Originally Posted by
RanRan79
My opinion of the Beatles has always been that they were excellent songwriters, but I've never- EVER- understood their appeal beyond that. There has never been a song of theirs that I've heard where their vocals did anything for me. So their original versions of any song don't rate with me at all.
Where the Supremes are concerned, their version of "A Hard Days Night" is fantastic. They rocked that. I also love "I Saw Him Standing There". "Got To Get You Into My Life" remaining vaulted for so long was a travesty. It deserved to make an lp appearance, maybe even single release. The studio version of "Michelle" is gorgeous. Very beautifully done.
But there are also some duds IMO. I don't care for "I Want To Hold Your Hand". After Aretha's version of "Long and Winding Road", I don't think anyone else's will rate highly with me, and Diana's is no exception. Her version is the lowest point of the EIE album. The Supremes' version of "Come Together" is always skipped by me. I can't remember the last time I listened to it. On the other hand, Diana's version has a killer track and that's the only reason why I ever listen to it, even though "Come Together" is a song that I really hate no matter who's singing it. Diana's "Yesterday" is listenable, but I've never thought she was particularly suited to it. I would've preferred Mary on it. Flo's "Yesterday" is so depressing. She sounds like a drunk lady at the bar crying over her troubles, which, believe it or not, actually endears her version to me a bit, but there is no denying that it's a fairly bad take on an otherwise lyrically great song.
I do agree that Diana's snippet of "Eleanor Rigby"- another song I hate, even by Aretha and the Jean Supremes- is quite good.
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