I've been listening to these two versions alot recentely, I love them both but at the moment prefer the J5 version, I think it sounds more...mature, sensual etc than Stevie's. Anyone else prefer the cover to the original?

I vote for Stevie's version...

Stevie's by far.

Yeah this one goes to Stevie. The arrangement is just... better. So much excitement and joy in Stevie's version. Mike could have knocked it out of the park though with a similar arrangement.

[Edited 7/30/10 8:27am]

Steveland's.

Stevie's.

But i'd give it to Mike for 'Shoo-be-doo-be-doo-da-day' over Stevie.

Michael's/J5's had that, I guess, psychedelic soul flavor. I'm guessing their version was recorded as part of the Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 sessions because it sounds as if it was recorded in Hitsville.

Stevie's has a CHURCH flavor to it. That's why it overwhelms the J5. Plus, hearing a 16, 17-year-old Stevie just TAKE IT HOME is genius within itself!!!!

Marrk said:

Stevie's.

But i'd give it to Mike for 'Shoo-be-doo-be-doo-da-day' over Stevie.

I give both versions of that song a tie. They both have a charm to it. I dig the quicker approach Mike gave it but Stevie's, again, is just stone cold funky. Dig the clavinet intro to it and you can always feel the tension in his voice building up to the finale.

I'd have to go with Mr. Morris'. However, I never heard J5's version. I was somewhat surprised with how they slowed the tempo...Slow and funky.

I'm glad you mentioned this song because the drums always baffled me a little on the original. I'm I crazy or do we not hear any kick drum in the first half of the song? Maybe its mixed very low. I think I hear it during the drum breakdowns or (rolls). The snare is definitely more prominent.

BTW, the bass player on this joint deserves a feature, a co-billing or something. I've always dug how free he was to flow with Stevie's voice

[Edited 7/30/10 13:19pm]

Musicslave said:

I'd have to go with Mr. Morris'. However, I never heard J5's version. I was somewhat surprised with how they slowed the tempo...Slow and funky.

I'm glad you mentioned this song because the drums always baffled me a little on the original. I'm I crazy or do we not hear any kick drum in the first half of the song? Maybe its mixed very low. I think I hear it during the drum breakdowns or (rolls). The snare is definitely more prominent.

BTW, the bass player on this joint deserves a feature, a co-billing or something. I've always dug how free he was to flow with Stevie's voice

[Edited 7/30/10 13:19pm]

Motown drums in the '60s were overlayered or sometimes the other instruments would be given an extra volume so sometimes the drums can sound as if they were absent (like "What's Going On" for instance, the drumming wasn't as prominent on the album version as it was on the original single version but hearing the drums by itself, you can tell they turned the volumes of the drums on that song down for the kick beat that was used.)

And that's Mr. James Jamerson on the bass.

Timmy84 said:

Musicslave said:

I'd have to go with Mr. Morris'. However, I never heard J5's version. I was somewhat surprised with how they slowed the tempo...Slow and funky.

I'm glad you mentioned this song because the drums always baffled me a little on the original. I'm I crazy or do we not hear any kick drum in the first half of the song? Maybe its mixed very low. I think I hear it during the drum breakdowns or (rolls). The snare is definitely more prominent.

BTW, the bass player on this joint deserves a feature, a co-billing or something. I've always dug how free he was to flow with Stevie's voice

[Edited 7/30/10 13:19pm]

Motown drums in the '60s were overlayered or sometimes the other instruments would be given an extra volume so sometimes the drums can sound as if they were absent (like "What's Going On" for instance, the drumming wasn't as prominent on the album version as it was on the original single version but hearing the drums by itself, you can tell they turned the volumes of the drums on that song down for the kick beat that was used.)

And that's Mr. James Jamerson on the bass.

Thanx for the info. At least I know I'm not crazy. And how fitting is it that Mr. Jamerson has the word JAM in his name! That's so cool. Was he part of the Funk Brothers in house band for Motown?

Musicslave said:

Timmy84 said:

Motown drums in the '60s were overlayered or sometimes the other instruments would be given an extra volume so sometimes the drums can sound as if they were absent (like "What's Going On" for instance, the drumming wasn't as prominent on the album version as it was on the original single version but hearing the drums by itself, you can tell they turned the volumes of the drums on that song down for the kick beat that was used.)

And that's Mr. James Jamerson on the bass.

Thanx for the info. At least I know I'm not crazy. And how fitting is it that Mr. Jamerson has the word JAM in his name! That's so cool. Was he part of the Funk Brothers in house band for Motown?

Yeah in fact he was one of the most integral members of that band.

I think the drumming is by Uriel Jones. And the guitars were by Robert White, Joe Messina and Chuck Willis. The strings came from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Andantes are accompanying Stevie in the background.

Timmy84 said:

Musicslave said:

Thanx for the info. At least I know I'm not crazy. And how fitting is it that Mr. Jamerson has the word JAM in his name! That's so cool. Was he part of the Funk Brothers in house band for Motown?

Yeah in fact he was one of the most integral members of that band.

I think the drumming is by Uriel Jones. And the guitars were by Robert White, Joe Messina and Chuck Willis. The strings came from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Andantes are accompanying Stevie in the background.

Wow, thanks for the knowledge. What was the name of that documentary on The Funk Brothers? I remember it came out a few years ago. I never saw it.... forgot about it actually. I gotta look that one up and watch!

Musicslave said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah in fact he was one of the most integral members of that band.

I think the drumming is by Uriel Jones. And the guitars were by Robert White, Joe Messina and Chuck Willis. The strings came from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Andantes are accompanying Stevie in the background.

Wow, thanks for the knowledge. What was the name of that documentary on The Funk Brothers? I remember it came out a few years ago. I never saw it.... forgot about it actually. I gotta look that one up and watch!

Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

Stevie:-)

All I know is Motown needs to stop playing around and release J5's version of "If You Really Love Me"

stevie on this one. but mike's voice is always a treat to listen to.

bboy87 said:

All I know is Motown needs to stop playing around and release J5's version of "If You Really Love Me"

damn slackers.

Musicslave said:

Timmy84 said:

Motown drums in the '60s were overlayered or sometimes the other instruments would be given an extra volume so sometimes the drums can sound as if they were absent (like "What's Going On" for instance, the drumming wasn't as prominent on the album version as it was on the original single version but hearing the drums by itself, you can tell they turned the volumes of the drums on that song down for the kick beat that was used.)

And that's Mr. James Jamerson on the bass.

Thanx for the info. At least I know I'm not crazy. And how fitting is it that Mr. Jamerson has the word JAM in his name! That's so cool. Was he part of the Funk Brothers in house band for Motown?

Man...you need to read on this player right now. James Jamerson is in my top three bass players of all time. EVERYONE needs to know about him. And the shitty part is, dude didn't even get an invite to Motown 25.

My vote goes the Stevie.

I'll take the Jackson Five version. Stevie's has that same old '60s motown sound. The Jackson Five version sounds much warmer and organic. This may be down to the production/sound quality more than anything else. To my ears most of the motown music from the '60s sounds like garbage, the Jackson's were one of the first groups to get a decent sound.

rialb said:

I'll take the Jackson Five version. Stevie's has that same old '60s motown sound. The Jackson Five version sounds much warmer and organic. This may be down to the production/sound quality more than anything else. To my ears most of the motown music from the '60s sounds like garbage, the Jackson's were one of the first groups to get a decent sound.

I dig that sound even with its imperfections. Hey they did record most of the music from Berry's converted garage. So that sound was probably expected. They weren't perfect. By the late 1960s, they had figured out how to polish it. I don't think the J5 recorded this in California.

@bboy87, what year did they record their version of "If You Really Love Me"? My guess is '73 or '74?

NMuzakNSoul said:

Musicslave said:

Thanx for the info. At least I know I'm not crazy. And how fitting is it that Mr. Jamerson has the word JAM in his name! That's so cool. Was he part of the Funk Brothers in house band for Motown?

Man...you need to read on this player right now. James Jamerson is in my top three bass players of all time. EVERYONE needs to know about him. And the shitty part is, dude didn't even get an invite to Motown 25.

Neither James nor all the original Funk Brothers who were alive in 1983 were invited. James had to get through with some kind of ticket I forgot which. That was the symbolic nature of how Berry Gordy treated the old timers at Motown, the ones HE signed and gave work to. I guess for some people the fame you get, it overshadows your thought process that you forget certain people who helped build your company.

Timmy84 said:

rialb said:

I'll take the Jackson Five version. Stevie's has that same old '60s motown sound. The Jackson Five version sounds much warmer and organic. This may be down to the production/sound quality more than anything else. To my ears most of the motown music from the '60s sounds like garbage, the Jackson's were one of the first groups to get a decent sound.

I dig that sound even with its imperfections. Hey they did record most of the music from Berry's converted garage. So that sound was probably expected. They weren't perfect. By the late 1960s, they had figured out how to polish it. I don't think the J5 recorded this in California.

@bboy87, what year did they record their version of "If You Really Love Me"? My guess is '73 or '74?

I'm hoping it was 1974 because Michael's would've been perfect to do a cover of it then but I suspect it was done around 1971-1972

bboy87 said:

Timmy84 said:

I dig that sound even with its imperfections. Hey they did record most of the music from Berry's converted garage. So that sound was probably expected. They weren't perfect. By the late 1960s, they had figured out how to polish it. I don't think the J5 recorded this in California.

@bboy87, what year did they record their version of "If You Really Love Me"? My guess is '73 or '74?

I'm hoping it was 1974 because Michael's would've been perfect to do a cover of it then but I suspect it was done around 1971-1972

I don't know, the J5 always cut covers two or three years after the original came out. For them to do it in '71 or '72 would mean it was RIGHT AFTER Stevie's original was released. If it's 1974, I would hope that Michael's tenor was featured on that vocal... it just sounds as if it would be cut in '73 or '74.

AshK said:

I've been listening to these two versions alot recentely, I love them both but at the moment prefer the J5 version, I think it sounds more...mature, sensual etc than Stevie's. Anyone else prefer the cover to the original?

Yeah, I always used to prefer the cover, cos of it's laid-back funkiness, and the way the lick sounds more like Sly & the Family Stone or something, where it's much more staid in Stevie's version. I've grown to like the original a lot, in its own right, though, over the years, especially Stevie's vocal. I still think the J5 version stands up as a great record, though, and it's a really cool example of giving a cover a different feel, musically, which still seems faithful to the song.

I prefer the J5 version - but the finished version this one in post is the demo - the finished version is better with not such long drawn out vocals & can be found on 'Looking back to yesterday'.

Timmy84 said:

NMuzakNSoul said:

Man...you need to read on this player right now. James Jamerson is in my top three bass players of all time. EVERYONE needs to know about him. And the shitty part is, dude didn't even get an invite to Motown 25.

Neither James nor all the original Funk Brothers who were alive in 1983 were invited. James had to get through with some kind of ticket I forgot which. That was the symbolic nature of how Berry Gordy treated the old timers at Motown, the ones HE signed and gave work to. I guess for some people the fame you get, it overshadows your thought process that you forget certain people who helped build your company.

Yep, Mr. Gordy for ya.

Timmy84 said:

NMuzakNSoul said:

Man...you need to read on this player right now. James Jamerson is in my top three bass players of all time. EVERYONE needs to know about him. And the shitty part is, dude didn't even get an invite to Motown 25.

Neither James nor all the original Funk Brothers who were alive in 1983 were invited. James had to get through with some kind of ticket I forgot which. That was the symbolic nature of how Berry Gordy treated the old timers at Motown, the ones HE signed and gave work to. I guess for some people the fame you get, it overshadows your thought process that you forget certain people who helped build your company.

Jeez, what a dick. Something like that seems even worse than just carelessly overlooking people; it actually seems pointlessly callous - especially since 'family reunions' are the perfect time to make a break with petty antagonisms of the past and at least make the effort at some kind of reconciliation.

stevie wonder , one of my favorite songs by him