Customer Reviews

Partners

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I consider The Supremes albums with Scherrie Payne to be among the best that The Supremes ever did. With her sizzling vocal delivery, Scherrie was a force that energized The Supremes right when they needed it so badly. Following the break-up of the group in 1977, 1979 saw 2 debut releases by Mary Wilson, and Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene as a duo. They wrote or co-wrote every song on here. The best song is YOUR SWEET LOVE, a mid-paced soul/funk/pop number where both trade lead vocals. It's indicative of the best of both of them that they pull their greatest strengths together on this song. Should have been a single, and a hit. Surprisingly, the bulk of the album are songs where each sings lead. Best are Scherrie's songs like STORYBOOK ROMANCE and I FOUND ANOTHER LOVE. Susaye managed to get Ray Charles to sing on LUVBUG with her, which is cool to hear. The rest of the songs alternate between ballads or mid-tempo numbers. While I commend both of them for writing all the songs, it isn't as strong as the last 3 Supremes albums that Scherrie sang lead on [ Susaye was on the last 2 albums ]. Stronger songs would have made PARTNERS a much better album. The melodies just aren't there on every song. Producer Eugene McDaniels [ producer and songwriter of Roberta Flack's FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE ] even sings a bit on ANOTHER LIFE FROM NOW, which is not very welcome and surprisingly was included on THE SUPREMES 70'S GREATEST HITS AND RARE CLASSICS CD. Scherrie's strong suit as a singer was having great songs and producers who knew what to do for her. A balance of their own songs with strong material by other songwriters would have made this a much better album. A couple good songs, but nothing as great as I'M GONNA LET MY HEART DO THE WALKING, HE'S MY MAN, YOU'RE MY DRIVING WHEEL, or LET YOURSELF GO - some of Scherrie's best work with The Supremes.