I can't wait to see what kind of role she'll play in this American Idol mess this year...

In what might be the least inspired album of her career, iconic diva Diana Ross sleepwalks through a mishmash of seemingly randomly chosen love songs, all covers save for one new composition, adding nothing to them and forcing one to wonder just why she bothered.

It's been standard music industry practice for years for artists to record (or for their labels to release compilations of) romantic tunes in time for Valentine's Day, and the January 2007 arrival of this set couldn't have been better timed as it also coincided with the release of the film version of Dreamgirls, based on the career of the Supremes. But Ross doesn't seize the moment: she puts little emotion or enthusiasm into her recitations here, and seems to have little familiarity with, or understanding of, the songs she and producers Peter Asher and Steve Tyrell have chosen for the album. Her vocals are largely nondescript and at times barely hint at the qualities that made her such a distinctive force for decades, and the arrangements and production are whitewashed and lacking in originality.

The material is all over the place, including songs from the '50s to those of more recent vintage, from the Platters' "Only You" through Berlin's "Take My Breath Away," fellow Motown great Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" to the ubiquitous (and, at this point, plain annoying) "You Are So Beautiful." Ross takes Jackie Wilson's "To Be Loved" and bleeds the soul from it, and she drains the magic from the Drifters' classic "This Magic Moment." Harry Nilsson's "Remember" not only opens the album but closes it in a brief reprise version, but Ross seems unsure what to do with it either time. The Beatles' "I Will" might be an excellent cover choice in more sympathetic hands, but Ross sounds uncomfortable with its simplicity and quietness, while her reading of Burt Bacharach-Hal David's sultry masterpiece "The Look of Love" is embarrassingly lifeless, especially if compared with Dusty Springfield's definitive '60s version.

Whoever came up with the idea of Ross covering the Spiral Starecase's 1969 hit "More Today Than Yesterday" at least gets a few points for digging a bit deeper into the covers well, but Ross puts no fire into the up-tempo/upbeat song. Interestingly, the one new track here (other than a piece from the current Broadway production of The Color Purple), the Fred White-penned ballad "I Love You (That's All That Really Matters)," makes the most of Ross' vocal capabilities and range, begging the question of why she didn't just record an album of new material custom-fitted to her talents.

Had the singer on this album been an unknown trying out for American Idol with these performances, no doubt Simon Cowell would have found her appalling. This has to be chalked up as an anomaly and a mistake, because an artist as singular as Diana Ross doesn't just forget who she is and what she does best.

http://www.allmusic.com/c...u06jp571q0

SOMEONE SHOULD DEFINITELY RE-RELEASE FLORENCE BALLARD'S SOLO WORK!!!!!

R.I.P. FLO'!!!!!
U R THE "MOST SUPREME" LADY!!!

JackieBlue said:

Diana Ross and Lena Horne... Lucky bastard!!

By the time Diana Ross is on Martha's show this week, she'll have seen Dreamgirls. Im sure she'll be asked what she thinks about it then.

Krytonite said:

Interestingly,this review points out that the one new song ("I Love You (That's All That Really Matters)" is the best track.I feel the same way about Natalie Cole's recent covers album...the best track on her CD is the one new song "5 Minutes Away".This proves that these ladies should be tackling NEW material instead of trying to re-invent old songs.

Icicle said:

Var i Skandinavien bor du?

manthevan said:

Jeg bor i Norge, er du svensk?

Icicle said:

akkurat

kul att se lite skandinaver här

manthevan said:

Ja, tror ikke det er så mange her.
Tror vi har noe mer til felles også, jeg ser du er fan av M.J

I hope Diana covers "Gin & Juice" on this record.

CinisterCee said:

Yeah maybe she can juggle Lil Kim's boob some more in the video.

For those that missed Diana Ross on Friday's Martha Stewart Show, here are the three segments including a wonderful rendition of "I Love You (Thats All That Really Matters)"


http://youtube.com/watch?v=lJQCpcrvyJY


http://youtube.com/watch?v=IL3BSUQUg0s


http://youtube.com/watch?v=QVygpit-Dtg

That leaves only "Inside the actors studio", february 19.

How do you like her new album, dreamfactory?