Who is Diana Ross

Stung by the commercial failure of her hip hop-inflected "Workin' Overtime" (1989), Diana Ross returned in 1991 with "The Force Behind the Power." That album contained some gems, but was waterlogged by tepid, whitewashed pop production. "Take Me Higher" (1995) strikes a polished balance between contemporary soul and the glossy pop drama Ross is best known for. The invigorous title track kicks the collection off with a bubbly, retro-disco groove that is easily Ross' best dance tune of the 1990's. The second track, "If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right," is a radio-friendly R&B groove with an instantly catchy hook. "Keep it Right There" is another fine, sultry R&B number, while "Don't Stop" is a saucy trifle featuring a cute rap interlude by the Boom Brothers. A surprisingly fresh cover of "I Will Survive" seems particularly resonant for this industry veteran. The ballads, however, are where Ross really shines. The shimmering "Voice of the Heart" contains a lovely, glistening vocal. The gentle Latin flourishes on "I Never Loved a Man Before" create a smooth, sexy ambience. The excellent "Gone" has Ross singing in a throaty lower register, and masterfully handling a wordy mouthful of lyrics. Brenda Russell contributes the anthemic "Let Somebody Know," and while the sentiments of "Only Love Can Conquer All" veer close to hokum, Ross' sincere, strong performance makes it sound convincing. The standout performance is "I Thought That We Were Still in Love," set against a quiet, jazzy backdrop. Ross sings with a delicacy and nuance that has been missing from her most recent work, and her thoroughly involved reading of the lyric reminds us that she is an Oscar-nominated actress as well. The production is uniformly sophisticated and slick; it's a credit to Ross and her team that despite four separate producers (Narada Michael Walden; Nick Martinelli; Brenda Russell; and Jon-Jon), the album still creates a cohesive atmosphere and flow. Ross is still in top form here, and has produced what is easily her most enjoyable album of the decade. -- Todd J. Brandt (New York, NY United States)

Face it, when searching for female singers to portray the hard-knock life of troubled jazz legend Billie Holiday, Diana Ross's name shouldn't even have come to mind. But portray her she did, earning herself an Oscar nod in the process. The mother of all divas did Lady Day's legacy proud. This soundtrack (which includes dialogue from the 1972 film) ain't Holiday, but it ain't bad; Ross is in fine and flavorful voice. She manages to both capture Holiday's idiosyncratic sound (which such pretenders to the throne as Erykah Badu have trampled on) and still sound enough like herself to satisfy her own legions of fans. She conjures up Holiday's vulnerability and phrasing without attempting to slavishly imitate. As an homage this works. -- Amy Linden

1973 solo album featuring the hit title track & a cover of John Lennon's 'Imagine'.

Where the Lady Sings The Blues Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1972) totally shrugged off any Supremes-type number, showcasing Diana Ross's versatile talents, the Touch Me In The Morning (1973) project steered even further away, completely abandoning her previous commercial R&B/Soul/Pop sound. The mood is mellow and soulful throughout, emerging as one of her all-time great albums of the 1970's.

The magnificent title track, Touch Me In The Morning is an absolute cracking masterpiece and is one of Diana's most memroable and timeless classics. A young composer, Michael Masser was drafted in by Motown. His first assignment was to come up with a no.1 hit for Motown's leading lady - Diana Ross. Michael Masser immediately came up with Touch Me In The Morning with Diana Ross in mind. Touch Me In The Morning would also be aided by the compositional and lyrical finesse of Ron Miller. Basically Berry Gordy wanted a No.1 hit waiting in the wings for his leading star just in the event of a needed re-bound if the Lady Sings The Blues movie bombed. Of course we all know Lady Sings The Blues was indeed an enduring success and earned her a much deserved oscar nomination for her powerful and riviting portrayal as the tortured Jazz singer Billie Holiday. Hot on its trail came Touch Me in The Morning. After an extremely sluggish start where it literally hovered for weeks on end down the lower reaches of the Hot 100 it slowly but surely climbed up the charts and eventually zoomed into pole position, remaining there for weeks on end. The formula is vastly similar to Ain't No Mountain High Enough where the rhythm steadily builds to its exalting chrous which Diana tackles with utter style and finesse sounding gutsy and soulful. One of Diana Ross's best classics!

Incidentally Michael Masser described the recording sessions for the Touch Me In The Morning single an emotionally draining experience. He claimed that Diana was very emotional during the sessions, crying a lot when she couldn't hit the notes required for the song and Diana even believed the song was beyond her vocal abilities. After countless takes, Diana finally got that desired vocal performance mastered to perfection.

Another timeless ballad was the remarkably powerful, All Of My Life where Dianas exubearant delivery ignites this breathtakingly beautiful ballad to startling effect. All Of My Life was lifted as a single in the U.K and became a Top 10 hit.

The mood turns somewhat chilly on the atmospheric, We Need You where Diana delivers a fantastic and stirring vocal performance. We Need you was written by Deke Richards whose most famous work for Diana Ross was the U.K chart-topping, I'm Still Waiting in 1971.

Also of great musical merit was the pleasant, mid-tempo Leave A Little Room where Diana glides through the verses and is joined by a gospel choir on the chrous which merley adds to its dramatic effect.

Diana surprisingly makes her version of The Carpenters, I Won't Last A Day Without You her own but it's the latter half of the album that displays a lot of true artistic flair. Perharps holding onto Lady Sings The Blues in some way, Diana delivers two Jazz/Blues numbers that are both stunningly atmospheric. Her performance on Little Girl Blue is dreamy and rich whilst the mood deepens and steadily more sombre on the haunting, My Baby (My Own). Her striking, lower throat register performance virtually turns into a subdued howl at the climax of this track.

Diana then delivers a magnificent and sophisticated reading of the John Lennon classic Imagine which she sings with such passion in her voice.

The Touch Me In The Morning (1973) album's climax is a startling and compelling medley (a)Brown Baby (b)Save The Children. More than anything, this medley showcased her versatile vocal style and her overall diversity as a recording artist. The Medley is both touching and hauntingly atmospheric rounding the project off beautifully.

The Touch Me In The Morning (1973) set was a fantastic affair all round and was one of her most artistic and diverse efforts off the 1970's. The bonus was it proved to be another yet massive commercial success where it speedily jumped into the U.K and U.S Top 10 Album charts becoming one of her biggest sellers in that era. -- Ian Phillips (Bolton, Lancashire, UK)

Some would argue that Diana Ross' 1980 "diana" is really a Chic album with Ross singing lead vocals. Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of the influential 1970s group serve as producers, and the result is a non-stop party filled with groovilicious tunes that are just as stellar as anything by Chic. "diana" was a huge commercial hit upon release, and for a good reason: the album is excellent and may be the best of Diana's post-Supremes career. Who could forget the hit singles "Upside Down" and the uplifting "I'm Coming Out?" If any female singer kicked off the 1980s with a bang, it's definitely Ms. Ross, thanks to this classic of an album. "diana" has been remastered and is part of Universal's "Deluxe Edition" series. The first disc has not one but two versions of the album. One is the "diana" as released, and another is the "Chic Mix." I definitely prefer the latter version as it is more relaxed, free-flowing, and is somewhat less polished than the "diana" that was released in stores. I'm glad that we finally have the chance to hear this classic "as nature intended." In addition, a bonus disc of extended mixes and other jams is what makes this CD a must-own for Dianaphiles and casual listeners. We get, among others, a full-length 10 minute version of the classic "Love Hangover," a standout mix of the excellent "No One Gets the Prize/The Boss" and other previously unreleased tracks like "Fire Don't Burn," and "You Build Me Up to Tear Me Down." Sure, there's a single disc version of "diana" available, and like the deluxe edition, it's digitally remastered. But you're only selling yourself short by getting that version. The deluxe edition is a can't fail purchase; it's an example of what happens when you take a classic album and make it even better. -- The Groove (Boston, MA)

In early 1981 it was announced that Diana Ross was leaving Motown Records after twenty years for a reported $20,000,000 deal with RCA Records. After riding high on the success of the dynamic diana (1980) album, Diana Ross was certainly in a position to pick and choose. Following the news of her departure, Motown issued one last album, To Love Again which featured new-at-the-time-of-release songs as well as some old hits and tracks directly plucked from various albums. If anything it was a celebratory exercise to mark her dynamic combination with songwriter Michael Masser who later went on to produce Whitney Houston.

To Love Again (1981) was deleted from Motown's catologue some years ago but re-surfaced in January 2003 with the bonus adding of some rare material and 1 unreleased track. Motown has finally recognised the potential in Diana Ross back catologue of studio albums and let's hope now other classic albums in the Ross catologue such as Everything Is Everything (1970), Surrender (1971), Diana Ross (1976), Baby It's Me (1977) and Ross (1978) find their way to being re-issued with the added bonus of tracks canned from the origanal sessions for the album.

This updated edition of the album opens with one of her most powerful and passionate ballads - It's My Turn. The song is positivley timeless and almost seemed like a direct message to Motown and of course, Berry Gordy - her mentor, her one-time lover and the father of her first child, Rhonda. The lyrics are strongly emotive, the musical arrangements gloriously assembled and Dianas performance is truly impeccable. It's My Turn hit No.9 on the U.S Charts whilst gliding in at No.16 in the U.K though had all the fire and potential to go to No.1.

Stay With Me is an overly sugary ballad that is redeemed and ignited by Dianas sensational performance. No one delivers a ballad quite like Diana Ross and had it been any other artist recording slush like this, i'd most likely run for cover but Diana has that uncanny ability to really make an overly schmaltzy song like this come to life and her performance is just so heart-warming and genuine that it's virtually impossible to fault. One More Chance has more punch in the musical arrangements and Diana neatly surfboards along the complex musical arrangements. One More Chance was lifted as a single and stalled within the Top 100 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Cryin' My Heart Out For You was another touching ballad that failed to gain wide-commercial acclaim where it merley stalled within the U.K Top 60 but still is a divine classic, delivered with style, class and finesse by Diana. More famous though was The Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) which features divine musical arrangements and a magnificent classical ending which is quite startling for what is initially a soul track. Theme From mahogany hit No.1 in the U.S in 1975 whilst bouncing to No.5 in the U.K.

I Thought It Took A Little Time (But Today I Fell In Love) was another underated gem. Featured on the fabulous Diana Ross (1976) album, it's success was perharps overshadowed by the rapid release of Love Hangover. This glossy number contains another sensual and exuberant performance from it's star. I Thought It Took A Little Time became a Top 40 struggler.

The exotic, To Love Again, featuring an effective spanish guirtar interlude in the arrangements is breathtakingly beautiful and is delivered with such class from Diana. The track had origanally been featured on Ross (1978), a studio album that was similar in it's content to this album. No One's Gonna Be A Fool Forever is more forgetable taken from the oddest entry in her catologue, Last Time I Saw Him (1973).

Touch Me In The Morning is of course one of her most definitive and most timeless classics - a song she will always be remembered for. Similar to the formula of an earlier classic, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, the rhythm builds to an exalting climax which Diana tackles well and sounds convincing and utterly compelling in the process. Touch Me In The Morning raced to the top of the American charts whilst hitting No.9 in the U.K.

Another exotic sounding number was the lush, Love Me which was one of the better songs on the Last Time I Saw Him (1973) album. Dramatic in it's content and sweetly soulful musically, Love Me is one of the long-lost and forgotten Diana Ross classics, even though it was a Top 40 struggler when lifted as a single in the U.K belatedly in 1974.

Her duet with the king of Motown, Marvin Gaye, Stop! Look! Listen, To Your Heart was a masterful ballad that features strong, emotive and passionate performances from both Diana and Marvin. On this edition of the album, the track is featured in it's alternate mix though there is barley any difference. Stop! Look! Listen, To Your Heart was released as a single in the U.K where it hit No.25 on the main singles charts.

Together was a pleasantly mellow ballad that features a heavenly performance from Diana, was recorded back in 1975 and eventually surfaced on the Ross (1978) album. This glorious number, again produced by Michael Masser, origanally was featured as the B-side to her 1975 hit, Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right.

After You was swiped from her glorious, Diana Ross (1976) album. It's another mellow, sophisticated ballad with a forceful and full-throated performance from Diana. The mesmerising, Too Shy Too Say was a dazzling Stevie Wonder compostion thats hauntingly atmospheric in it's content. Too Shy To Say had origanally been featured on the Baby It's Me (1977) album and used as the B-side for the American single, You Got It (which also appeared on Baby It's Me).

Come In From The Rain was another truly touching and tear-jerking ballad that again was directly swiped from the Baby It's Me set. Though overly schmaltzy, the song is touching purley in it's mere simplicity whilst Diana delivers this beautifully (as she does every song on here). Never Say I Don't Love You is a more modern-sounding ballad where Diana is joined by an effective backing choir on the tracks chrous. Never Say I Don't Love You had also been used as an album track for the Ross (1978) album.

Share Some Love was a previously unreleased track and is nothing out of the ordinary for Diana Ross though her performance is still as engaging as ever whilst the fun, mid-beat, Dreaming Of You on which she duets with the fabulous Lionel Richie, is one of the more enjoyable rarities to be found on here.

Of course her most famous work with Lionel Richie was on the unforgetable classic, Endless love which raced to the top of the American charts, remaining there for nine weeks and became Motown's biggest ever selling single to that point. There was an interesting transistion of harmonies combined on Endless Love with Lionel Richies strong and assertive tone to the yearning vulnreability that you can easily detect in Dianas vocal delivery. A monster classic that is still timeless and no one has done it better than Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (even Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross' version pales in comparison).

The album then closes on another golden rarity with the heart-felt and breathtakingly beautiful, We're Always Saying Goodbye. This closes this timeless, sophisticated album on a high!

On it's origanal release in mid 1981, To Love Again became a Top 40 seller on both sides of the Atlantic and was deleted in the early 1990's so it's re-issue on CD is much welcome and long over-due. -- Ian Phillips (Bolton, Lancashire, UK)