Quote Originally Posted by johnjeb View Post
I like The Supremes' version of The Nitty Gritty - which surprised me when I first heard it in 1997.

Similarly, Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone also surprised me. It has always been a favorite of mine by both GK&TP and The Temptations. Diana's take is quite enjoyable, imo.

I was surprised that I liked these two songs. I do not enjoy Diana's versions of Heaven Must Have Sent You, Stay In My Lonely Arms or Come On And See Me. I'm amazed that songs that I had high hopes for left me disappointed and songs that I had low expectations for turned out better than I expected.

I think Nitty Gritty and Ain't No Sun would have fit nicely on the Let The Sunshine In album.
Johnjeb -- Dusty Springfield's version, on her Definitely Dusty album, which also includes her version of I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You -- is another fine interpretation of Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone.

I agree with your impression of Heaven Must Have Sent You, Stay In My Lonely Arms and Come On And See Me, and My Guy is, for me, another on the same list. You sort of wonder, what is the point. Generally, Diana was known for the sincerity she could convey, even on simplistic songs like Baby Love, but on these Motown covers and some of the other material recorded at this time, she [[as narrator) didn't seem to care about the lyrics, and she and the band seemed to just race through these, or, in the case of Stay In My Lonely Arms, dragged it to its death.