2 and that was that. had she been given more of a leadership role of the group, i think we would have seen different

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    I actually thought this performance was very well done except for some of the awkward choreography [[whose idea was it to flail around with that red satin material?). But song selection and performance wise, I thought this was outstanding. I've had a bootleg of the concert for a long time which was graciously given to me by another long standing member of this forum, but this video seemed to have much better sound quality and was missing some of the clumsy edits [[which may have been due to insertions of commercials if it was broadcast on radio, maybe?).

    Still, I love the performances of the girls in this one. I usually do not like the hits medleys but in this one I felt they did give most of the songs their due, except for the opening "Someday We'll Be Together," which is such a great song they certainly should have extended it, and likely ended the medley with it.

    But doing their own songs, if the earlier poster meant the Scherrie-era songs, would have meant most of the audience wouldn't be familiar with the repertoire. And this lineup was so stacked in terms of sheer talent, and their ability to present such great versions of well known songs, that I'm glad they chose the songs to perform that they did. Susaye is so adept at standards, and Scherrie's vocalizing is usually just awesome, and I don't think I've ever heard Mary sing better than she did on "The Way We Were."

    Anyway, I just loved loved loved it. Thanks for putting this up! I think one of the German bootlegs includes this concert, so I'll have to check and see if the sound matches up to this one. It really felt like I was hearing this concert "again for the first time," as they say!

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    The template for the Supremes' live show was set by the Copa and though the songs changed and in the later years of the group all 3 members got a chance to sing a lead, the basic formula itself never changed. But times changed and so did the audience. I don't think most people heading out to see The Supremes in 1975 or 76 were thinking "I hope they do a medley of old songs with some sort of concept behind it" and then later be thrilled by the Magic Genie. IN hindsight the latter line ups should have done 3-4 60s songs in full then perform material from their most recent albums and put in at most 2 cover songs.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spreadinglove21 View Post
    The template for the Supremes' live show was set by the Copa and though the songs changed and in the later years of the group all 3 members got a chance to sing a lead, the basic formula itself never changed. But times changed and so did the audience. I don't think most people heading out to see The Supremes in 1975 or 76 were thinking "I hope they do a medley of old songs with some sort of concept behind it" and then later be thrilled by the Magic Genie. IN hindsight the latter line ups should have done 3-4 60s songs in full then perform material from their most recent albums and put in at most 2 cover songs.
    i agree. there were many other concepts or content they could have incorporated.

    with the whole Floy Joy album and touring that occurred at that time, they could have added several songs from the album like full versions of Floy Joy, Auto Sun and Sweet Sweet Love. Then they could have added a medley of Smokey songs [[maybe pull the medley they did on his TV special) to highlight their work with this famous producer. maybe the medley could mix some of the tracks of FJ along with other Smokey songs - Don't mess with bill, special occasion, precious little things, shop around, going to a go go, over and over. and Mary could have done A Heart Like Mine.

    then with Stevie, they could have updated the act with BW of course and a medley of Stevie songs.

    While they're still doing covers, there's at least a reason. they just did an lp with a famous singer/producer and want to hype that up. get people excited about what Smokey or Stevie did with the girls. on tv shows, they could have done a smokey medley that included a number or two from the album. plus whatever hit single they were promoting

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