Tcb/ git

[daviddh]

watching Elvis comeback special on PBS
could we get TCB on air ,again??

i loved TCB but, i am not a fan of GIT . to many medleys of broadway songs.
i suppose i am in the minority here but visually it looked cool , but the medleys , just not for me

i think we should have had a TCB 2....
both groups had enough of their owns hits and the duet albums to make up a nice sequel instead of this broadway mess.
any thoughts??
i would include songs like Try It Baby, Funky Broadway , Im Gonna Make You Love Me, the Weight, Why Must We Fall In Love plus the groups could perform their more current hits rather than medleys of older hits.

[reese]

I too was watching the Elvis 1968 special on PBS and it made me think that TCB would have been a nice presentation for a PBS pledge drive.

TCB is definitely my favorite of the two but GIT has its moments as well. Sure, it would have been nice to have another special of hits but who is to say that is what NBC wanted? I think Motown and George Schlatter went with the Broadway theme to showcase the group's versatility. Whether the audience liked it is open to question but I enjoy it for what it is.

[Motown Eddie]

I still feel that both TCB & GIT on Broadway should get Deluxe Editions on Blu-Ray/DVD [and a special broadcast on PBS would be great too].

[sup_fan]

I too was watching the Elvis 1968 special on PBS and it made me think that TCB would have been a nice presentation for a PBS pledge drive.

TCB is definitely my favorite of the two but GIT has its moments as well. Sure, it would have been nice to have another special of hits but who is to say that is what NBC wanted? I think Motown and George Schlatter went with the Broadway theme to showcase the group's versatility. Whether the audience liked it is open to question but I enjoy it for what it is.

haha reeese - i'll agree/disagree with your comment motown was focusing on showcasing Diana's versatility. i bet they couldn't have cared two whips about demonstrating the Temps versatility. plus both acts had long been staples of Sullivan and other tv shows, often singing MOR and showtunes. so i think the general public was aware of their broader talents. i think this was specifically done to give critics, broadway producers, Hollywood and others that Diana Ross could not only sing but could convey depth of character and comedic skills.

[reese]

haha reeese - i'll agree/disagree with your comment motown was focusing on showcasing Diana's versatility. i bet they couldn't have cared two whips about demonstrating the Temps versatility. plus both acts had long been staples of Sullivan and other tv shows, often singing MOR and showtunes. so i think the general public was aware of their broader talents. i think this was specifically done to give critics, broadway producers, Hollywood and others that Diana Ross could not only sing but could convey depth of character and comedic skills.

I agree. Diana was to be the main focus but it didn't hurt the others to show their versatility as well. Although I have to admit that the FIDDLER ON THE ROOF medley did the Tempts no favors.

I also find it interesting that when the Tempts had their own syndicated tv special that same year [1969], there weren't any skits. Just great singing.

[sup_fan]

since they'd already done a tv showcase of their own hits and top hits of the day, if they redid that for Special #2, it would have been rather anticlimactic. Been there, done that. plus they'd already done The Temptations Show which had mostly done that. So i don't think the idea of shifting to Broadway was necessarily a bad one. but the execution couldn't have been more hideous

1. ghastly color palette and overall visual design - the gold, black and rust combination was just horrid. even prisoners are given more lively outfits in bright orange jumpsuits. you had the incredible Bob Mackie making some of the most sensational gowns for the girls and they're just washed out against this baby-shit colored stage.

2. terrible medleys - either Gil wasn't part of this project or was totally off his game. But the opening medley is ponderous and boring. The Temps Fiddler Medley is even worse. you have Sunrise Sunset with the most ear-splitting dissonance in harmonies. i honestly can't tell if the men just forgot how to sing and are our of tune or someone actually scored it that way. and the extended [[deleted) medley the girls did is only marginally better. Mary and Cindy sing Remember and frankly it was a wise decision to cut it. they sound very out of tune - i've heard it on a bootleg and the overall sound quality is fair enough so i don't think it was tape distortion.

3. lack of current, popular material - Cabaret was a recent Broadway smash, Promises Promises, Hair. 1776. Man of La Mancha. Given the massiveness of Hair, they frankly should have done a large medley of those tunes by the combined groups.

4. skits - while they have not aged well, i get it that they were THE thing at the time. and motown wasn't doing this special for posterity. but good god lol

[sansradio]

^Yeah, sup, if memory serves, wasn't Buz Kohan the musical director for both specials?

[reese]

^Yeah, sup, if memory serves, wasn't Buz Kohan the musical director for both specials?

Kohan co-wrote the title song for T.C.B.

The orchestra for T.C.B. was under the direction of Jack Daniels, but under the supervision of Gil Askey and Maurice King.

The conductor for G.I.T. was H.B. Barnum. Gil, Maurice, and Suzanne dePasse are also credited on the album, so they had some involvement as well.

[sansradio]

Kohan co-wrote the title song for T.C.B.

The orchestra for T.C.B. was under the direction of Jack Daniels, but under the supervision of Gil Askey and Maurice King.

The conductor for G.I.T. was H.B. Barnum. Gil, Maurice, and Suzanne dePasse are also credited on the album, so they had some involvement as well.

Good on ya as always, my friend.