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Mary
Wilson, Susaye Greene and Scherrie Payne had the watch in 1977 when it came
time for Berry Gordy and Motown to put The Supremes out of their long-standing misery. As
shown on albums like 1972's "Flow Joy" (featuring
Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrel and Mary Wilson) and 1976's "High
Energy" (featuring Birdsong, Susaye Greene and Wilson), I've
always thought the post-Diana Ross Supremes had talent. No support from
Motown, but talent ... When Wilson announced she was done with the
group and was heading in pursuit of a solo career, Greene and late inning
Supremes addition Scherrie Payne initially thought  about continuing The Supremes nameplate
with former Dawn member Joyce Vincent Wilson as the third
member. Motown
management killed the idea. The pair subsequently decided
to continue their partnership as a duo, spending the next two years writing
their own material for the project. Produced by Eugene McDaniels,
the results came out in the form of 1979's "Partners". With the
duo sharing associate producers credits, they were also
responsible for penning all nine tracks. Can you imagine the original
Supremes writing their own material? Greene and Payne were each
credited with four compositions; the track listing rounded out by the
collaboration 'I Found Another Love'. To my ears both ladies were fabulous singers with Greene
having a slight edge in the soul and funk department ('Your Sweet Love'),
while Payne had the better ballad and pop voice
('Another Life from Now'). Given their
different vocal strengths, the pair's voices actually blended surprisingly
well. Overlooking a couple of Broadway-styled ballads ('When the Day Comes Every Night'
and 'Another Life from Now'),
the collection was quite enjoyable with plenty of highlights, including a
collaboration with Ray Charles ('Luvbug'), the funky 'Your Sweet Love', and
... yes, I'll admit it, the discofied 'Leaving
Me was the Best Thing You've Ever Done'.
"Partners" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Storybook
Romance (Scherrie Payne) - 5:10
rating:
*** stars I've
always liked Payne's voice, but on the self-penned 'Storybook Romance' her
talents were largely wasted on a slice of faceless and completely disposable
disco ... The thing is Payne had such a strong voice that she almost
managed to pull it off. If the song had simply downplayed the
anonymous disco effects and focused on her great voice, this could have been
an awesome song. The tune does grow on you if given a chance.
I'm sure you'll want to know that Scherrie's sister Freda Payne covered the
song on one of her albums. 2.)
Your Sweet Love (Susaye Greene-Brown) - 4:16
rating: *** stars The
Motown-ish ballad 'Your
Sweet Love' was probably the album's most soulful number with a tasty lead
vocal from Greene. It could have been one of the album
highlights, but Greene's falsetto quickly turned shrill and brittle. it's
always reminded me of something out of the Ashford and Simpson catalog.. 3.)
Luvbug (Susaye Greene-Brown) - 3:35
rating: **** stars Perhaps a repayment of sorts
for Greene's work as a member of The Raelettes, Ray Charles guested on the
funky 'Luvbug'. Admittedly he didn't do all that much, the performance
seemingly limited to turning in an occasional growling male vocal. Big surprise and
quite enjoyable. It should have been the song Motown tapped as a single. For
some reason Greene's funky and nasally delivery has always reminded me of
cross between Betty Davis and Sly Stone. 4.)
Leaving Me was the Best Thing You've Ever Done (Scherrie Payne)
- 5:24 rating:
*** stars With
the pair sharing lead vocals, 'Leaving Me was the Best Thing You've Ever
Done' found them returning to disco mode. Pedestrian, but mildly enjoyable,
Motown tapped it as a single: 
-
1979's 'Leaving Me was the Best Thing You've Ever Done' b/w 'When the Day
Comes Every Night' (Motown catalog number M 1473F). 5.)
When the Day Comes Every Night (Susaye Greene-Brown) - 2:23
rating: **
stars
The
album's only misstep, the brittle
keyboard-powered ballad sounded like a throwaway track for a faceless Broadway soundtrack. Guess it was intended to showcase Greene's powerful
voice but it was just middle-of-the-road and bland. Green also
provided some of the synthesizers.
(side
2)
1.) In the Night (Susaye
Greene-Brown - Ed Brown) - 6:04
rating:
*** stars Exemplified
by 'In the Night' Greene, nee Greene-Brown (then married to Ed Brown) sure
had an extraordinary voice; funky, growling and sexy at the same time.
The track was simultaneously funky and jazzy ... kind of a proto-type
for the evening storm radio format. For anyone
interested, I think producer McDaniel was featured on the backing
vocals. 2.)
I've Found Another Love (Susaye Greene-Brown - Scherrie Payne) -
3:06
rating: **** stars I'll
give this one an extra star since it was the lone collaboration between the
pair. The fact it was the standout performance, exhibiting a
nice blend of old school and more up-to-date touches certainly didn't
hurt. Nice example of different the pair's voices were, but how good
they sounded together. 3.)
You've Been Good To Me (Scherrie Payne) - 4:05
rating:
*** stars They
share lead vocals on this mid-tempo ballad but Greene sort of takes over as
the tune got going (not a bad thing). 4.)
Another Life from Now (Scherrie Payne) - 5:53
rating:
*** stars Payne
wrote the tune for the Broadway show "Ten Good Years" and while
she sings the hell out the tune, the ballad certainly sounds like a Broadway
composition - pretty but kind of MOR-ish. Both
ladies have websites: http://www.supremextreme.com/ http://www.scherriepayne.com/ ©
Scott R. Blackerby February, 2025
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