The Supremes live at the Royal Hawaiian 1976

[blackguy69]

[sup_fan]

while i'll repeat the old line of "they're not doing enough of their material" they do sound great. even though there's quite a bit of background talking and you can hear the clicking of silverware on plates, the group and music sound pretty excellent. given it's a bootleg

Susaye kills it on He Ain't Heavy. possibly one of the best ones i've heard her do. and while i think the Dream sequence was out of step with what they should have been doing, i always love hearing Scherrie on Old Wagon. damn!!!

and the most exciting part is Mary's exquisite lead on Teardrops. now why the F didn't they keep that song in the show?!!?!?!

[blackguy69]

Teardrops was in the show for a good part of 76. But let’s get real a lot of the Motown acts didn’t do their album cuts. If they dropped the dream sequence, that would have made me happy lol.

[RanRan79]

I'll have to give this a listen at some point. Not my favorite grouping so I'm not too excited about it. Seems like we had a thread about this show not long ago. I don't remember audio being posted.

[blackguy69]

Tossin and Turnin from this show was posted along with he ain’t heavy. This is the full show.

I'll have to give this a listen at some point. Not my favorite grouping so I'm not too excited about it. Seems like we had a thread about this show not long ago. I don't remember audio being posted.

[sup_fan]

I'll have to give this a listen at some point. Not my favorite grouping so I'm not too excited about it. Seems like we had a thread about this show not long ago. I don't remember audio being posted.

yep - in recent months a few of the tunes popped up on Youtube. but now the show is there in full

vocally, the show is very strong. and since this is audio only, the frenetic aspect of some of the later shows is missing. also this is the debut for Susaye so the vocal ad libs are less too since she was only just learning the show

[sup_fan]

Tossin and Turnin from this show was posted along with he ain’t heavy. This is the full show.

that was a huge disappointment in my book. Stoned Love was a great encore but i looked at the counter and saw so much time left - was eager to hear what they'd do next. but when Tossin started i was like, oh.... lol

i get it. they were trying to stick with material that they already had musical charts for. hence Susaye singing He Ain't Heavy [[which had been a Jean solo). later Susaye would sing People [[another Jean solo). and so Tossin was a high-octane finish for the show. and they used it to introduce the band. Even though i don't love the song This Is Why, they used that during the later half of 75 as a finale.

[Spreadinglove21]

Was the Royal Hawaiian a Tiki themed Showroom?

[copley]

Sorry, heard it ages ago and it's awful. Not my Supremes at all :[[

[REDHOT]

The Supremes Mary Scherrie and Susaye were INCREDIBLE in this LIVE show, and Scherrie's lead on Stoned Love Wow.

[sup_fan]

The Supremes Mary Scherrie and Susaye were INCREDIBLE in this LIVE show, and Scherrie's lead on Stoned Love Wow.

i agree - and this is some digital transfer of a 20th generation cassette tape. all in all, as bootlegs go, this is great. but just imagine if this had been professionally recorded!

in the studio MSS had an amazing blend. in the bootlegs we've received through the years though, i've struggled to appreciate their onstage sound. both S and S have unique voices and vocal tones. and i wondered if they just didn't come across as strongly live vs studio and being able to mix things. here i find the blend much better which leads me to believe much of what we have been hearing was impacted by the quality of the recordings.

[Ollie9]

i agree - and this is some digital transfer of a 20th generation cassette tape. all in all, as bootlegs go, this is great. but just imagine if this had been professionally recorded!

in the studio MSS had an amazing blend. in the bootlegs we've received through the years though, i've struggled to appreciate their onstage sound. both S and S have unique voices and vocal tones. and i wondered if they just didn't come across as strongly live vs studio and being able to mix things. here i find the blend much better which leads me to believe much of what we have been hearing was impacted by the quality of the recordings.

I agree. If the quality of recording were improved this would sound absolutely amazing. Vocally, the MS&S lineup was never anything less then dynamic, if a little cluttered at times in a live setting.
I would dearly loved to have had further albums from the trio, but I guess the timing was right for Mary.

[sup_fan]

I agree. If the quality of recording were improved this would sound absolutely amazing. Vocally, the MS&S lineup was never anything less then dynamic, if a little cluttered at times in a live setting.
I would dearly loved to have had further albums from the trio, but I guess the timing was right for Mary.

i think the frantic mess of their live shows could have been resolved by 1) different material 2) pulled back on the tempos so they weren't so wild fast 3) instructing the women to be more selective in their ad libs and extra vocals 4) avoid the excessive choreography

i too would love to have more albums from the group. and IMO mary made a mistake by leaving the group, at least from the aspect of recorded music. she did her MW album for motown [[nearly all of the songs were disappointing), the 4 Gus tracks [[3 of which were excellent) and then a handful of low-quality recordings here and there. had she stayed with the supremes and if they had been properly managed so that they could have an ongoing career like the Temps or the Tops or the Pointer Sisters, she would have been lead on probably half of the album tracks and so would have had much more opportunity to sing and record

[Ollie9]

Everything in hindsight, but i think that one of the key issues with Mary leaving the Supremes when she did.
If “HE” and “MS&S were anything to go by, she would have continued to record topnotch material best suited to her voice. She was also featured as co-lead singer in concert.
Its rather ironic that after years of fighting to record more songs and keep the Supremes name out there, she should leave just when she had almost total dominance.

[RanRan79]

Its rather ironic that after years of fighting to record more songs and keep the Supremes name out there, she should leave just when she had almost total dominance.

I'm guessing that in the end, those things she was fighting for didn't outweigh the group factor. I think we often underestimate how difficult it can be to navigate group dynamics vs being a soloist. Sure, Mary was the "boss" [[I'll leave Pedro out of the equation for now), but she still had to work with Scherrie and Susaye. Plus Mary believed it was only a matter of time before Susaye would leave for a solo career. The 70s Supremes barely had a year when there was no member turnover. It had to be nerve wrecking to break in a new member every other year, another voice to get used to, another personality to learn. At some point it shouldn't be a surprise that Mary had enough. She was in a different position than Otis of the Tempts. He had Melvin. Mary didn't have anyone, and the two she wanted, Flo and Diana, one was dead and the other was on another planet, star wise. Ultimately, Mary was able to carve out a successful touring career, even if she never had a hit record.

[Spreadinglove21]

I agree. If the quality of recording were improved this would sound absolutely amazing. Vocally, the MS&S lineup was never anything less then dynamic, if a little cluttered at times in a live setting.
I would dearly loved to have had further albums from the trio, but I guess the timing was right for Mary.

Although given how poorly the MSS album sold, even if Mary had remained and not announced she was going solo, would Motown have green lit another album by The Supremes or would they have said "That's it, you're through. Supremes are now on permanent hiatus. Good luck ladies".

[sup_fan]

I'm guessing that in the end, those things she was fighting for didn't outweigh the group factor. I think we often underestimate how difficult it can be to navigate group dynamics vs being a soloist. Sure, Mary was the "boss" [[I'll leave Pedro out of the equation for now), but she still had to work with Scherrie and Susaye. Plus Mary believed it was only a matter of time before Susaye would leave for a solo career. The 70s Supremes barely had a year when there was no member turnover. It had to be nerve wrecking to break in a new member every other year, another voice to get used to, another personality to learn. At some point it shouldn't be a surprise that Mary had enough. She was in a different position than Otis of the Tempts. He had Melvin. Mary didn't have anyone, and the two she wanted, Flo and Diana, one was dead and the other was on another planet, star wise. Ultimately, Mary was able to carve out a successful touring career, even if she never had a hit record.

that's a valid point. for the longer-term success of the group, you do need some stability in membership. i think the one with the most long-term potential was the MSC lineup. their vocals on Sup 75 [[even if many of the songs themselves are weak) were top notch. Mary's lead on You Turn Me Around was exquisite. Scherrie's fiery and exciting leads on the more pop tunes were also great.

together i think these 3 could have gone on to do a lot more. Cindy was definitely very identifiable as a Supreme. and so they become the anchors and Scherrie, while new, could have been easily accepted. she had a wonderfully friendly personality, really lit up the stage and if they group had carried on, she could have handled a larger share of the group image and all. been even more engaging with interviewers on tv, even more present on stage, etc

[sup_fan]

Although given how poorly the MSS album sold, even if Mary had remained and not announced she was going solo, would Motown have green lit another album by The Supremes or would they have said "That's it, you're through. Supremes are now on permanent hiatus. Good luck ladies".

i think part of the problem with the album was mary's departure. the album didn't release until mid or late October. Mary announced her exit in early Dec. so it had only been out there a few weeks. no idea how it was selling or if it was getting any traction at first. i do think Wheel was a poor choice for 1st single and that could spell disaster for an album.

but HE charted quite respectably and so had the group gotten its act together and been less of a nightmare situation, i think they could have built off of the success of Walking and HE and the follow up music could have done equally well. of course we've all discussed dream scenarios of Pedro out of the picture, motown re-managing the group and helping get more traction, better live presentations, etc. so there are a lot of variables here.

[Ollie9]

I'm guessing that in the end, those things she was fighting for didn't outweigh the group factor. I think we often underestimate how difficult it can be to navigate group dynamics vs being a soloist. Sure, Mary was the "boss" [[I'll leave Pedro out of the equation for now), but she still had to work with Scherrie and Susaye. Plus Mary believed it was only a matter of time before Susaye would leave for a solo career. The 70s Supremes barely had a year when there was no member turnover. It had to be nerve wrecking to break in a new member every other year, another voice to get used to, another personality to learn. At some point it shouldn't be a surprise that Mary had enough. She was in a different position than Otis of the Tempts. He had Melvin. Mary didn't have anyone, and the two she wanted, Flo and Diana, one was dead and the other was on another planet, star wise. Ultimately, Mary was able to carve out a successful touring career, even if she never had a hit record.

Good points Ran.

[Ollie9]

that's a valid point. for the longer-term success of the group, you do need some stability in membership. i think the one with the most long-term potential was the MSC lineup. their vocals on Sup 75 [[even if many of the songs themselves are weak) were top notch. Mary's lead on You Turn Me Around was exquisite. Scherrie's fiery and exciting leads on the more pop tunes were also great.

together i think these 3 could have gone on to do a lot more. Cindy was definitely very identifiable as a Supreme. and so they become the anchors and Scherrie, while new, could have been easily accepted. she had a wonderfully friendly personality, really lit up the stage and if they group had carried on, she could have handled a larger share of the group image and all. been even more engaging with interviewers on tv, even more present on stage, etc

The thing being Cindy lacked the unique and dynamic voice of Susaye that helped make MS&S so phenomenal on record. Cindy blended well in the background.

[sup_fan]

The thing being Cindy lacked the unique and dynamic voice of Susaye that helped make MS&S so phenomenal on record. Cindy blended well in the background.

true - with Susaye's voice you could have more aggressive vocals because you have two women with strong 1st Soprano ranges. adding that super high note or those vocal embellishments in the upper registers can add a lot of power to the songs and excitement. and with 2 women capable of it, you could trade off. Sometimes if Scherrie was doing lead, Susaye could add the high notes. or visa versa. Susaye's range was enormous - she could easily jump to the lower, alto notes. i think she also had significant training so she was capable of more complex musical arrangements. plus she was a full lead singer too. lots of flexibility there

with the MSC lineup, often Cindy was doing the middle note or the 2nd soprano line. Scherrie was certainly capable of very strong 1st soprano singing so you're covered there. but you are missing the flexibility of the MSS lineup. however M and C have the best vocal blend of any of the lineups. the two of them are just incredible with melding their voices into 1 and then allowing a lead singer to have a perfect cushion to work on. the blend on Sup 75 is some of the best ever. and all of the vocals are just MSC - no additional vocalists. the blend on MSS is very good but it's different. frankly i think S and S voiced blend more. their brighter tones and vibratos seem to meld together