MS&S - the non-singles

[sup_fan]

I agree. I think Scherrie would have done a better job with "Where Is It I Belong" than Mary did, in the sense that the song wouldn't have sounded so depressing. Mary's laidback style was excellent on a lot of ballad material, but I think this is one where Scherrie's more vibrant sound could have saved the cut. I'm sure Scherrie would have knocked "Teardrops" out of the park, but I'm not convinced she would have done a better job than Mary did. I think "Boat" and "Lose You" would have benefitted more from Scherrie's style than Mary's.

I think the "problem" for the producers might have been Scherrie's approach. The only three ballads I can think of off the top of my head that I've heard Scherrie do are "A House Is Not a Home" with Glass House, and the live versions of "Maybe This Time" and "Touch". "Seed of Love"- not a ballad- is a great example of Scherrie's range when she isn't going full throttle. That's actually a pretty rare, toned down vocal from Scherrie. I get the impression that Scherrie preferred to blow the roof off of whatever she was singing, fast or slow. It's hard to hear "blow the roof off" in most of the ballads that the group recorded during Scherrie's tenure, but may have likely been her approach if handed the lead. The producers may not have wanted that and may have felt like they couldn't achieve the desired result with Scherrie vs Mary. Just speculation on my part, of course.

but what about Scherrie's lead parts on Sweet Dream Machine? yes she does some more powerful singing in it but her opening verse is hushed, controlled. again, i think there were times all of the women could have recorded songs not necessarily in their "wheel house." like Mary on You're What's Missing - sounds great, proving Mary didn't have to ONLY sing ballads.

[RanRan79]

but what about Scherrie's lead parts on Sweet Dream Machine? yes she does some more powerful singing in it but her opening verse is hushed, controlled. again, i think there were times all of the women could have recorded songs not necessarily in their "wheel house." like Mary on You're What's Missing - sounds great, proving Mary didn't have to ONLY sing ballads.

Well I pointed out Scherrie's singing on "Seed of Love", which is more toned down than what she did on "Dream". I think we have to accept the possibility that Scherrie preferred to sing a certain way. It's rumored that Diana wasn't crazy about belting, even though she could. Perhaps Scherrie wasn't crazy about toning down her approach, even though she could. I have both of the Glass House albums and the only ballad I can think of that Scherrie sang was "A House Is Not a Home". So even then there was something in the mix- whether from the producer's angle or Scherrie's or both- that up tempo was the way to go with Scherrie.

Regarding the Supremes, Scherrie's vocals on "Touch" and "Maybe This Time" are fantastic. I imagine if she had been given a ballad lead, it might not have been the kind of ballad that is lush, but instead would have been a big, soaring power ballad. Would've been interesting to hear Scherrie under Masser's direction, particularly in the 80s.