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    Lynda on lead: STONED LOVE



    Perhaps one of my favorite live performances of the 70's Supremes; this with the rare line-up of Mary, Cindy, and Lynda. Lynda sounds amazing; I particularly like the ending where the group in unison sings "Stoned love, stoned love, stoned love, stoned looooove".

    This was Hawaii, 1972. I think another song from this performance recently showed up on YouTube. Does this mean the whole show is out there somewhere?

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    Lynda sounds great and Mary and Cindy are fire

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    Quote Originally Posted by blackguy69 View Post
    Lynda sounds great and Mary and Cindy are fire
    agree - i think the MLC lineup could have been interesting. Lynda's voice really cuts through the orchestration, like Scherrie's, Diana's and Jean's. IMO it's more of a "lead" voice than a backing voice. I don't know that L and M ever came close to the blend of M and C.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post


    Perhaps one of my favorite live performances of the 70's Supremes; this with the rare line-up of Mary, Cindy, and Lynda. Lynda sounds amazing; I particularly like the ending where the group in unison sings "Stoned love, stoned love, stoned love, stoned looooove".

    This was Hawaii, 1972. I think another song from this performance recently showed up on YouTube. Does this mean the whole show is out there somewhere?
    there's a clip sometimes on youtube of them doing Exodus as their finale number. also very good.

    so yeah. clearly someone recorded the show. these are definite fan bootlegs. not like this was a radio broadcast or something. so the show has to be out there somewhere

    based on what they were doing at the time [[in late 71 and through summer 72), i'd guess that the show included:

    Stoned Love
    Love the one you're with
    Can't take my eyes/quiet nights
    floy joy
    60s medley
    Everybody's got the right to love
    exodus

    for a year or so they started the show with the medley of Feeling Good/Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music/Loving Country. i wonder if by end of 71/early 72, they had changed that.

    some other songs that they were doing into mid/late 71 include Love Story, River Deep, We've only just begun, O Happy Day, Heaven help us all, macarthur park. and jean usually did a solo number - sometimes it was people, sometimes macarthur, sometimes he ain't heavy.

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    Mary and Cindy has the best blend.
    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    agree - i think the MLC lineup could have been interesting. Lynda's voice really cuts through the orchestration, like Scherrie's, Diana's and Jean's. IMO it's more of a "lead" voice than a backing voice. I don't know that L and M ever came close to the blend of M and C.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    there's a clip sometimes on youtube of them doing Exodus as their finale number. also very good.

    so yeah. clearly someone recorded the show. these are definite fan bootlegs. not like this was a radio broadcast or something. so the show has to be out there somewhere

    based on what they were doing at the time [[in late 71 and through summer 72), i'd guess that the show included:

    Stoned Love
    Love the one you're with
    Can't take my eyes/quiet nights
    floy joy
    60s medley
    Everybody's got the right to love
    exodus

    for a year or so they started the show with the medley of Feeling Good/Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music/Loving Country. i wonder if by end of 71/early 72, they had changed that.

    some other songs that they were doing into mid/late 71 include Love Story, River Deep, We've only just begun, O Happy Day, Heaven help us all, macarthur park. and jean usually did a solo number - sometimes it was people, sometimes macarthur, sometimes he ain't heavy.
    Interesting set list. Question--how did they ever come to add the Theme to the movie Exodus to their set list, and the closer or encore number no less?! The movie came out in 1960. The theme is a good piece of movie music no doubt and I've heard a bootleg on youtube of them doing it. They sound good. But why this song? Wouldn't Up the Ladder be a better closing number? It was their hit. It would have ended the show on an "up" [[no pun intended) note. Was this song in their PUSH performance that the audience was cool too? I also recall reading in Supreme Faith that at one of their shows around this time, they had finish their show and did their fake exit and were planning to come back to do Theme From Exodus, only to come back on stage to see the audience filing out. And they had to coax them back for the performance of the song. Yet another indicator that for whatever reasons, the group just wasn't connecting with their audience like they used to.

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    Maybe The Supremes heard The Originals' 1971 version of Exodus and decided to do it, too, as its message could be seen as a cry for harmony among the races. By that point, the movie's storyline had been somewhat forgotten, so its theme song's message could be taken out of its original context.

    The Supremes' harmony on the Hawaii bootleg is astonishing and impressive, as each member's voice is heard; it is truly a group effort, rather than a number with a lead singer and some background voices.

    However, the arrangement's spoken interlude was too clearly inspired by the 1965 Supremes' presentation of Somewhere; Diana could inject a bit of sincerity into her mini-monologue, however artificial that element of the showcase may have grown to seem on repeated listenings over the years, despite its updated content. On the other hand, Lynda's scripted remarks came across as phony and naive; she may have had some lead singer qualities, but her stage presence was not as compelling/alluring as that Diana could conjure up when needed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by benross View Post
    Maybe The Supremes heard The Originals' 1971 version of Exodus and decided to do it, too, as its message could be seen as a cry for harmony among the races. By that point, the movie's storyline had been somewhat forgotten, so its theme song's message could be taken out of its original context.

    The Supremes' harmony on the Hawaii bootleg is astonishing and impressive, as each member's voice is heard; it is truly a group effort, rather than a number with a lead singer and some background voices.

    However, the arrangement's spoken interlude was too clearly inspired by the 1965 Supremes' presentation of Somewhere; Diana could inject a bit of sincerity into her mini-monologue, however artificial that element of the showcase may have grown to seem on repeated listenings over the years, despite its updated content. On the other hand, Lynda's scripted remarks came across as phony and naive; she may have had some lead singer qualities, but her stage presence was not as compelling/alluring as that Diana could conjure up when needed.
    I’d say hard to judge based on just a few lead performances, we really will never know what Lynda was capable of in the Supremes. Takes time to hone skills as a lead singer as it did with Diana. Maybe with some work MCL could have worked for a while. Knowing how good Sherrie was as a lead def skews the idea that MCL could have worked.

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    Lynda’s lead is nice enough, but nothing more imo.
    Although obviously a talented and accomplished singer, i have always thought Scherrie’s voice lacked the commercial pop appeal that was needed after Jeans departure. In short although brilliant, she was the wrong choice as lead singer of the Supremes.
    I know many will disagree, but i think had they searched for another singer with a Diana/Jean type voice that was more readily associated with the Supremes sound they might have enjoyed further pop hits.
    Last edited by Ollie9; 06-26-2021 at 06:49 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post


    Perhaps one of my favorite live performances of the 70's Supremes; this with the rare line-up of Mary, Cindy, and Lynda. Lynda sounds amazing; I particularly like the ending where the group in unison sings "Stoned love, stoned love, stoned love, stoned looooove".

    This was Hawaii, 1972. I think another song from this performance recently showed up on YouTube. Does this mean the whole show is out there somewhere?
    I have always been impressed with what I am heard from this show - Lynda’s first as a Supreme. I actually prefer her version live than To Jean’s. She handles the frenetic pace of the arrangement with aplomb.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Lynda’s lead is nice enough, but nothing more imo.
    Although obviously a talented and accomplished singer, i have always thought Scherrie’s voice lacked the commercial pop appeal that was needed after Jeans departure. In short although brilliant, she was the wrong choice as lead singer of the Supremes.
    I know many will disagree, but i think had they searched for another singer with a Diana/Jean type voice that was more readily associated with the Supremes sound they might have enjoyed further pop hits.
    I absolutely agree, however her voice was good for dance music, but it lacked warmth. Her diction was a tremendous problem at times as lyrics must be easy to hear.

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    Quote Originally Posted by benross View Post
    Maybe The Supremes heard The Originals' 1971 version of Exodus and decided to do it, too, as its message could be seen as a cry for harmony among the races. By that point, the movie's storyline had been somewhat forgotten, so its theme song's message could be taken out of its original context.

    The Supremes' harmony on the Hawaii bootleg is astonishing and impressive, as each member's voice is heard; it is truly a group effort, rather than a number with a lead singer and some background voices.

    However, the arrangement's spoken interlude was too clearly inspired by the 1965 Supremes' presentation of Somewhere; Diana could inject a bit of sincerity into her mini-monologue, however artificial that element of the showcase may have grown to seem on repeated listenings over the years, despite its updated content. On the other hand, Lynda's scripted remarks came across as phony and naive; she may have had some lead singer qualities, but her stage presence was not as compelling/alluring as that Diana could conjure up when needed.
    Ross’ stage presence is legend and very, very rare. I never compare other singers to her in that department because because their abilities will automatically seem less than they really are. I thought lynda had strong visual presentation and I like her speaking voice and manner.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blackguy69 View Post
    Mary and Cindy has the best blend.
    Mary and Cindy are my least favorite vocal blend of all groupings. Their sound to me is too soft and lacks character. I believe this is why they were almost always augmented in the studio or not used at all. Of course, it took me decades to accept that Florence was not coming back I loved their sound together so much. I think that Cindy’s soft hushed sound, when combined with Mary’s hushed Smokey alto made a very weak sound that didn’t pop. I think they needed a strong sharp voice to blend with Mary’s lovely smoky voice.
    Last edited by TheMotownManiac; 06-27-2021 at 02:15 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    I absolutely agree, however her voice was good for dance music, but it lacked warmth. Her diction was a tremendous problem at times as lyrics must be easy to hear.
    It would also have made their 70’s hits sound far more authentic when performed live.
    Scherrie is of course a very talented, soulful singer but as you mention, her voice lacks a certain warmth.
    Perhaps they should have looked beyond what an accomplished vocalist Scherrie undoubtedly is and considered was it the right style of voice and sound to lead the Supremes. I don’t think it was.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    It would also have made their 70’s hits sound far more authentic when performed live.
    Scherrie is of course a very talented, soulful singer but as you mention, her voice lacks a certain warmth.
    Perhaps they should have looked beyond what an accomplished vocalist Scherrie undoubtedly is and considered was it the right style of voice and sound to lead the Supremes. I don’t think it was.
    .
    I would say my opinion is different from yours regarding Scherrie and Jean. As far as warmth, I would say of the three Diana had the warmest tones, but she didn't convey as much warmth in her vocals as Mary did. Even Diana felt Mary had a warm vocal sound. I would say Diana was very pliable and had the training to elicit empathy from some of her vocals, she had a very distinctive voice. Jean lacked the warmth of Diana as well as lacking her ability to visually shine on stage. Jean's voice was distinctive and she had a very great voice with the ability to interpret lyrics but her vocals didn't really have much warmth to them-when she shared leads with Mary, it was really apparent to me. Scherrie had a voice that was strong, powerful and beautiful if not as distinctive, it still would pull you into a song. Scherrie is the realization of what Florence may have been as the lead singer of the group. Flo had a strong voice, but it wasn't distinctive or as warm as Mary or Diana. Scherrie also had the glamour, razzle dazzle and stage presence that was missing in Jean[[not meant to slight Jean). Do you guys feel Susaye would have been a better choice for lead singer since she had her distinctive multi-octave range? Like Lynda, I feel she would be better as a soloist. Lynda has a good voice and I have liked some of her FLOs vocals but I always felt visually and vocally combined that Mary and Cindy worked best. With Flo, Mary was the anchor to add warmth and depth to the vocals of Flo and Diana, she had the right tone between the two of them to solidify a group sound[[according to Diana). I love all of them, but each had their own unique talents. I think trying to replicate the exact sound of Ross on leads would have only led to comparisons and when someone replaces someone the original is always the template for what you expect and that stifles individuality and growth.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jim aka jtigre99 View Post
    .
    I would say my opinion is different from yours regarding Scherrie and Jean. As far as warmth, I would say of the three Diana had the warmest tones, but she didn't convey as much warmth in her vocals as Mary did. Even Diana felt Mary had a warm vocal sound. I would say Diana was very pliable and had the training to elicit empathy from some of her vocals, she had a very distinctive voice. Jean lacked the warmth of Diana as well as lacking her ability to visually shine on stage. Jean's voice was distinctive and she had a very great voice with the ability to interpret lyrics but her vocals didn't really have much warmth to them-when she shared leads with Mary, it was really apparent to me. Scherrie had a voice that was strong, powerful and beautiful if not as distinctive, it still would pull you into a song. Scherrie is the realization of what Florence may have been as the lead singer of the group. Flo had a strong voice, but it wasn't distinctive or as warm as Mary or Diana. Scherrie also had the glamour, razzle dazzle and stage presence that was missing in Jean[[not meant to slight Jean). Do you guys feel Susaye would have been a better choice for lead singer since she had her distinctive multi-octave range? Like Lynda, I feel she would be better as a soloist. Lynda has a good voice and I have liked some of her FLOs vocals but I always felt visually and vocally combined that Mary and Cindy worked best. With Flo, Mary was the anchor to add warmth and depth to the vocals of Flo and Diana, she had the right tone between the two of them to solidify a group sound[[according to Diana). I love all of them, but each had their own unique talents. I think trying to replicate the exact sound of Ross on leads would have only led to comparisons and when someone replaces someone the original is always the template for what you expect and that stifles individuality and growth.
    Jeans voice though not as warm as Diana’s was commercial and unique enough to provide the group with a string of 70’s hits. I believe the public associated the Supremes with a lead singer similar in sound to Diana and Jean.
    Scherrie has a powerful, more strident type voice that i think lends itself less well to pop hits. The fact the group never had another substantial hit after Jean’s departure speaks volumes.
    Purely based on voice, i believe a Jean template was exactly the way to go, but someone who would bring to the group her unique identity and personality.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Lynda’s lead is nice enough, but nothing more imo.
    Although obviously a talented and accomplished singer, i have always thought Scherrie’s voice lacked the commercial pop appeal that was needed after Jeans departure. In short although brilliant, she was the wrong choice as lead singer of the Supremes.
    I know many will disagree, but i think had they searched for another singer with a Diana/Jean type voice that was more readily associated with the Supremes sound they might have enjoyed further pop hits.
    I actually see the wisdom in this Ollie. I'm not sure I really held the same opinion before reading your comment. If you think about the Tempts, after David and Eddie left, Otis [[and Melvin) always hired falsetto tenors. And whenever Dennis was off on his own thing, Otis [[and Melvin) usually had a similar voiced singer take over. [[Ollie Woodson being my favorite. Good grief could that man sing!) I think that might be one reason why the Tempts managed to have successes for many years post the exits of it's two most recognizable lead voices. The similar voiced replacements helped keep the original tone, to some degree or another, to the point where the public was comfortable.

    To a certain extent, that's probably why the Jean Supremes were initially successful. Had a Gladys Knight type singer taken over, it may have been such a jarring change of voice that the public may have abandoned ship with the first new single. Mary taking over as lead, or in an alternate reality, Flo coming back to assume the position, would have probably maintained some interest because they were originals, but neither of them had similar voices to Diana. Jean kept the tone of the brand. Scherrie did not. I enjoy Scherrie. I love her voice. And of course hindsight is always 20/20. But I do believe that it's possible that if Lynda had stayed when Jean left, and taken over the lead singer position, or another singer with that high toned soprano had been hired instead of Scherrie, that the public may have been more interested.

    Of course my main opinion is that without top notch songs to compete with the hits of the day, it didn't matter who was singing lead in the Supremes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    I absolutely agree, however her voice was good for dance music, but it lacked warmth. Her diction was a tremendous problem at times as lyrics must be easy to hear.
    I've never had a problem understanding Scherrie. I can't say I agree that there's anything wrong with her diction. I do agree that she had a perfect dance music voice, which makes her a good fit for what the Supremes were doing at that point. But of course I still hold the opinion that the Supremes should not have been doing disco at all.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    Mary and Cindy are my least favorite vocal blend of all groupings. Their sound to me is too soft and lacks character. I believe this is why they were almost always augmented in the studio or not used at all. Of course, it took me decades to accept that Florence was not coming back I loved their sound together so much. I think that Cindy’s soft hushed sound, when combined with Mary’s hushed Smokey alto made a very weak sound that didn’t pop. I think they needed a strong sharp voice to blend with Mary’s lovely smoky voice.
    I agree to a point. I've always described Mary and Cindy as weak. I don't mean "weak" as in it's bad or even necessarily that's it's a lesser quality than any others, just that it is a softer sound. Flo and Mary together were capable of a bombastic sound. Flo was just naturally that kind of singer. Mary possessed the skill to blend in with it, and honestly, as a backing vocalist, Mary was capable of some full throttle sounds herself. Cindy just wasn't that type of singer. So when she came in, Mary often had to meet Cindy where she was, instead of Cindy ever really being able to rise to the top of Mary's abilities. So where Flo and Mary had this full sound, a really classic blend of r&b, pop and gospel, that made them a perfect fit for a wide range of genre singing, Mary and Cindy could only do so much before they were out of steam and out of their collective element. I've always opined that Cindy was the reason that the Andantes became so frequent in the post Flo era, especially on the singles. The Andantes were able to keep some of the tone of the Flo/Mary era. Cindy and Mary could not.

    Having said that, I do think Mary and Cindy had a beautiful, dare I say perfect, blend on some things. I think they particularly shined on the MOR stuff. They sound incredible to me on the Fats Waller Medley. The two of them often achieved a blend that was a perfect mix of each other. As much as I love the Flo era, and love the blend of her and Mary, there are many times when Flo is definitely more audible than Mary rather than the two of them being equal, achieving a perfect mix. Cindy and Mary did that often.

    I recall someone once suggesting that after Diana left, Mary and Cindy could have found work singing backup with rock acts. I thumbed down that idea because they just didn't have the sound that would work for something like that. Singing backup for Engelbert Humperdinck? Sure. I think Mary and Cindy had a nice blend for pop music. They would've sounded nice on "The Composer". "Love Child"? No way. Anything too funky or rhythmic would be a challenge.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jim aka jtigre99 View Post
    .
    Do you guys feel Susaye would have been a better choice for lead singer since she had her distinctive multi-octave range? Like Lynda, I feel she would be better as a soloist.
    Maybe. Susaye was a high soprano, but IMO she lacked the vocal depth of Diana and Jean. Those two ladies had a warmth to their voices and the ability to get into character in a song. I've never heard that from Susaye. Of course I'm also someone who finds high voices like Susaye's to be extremely annoying [[Jean Terrell and Deniece Williams the exceptions to the rule), so I may not be qualified to offer a truly unbiased opinion.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I actually see the wisdom in this Ollie. I'm not sure I really held the same opinion before reading your comment. If you think about the Tempts, after David and Eddie left, Otis [[and Melvin) always hired falsetto tenors. And whenever Dennis was off on his own thing, Otis [[and Melvin) usually had a similar voiced singer take over. [[Ollie Woodson being my favorite. Good grief could that man sing!) I think that might be one reason why the Tempts managed to have successes for many years post the exits of it's two most recognizable lead voices. The similar voiced replacements helped keep the original tone, to some degree or another, to the point where the public was comfortable.

    To a certain extent, that's probably why the Jean Supremes were initially successful. Had a Gladys Knight type singer taken over, it may have been such a jarring change of voice that the public may have abandoned ship with the first new single. Mary taking over as lead, or in an alternate reality, Flo coming back to assume the position, would have probably maintained some interest because they were originals, but neither of them had similar voices to Diana. Jean kept the tone of the brand. Scherrie did not. I enjoy Scherrie. I love her voice. And of course hindsight is always 20/20. But I do believe that it's possible that if Lynda had stayed when Jean left, and taken over the lead singer position, or another singer with that high toned soprano had been hired instead of Scherrie, that the public may have been more interested.

    Of course my main opinion is that without top notch songs to compete with the hits of the day, it didn't matter who was singing lead in the Supremes.
    The Temptations make for an an excellent comparison Ran. I believe that kind of continuity was vital if the Supremes were to extend their run of hits. Obviously their style of music would evolve over time, but they would still be maintaining the overall sound the Supremes were, and probably always will be associated with.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I agree to a point. I've always described Mary and Cindy as weak. I don't mean "weak" as in it's bad or even necessarily that's it's a lesser quality than any others, just that it is a softer sound. Flo and Mary together were capable of a bombastic sound. Flo was just naturally that kind of singer. Mary possessed the skill to blend in with it, and honestly, as a backing vocalist, Mary was capable of some full throttle sounds herself. Cindy just wasn't that type of singer. So when she came in, Mary often had to meet Cindy where she was, instead of Cindy ever really being able to rise to the top of Mary's abilities. So where Flo and Mary had this full sound, a really classic blend of r&b, pop and gospel, that made them a perfect fit for a wide range of genre singing, Mary and Cindy could only do so much before they were out of steam and out of their collective element. I've always opined that Cindy was the reason that the Andantes became so frequent in the post Flo era, especially on the singles. The Andantes were able to keep some of the tone of the Flo/Mary era. Cindy and Mary could not.

    Having said that, I do think Mary and Cindy had a beautiful, dare I say perfect, blend on some things. I think they particularly shined on the MOR stuff. They sound incredible to me on the Fats Waller Medley. The two of them often achieved a blend that was a perfect mix of each other. As much as I love the Flo era, and love the blend of her and Mary, there are many times when Flo is definitely more audible than Mary rather than the two of them being equal, achieving a perfect mix. Cindy and Mary did that often.

    I recall someone once suggesting that after Diana left, Mary and Cindy could have found work singing backup with rock acts. I thumbed down that idea because they just didn't have the sound that would work for something like that. Singing backup for Engelbert Humperdinck? Sure. I think Mary and Cindy had a nice blend for pop music. They would've sounded nice on "The Composer". "Love Child"? No way. Anything too funky or rhythmic would be a challenge.
    Agree 100%. Mary and Cindy came into their own on the more MOR influenced material such as tribute medleys etc.
    Having said that, i would love tho have heard Flo on The “Funny Girl” album. Those songs are a perfect match for someone of her vocal personality.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    The Temptations make for an an excellent comparison Ran. I believe that kind of continuity was vital if the Supremes were to extend their run of hits. Obviously their style of music would evolve over time, but they would still be maintaining the overall sound the Supremes were, and probably always will be associated with.
    In some ways, that makes sense for continuing the sound but with the Temptations the lead singers that left were never catapulted to stardom like Diana Ross was in the Supremes. David Ruffin certainly didn't make a huge splash, Dennis Edwards had a few minor hits and Eddie Kendricks while comparing did the best outside of the group was never near the heights that Ross was, The Supremes were in an unenviable situation that Ross became a huge star on her own [[granted with HUGE Motown backing) and any new lead singer who sounded the same would be compared to her. Mary wrote that sometimes it seemed that the weight of that was crushing Jean.I could be wrong, but Mary said Scherrie had a spark, a fire that was missing from the group and that she would not be compared to Ross, for which she was grateful.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jim aka jtigre99 View Post
    In some ways, that makes sense for continuing the sound but with the Temptations the lead singers that left were never catapulted to stardom like Diana Ross was in the Supremes. David Ruffin certainly didn't make a huge splash, Dennis Edwards had a few minor hits and Eddie Kendricks while comparing did the best outside of the group was never near the heights that Ross was, The Supremes were in an unenviable situation that Ross became a huge star on her own [[granted with HUGE Motown backing) and any new lead singer who sounded the same would be compared to her. Mary wrote that sometimes it seemed that the weight of that was crushing Jean.I could be wrong, but Mary said Scherrie had a spark, a fire that was missing from the group and that she would not be compared to Ross, for which she was grateful.
    I believe Jean was only regularly compared to Diana when she first took over as lead singer. To discourage Diana comparisons, i always thought they should have reduced the number of 60’s hits in their live act and lost a few of those sequins. Jean was never fond of performing those songs and I can see why.
    Scherrie may have been vivacious, but again I question if she possessed the right style of voice to lead the group. That’s why I agree with Ran’s analogy to the Temptations.

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    I do agree that Cindy needed to step up the vocals but no I don’t believe that the reason they started using the andantes is because of Cindy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blackguy69 View Post
    I do agree that Cindy needed to step up the vocals but no I don’t believe that the reason they started using the andantes is because of Cindy.
    I think it may have been time constraints and the fact it was probably just easier to use the Andantes if they were usually around the studio. Add to this the focus was totally on Diana, so getting Mary and Cindy to supply backing vocals was probably not deemed a major priority.

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    Cindy was a 2nd soprano, not a first. her upper range is not her strongest element. she tended to do best in the middle and the tone of her voice is one that melts away beautifully with the other singers. it's there - it's not that she's not singing. or singing as quietly as a mouse. it's just that you really have to listen in order to separate her vocal from the others. that's a good thing

    during the DMC era, Cindy had to assume the 1st soprano line on many of the songs. Like on The Impossible Dream on TCB. she certainly can do it and it sounds lovely. but her sweet spot is lower. but so was Diana's. that makes it a challenge with 3 part harmony.

    Jean and Scherrie had stronger upper ranges than C or D. So in the studios that allowed some excellent 3-part harmony because you had a true 1st soprano.

    the 3 part harmonies from the MSC era are among the best the group ever recorded. I'm not a mega fan of Sup 75 but that's mostly because i think some of the songs are weak. but the singing on those weak songs is excellent. but HMM, Color My World, hell - even This Is Why.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    Cindy was a 2nd soprano, not a first. her upper range is not her strongest element. she tended to do best in the middle and the tone of her voice is one that melts away beautifully with the other singers. it's there - it's not that she's not singing. or singing as quietly as a mouse. it's just that you really have to listen in order to separate her vocal from the others. that's a good thing

    during the DMC era, Cindy had to assume the 1st soprano line on many of the songs. Like on The Impossible Dream on TCB. she certainly can do it and it sounds lovely. but her sweet spot is lower. but so was Diana's. that makes it a challenge with 3 part harmony.

    Jean and Scherrie had stronger upper ranges than C or D. So in the studios that allowed some excellent 3-part harmony because you had a true 1st soprano.

    the 3 part harmonies from the MSC era are among the best the group ever recorded. I'm not a mega fan of Sup 75 but that's mostly because i think some of the songs are weak. but the singing on those weak songs is excellent. but HMM, Color My World, hell - even This Is Why.
    I don't know anything about first or second soprano. But I do know that I like harmony and when it is done right, it almost sounds like one voice. You may have explained why I like this clip of MSC so much. Without notice and to their complete surprise- you can see the surprise on Mary's face - they had to sing the song acapella. They did a terrific job, and their harmony was glorious.


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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    I don't know anything about first or second soprano. But I do know that I like harmony and when it is done right, it almost sounds like one voice. You may have explained why I like this clip of MSC so much. Without notice and to their complete surprise- you can see the surprise on Mary's face - they had to sing the song acapella. They did a terrific job, and their harmony was glorious.

    Milven, you really hit it with this example. This is exactly why I get so peeved when some people post about the later Supremes as somehow inferior. Some trollish posters like to write things like "screeching" or "hollering" when referring to MSC and MSS and it always makes me think less of the person writing that. Here we have Cindy, Mary, and Scherrie, caught completely off-guard, not ready to sing acapella and what do they do? Hit it right out of the park [[ring) with a moving rendition of a song that many other artists have run afoul of. It isn't as easy to sing as one might think. Imagine being in that ring, being told "no, we don't have the music" and then just belting it out any damn way. Every version of the Supremes were supreme. This is just a REALLY good example. Thanks Milven.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Agree 100%. Mary and Cindy came into their own on the more MOR influenced material such as tribute medleys etc.
    Having said that, i would love tho have heard Flo on The “Funny Girl” album. Those songs are a perfect match for someone of her vocal personality.
    Agreed.

    There's almost no chance it would have ever happened, so we can skip the "that would never happen" responses, but it would've been interesting to hear what Flo may have done with the FG arrangement of "People" as opposed to the one from 1964. I realize you were probably speaking about Florence as backing vocalist on the album, but your comment made me wonder about Flo doing "People".

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    Quote Originally Posted by jim aka jtigre99 View Post
    In some ways, that makes sense for continuing the sound but with the Temptations the lead singers that left were never catapulted to stardom like Diana Ross was in the Supremes. David Ruffin certainly didn't make a huge splash, Dennis Edwards had a few minor hits and Eddie Kendricks while comparing did the best outside of the group was never near the heights that Ross was, The Supremes were in an unenviable situation that Ross became a huge star on her own [[granted with HUGE Motown backing) and any new lead singer who sounded the same would be compared to her. Mary wrote that sometimes it seemed that the weight of that was crushing Jean.I could be wrong, but Mary said Scherrie had a spark, a fire that was missing from the group and that she would not be compared to Ross, for which she was grateful.
    Diana Ross being a solo star had nothing to do with the issues the 70s Supremes faced. The reality- IMO- is that even if Diana had exited the group and went on to [[relative) obscurity, her lead voice as a Supreme set a tone, as most, if not all, lead singers do. The 70s groupings may have fared better if the 60s had Diana, Flo and Mary trading leads on singles. That's probably another reason why the Tempts fared better as time went on, because they never had one main lead singer. But with Diana as lead on singles, her voice became synonymous with the group, and anyone coming in to assume the role afterwards would need to keep that feeling. Jean accomplished that, to some degree or other. I just don't think Scherrie ever did.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I think it may have been time constraints and the fact it was probably just easier to use the Andantes if they were usually around the studio. Add to this the focus was totally on Diana, so getting Mary and Cindy to supply backing vocals was probably not deemed a major priority.
    The Tempts were as busy as the Supremes and as far as I can tell there are no Dennis or Eddie leads with the Spinners or Originals replacing the Tempts. Same with the Tops. I don't buy the time issue. Mary and Cindy probably fared better than the Marvelettes and the Vandellas at this point. I think the Marvelettes were almost exclusively replaced by the Andantes for everything [[although I'm not as well versed on the ins and outs of the Marvelettes recordings) by the late 60s. As far as I can tell, after Roz left, the Vandellas were also pretty much never utilized in studio again. At least Mary and Cindy did do quite a bit of recording. But they were completely replaced on the singles. I don't believe if Flo had stayed that this would have been the case. Mary and Cindy had such a drastic sound change from the days of Flo. I imagine to a lot of producers it wouldn't have even felt like recording the same group, even though only one member had been replaced.

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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    I don't know anything about first or second soprano. But I do know that I like harmony and when it is done right, it almost sounds like one voice. You may have explained why I like this clip of MSC so much. Without notice and to their complete surprise- you can see the surprise on Mary's face - they had to sing the song acapella. They did a terrific job, and their harmony was glorious.
    Milven, you said it better than I did. That's what I was trying to get at when I mentioned Mary and Cindy's strength together. They could sound almost as one. And the vid you post illustrates how the addition of Scherrie in the harmony only strengthened the sound. [[I've opined in the forum on multiple occasions that I believe MSC almost always recorded their backing vocals together, no matter who was singing lead.)

    Contrast that to Mary and Flo. Now there are definitely times when during the harmony the two of them achieve that perfect oneness, for sure. However, as I've written in the forum before, Flo and Mary also approached background singing in the gospel group tradition, where the harmony is structured in a way that each singer is identifiable. The Andantes were capable of this, but more often than not, and especially as time went on, they approached [[or were encouraged by the producers) to use the pop approach, thus the sophisticated sound they would become known for. Flo and Mary were r&b, even when they weren't necessarily singing those kinds of songs. Mary and Cindy were pop. Flo and Cindy were just so different from one another. It had to affect the sound.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thanxal View Post
    Milven, you really hit it with this example. This is exactly why I get so peeved when some people post about the later Supremes as somehow inferior. Some trollish posters like to write things like "screeching" or "hollering" when referring to MSC and MSS and it always makes me think less of the person writing that. Here we have Cindy, Mary, and Scherrie, caught completely off-guard, not ready to sing acapella and what do they do? Hit it right out of the park [[ring) with a moving rendition of a song that many other artists have run afoul of. It isn't as easy to sing as one might think. Imagine being in that ring, being told "no, we don't have the music" and then just belting it out any damn way. Every version of the Supremes were supreme. This is just a REALLY good example. Thanks Milven.
    At the risk of causing your opinion of me to ebb [[as I know you have the utmost respect for me prior to this post), I do think there are times when the last grouping relied less on group harmony and more on every woman for herself. Because Mary, Scherrie and Susaye were all great singers in her own right, the group could never seriously be considered as lacking talent nor are there no examples of them being in excellent form. But sometimes they did too much, IMO. I don't know about hollering, but there was definitely some screeching going on at times. The fact that Susaye had the ability to damn near shatter glass with her octaves, might contribute to the feeling of "screech", even if that's not what she's actually doing, if that makes any sense.

    That's my opinion anyway.

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    I don't know if this will make sense, but to me, with Flo and Mary, Flo always took the "lead" background part, and Mary harmonized around it. That's what gave them a solid blend.

    With Cindy, it's almost the exact oposite; that Mary was the "strength" and Cindy added to it.

    But Flo and Mary were two different singers, singing two different parts. Mary's strength was working around Flo.
    With Cindy, Mary had to switch gears, and the results while still acceptable, don't come across as rich.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    The Tempts were as busy as the Supremes and as far as I can tell there are no Dennis or Eddie leads with the Spinners or Originals replacing the Tempts. Same with the Tops. I don't buy the time issue. Mary and Cindy probably fared better than the Marvelettes and the Vandellas at this point. I think the Marvelettes were almost exclusively replaced by the Andantes for everything [[although I'm not as well versed on the ins and outs of the Marvelettes recordings) by the late 60s. As far as I can tell, after Roz left, the Vandellas were also pretty much never utilized in studio again. At least Mary and Cindy did do quite a bit of recording. But they were completely replaced on the singles. I don't believe if Flo had stayed that this would have been the case. Mary and Cindy had such a drastic sound change from the days of Flo. I imagine to a lot of producers it wouldn't have even felt like recording the same group, even though only one member had been replaced.
    Interesting info Ran. So with the exception of “Love Child”, what do you think is the main reason Mary and Cindy were not used on singles?. Was it just coincidence the songs chosen just happened to be the ones M& C were missing from or was it a deliberate act.
    I really cant imagine the situation would have been much different had Flo stayed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Agreed.

    There's almost no chance it would have ever happened, so we can skip the "that would never happen" responses, but it would've been interesting to hear what Flo may have done with the FG arrangement of "People" as opposed to the one from 1964. I realize you were probably speaking about Florence as backing vocalist on the album, but your comment made me wonder about Flo doing "People".
    You were right, definitely as backing singer.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    At the risk of causing your opinion of me to ebb [[as I know you have the utmost respect for me prior to this post), I do think there are times when the last grouping relied less on group harmony and more on every woman for herself. Because Mary, Scherrie and Susaye were all great singers in her own right, the group could never seriously be considered as lacking talent nor are there no examples of them being in excellent form. But sometimes they did too much, IMO. I don't know about hollering, but there was definitely some screeching going on at times. The fact that Susaye had the ability to damn near shatter glass with her octaves, might contribute to the feeling of "screech", even if that's not what she's actually doing, if that makes any sense.

    That's my opinion anyway.
    I agree in that Susaye when left to her own devices could sound a little shall we say sharp. She often sounded so much better when in the studio giving a more controlled performance.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
    I don't know if this will make sense, but to me, with Flo and Mary, Flo always took the "lead" background part, and Mary harmonized around it. That's what gave them a solid blend.

    With Cindy, it's almost the exact oposite; that Mary was the "strength" and Cindy added to it.

    But Flo and Mary were two different singers, singing two different parts. Mary's strength was working around Flo.
    With Cindy, Mary had to switch gears, and the results while still acceptable, don't come across as rich.
    Another great take!

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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    I don't know anything about first or second soprano. But I do know that I like harmony and when it is done right, it almost sounds like one voice. You may have explained why I like this clip of MSC so much. Without notice and to their complete surprise- you can see the surprise on Mary's face - they had to sing the song acapella. They did a terrific job, and their harmony was glorious.

    exactly. in group singing, the goal when singing together is to have the voices blend so that it sounds like 1 voice. even when singing in harmony. and in the studio it might be easier since you're just standing there, no nerves, no choreography, no hot stage lights. you're focused on singing and can concentrate on blending with your partners. blending often involves the placement of the vocals - meaning how you form each syllable.

    think of the early Diana Ross and how nasal and bright her tone was. when singing backgrounds, she often still really stood out. then think of her and Mary doing the backing vocals on What Becomes of the Broken Hearted. she had evolved her singing voice and the two blended wonderfully.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Interesting info Ran. So with the exception of “Love Child”, what do you think is the main reason Mary and Cindy were not used on singles?. Was it just coincidence the songs chosen just happened to be the ones M& C were missing from or was it a deliberate act.
    I really cant imagine the situation would have been much different had Flo stayed.
    I think it was because they didn't have the sound of the originals. I think with DRATS the singles were recorded specifically. After HDH left I think Nick and Val were told get the girls in the studio for the next single, and they decided to do the backup themselves rather than use actual Supremes. When that was a bust, we know the story of "Love Child" [[which I don't believe was ever intended for Mary and Cindy to sing on either). The "Corp" was given the follow up to that with "Shame", and I think they ditched Mary and Cindy for the same reasons they did with "Love Child". Smokey gets the next bat and loses. Gordy takes the one after that, and didn't even bother to bring in the Andantes and instead chose the Blackberries, still not bothering with the Supremes. There aint that much damn coincidence in the world. Lol They didn't want Mary and Cindy on those singles.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thanxal View Post
    Milven, you really hit it with this example. This is exactly why I get so peeved when some people post about the later Supremes as somehow inferior. Some trollish posters like to write things like "screeching" or "hollering" when referring to MSC and MSS and it always makes me think less of the person writing that. Here we have Cindy, Mary, and Scherrie, caught completely off-guard, not ready to sing acapella and what do they do? Hit it right out of the park [[ring) with a moving rendition of a song that many other artists have run afoul of. It isn't as easy to sing as one might think. Imagine being in that ring, being told "no, we don't have the music" and then just belting it out any damn way. Every version of the Supremes were supreme. This is just a REALLY good example. Thanks Milven.
    i agree that the MSC and MSS lineups were excellent. but not necessarily 100% of the time. and moreso with MSS. in the studio they were, quite frankly, one of the strongest lineups. their 3 part harmonies on Love I Never Knew are rocking. Susaye's echo lead with Mary on We Should be Closer - stunning. and the entire Sweet Dream Machine song is magic.

    things shifted sometimes when live. not 100% of the time but sometimes.

    My World is empty - this is amazing. Scherrie is smoldering and M and S do flawless octave work in the background. and the final note "without YOUUUUUUUUUUU" is perfect

    Maybe this time - another excellent live track. while you could debate that by 77 it might ahve been a bit too old of a song, they are great. even on the Caesar's bootleg where the overall show and run was very poorly received [[especially the sloppy hits medley in the uni-dress) the audience applauds loud and full after this one

    Let yourself go - ok this is where things get a bit rough. and this is one of my fav Sup songs ever! at least the studio version is. on the record, there's an echo effect when they sing the chorus - Let Yoursellf Go-o-o-o-o-o-o. For the shows they seems to attempt to replicate this by singing "go" again and again and all over the place. they also add so many woo's, yeah's, oww's during the main verses of the song [[which were not on the studio version) that when they do the ending with all of the ad libs, the effect is sort of lost. the ending on the record has them really let loose and party. but live they've been all over the place throughout the song so the overall impact is less.

    ad libs in general - there's a LOT of different ad libs going on through the MSS songs in the stage act. sometimes less is more. Also for all 3 women to be doing it, makes it a challenge to know what's going on where and with whom

    excess choreography and tempos - they took these songs on stage as a breakneck pace. like Let Yourself Go. plus they have heavy, intricate choreography. and on top of that they were doing lots of 3-part harmonies. the problem is they are literally breathless and that makes the whole thing sound manic

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Interesting info Ran. So with the exception of “Love Child”, what do you think is the main reason Mary and Cindy were not used on singles?. Was it just coincidence the songs chosen just happened to be the ones M& C were missing from or was it a deliberate act.
    I really cant imagine the situation would have been much different had Flo stayed.
    IMO the reason M and C weren't used on the singles was simply luck. Love Child was the only song specifically recorded by the group with the exact intent of being a single. Oh - and Shame too. all of the rest were more random songs which were then selected as singles. M and C were barely on 1/3 of the recordings in total. so it's just the odds. they were on some of the B sides, again by luck

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I think it was because they didn't have the sound of the originals. I think with DRATS the singles were recorded specifically. After HDH left I think Nick and Val were told get the girls in the studio for the next single, and they decided to do the backup themselves rather than use actual Supremes. When that was a bust, we know the story of "Love Child" [[which I don't believe was ever intended for Mary and Cindy to sing on either). The "Corp" was given the follow up to that with "Shame", and I think they ditched Mary and Cindy for the same reasons they did with "Love Child". Smokey gets the next bat and loses. Gordy takes the one after that, and didn't even bother to bring in the Andantes and instead chose the Blackberries, still not bothering with the Supremes. There aint that much damn coincidence in the world. Lol They didn't want Mary and Cindy on those singles.
    I've always looked at it like Berry testing the waters; preparing for Diana solo. You know, like, how important is it that I use Mary and Cindy? Can I fool the public into believing that any two or three voices are the Supremes? Can I sell a Diana Ross and the Supremes product with no Supremes?

    BG was smart: if you listen to the first few 1970- 1971 Diana solo singles, it keeps the same background formula as the 1968-1969 DRATS singles.

    So in theory, either the DRATS extended into 1971, or Diana went solo in 1968.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i agree that the MSC and MSS lineups were excellent. but not necessarily 100% of the time. and moreso with MSS. in the studio they were, quite frankly, one of the strongest lineups. their 3 part harmonies on Love I Never Knew are rocking. Susaye's echo lead with Mary on We Should be Closer - stunning. and the entire Sweet Dream Machine song is magic.

    things shifted sometimes when live. not 100% of the time but sometimes.

    My World is empty - this is amazing. Scherrie is smoldering and M and S do flawless octave work in the background. and the final note "without YOUUUUUUUUUUU" is perfect

    Maybe this time - another excellent live track. while you could debate that by 77 it might ahve been a bit too old of a song, they are great. even on the Caesar's bootleg where the overall show and run was very poorly received [[especially the sloppy hits medley in the uni-dress) the audience applauds loud and full after this one

    Let yourself go - ok this is where things get a bit rough. and this is one of my fav Sup songs ever! at least the studio version is. on the record, there's an echo effect when they sing the chorus - Let Yoursellf Go-o-o-o-o-o-o. For the shows they seems to attempt to replicate this by singing "go" again and again and all over the place. they also add so many woo's, yeah's, oww's during the main verses of the song [[which were not on the studio version) that when they do the ending with all of the ad libs, the effect is sort of lost. the ending on the record has them really let loose and party. but live they've been all over the place throughout the song so the overall impact is less.

    ad libs in general - there's a LOT of different ad libs going on through the MSS songs in the stage act. sometimes less is more. Also for all 3 women to be doing it, makes it a challenge to know what's going on where and with whom

    excess choreography and tempos - they took these songs on stage as a breakneck pace. like Let Yourself Go. plus they have heavy, intricate choreography. and on top of that they were doing lots of 3-part harmonies. the problem is they are literally breathless and that makes the whole thing sound manic
    Yes, I agree with you that there were times when they weren't 100%. Certainly that is true [[I don't particularly care for Lynda's performance below). My point was, much like Milven stated, they did have very good harmonies and performed very well together. My gripe was with the trolls who often summarily dismiss anything by MSC or MSS as "screeching".

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    Quote Originally Posted by thanxal View Post
    Yes, I agree with you that there were times when they weren't 100%. Certainly that is true [[I don't particularly care for Lynda's performance below). My point was, much like Milven stated, they did have very good harmonies and performed very well together. My gripe was with the trolls who often summarily dismiss anything by MSC or MSS as "screeching".
    yeah i'm with you on that one. the other thing to remember is we are all going off of some 100th generation dubbing of a 40+ year old bootleg that was recorded secretly on some tinny little cassette recorder.

    we've had similar bootlegs of live shows and unreleased Diana era content and can compare these to the extras that have been provided on the various EE's. and the cleanup and sound is SOOOOOOO much better. So imagine if we had the REAL recordings and fresh live tapes of MSS and MSC

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    the other thing to remember is we are all going off of some 100th generation dubbing of a 40+ year old bootleg that was recorded secretly on some tinny little cassette recorder.
    Another good point. Couldn’t agree more.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blackguy69 View Post
    I do agree that Cindy needed to step up the vocals but no I don’t believe that the reason they started using the andantes is because of Cindy.
    I always felt especially during the DR&S period Cindy didn't push her vocals or wasn't made to stretch vocally. Her debut at the Hollywood bowl displayed in my opinion a stronger vocal performance than what we later ended up with. WHen Cindy would step into the mic to be heard, she and Mary sounded fantastic. As for the Andantes, there were 3 ladies singing so It would be very difficult for 2 singer to get the same sound as 3
    As much as I love Flo, there were many times I preferred Cindy over FLo.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rod_rick View Post
    I always felt especially during the DR&S period Cindy didn't push her vocals or wasn't made to stretch vocally. Her debut at the Hollywood bowl displayed in my opinion a stronger vocal performance than what we later ended up with. WHen Cindy would step into the mic to be heard, she and Mary sounded fantastic. As for the Andantes, there were 3 ladies singing so It would be very difficult for 2 singer to get the same sound as 3
    As much as I love Flo, there were many times I preferred Cindy over FLo.
    Motown hit the jackpot with Cindy. They weren't looking for a vocal prowess or someone with an opinion; they were looking for someone sweet, someone that looked like Flo, someone that would say "Yes, Diana". She became one of the most beloved members of the group.

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    Thankx--you took the words right out of my mouth. Their version of the National Anthem is the best I have ever heard, along with Whitney Houston's. It is NOT an easy song to sing. On this one, the Supremes sound as good or better than any other group I've heard.
    By the way, in her book Don't Block the Blessings, Patti Labelle said that she auditioned a whole bunch of singers to be in the Bluebelles--and she said none of the other girl's "even came close" to Cindy's voice and looks. Patti even joked that with a name like Birdsong, you had better have a great voice!!! Hee hee--I never thought of that but Miss Patti was right!

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