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  1. #1
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    Heatwave versions 1 and 2

    I'm not really a fan of their covers of this song. Both versions. I do prefer the first version if I had to choose. I really think this is one of those songs that is too robust for Diana to handle.

    Who is doing the backgrounds on the 2nd version [[on Sing HDH). The Andantes are added to the stereo version. The mono version sounds like Mary is doing the top harmony and Flo is doing the bottom. Is that right?

  2. #2
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    Sooo….no reference videos?

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    First version was cut in April 1965. Diana, Mary and Florence do the background vocals which was a rare thing as Diana seldom did backgrounds after 1964. HDH’s arrangement was styled to sound more like a Supremes song than a Vandellas one.

    Second version was cut in 1966. Mary and Florence did the backgrounds initially with the Andantes being dubbed in later. Motown used both sets of vocals.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    First version was cut in April 1965. Diana, Mary and Florence do the background vocals which was a rare thing as Diana seldom did backgrounds after 1964. HDH’s arrangement was styled to sound more like a Supremes song than a Vandellas one.

    Second version was cut in 1966. Mary and Florence did the backgrounds initially with the Andantes being dubbed in later. Motown used both sets of vocals.
    Brad is that Mary doing the top harmony on the second version?

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    Quote Originally Posted by khansperac View Post
    Sooo….no reference videos?
    Here are both versions. The 1966 mono with Flo and Mary on backup and then the first version with Diana singing with them in the back.



  6. #6
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    Yes Floy, to me it sounds like Mary is singing the higher harmony over Florence.

    I disagree that the song is too robust for Diana. Both versions are tame compared to the original "Heatwave". Certainly more tame than "You Can't Hurry Love", "Itchin", or even "Lovelight". IMO that's the problem with both versions, although I agree that the first version from 1965 is the better of the two. It's kinda nice, while the Sing HDH version kinda sucks. I think Diana had more than proven herself capable of keeping up with a track as serious as the Martha and Vandellas' "Heatwave", so it has always boggled my mind as to why the Supremes' versions were produced so watered down and laidback. I love when artists [[producers, singers, etc.) take a song and put their own spin on it. IMO, though, with a song famous for so much "fire" [[everything about the original "Heatwave" seems to play up the "heat"), it just doesn't work when you tone the fire down. Not only was Diana capable of keeping up with Martha's pace, Flo and Mary were more than capable of giving the Vandellas a run for their money, yet, particularly on the Sing HDH version, Flo and Mary are comparatively lifeless.

    I might rank "Heatwave" as the Supremes' worst Motown cover, except their version of "My Guy" is ten times more ridiculous.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Yes Floy, to me it sounds like Mary is singing the higher harmony over Florence.

    I disagree that the song is too robust for Diana. Both versions are tame compared to the original "Heatwave". Certainly more tame than "You Can't Hurry Love", "Itchin", or even "Lovelight". IMO that's the problem with both versions, although I agree that the first version from 1965 is the better of the two. It's kinda nice, while the Sing HDH version kinda sucks. I think Diana had more than proven herself capable of keeping up with a track as serious as the Martha and Vandellas' "Heatwave", so it has always boggled my mind as to why the Supremes' versions were produced so watered down and laidback. I love when artists [[producers, singers, etc.) take a song and put their own spin on it. IMO, though, with a song famous for so much "fire" [[everything about the original "Heatwave" seems to play up the "heat"), it just doesn't work when you tone the fire down. Not only was Diana capable of keeping up with Martha's pace, Flo and Mary were more than capable of giving the Vandellas a run for their money, yet, particularly on the Sing HDH version, Flo and Mary are comparatively lifeless.

    I might rank "Heatwave" as the Supremes' worst Motown cover, except their version of "My Guy" is ten times more ridiculous.
    I can't tell you how excited I was leading up to hearing their version of My Guy for the first time. It's one of the main reasons I bought the pink box set 22 years ago and I might add it was quite pricey. I put it on and the excitement deflated quicker than....well I'll keep things PG here.

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    Not trying to hijack the thread, and hope that, Floy, you think this is in keeping with the topic, but interestingly, while I feel like it was a mistake to attempt to move into a different direction from the original "Heatwave", I likewise feel it was a mistake to produce an up tempo "Come and Get These Memories" with Mary as lead. I think that song was ripe for being able to transform from the original, danceable classic that it is to a slow, sad ballad, which is something Mary would have really excelled at. Of course I realize the intent of the A Go Go album was up tempo songs, but I think a Mary "Memories" ballad would have been a perfect fit for Sing HDH, in place of one of the years old ballads that ended up on the album instead.

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    Thanks for posting the videos. I don’t like either one. The first one with the “Sing HDH” picture Diana’s voice is too… I don’t even know how to describe, I want to say sharp sounding, but I think “sharp” musically means something different. Too high pitched, and she is trying to sing it the way Martha did. The other video they sound so bored. Like I said, I don’t care for either one. There is no “Heat”.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by floyjoy678 View Post
    I can't tell you how excited I was leading up to hearing their version of My Guy for the first time. It's one of the main reasons I bought the pink box set 22 years ago and I might add it was quite pricey. I put it on and the excitement deflated quicker than....well I'll keep things PG here.
    LOL I don't know that I ever even thought we needed a Supremes "My Guy" version, but I was very interested to hear their take when the boxset came out. Thankfully there was so much previously unreleased gold making it's debut on the boxset that I didn't have too much time to get caught up in the nonsense that was their version of "My Guy". As the years have gone on and I find that as I get older I feel as though I have the right to more complaints, "My Guy" is one that I rail against whenever the opportunity arises. It makes no sense. Starting with that boring track, I think there really wasn't anything the girls could have done to make it better. I never listen to it. I never have a reason to listen to it. But for some reason I played it about a year or two ago and I did amend my original opinion regarding the vocals. They aren't nearly as bad as I once described, but still the entire production compared to the original classic, the Supremes sound like some kind of bootleg Karaoke. Smokey produced the Supremes version. How do you go from what you did with Mary Wells to what you did on the Supremes? To me, some of these production decisions scream that the producers didn't always have the faith that the Supremes could pull off anything similar to the original, which is asinine. Now compare what they did with the boxset "My Guy" to what they did with the Together album "My Guy" mashup with the Tempts. Honestly I would have preferred to have DRATS do that version of "My Guy" as a whole song alone. [[I'm one of the few people in the world that actually dislikes "My Girl".)

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    I enjoy Diana’s vocal on the more upbeat version, though she’s not really helped much by the tame production.
    If they had to record it at all, i think Mary should have been given the lead on “My Guy”.
    One could argue that with her voice being so similar to the other MW it would be a pointless exercise. I think it might have proven a very interesting experiment.

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    I actually really like both of the Heatwave versions, partially because they are less frantic than the original one by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas [[although it is hard to beat their superb version). The slower vibe, particularly of the 1965, fits the Supremes well and also fits with the song. I also like the way the background vocals come in early, in contrast to the instrumental intro of the Vandellas version.

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    i like elements of both actually but ,in some way prefer the first but the 2nd ,diana does and great job keeping up but its the production that is so watered down. it needs to be beefed up
    actually the problem, is no Funk Brothers. sorry i dont care for the La sessions which is why i cant get into the Go Go album

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    Actually, I had to go back and listen to this again since its ben so long. Honestly, I think if it had been released on the Supremes first it still would have been a hit. Diana, Mary and Florence do an outstanding job with it. Martha sung it first so she put her footprint on it. This go back to a discussion that was on here before regarding Gladys Knight and Diana. Motown recording the same song on different artists and Quality control releasing what they thought was the best version Nobody was always right.

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