Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
For me "Sings Songs From The Wiz" would have sounded a whole lot better with a strong producer at the helm. The ballads are fine but the uptempo numbers....Yikes indeed lol. I can fully understand why motown shelved it and not just because the film performed badly at the box office.
Yeah, the ballads on the Sing Wiz album are great [[still hoping there will come a discovery of Diana singing "What Would I Do") but I think in the hands of someone else producing, the decision would've never been made to have her doing those uptempo songs like that. Had I produced this album on her [[assuming that I would've thought it was a good idea in the first place, which I don't), I would've left most of the ballads as is. "Soon As I Get Home" needed some more punch to it, both the arrangements and the vocal. "He's the Wizard" has a great arrangement and had Diana's vocal been as serious as it was playful, it could've been an album highlight. "Be a Lion" works as is, but I think it might have been nice to bring someone in as the Lion to make it a duet. [[I know he was at a different label at this point, but Levi Stubbs would've been a fantastic choice. Rick James could've been an option as well.) I would've punched the arrangement of "Ease On Down the Road" up a trillion notches. I was anxious to hear what Diana would do with "You Can't Win", a song I could hear her singing in my head. I was so disappointed when it ended up in a medley and the arrangement wasn't at all as exciting as the one from the movie. I would've had her record this song by itself. "Don't Bring Me No Bad News" is probably the best of the uptempo recordings. Her vocal is fine, though I might have had her pull back on some of the growl she uses. I also would've brought in a choir for this to back her up. I feel about "So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard" the same way I feel about "He's the Wiz". The arrangement is fine but had Diana taken it seriously instead of being so silly, it would've turned out great. I hate the arrangement of "Brand New Day". It's so boring and slow and Diana's vocal matches it's tone. I would've given it a more gospel arrangement and again brought in a choir. I would've skipped "Slide Some Oil" and "Mean Ole Lion" and instead had her record "What Would I Do", as well as "I Was Born On the Day Before Yesterday", "Who Do You Think You Are", "Y'all Got It", "A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind" from the actual play.

But ultimately I would've scrapped the idea and had her record an album that would've sold big and produced actual hit records.