Supremes Jean, Mary & Lynda Dick Cavett Intv

[rod_rick]

That’s what’s so confusing about this. Mary confirmed it was the Blossoms. Jimmy confirmed it was the Blossoms. If Darlene said she was on it, then that’s the three people confirming it and yet listening to the tracks it doesn’t sound like them. Darlene has a standout voice that cuts through. You can hear her cutting through on the Phil Spector productions, the Johnny Rivers singles from 1966-1967, Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” Bill Medley’s “Brown Eyed Woman,” Elvis’ ‘68 Comeback special, etc.

Can anyone hear what they think is her/the Blossoms on the album?

I can understand what you mean but keep in mind the Blossoms were added to the backing vocals and although Darlene's voice could cut through they may have had her to round her tones more so that her voice would not cut through as much. I do think it's the Blossoms and the The Supremes singing background on the JW project

[bradsupremes]

I can understand what you mean but keep in mind the Blossoms were added to the backing vocals and although Darlene's voice could cut through they may have had her to round her tones more so that her voice would not cut through as much. I do think it's the Blossoms and the The Supremes singing background on the JW project

I guess I am alone in the camp that thinks its not them alone. It's not their sound. Listening to "Tossin' and Turnin'," when the girls are doing a call-and-response with Jean with their "alrights," "oh yeah" and "well," there is a Jackie Hicks-type voice and it ain't Darlene, Jean K., Fanita, Lynda, Mary or Jean T. So who is it? I think there's additional women on this album.

Throwing another wrench into the system, Mary said at the time right before Lynda joined that the JW album was completed before Cindy left. So that's another puzzle piece...

[RanRan79]

I guess I am alone in the camp that thinks its not them alone. It's not their sound. Listening to "Tossin' and Turnin'," when the girls are doing a call-and-response with Jean with their "alrights," "oh yeah" and "well," there is a Jackie Hicks-type voice and it ain't Darlene, Jean K., Fanita, Lynda, Mary or Jean T. So who is it? I think there's additional women on this album.

Throwing another wrench into the system, Mary said at the time right before Lynda joined that the JW album was completed before Cindy left. So that's another puzzle piece...

I'm not familiar enough with the Blossoms to say whether it's them or not. [[I'm not a fan of the group, although they have some cuts I like.) And with a few people involved in the project all confirming that it's them, I have no reason to doubt it.

I will say that the spoken parts on "Tossin" have always sounded like Mary and Lynda to me, which makes sense because the point of the Blossoms being involved in the project was for a fuller sound, and that's not a factor in speaking parts, at least not those particular ad libs.

You may also want to keep in mind that you're probably used to hearing the Blossoms alone. What you have on the JW album is the Blossoms and Mary and Lynda. You have to expect that the sound is going to be different. Truth be told, even if I had never learned of the Blossoms' involvement, listening to the backing vocals on the album I would never suspect that it was Mary and Lynda. The two groups undoubtedly blended so well it's probably nearly impossible to single out any one voice and say "that's her".

[BayouMotownMan]

I can understand what you mean but keep in mind the Blossoms were added to the backing vocals and although Darlene's voice could cut through they may have had her to round her tones more so that her voice would not cut through as much. I do think it's the Blossoms and the The Supremes singing background on the JW project

Listening to Tossin' and Turnin' I hear Mary [["you did?") and Lynda [["what happened?") responding to Jean. I can also slightly hear Mary on Paradise and Jean is very audible on the la la la's backing Mary on I Keep It Hid. Those are the only places I hear any Supremes. Supposedly Cindy contributed to the background as well as the transition between Cindy and Lynda occurred during these sessions.

It is entirely possible that Webb added even more backing vocals by whatever singers were around the studio. Also, with wizardry at the mixing board, it is entirely probable that he laid vocals on top of vocals. It does sound like a lot of people in the background.

Some fans love this lp, but to me it is the most non-Supreme lp ever issued in terms of sound. It's basically a Jean Terrell solo effort with Jean not sounding as good as she did with the Frank Wilson material. I have to struggle to get through Beyond Myself. Then again, on I Guess I'll Miss The Man Jean is practically whispering at time. When she does that song live she gives a lot more to it. Just listen to her version on Soul Train. I get chills every time I hear it.

[RanRan79]

Some fans love this lp, but to me it is the most non-Supreme lp ever issued in terms of sound. It's basically a Jean Terrell solo effort with Jean not sounding as good as she did with the Frank Wilson material. I have to struggle to get through Beyond Myself. Then again, on I Guess I'll Miss The Man Jean is practically whispering at time. When she does that song live she gives a lot more to it. Just listen to her version on Soul Train. I get chills every time I hear it.

I love Jean's vocal on the single "Guess". I agree about the JW album. It's the Supremes but it isn't the Supremes. Bringing in an outside producer was a bold and brilliant move. That producer being Jimmy Webb was dumb. Nothing about this album or anything on it was going to propel the group back into the "hot" category, which is a shame because IMO the MJL trio were the most poised to reclaim some of the name's former glory.

[sup_fan]

I love Jean's vocal on the single "Guess". I agree about the JW album. It's the Supremes but it isn't the Supremes. Bringing in an outside producer was a bold and brilliant move. That producer being Jimmy Webb was dumb. Nothing about this album or anything on it was going to propel the group back into the "hot" category, which is a shame because IMO the MJL trio were the most poised to reclaim some of the name's former glory.

i agree - i think the vocals on I Guess are beautiful. i do also like the live versions too where jean embellishes things a bit. IMO the song is a gorgeous tune but not an appropriate single, given the morose lyric.

i see the JW project as a good idea that ran off into a poor direction. on paper, the idea of a singer/songwriter coming in to rejuvenate the Supremes is a great idea. they needed something new, fresh, current. JW met some of these - not sure he was the strongest choice but not an immediate No.

the problems were

1) his vision for the sound totally ignored the concept of the Supremes. Not sure why - he had done group work prior with the 5th D. but maybe he was just becoming too focused on a single singer concept rather than a group. a BIG sound isn't necessarily a bad idea but his execution of it was disastrous. he could have certainly layered the MJL vocals to create more sound and texture - frank had done this. and even though there was a long history of adding vocalists or even replacing vocalists with studio singers, this was almost always still done with consideration to the basic framework of "The Supremes"

2) poor song selection - the album is sorely missing the Supremes doing some of the anchor tunes from the JM catalog. hearing the girls reinterpret one of his gems would have greatly added to the overall concept

[theboyfromxtown]

i agree - i think the vocals on I Guess are beautiful. i do also like the live versions too where jean embellishes things a bit. IMO the song is a gorgeous tune but not an appropriate single, given the morose lyric.

i see the JW project as a good idea that ran off into a poor direction. on paper, the idea of a singer/songwriter coming in to rejuvenate the Supremes is a great idea. they needed something new, fresh, current. JW met some of these - not sure he was the strongest choice but not an immediate No.

the problems were

1) his vision for the sound totally ignored the concept of the Supremes. Not sure why - he had done group work prior with the 5th D. but maybe he was just becoming too focused on a single singer concept rather than a group. a BIG sound isn't necessarily a bad idea but his execution of it was disastrous. he could have certainly layered the MJL vocals to create more sound and texture - frank had done this. and even though there was a long history of adding vocalists or even replacing vocalists with studio singers, this was almost always still done with consideration to the basic framework of "The Supremes"

2) poor song selection - the album is sorely missing the Supremes doing some of the anchor tunes from the JM catalog. hearing the girls reinterpret one of his gems would have greatly added to the overall concept

That album found its way to the cheap bins quicker than any Motown album I had ever known up to that point. You guys now, being somewhat older, probably appreciate it much more than us Supremes fans at that time. There was no Floy Joy, Stoned Love, Nathan Jones on that album and it didn't help that in the UK the first 45 to be released was Tossin and Turnin which did zilch. Even I didn't buy it until I needed it to complete a number in my collection.

I had to wait a good few years to even want to listen to that album.

[sup_fan]

That album found its way to the cheap bins quicker than any Motown album I had ever known up to that point. You guys now, being somewhat older, probably appreciate it much more than us Supremes fans at that time. There was no Floy Joy, Stoned Love, Nathan Jones on that album and it didn't help that in the UK the first 45 to be released was Tossin and Turnin which did zilch. Even I didn't buy it until I needed it to complete a number in my collection.

I had to wait a good few years to even want to listen to that album.

while i agree there isn't a song as powerful as Ladder or SL, i think 530 and Cheap Lovin' would have worked as singles. 530 being the lead single and then followed with CL. on both of these the choral effect seems to either work or at least be less distracting. Jean sounds great on them and i find them to be sharp, contemporary sounding tunes. would they have charted and sold like SL - i doubt it. but they could have maybe hit Top 20/25.