60 years ago today, we "Meet The Supremes"....

[DWSheffer]

Surprised to see no mention today on the 60th anniversary of the release of "Meet The Supremes". I know if Mary were with us we would have had some recognition of the day, without a doubt!
Darin

[sup_fan]

there are some tracks on here that i actually enjoy. while they might not be a Stoned Love or You Can't Hurry Love, there are some that regularly make their way onto my playlists


You bring back memories
Let me go the right way
Time changes things
Play a sad song
Your heart belongs [[it's a good song but frankly this is one i never put on playlists for some reason)

Baby don't go is a pretty good one. not great and not one i bother with on playlists. but compared to Who's Loving You, I Want a Guy or Buttered Popcorn, it's a gem lol

[RanRan79]

Thanks for mentioning DW.

A sentimental favorite of mine, Meet the Supremes, and the MTS expanded edition. I know a lot of fans aren't crazy about the album because it's pretty much the Supremes in the raw, before they became the polished act we all would come to know and love. But I love the Supremes' early years, before the fame. I think even in those earliest of sessions, there was a charm about them that makes it no mystery to me why the Primettes/early Supremes seemed to always be on someone's radar, despite being a bit rough around the edges. It's actually a good document of their development. They start off really raw [[like "I Want A Guy"), get a groove [["Your Heart Belongs To Me") before finding their polish [["Time Changes Things").

With Barbara, they were good, and toward the end of Barbara's time, it seemed she was finally finding her place in the harmony. [[She often stuck out like a sore thumb IMO.) But with Barbara gone, Flo, Diana and Mary seemed to shine brighter, their sound more tight, more Supreme. I play MTS and the expanded edition often. The early years are among my favorites and are a good representation of what nurturing a talent can accomplish.

[jobeterob]

On 60’s Gold on Sirius, they celebrated this anniversary by playing what they called the Supremes first Hit from HDH - and they played When The Lovelight Started Shining

I thought the initial raw recording of I Want A Guy, perhaps Diana alone, showed a voice that would eventually record Lady Sings the Blues and Blue

[sup_fan]

On 60’s Gold on Sirius, they celebrated this anniversary by playing what they called the Supremes first Hit from HDH - and they played When The Lovelight Started Shining

I thought the initial raw recording of I Want A Guy, perhaps Diana alone, showed a voice that would eventually record Lady Sings the Blues and Blue

i thought that first version of IWAG was better. it's still a terrible song but if i remember right this version didn't have the annoying organ riff and Diana's lead was a bit better. surprised someone voted the released version as Better! lol

[daviddh]

I just can't listen to IWAG.
But there are a few gems.
Love Buttered Popcorn

[Circa 1824]

Being a longtime Supremes fan almost from the beginning, I never owned or heard Meet The Supremes. Shockingly, the first Supremes album I bought was Holland, Dozier, Holland, and then every album after that until Ross left. I was more into their 45’s rather than their albums until HDH.

[captainjames]

Definitely a rare album and I did not buy it when it was first released but now I believe I have have 4 or 5 copies of the original release. I truly believe a beautiful gem because you are never gonna hear them like this before and its history on vinyl. No matter what anyone else may tell you throughout the history of Motown I hear Diana as lead on practically all the recordings.

[lucky2012]

i thought that first version of IWAG was better. it's still a terrible song but if i remember right this version didn't have the annoying organ riff and Diana's lead was a bit better. surprised someone voted the released version as Better! lol

You’ve expressed my thoughts about I Want A Guy exactly, sup_fan. I, too, like the first version much better than the released versions. I didn’t know why until now. The organ riff is less intrusive, but I think the absence of any background vocals makes Diana’s very young vocal more affecting, plaintive and poignant.

It’s still not a very good song, just not “terrible” like when I first heard the album. [I thought IWAG was the second worst performance on MTS, after Who’s Loving You].

Hearing this first version on the expanded MTS album, it struck me that this is possibly the very first Diana Ross solo recording we have been allowed to hear [thank you, George and company].

[sup_fan]

You’ve expressed my thoughts about I Want A Guy exactly, sup_fan. I, too like the first version much better than the released versions. I didn’t know why until now. The organ riff is less intrusive, but I think the absence of any background vocals makes Diana’s very young vocal more affecting, plaintive and poignant.

Hearing this first version on the expanded MTS album, it struck me that this is possibly the very first Diana Ross solo recording we have been allowed to hear [thank you, George and company].

of course if they'd gone with this early version, they'd had to of included backing vocals of the group. IMO the combination of the youthful immaturity of their voices, the novice state of their recording experience and the minimal technological capabilities of the motown studios at the time contribute to the poorer quality sound on the released version. and all of this is perfectly understandable. the girls were so young and new to this. they hadn't learned the nuances of singing yet. it's sort of this heavy block of sound. but of course it's still endearing since we have not only the later recordings when they were big but the vaulted material from this early period too. as i've said many times, it's wonderful to hear their growth.

one of the most shocking of this is the change in their sound for Your Heart. the softness in their vocals versus the more harsh sound in The Tears or Who's Loving.

[kenneth]

I collected the album but barely gave it a listen until the guys put out the Expanded Edition. I now love the album. It was positively revelatory to hear the original album remastered along with all the previously unreleased tracks. Like the early early albums by the Marvelettes, the Miracles and others, the earnestness and freshness seem to be so evident in the album and helps surpass the technical limitations of some of the vocals and arrangements. Compared to how the Supremes evolved later into truly sophisticated singers, "Meet the Supremes" seems almost like a time capsule in comparison.

[lucky2012]

I thought the initial raw recording of I Want A Guy, perhaps Diana alone, showed a voice that would eventually record Lady Sings the Blues and Blue

Amazing that only 10 years separate I Want A Guy from Fine & Mellow, Good Morning Heartache, Little Girl Blue and Solitude, etc.!!

[Ollie9]

Amazing that only 10 years separate I Want A Guy from Fine & Mellow, Good Morning Heartache, Little Girl Blue and Solitude, etc.!!

I have alway’s thought that rather amazing lucky. The vocal growth is incredible.

[kenneth]

Amazing that only 10 years separate I Want A Guy from Fine & Mellow, Good Morning Heartache, Little Girl Blue and Solitude, etc.!!

I think that’s what I was trying to say, only you said it a whole lot better!

[sup_fan]

Amazing that only 10 years separate I Want A Guy from Fine & Mellow, Good Morning Heartache, Little Girl Blue and Solitude, etc.!!

heck - look at the difference between I Want A Guy and Your Heart Belongs to Me. that was about 2 years [[give or take)

[lucky2012]

heck - look at the difference between I Want A Guy and Your Heart Belongs to Me. that was about 2 years [[give or take)

I finally bought Meet The Supremes in summer 1966, not knowing what to expect. It was quite a rude awakening! Lol. Your Heart Belongs To Me was a very nice, pleasant introduction to the early Supremes. But it was all downhill from there. It was like a whole different group or set of girls. Of course, I eventually learned to like and appreciate the album, but it took many years, mainly because I rarely revisited it. Now, with the expanded edition, I love it. It really is essential.

Regarding LSTB/Blue albums seeming eons/light years away from MTS: I am also amazed at the progression from 1961 => More Hits/Merry Christmas albums 1965, Sing Rogers & Hart 1967 !!! & Sing Funny Girl 1968.

[jim aka jtigre99]

As far as Diana Ross' vocal progression, she was the lead singer who was singing nearly 98% of all of the lead vocals on albums, in concert and on television. On television, they had sung a variety of genres. She was perhaps the most pliable if not the strongest vocalist. Berry Gordy also worked her very hard as he saw her as his gold mine. In contrast, Florence Ballard was a strong vocalist but the lack of singing leads slowed her progression and it is evident on her ABC recordings. Mary Wilson, on the other hand, sang very confidently on Baby Don't Go but was told by Gordy she couldn't sing. Her vocals on Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You are pleasant enough but lack confidence. Only by the 1970's when she started to share leads and start to lead the group did her confidence in her vocals return such as when she sang Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You. Mary eventually evolved into a confident and strong singer. Diana certainly did an excellent job in growing and applying her enormous talents in a variety of genres. Meet the Supremes didn't really show what all three were eventually capable of doing.

[sup_fan]

diana's voice was certainly the most versatile. and she really did have the more traditional "pop" vocal. plus her voice IS just sort of odd lol. like that story in the various books of Smokey and Berry talking at the girls' audition or an early session. diana's voice absolutely did benefit from the extensive work and singing and experimentation they did in the studios and on tv

flo had a very good voice, a more traditionally r&b voice. big and full. and you're right. she needed training as she needed to work on her control a bit more. one feature of flo's voice or maybe it was her personality, or BOTH lol but she really could convey lyrics that had sort of a double meaning or wit. like on Good News when she's singing about having a party at the station, you know the party was going to continue AFTER meeting her man at the station. that's also why i think she would have done great on some of the R&H songs like Johnny One Note or Manhattan [[as a solo lead)

Mary's voice is like velvet. as diana said, it really was what helped bind D's and F's voices together. it's the mixer in the cocktail, so to speak. it's absolutely necessary but it might not be the first thing you notice or think about. as a solo lead, mary was sometimes very engaging and sometime just pleasant. i think one of her finest leads was the Christmas Song, at the end on the duet when she comes in with the first of the Merry Christmases just before it ends, is just glorious. she really opens up the vocal on the "meeeerrryy"

[rovereab]

diana's voice was certainly the most versatile. and she really did have the more traditional "pop" vocal. plus her voice IS just sort of odd lol. like that story in the various books of Smokey and Berry talking at the girls' audition or an early session. diana's voice absolutely did benefit from the extensive work and singing and experimentation they did in the studios and on tv

flo had a very good voice, a more traditionally r&b voice. big and full. and you're right. she needed training as she needed to work on her control a bit more. one feature of flo's voice or maybe it was her personality, or BOTH lol but she really could convey lyrics that had sort of a double meaning or wit. like on Good News when she's singing about having a party at the station, you know the party was going to continue AFTER meeting her man at the station. that's also why i think she would have done great on some of the R&H songs like Johnny One Note or Manhattan [[as a solo lead)

Mary's voice is like velvet. as diana said, it really was what helped bind D's and F's voices together. it's the mixer in the cocktail, so to speak. it's absolutely necessary but it might not be the first thing you notice or think about. as a solo lead, mary was sometimes very engaging and sometime just pleasant. i think one of her finest leads was the Christmas Song, at the end on the duet when she comes in with the first of the Merry Christmases just before it ends, is just glorious. she really opens up the vocal on the "meeeerrryy"

sup-fan, that is an excellent summary of their voices. I have always felt that the combination of these three artists has a magic to it and much deserving of the group's name. They even looked right when on stage together.