“There’s a new me coming out…”

Diana Extended: The Remixes is an interesting and unique addition to Diana Ross’s discography; though it’s technically a compilation album of some of her biggest hits, they’re completely re-imagined by some of the most successful remixers of the 90s (David Morales and Frankie Knuckles were inescapable in that decade). Released in early 1994, it followed Diana’s 4-CD box set and the globally successful One Woman: The Ultimate Collection compilation, and thus seemed to be a way for Miss Ross to take all that attention on her past catalog and propel it to the present. “House” music was also hugely successful in the mid-90s; Morales’s remix of Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover” had been a #1 dance hit the year before, and artists like Madonna and Janet Jackson were seeing massive success in clubs thanks to house mixes of their pop/R&B hits.

Still, remix albums can be tricky for artists; at worst, they are completely unnecessary and sound like time-fillers between new studio projects. At best, however, they can draw attention to aspects of songs that had earlier gone unnoticed; they also, of course, are most successful when they accomplish what they set out to do, which is make the listener want to dance. The latter is, thankfully, the case on much of this project; the beats here are, for the most part, terrific. But even better, the songs really serve to shine a spotlight Diana Ross’s vocal performances; hearing them in new surroundings allow them to stand out in a completely new way. The attention given to Miss Ross’s voice and the creativity of those involved make this a successful listen; the All Music Guide dubbed the album “one of the strongest remix albums of the 1990s.”

Despite the strong review, the CD wasn’t a major popular success for Miss Ross; it charted in the US on the R&B listings, at #68. A single release of “Someday We’ll Be Together,” remixed by Frankie Knuckles, did take Diana to the top 10 of the Dance/Club Play Charts (a place she’d return the next year with “Take Me Higher”). For longtime fans, however, the joy in Diana Extended is hearing some classics all dressed up in a new way; tracks like “The Boss” allow us to hear Diana’s spectacular vocal power clearer than ever, and “Love Hangover” features a sparkling spoken first verse that comes as a total surprise to those familiar with only the original 1976 release. Though this isn’t a “new” studio album, it is a full-length album of classics presented in a new way.

***

1. The Boss (David Morales Club Mix): It’s interesting to do a dance mix of a song that’s already a dance classic; the original 1979 release of “The Boss” was a major hit, Miss Ross’s first true dance smash since “Love Hangover” a few years earlier. That said, “The Boss” has remained a signature Diana Ross song for her spectacular vocal work as much as the great beat; this is one of the great Diana performances ever, as she wails and belts and jumps all over the scale. David Morales’s mix here smartly keeps those vocals up front, and for much of the song actually allows Miss Ross to sing with almost no musical accompaniment at all. This nearly a capella arrangement gives the song a haunting, darker feel than the joyous and upbeat original; it also gives listeners a chance to listen to the subtleties of the vocal performance, and that’s the real treat for fans here. Her work on the first verse is smooth and controlled, and becomes sexier and lively on the second verse (as Morales brings in more backgrounds), before erupting in the famous high-note vocal run. Listen closely starting at around 3:20 and close yours eyes; it almost feels like being in the studio with Miss Ross, hearing her push and go for notes with every bit of vocal power she possesses. This kind of new detail on an already-established hit is a highlight of this entire set.

2. Love Hangover (Frankie Knuckles Remix): Speaking of Diana’s dance smashes, this is a fascinating re-work of her #1 classic from 1976. The instrumental track sounds quite untouched at the beginning (other than a slightly extended, electronic intro), but as soon as Miss Ross begins the first verse, there’s a major difference. Knuckles uses an alternate take of Miss Ross speaking the famous lines, “If there’s a cure for this…I don’t want it,” instead of singing them as she did on the release. There’s no argument that if any artist in the history of popular music knows how to deliver spoken lines during a song, it’s Diana Ross (“And there ain’t nothin’ I can do about…” being my personal favorite, to say nothing of, “If you need me…call me…”). Here, she is sexy and playful with the lines, and it’s fun to hear them in a totally different way. At just over a minute in, Knuckles brings her singing in, though it’s again an alternate take; she sings the line “Try to chase you from my mind, tryin’ is a waste of time” instead of “Think about it all the time, never let it out of my mind.” Despite the different vocals, the original sizzling instrumental is kept pretty much intact, but as soon as the song hits its famous tempo change, Morales brings in a modern, funky sound that lifts the familiar 5-note vamp while surrounding it with new electronic beats. There’s a real coolness and eventually almost jazzy feel to the arrangement that works well with Diana’s original ad-libs; her vocal during this part still sounds fresh and exciting. As on the previous track, the remix doesn’t at all detract from the original, but does serve as an interesting and enjoyable counterpart.

3. Upside Down (Satoshi Tomie & David Morales Mix): Another dance classic, this is a re-working of Miss Ross’s 1980 smash from her diana album. The mix here is far more traditional House, or “90s club,” than either of the previous tunes. The airy, popping keyboards here are reminiscent of those from other club hits of the day, and the extracted words/phrases on loop and electronic manipulation of the vocal key are certainly trademarks of mid-90s DJs. Because much of the appeal of the original “Upside Down” was the complex, unusual instrumental — the work of producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic — that missing element leaves a big void here. Diana Ross’s vocal on “Upside Down” is crisp and punchy, with none of the adornments of something like “The Boss,” and that clean vocal worked against the original’s challenging instrumental track, creating a hypnotic tension. While her voice still sounds good here, and the track serves the purpose of being danceable, this isn’t a particularly interesting listen because it’s missing some of that tension.

4. Someday We’ll Be Together (Frankie Knuckles Mix): It’s interesting that this song became a top 10 dance hit for Diana, being that Janet Jackson had a #1 dance hit the year before with “If,” a song that sampled 1969’s original “Someday We’ll Be Together.” Perhaps the success of that Jackson song (it was also a top 5 pop and R&B hit), which lifted “Someday”‘s opening string riff, led to Frankie Knuckles also opening this mix with that riff, and sustaining it through the first two minutes of the piece. This is the only song from Diana’s Supremes days included on the set, and it’s interesting to hear how Knuckles manages to retain the vintage sound of the vocals while updating it in a modern dance surrounding. He does it brilliantly; there’s a real sense of excitement created right from the beginning, with those memorable strings sounding almost locomotive in moving the song along. Once the rest of the track kicks in, the vintage strings and background vocals are mixed with the dance beat and keyboards, and there’s a lovely, almost dreamy feel to the entire piece. Diana’s vocal is left alone, and her performance remains as beautiful and accomplished as ever; she’s relaxed and laid-back, which works well with the shimmering keyboards backing her up. The backgrounds by Maxine and Julia Waters are more noticeable in this new arrangement, and their full, gospel sound sounds like the inspiration for the hundreds of soulful, belting dancefloor divas in the years to come. Though the Janet Jackson connection might have led to this being released as a single, it was a deserved success in clubs; this is a great example of a remix bringing new life to a song while still respecting its origins.

5. Chain Reaction (Dewey B & Spike Remix): The only RCA track included, this was Diana’s massive UK #1 from 1985’s Eaten Alive. Of all the songs thus far, this one strays the furthest from the original, which had a Motown-esque feel in its swinging feel. Here, the song is kind of smashed into a more conventional dance beat and setting, and it often feels like an uncomfortable fit. Because the original so deftly changed keys, it really depended on its original arrangement and backing track; in this update, the key-jumping often clashes with the tones of the track, making the singers sound strangely out of tune. Perhaps this was the whole point; after all, the remixers were probably purposely thinking outside the box and re-imaginging the song. However, the end result is just oddly discordant and doesn’t feel as danceable as the other songs here. That said, the lead vocal by Diana still sounds great — her performance on “Chain Reaction” was easily the highlight of Eaten Alive, and it’s nice to hear her vibrant work again.

6. You’re Gonna Love It (E-Smoove & Steve Silk Mix): This is a reworking of a more recent song, which first appeared on 1991’s The Force Behind The Power. The original version was much more “New Jack” in style, almost a softer continuation of her work on Workin’ Overtime. It was, however, one of the weaker tracks on The Force…, despite Diana’s spirited vocal performance. Thus, the song getting a new arrangement seems like a chance to make it a little more interesting than it had been initially. Ultimately, it doesn’t emerge that much more exciting; this is one of the more layered dance tracks on this remix project, and the song ends up feeling a little cluttered. And though the original song wasn’t a bad one, there isn’t a particularly memorable melody here, so it’s hard to even focus that much on Miss Ross. Not a bad dance song, but surrounded by such stronger material, it doesn’t stand out.

7. I’m Coming Out (Maurice Joshua 4 Vibe Mix): Diana Extended closes out with a Diana Ross masterpiece, her top 5 smash from 1980. Like “The Boss” and “Love Hangover,” this one was a true dance classic to begin with, and so it’s fascinating to hear how it’s updated. In this case, Maurice Joshua retains the original’s sense of sheer joy and freedom, which was a very wise move; rather than give it a darker feel (as was the case on Morales’s “The Boss” mix), this one still feels like an anthem of love and self-expression. Joshua places a lot of emphasis on Diana’s shouts of “I’m Comin’!” and “Yes!” — and hearing them repeated so often during this eight-minute piece puts a magnifying glass on the strength in her voice, which is impressive. Her vocal work on the verses also sounds better than ever; taken out of the context of the original’s ridiculously funky track, Diana really sounds strong and self-assured; listen to her at around 2:00, during the lyrics, “I’ve got to show the world all that I wanna be…” — the vocal attack here is so much more apparent than it had been on the more familiar original version. Again, this is a mix that adds new life and dimension to an already-masterful song, but does it in an affectionate, reverent way.

***

Diana Extended: The Remixes, if nothing else, definitely primed Diana for a major return to the dance clubs, which would happen with 1995’s #1 “Take Me Higher” and her remake of “I Will Survive.” But beyond that, it’s a great chance for fans to revisit some of her singles in a new way. There are more than enough “Greatest Hits” compilations out there for both Diana Ross solo and with the Supremes, so this is at least something that offers a unique listening experience on older favorites. Because most of the songs chosen for inclusion are so strong, and because the remixers have done an outstanding job refreshing them, this emerges as an energetic and exciting tribute to Miss Ross and her 30-year (at the time of release) career. Some of the tracks are better than others, but there are enough high points here to make it a welcome addition to the Diana discography.

“Although it’s been said, many times, many ways…”

In a recent interview with Lance Chau, producer Nick Martinelli remembered, “EMI UK decided they wanted a Christmas CD. I was asked to put it together. The studio sessions lasted about three to four weeks. All the tracks were recorded in London except for ‘Amazing Grace.’ Most of the musicians were from the London Symphony. My favorite tracks were ‘Overjoyed’ and ‘War Is Over.'”

The Christmas CD he’s talking about is A Very Special Season, which is Diana’s Ross’s first and only full-length solo holiday album. Like 1989’s Greatest Hits Live, this was an international project only, and was never officially released in the United States. That said, it’s relatively easy to find in the states, and has certainly become an essential for fans; reviews were also strong, with the All Music Guide stating that it “easily ranks among the diva’s best of the ’90s. Instead of opting for hip arrangements aimed at pleasing a younger, jaded audience, all the songs on this set are classically arranged with lush orchestrations, resulting in a truly timeless holiday album, not unlike what one would have expected from the crooners and sirens of yesteryear.”

It’s not a big surprise that EMI asked for a holiday CD; Diana’s recent Christmas In Vienna TV special and recording with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras had been very successful around the world (“Amazing Grace” from that concert is included here). She’d also had some recent big ballad hits in the UK with songs like “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” and “One Shining Moment” and the massive One Woman collection (with some new songs produced by Martinelli). Also — for longtime Diana Ross fans — the only holiday material available from the diva were the Christmas In Vienna songs and her 1965 LP with the Supremes, Merry Christmas. That dearth of holiday material makes this a real treat for fans, who’ve always known that if anyone could deliver a top-notch holiday album, it would be Miss Ross.

And she certainly does deliver. As the AMG review pointed it, it’s a huge relief that Martinelli and Ross go the traditional route; nothing ruins a Christmas CD faster than an artist trying to be “modern” with holiday songs, and thus completely screwing them up. The whole point of a holiday album full of songs everyone already knows is to provide a chance for listeners to sing along, and that’s exactly what A Very Special Season Does. Even the “surprise” inclusions, like “What The World Needs Now” and “Overjoyed,” manage to fit in perfectly and sound like seasonal classics. Diana’s voice, meanwhile, sounds about as smooth and creamy as a perfect cup of eggnog; she’s as dreamy and lush as the lovely orchestral arrangements. Motown, once again, missed a huge opportunity here; when done right, holiday albums sell and sell and sell, and this is a Diana Ross album that even non-fans would buy.

***

1. Winter Wonderland: Opening with a lovely, seldom-heard introduction, this song sets the tone for the entire album to come; it is slickly produced by Martinelli and gently delivered by Miss Ross. The arrangement here is classic in the best sense of the word; this sounds exactly like a track Judy Garland would have sung along to, as though it were recorded right on an MGM soundstage. There’s a lightness to the strings that evokes images of fluttering snowflakes, and Diana keeps her vocal performance simple and wise; though this isn’t much of a showcase for her in terms of range or power, she does sound like she’d having a good time, and that joy is exactly what makes holiday music come alive.

2. White Christmas: This is Diana’s third recording of Irving Berlin’s Christmas classic; the tune had opened the Supremes holiday album, and she’d also performed it on Christmas In Vienna. The Supremes version from 1965 is truly a masterpiece; there’s an elegance and class to their performance on the track that remains stunning even today, and it boasts one of Diana’s most sensitive and smooth performances of the era. The new recording here is nice, but certainly lacks the dreamy, late-night-by-the-fire feel of the earlier version; it’s a shame, in a way, that fans can compare the two, as really it’s impossible to match the perfection of the 1965 version. Taken on its own here, it’s a pleasant addition to the album, though not necessarily a standout.

3. Wonderful Christmastime: The first of two “Beatles-related” inclusions here, this one was written by Paul McCartney in 1979 and has since become a seasonal staple. Diana’s version is pretty standard; her voice is high and clear, and she sticks close to the limited melody (although she hums a 5-note run starting at 1:26 that allows her to show off the top of her range). There is the unfortunate addition of children singing at 1:20; the kids actually sound strangely similar to those featured on “The Children’s Christmas Song” from the Supremes offering, and even sing the same “ding, dong” refrain. Adding children’s’ voices to songs is always dicey, because it can easily cheapen the overall sound; at least producer Martinelli smartly keeps it to a minimum here.

4. What The World Needs Now: Being that “What The World Needs Now” (first recorded in 1965 by Jackie DeShannon) isn’t known as a holiday song, this seems like an odd choice for the album. However, over the years, Diana has expressed her admiration for the songs of Hal David and Burt Bacharach several times; she’s recorded many of them, from “(They Long To Be) Close To You” in 1970 to “The Look Of Love” in 2006. This is a lovely version of the song; it’s presented in the same manner as the others here, with a swirling orchestra arrangement that borders on operatic in feel. And being that it originated as a pop song, it’s a better showcase for Diana’s vocals; this is the best she’s sounded thus far on the album, offering up a deeply felt, emotional performance with a touch of “classic Ross” in the opening spoken lyrics. Listen, for example, to her singing at 2:24, with the lyrics, “Lord, we don’t need another meadow…;” there’s a real, solid strength in her voice here, and she sounds almost like a Broadway singer in her delivery through the rest of the running time. After three much more traditional inclusions, this is a beautiful but non-jarring change, and it’s a highlight of the set.

5. Happy Xmas (War Is Over): The second “Beatles-related” tune, this one was written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and released by them in the early 70s. While the song itself isn’t necessarily to everyone’s holiday music tastes, vocally this is an extremely strong moment on the album, and it’s not a surprise that Martinelli singled it out in the aforementioned interview. Musically this is also one of the more complex pieces here; the prominent drums, piano, and background voices set it apart from most of the other tracks. Beginning around 2:18 into the song, Diana really opens her voice up; her “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy New Year!” belted over top the children’s voices are powerful and moving. Her quiet repetition of “war…is…over” in the background is also a nice touch.

6. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!: One of the “lightest” tracks on the album, this is a brief (barely more than two minutes) little holiday treat, with a cute, relaxed performance from Miss Ross. She opens the song with a Ross-pantented “oooh!” and ends with that “brrrrrrrr” sound she used on “Shockwaves” from Red Hot Rhythem & Blues. In between, both the instrumental and Diana’s vocals are bouncy and fun, perfectly fitting the lyrics of the song.

7. Amazing Grace: This is the performance from Christmas In Vienna; read my review here.

8. His Eye Is On The Sparrow: An amazing version of the song Diana Ross has often referenced in interviews as one her mother loved to sing; it is to this song that she’s referring in the title of her memoirs, Secrets Of A Sparrow. In it, she writes, “Mama would hum or sing these words till I remembered them well. The words are haunting, sad, and when Mama passed away, I had it sung for her this last tune. Her favorite tune is so much a part of me” (67). She later writes, “Mama gave this song to me, and I am blessed in my life” (68). Her thoughts here really say all that needs to be said about why she chose to record it here, and also about why her voice is so moving on it. The song begins with the lyrics, “Why should I feel discouraged?” sung almost a capella, and her sensitive and soulful delivery continues atop the swelling strings and, later, a muted organ line. What’s amazing about this recorded performance is that as it continues, it sounds like a live performance; there are a few minor imperfections here and there, and the choice to leave them in is brilliant. Listen to her suddenly jump up an octave on the word “because” at 2:23; the moment sounds totally impromptu, and though Diana is completely filled with spirit, which she probably was. Though it might have been nice to have a more traditional gospel instrumental track behind her (rather than the abundance of strings), Diana Ross could pretty much be singing over anything and her compelling vocals would still make this a standout.

9. Silent Night: A quiet, straight-forward reading of the traditional Christmas carol; this is another case of Diana displaying a deliberate, yet sensitive vocal performance. Her voice, while subdued, is strong and clear; when she goes for the higher notes, she nails them dead-on, and her more hushed moments never sound raspy or weak. This is one of the longest tracks on the album, running just more than five minutes, but it’s a beautiful version of a song that many have recorded, and Diana does it right by respecting the message and meaning of the words.

10. Overjoyed: This is the other “favorite” noted by producer Martinelli, and certainly one of the more surprising inclusions here. “Overjoyed” was a 1985 Stevie Wonder release, pulled off his In Square Circle album; it hit the pop and R&B top 40 and was a #1 Adult Contemporary hit. Though it is not really a holiday song and had never necessarily been associated with Christmas before, it’s not a surprise that Diana would want to sing a Stevie Wonder song, since she’d done so several times in the past (most recently with his “Blame It On The Sun” and “The Force Behind The Power” in 1991). Many of her Wonder covers have been outstanding, especially the stunning “Too Shy To Say” from Baby It’s Me, and this one is easily near the top of the list; Diana’s delivery here is probably her best, from a technical standpoint, on the entire album. This is complex song with some quickly-paced lyrics and key changes, and Miss Ross proves herself as deft as ever when keeping up with those challenges. Listen, for example, to the final minute of the song, as Diana sings the lyrics beginning with, “And though the odds are improbable…” Her voice is full and lush, and she manages to enunciate each quick word perfectly without ever making it seem like an effort. If there’s an issue with the song, it perhaps lies with the production; though the strings here certainly allow the song to mesh well with the others on the CD, it does seems a little overwrought. Had the instrumental been a bit simpler and low-key, it would have given Diana a stronger base on which to lay her tremendous vocals. Still, this is a great moment for Miss Ross, and certainly showcases her voice at its loveliest.

11. O Holy Night: One of the more challenging holiday songs, this is one often taken on by singers with a showy, powerful, explosive vocal style, like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. It’s hard to beat Mariah’s version of the song; the track on her Merry Christmas album (also released in 1994) is truly a vocal wonder, and the gospel-inspired arrangement is sublime. Still, Diana Ross does well with the holiday carol; her performance here is strong and heartfelt; it’s far less bombastic than most recent recordings of the song. Miss Ross doesn’t shy away from the higher notes, and she sounds very full-bodied when going for the highest, on the word “night” at 3:42. The classical arrangement here is well-done, though I prefer the more soulful version on Miss Carey’s CD.

12. Someday At Christmas: Another song made famous by Stevie Wonder; this is the title track of the male singer’s 1967 Christmas album, and was written by Ron Miller, the man responsible in part for Diana’s #1 hit “Touch Me In The Morning.” Wonder’s version, while somber, had a nice, Motown “bounce” to it, thanks to the shuffling Funk Brother instrumental track. The version here is sorely missing that expert background; the arrangement is so slow that is lacks a beat completely, and thus becomes laborious to get through. Diana begins the song in an almost-childlike voice; the key is cut rather high, and this is one of the few tracks on the entire project during which she seems to struggle a few times to hit higher notes. The key change at 2:10 is also not handled particularly well, and the result is that Diana almost sounds like she loses the melody, though I don’t think that was the case. A Very Special Season probably could have been an even stronger work had it been a little shorter, and this is one of the songs I think could have been left off.

13. Ave Maria: Sadly, this is another one that I’m not sure needs to be on the CD. The prospect of Diana singing the operatic “Ave Maria” is certainly an exciting one; her work on Christmas In Vienna and “Amazing Grace” proved she could combine operatic overtones with her own personal style successfully. That song, however, works far better than this one. Here, Diana sounds a bit too wobbly in her singing, and the performance ends up sounding a bit weak and awkward. Even when the lyrics eventually switch to English, she still sounds too hesitant in her vocals, as if she had never grown comfortable enough with the material before recording it.

14. The Christmas Song: This is the perfect way to end A Very Special Season; Mel Torme’s classic “The Christmas Song” is a perfect song for Diana (who’d recorded it with the Supremes, though it went unreleased for years). The best versions of this classic are smooth and lounge-ready, in the tradition of Nat King Cole’s iconic take on it, and Miss Ross easily accomplishes that. Her vocals here are wise and light-hearted; there’s an ease and a comfort that shine though in this performance (and that contrast sharply with her work on the previous track). This is one of the best recordings here, and would be a welcome addition to any holiday playlist.

***

Fans waited a long time for a Diana Ross solo Christmas recording; thankfully, A Very Special Season was well worth that wait. Though it’s a tad long and a few tracks could have used a little more “fire” in them (the same issues with Miss Ross’s last studio offering, The Force Behind The Power), Ross and Martinelli turned out an accomplished, timeless recording that paid respect to both the well-known music and also the voice singing the songs. The best thing that can possibly be said about a holiday album like this is that it’s a pleasure to listen to every single year during the season, and this one is. International fans were lucky to get this one on store shelves; certainly music-buyers in the United States are missing out not seeing this one show up every year on store shelves.

Final Analysis: 4/5 (A Very Special Work)

“Baby, we can rise above it if we leave our doubts behind us…we can learn to fly…”

Diana Ross burst back onto the music scene in 1995 with Take Me Higher, her first studio album for Motown since 1991’s The Force Behind The Power. Though she’d released some collections, live albums, and international sets between them, it was a long wait for fans, and it was also a period of continued change in the music world. By ’95, hip-hop was becoming mainstream, singers like Mariah Carey were breaking records with long-running #1 hits, and barely-teen artists like Brandy and Monica were topping the charts. Certainly there was question about where Diana Ross would fit in, especially given that her previous two albums for Motown really hadn’t given her any traction sales-wise. During a televised acceptance speech for her Soul Train Music Lifetime Achievement Award, she mentioned the time being one of a “new beginning” for her, and working with younger artists on her new album.

Released in the fall of 1995, Take Me Higher instantly allayed any fears of Diana Ross no longer fitting in to mainstream music; it is, without a doubt, one of the best studio albums of her entire career, and certainly the best she would turn out during her second stint as a Motown Records recording artist. From start to finish, Miss Ross sounds stronger and more assured than she had on pretty much all of her material since the late 1970s/early 80s, and that material is uniformly good, with several of the songs here career standouts for the singer. First single “Take Me Higher,” produced by the legendary Narada Michael Walden, is a slamming, fiery dance track that shot to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Miss Ross promoted the heck out of the song, energetically performing it on David Letterman’s late night talk show, on another Soul Train awards show, and in — in her biggest appearance of all — during the Super Bowl halftime show in early 1996.

Even with this kind of promotion — not to mention a slick music video that she personally presented on BET (Black Entertainment Television), the song barely registered on the pop and R&B charts. None of the other singles saw much chart action — incredibly, not even Diana’s take on Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” a song she also promoted heavily with appearances and a music video and that has become a favorite of both fans and the singer herself. Whether this was due to Miss Ross not getting enough support from her label, or to a youth-oriented audience not interested in new music from an established legend, it doesn’t really matter; in the end it was the general public that was the loser. Take Me Higher is easily one of the best R&B and adult contemporary albums of the decade; nearly 20 years later, the album still sounds fresh and powerful, and Miss Ross’s voice is as lovely as it would ever sound on record. With it, she finally achieved the perfect balance of classy, adult songs that are also exciting and youthful…something she’d been trying to attain for years. For the non-initiated Diana Ross listener, Take Me Higher is a great introduction to the skill and versatility she possesses. For the longtime fan, it’s continued proof of those qualities.

***

1. Take Me Higher: Possibly the most exciting Diana Ross single since 1980’s “I’m Coming Out,” this is Diana Ross at her upbeat, energetic best; it’s a perfect celebratory track that unsurprisingly topped the dance chart and gave Miss Ross new life as a dance diva and club icon. This is the song that should have taken Diana Ross higher on the pop charts, too; it totally missed the top 100, mind-boggling given its catchiness and the quality of both the production and vocals. Just four years later, fellow veteran Cher would have a #1 hit with the dance-pop track “Believe,” a good song but certainly not any better than this one, and it’s a shame “Take Me Higher” didn’t find the same kind of massive success. Opening with an irresistible, skipping beat, Diana begins with deep, soulful spoken line before shouting one of her trademark “oooh!” sounds that date back to her work with the Supremes. This is, perhaps, a hint of the “new beginning” Ross was talking about on the Soul Train awards; she seems rejuvenated and ready to tackle music full-on again. Producer (and co-writer) Narada Michael Walden — who’d delivered #1 hits for Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Aretha Franklin — surrounds Diana with layered track featuring shimmering keyboards and an amazing background choir including Patti Austin and Angela Bofill. Walden seems to understand something that many producers over the years have missed: the fact that great background voices behind Diana Ross can help elevate her vocals to another level. Certainly Ashford and Simpson knew this, as did Rodgers and Edwards and Luther Vandross later; maybe it has something to do with her many years as lead singer of a vocal group, but Miss Ross certainly seems to push herself further and sing with more force when she’s joined on a track by talented session singers. Here, Miss Ross’s vocals are soulful and sure-footed on the verses (listen to her gorgeous “Love will be there waitin’ for us…” at :50), and her voice rides the higher melody of the chorus with the kind of sublime urgency she’d mastered on her Holland-Dozier-Holland hits of the 1960s. Like the best Ross dance hits (“The Boss,” “I’m Coming Out”), there’s an overwhelming joy to the track that just makes it a pleasure to both listen and groove to; though it should have been a bigger hit, it at least gave Miss Ross another #1 on a music chart, something she’d first done an astonishing 31 years earlier.

2. If You’re Not Gonna Love Me Right: Another Walden-produced track, this one was released as the final single from the album (combined by Motown with “Voice Of The Heart”) and reached the lower portion of the R&B chart. A smooth, mid-tempo number, the song is similar in tone to those released from Monica’s debut album, Miss Thang (including “Don’t Take It Personal [Just One Of Dem Days]” and “Like This And Like That”), but is completely age-appropriate and pitched perfectly for Diana’s deepening voice. Miss Ross’s low-key, relaxed work on the verses is sexy and confident, and again sounds well-matched with the layered backing voice of Kimaya Seward. Walden also wisely gives Diana some spoken words, something the actress in her pretty much always nails, and she sounds great purring the words, “…when you’re not here it makes me feel like…I can’t trust you.” I like the key-change around 2:55, which adds a nice excitement toward the end of the song, and Diana’s ad-libbing for the duration of the track is soulful and never overdone. Miss Ross sounded great performing this tune in concert while promoting the album; it’s a shame she didn’t sing it on any television programs when it was finally pulled as a single, as it could have increased some interest in the song. More than anything, this is a “vibe” song; it’s a chunk of adult soul that aims to get the head nodding and set an atmosphere of cool sophistication, and it certainly succeeds.

3. Voice Of The Heart: The album’s first ballad is a knockout; produced by Nick Martinelli, the man responsible for Diana’s holiday album A Very Special Season the year before, “Voice Of The Heart” ranks among the diva’s best ballads of the 90s, if not of her whole solo career. Released as a “second A-side” to the “If You’re Not Gonna Love Me Right” single, this one managed to climb to #28 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary listing, not a bad showing but still well lower than it deserved. This is, simply put, the most soulful ballad Miss Ross had recorded since “It’s Hard For Me To Say” in 1987; the track is miles away from Martinelli’s orchestral arrangements on the holiday album, and it’s much more complex than most of the slower songs featured on The Force Behind The Power. The instrumental track features fantastic and subdued guitar work by Ted Pearlman, and the sublime backgrounds by Alexandra Brown, Tony Warren, and Jackie Gouchee Farris are gospel-tinged without ever being overpowering. The real star here, of course, is Diana Ross, and her vocal work here is her best on the album thus far. Listen to the spectacular control displayed during just the first verse; the low notes as she sings, “…you may run to the shelter of walls” are rich and deep, displaying a facet of Ross’s range that really hadn’t been explored much in her career. The lyrics of the song convey the kind of inspirational message that Diana has always been fond of, all the way back to her first solo single, “Reach Out And Touch” — her trademark sensitive delivery and commitment to purely interpreting lyrics fit these kinds of songs well. On any other album, this would be the standout ballad; amazingly, there are ever stronger ones to come, which says a lot about the quality of this work.

4. Let Somebody Know: Produced and co-written by singer-songwriter Brenda Russell, this is yet another stunning ballad, and perhaps the most “adult” song on the entire album. The slow, almost somber tone is similar to the kind of classy work identified with Sade and Anita Baker, not to mention other Russell songs like “Get Here,” a huge hit for Oleta Adams in 1990. As with “Voice Of The Heart,” Diana’s work on the verses is some of her most restrained and focused ever; she commands her lower register and allows her voice to soulfully brush the notes without ever muddling or losing them. Diana’s attention to the lyrics here is masterful; listen to the way she delivers certain lines, such as “raise yo’ blinds” (at :32) — there’s a deeply felt, “root-sy,” almost bluesy feel to her work, as if she’s interpreting an old spiritual from her childhood. The climax of the song comes even closer to true gospel than the previous track did; the choir here is full and powerful and yet, again, never steals focus nor outshines the lead singer (and the addition of the soaring high notes at 4:20 is genius). Close your eyes and listen to this song; it is a moving and emotional experience, completely visceral in the way that only the most dreamy Diana Ross ballads (like “Summertime” and “To Love Again”) are. Strangely, “Let Somebody Know” was left off of international versions of the album, replaced by the uptempo Babyface tune “Swing It.” I’m not sure why this decision was made, as both songs really should have been included on all versions of the project.

5. Keep It Right There: By 1995, no songwriter/producer was hotter than Babyface, who’d given major hits to superstars like Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, and Madonna (not to mention himself). He co-wrote this tune with Jon-John, who also produced it, and who’d previously worked with TLC on its blockbuster album CrazySexyCool. “Keep It Right There” actually has a very “TLC” kind of sound; it’s easy to imagine the girl group recording the song and including it on one of its albums. That said, it’s a nice fit for Diana; this is smooth, cool R&B, and Miss Ross’s easy and relaxed delivery helps set the tone. Coming after two much “heavier” songs in production and theme songs, this is a nice and necessary respite; it’s contemporary enough to remind listeners of Miss Ross’s relevance, but it doesn’t sound forced or inappropriate for her. There’s also a playfulness here that adds a spark to the song; this is the kind of spark that was missing from some of the tracks on The Force Behind The Power in both the production and in the vocals. Whatever was going on in Diana’s personal life here, she certainly sounds like she was feeling sexy and youthful at the time.

6. Don’t Stop: The most youth-oriented track here, this is the product of The Boom Brothers, a young team out of “the Babyface camp” (as Miss Ross said in interviews). It also has the distinction of being of the very few (maybe the first?) Diana Ross songs to feature a sample (from Big Daddy Kane’s “Mortal Combat”) — certainly a sign of the times and proof that this was an opportunity for her to do something more “current.” Though this was never released as a single, BET did play the song with a video made up of clips from the photography sessions for the CD booklet; it was presented by Miss Ross during an appearance on the show “Video Soul.” Featuring a more angular, beat-driven track and echoes of rap music laced into the track, Miss Ross continues the vibe set by “Keep It Right There” with sexy yet subdued vocals; she isn’t required to show much range here, but she manages to inject her breathy vocals with enough strength to keep them from ever sounding weak or strained (as they sometimes had on the songs of 1989’s Workin’ Overtime). The line-trading between Diana and singer Natasha Pierce during the bridge is also a really nice touch and a great way to add some energy to the song. Though it’s slight in comparison to most of the others here, it is intentionally that way; the duration of the album is stacked with complex masterpieces, and this is a fun “breather” that helps balance the overall product.

7. Gone: Another one of this album’s shining moments, this was pulled as the second single from Take Me Higher; though it didn’t chart in the US, it managed to just pass into the UK top 40 (interestingly, some international singles featured “I’m Gone” written on the cover, though it’s just titled “Gone” on the CD and the US single). This is another Jon-John production, and was written solely by him; it’s a shuffling ballad that nearly defies genre classification, weaving together elements of pop, R&B, and even classical music. This complexity might be why it didn’t get much radio play; it certainly didn’t sound like anything else on radio at the time, and really doesn’t sound like much else in the Diana discography period, though the lush orchestration is reminiscent of some of her mid-70s pop ballads (like 1976’s “I Thought It Took A Little Time”). Opening simply with a lovely, melodic piano line, the track soon intensifies with layers of violins, violas, and cellos; atop this swirling musical bed, Diana begins a virtuoso, Grammy-worthy vocal performance, deftly singing the quickly-worded verses in deep, velvety tones that are as accomplished as anything she’s ever recorded. She employs a higher, delicate voice for the chorus; the lyrics during these sections are again dense and wordy (“And you’ll dream about love and how it will be, but then you’ll wake up to reality to find I’m Gone..”), but Ross’s expert enunciation and lightness of tone carry them with ease. The final minute of the song is almost achingly beautiful; Diana quietly ad-libs over the instrumental, creating a wordless lullaby for the listener before the song merely fades away. From start to finish, “Gone” is a masterpiece; every element here is perfect, and though chances were probably always slim for its success, it’s an absolute shame that it wasn’t heard by more people.

8. Only Love Can Conquer All: This song has become a minor Diana Ross classic, thanks to her superb performance of it during an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2000 (while promoting her “Return To Love” Supremes tour; during the performance, she handed the microphone off to an excited background singer, an unforgettable moment of graciousness). Though it was never released as a single, it’s another fabulous ballad, with an inspirational message similar to those on “Voice Of The Heart” and “Let Somebody Know.” Like those previous tunes, this also combines elements of soul and gospel; it was written and produced by Narada Michael Walden, and again features a background choir including singers Patti Austin and Angela Bofill. This, more than any other song on the album, is a classic Diana Ross “message” song, addressing issues of race relations through lyrics like, “What if we try talking…we’ll see we’re the same on the inside.” Diana’s voice is at its soulful best here; the critics who say she’s a “pop” singer without real R&B chops should be required to listen to this performance, which drips with feeling, as though the words were coming straight from her bones. And more than any other ballad here, Miss Ross gets a chance to show some power and do some belting; kicking off the climax with a cry at 3:00 in, her work during the final minute of the song is perhaps the best on the album, and some of her best of the entire decade. Because Diana Ross is not a singer who ever oversings or shows off during a song, the times when she does let loose are important and meaningful; the strong message of this piece certainly makes it a worthy opportunity for the star to prove what she can do.

9. I Never Loved A Man Before: Separately, songwriters Gerry Goffin and Tom Snow are responsible for two of Diana Ross’s greatest songs; the former co-wrote her 1975 #1 hit “Theme From Mahogany” and the latter helped create “Gettin’ Ready For Love,” the first single from her 1977 masterpiece Baby It’s Me. Together, the two men deliver here the standout track of an already-incredibly strong album, a smoldering, seductive, and mature tune that fits Diana Ross better than one of her Bob Mackie stage gowns. Opening with a sizzling Spanish-tinged jazz guitar line, the instrumental track here is an accomplished and classy work thanks to producer Nick Martinelli, who layers the expert guitar work with sexy percussion and piano flourishes that instantly transport the listener to a dimly lit, late-night lounge. Once again, Diana Ross more than delivers with her performance; she sings much of the first verse in a hushed, breathy voice perfectly matching the mood of the track, and delicately reaches for the higher notes of the chorus with a gentle wistfulness that hints at some of her more dreamy ballad work from the early to mid-1970s. The moment after the song’s bridge, when Diana sings “You make me feel like…” beginning at 3:42, is one of the most beautiful on the entire album; she reaches high into her range and alters the melody a little bit, and it’s a breathtaking moment of vocal virtuosity. Every element of this song is so perfect that it again demonstrates how skillful Diana Ross is at combining elements of jazz, pop, and R&B; she is one of the few singers who can literally jump genres within single lines of a song. There’s not a bad track on Take Me Higher, but for my money “I Never Loved A Man Before” is the one that showcases Diana Ross at her very best, and is a song that deserves to be heard by a wide, appreciative audience.

10. I Thought That We Were Still In Love: Producer Nick Martinelli takes the jazz overtones of the previous track and carries them much further here, in a piano-and-sax-driven torch song tailor-made for Diana Ross. Like the previous number, it was also co-written by Tom Snow, who’d worked up some fabulously sophisticated songs on Baby It’s Me, and this one is truly like an updated version of a selection that could have easily fit in on that 1977 album. But beyond that, this song easily could have also fit in with those she performed on Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings…Jazz And Blues; Miss Ross’s work here is loose and relaxed, but never loses the poignant, emotional edge needed to sell the lyric. Producer Martinelli commented in a recent interview with showbiz journalist Lance Chau: “It was one of the few songs Diana did not get on the first day of recording. I remember asking her to go back and work on it a little more. The second day she had a real grasp of the song.” Whatever the behind-the-scenes method here, it definitely worked; her vocal here is as good as anything she’d record during the decade, and along with the recording of her own composition “Where Did We Go Wrong” (included on international versions of Stolen Moments), makes a strong case for Diana needing to record a studio album of original jazz songs.

11. I Will Survive: The album’s closer is “dedicated to my girls,” as Diana purrs during the opening; it is, of course, a remake of the 1979 Gloria Gaynor disco anthem, and is transformed here into a modern club banger by Miss Ross and producer Narada Michael Walden. It has since become an anthem for Miss Ross; she has used it as a concert-closer ever since recording it, and her version is likely her most-played song of the 1990s in the United States, thanks in part to its place on the soundtrack of the hit Kevin Kline movie In & Out. Miss Ross filmed a video for the song (featuring drag queen RuPaul) and performed it on television (including a hilarious appearance on David Letterman’s late-night program)…and yet, amazingly, Motown never released it as a single in the states. The song hit #14 in the UK, and probably had more potential than any other here to be a hit in the US; that it never really got a shot is just a total waste. In any case, it’s a great version of a classic song; Diana sounds fierce and energetic, and the beat and background vocals are as irresistible as those featured on “Take Me Higher.” Her performance here is not only powerful, it’s also playful; her ad-libbing toward the end is reminiscent of her work on 1976’s “Love Hangover,” as she changes the pitch of her voice and seems to be having a fantastic time in the recording studio. There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to end this album; “I Will Survive” brings it full circle, back to the full-on dance sound of the opening number, and is certainly a declaration from the singer that (in her own famous words at Central Park), “I’m not going anywhere.”

Swing It: Included on the EMI edition of Take Me Higher, this song was featured instead of “Let Somebody Know,” (and got a release in the United States as the b-side to second single “Gone”). The good news is that while “Let Somebody Know” is one terrific track, “Swing It” is a worthy recording, too, and so the replacement really doesn’t take away from the success of the album as a whole. Co-written by Babyface and produced by Jon-John, the song is a slick and smooth piece of modern R&B, similar in tone to “Keep It Right There.” The “Do you think that you can swing a little time with me?” chorus is even catchier than that previous song’s, and the “electro-flute” sound here is a nice gimmick that makes it memorable. Diana’s performance is relaxed and sexy, similar to her work on “If You’re Not Gonna Love Me Right” — her opening “Woo!” and laugh are nice and loose, too. The superb background vocals by Heather Mason, Natasha Pierce, and Alex Rowe are also a smart addition; they end up sound like a 90s version of the Supremes behind Miss Ross. It’s too bad that both the domestic and international versions of Take Me Higher couldn’t have just included both this song and “Let Somebody Know” — they’re both deserving of a place on the album.

***

Take Me Higher is, simply put, a perfect Diana Ross album. But apart from the rest of her own discography, it’s just a great contemporary R&B album. The quality of the songs, the production, and the vocals are consistently strong from start to finish, something that many albums of the decade struggled with. Take Me Higher is every bit as accomplished as many of the albums that topped the R&B album chart in 1995, including Mariah Carey’s superb Daydream and the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack. Even if the singles didn’t perform particularly well, the album itself certainly deserved a better showing than it found on the US charts (it at least managed to hit the top 10 in the UK, although none of the singles were massive hits there).

The good news? Because it’s not well-known, it’s ripe for rediscovery. In the way that folks who missed 1971’s Surrender and 1973’s Last Time I Saw Him are now realizing what gems they were thanks to splendid reissues, one can only hope someday young music fans will stumble upon this notable piece of work. The production on the album is so good that it never feels dated (in the way that even some of the songs on The Force Behind The Power from ’91 do), and there’s a good chance that even 20 years from now, it will still feel fresh and vibrant. That’s the power of Diana Ross at her best; her voice and spirit transcend musical styles and fads, and that’s why her stunning career continues.

Final Analysis: 5/5 (Diana Soars “Higher” Than Ever)

“I stand alone in the eye of the storm…”

Diana Ross rounded out her fourth decade in the music business with one of the busiest years she’d had in a long time; not only did she release her first studio album since 1995’s stellar Take Me Higher, but she also made a return to acting with the made-f0r-television film Double Platinum, which aired in May on ABC and co-starred young singer/actress Brandy. The movie — based around the music business — provided a unique opportunity for Miss Ross to promote her new album, and several of the songs from Every Day Is A New Day were also featured in the film. She promoted both projects with several notable television appearances, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (on which she performed both “He Lives In You” and “Love Is All That Matters”) and “The View,” and in the UK, with a taped special entitled “An Audience With Diana Ross.”

Like Take Me Higher, this album is a mix of adult soul/R&B tunes, inspirational ballads, and dance music. Production duties are as varied as they were on her previous two studio albums; the legendary Arif Mardin (who’d worked with Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and Bette Midler) handles four of the 12 tracks here, and young singer-songwriter Malik Pendleton (known for work with Mary J. Blige, SWV, and Zhane) takes on another four of them. The song “Until We Meet Again” makes three appearances here; it’s first heard in ballad form, and then shows up again at the end of the CD in two remixes for the dancefloor (although only one remix is listed). One of these versions ended up at #2 on Billboard’s Dance Music/Club Play chart, once again giving Miss Ross a high-energy dance hit. In the UK, standout track “Not Over You Yet” was remixed and included; it was released as a single and became a top 10 hit there.

Miss Ross and the producers here had a lot to live up to with 1995’s Take Me Higher having been such a strong, cohesive album (although not a commercial success in the states), and this album doesn’t match the consistent quality of its predecessor. That said, Every Day Is A New Day is another sterling effort by Miss Ross, easily eclipsing 1989’s Workin’ Overtime and also edging past 1991’s The Force Behind The Power in terms of successfully keeping Diana Ross in line with modern trends while also respecting her legacy and place in the music business. Her voice is in good shape here; her performances on songs like “He Lives In You” and “Not Over You Yet” are among her best of the decade. That said, many have also noted a muted “sadness” to the album, often attributed to events going on in Miss Ross’s personal life at the time; she is quoted in J. Randy Taraborrelli’s Diana Ross: A Biography as saying, “I was almost in an emotional breakdown in my life when I did that album” (422). Whatever the case, there does seem to be a pensive, somber quality to much of the project and to some of her vocal performances, and while this makes the listening experience a little less energetic and joyful, it remains extremely compelling.

***

1. He Lives In You: Every Day Is A New Day wisely opens with one of its strongest inclusions; this is an epic song and performance that is one of the best Diana Ross album tracks in a long, long time. Featured in the 1998 Disney movie The Lion King II (and later included in the Broadway musical based on the original animated film), “He Lives In You” is an African-themed inspirational ballad boasting both English and Zulu lyrics, including the famous opening “Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala.” The version here is a vocal masterwork in every way; the choir of voices behind Miss Ross brings a sense of wonder and worldliness to the song with its strong, clear delivery of the African lyrics. Diana offers up a moving and distinguished performance, one of her most impressive on the album; her interpretation of the lyrics — delicate, yet powerful — is about as perfect as possible. Listen to her deliver the first chorus; she sings the lyrics “He lives in you…he lives in me…” with such a simplicity that it’s easy to overlook the way she manages to inject them with the authoritative wisdom needed to sell the almost-preachy message. Her cries of “Wait! There’s no mountain too great!” display her considerable skill at belting without needing to superfluously run up and down scales, and she easily plays the role of “choir leader” during the final minute or so, her own voice sliding in and out of the wash of melodic background voices. Much of the song’s credit also goes to the smart production by Mardin, featuring an absolutely killer violin solo by Karen Briggs that must be ranked among the best instrumental performances featured on a Diana Ross song ever. Given the immense popularity of the film and Broadway production of The Lion King, it’s a shame Diana’s version of this song isn’t better-known. It was featured in the movie Double Platinum, and she performed a breathtaking version of it for Oprah Winfrey during her 1999 appearance to promote the film, perhaps Diana’s single best television performance of the 90s; the applause following her performance was rapturous, proving what a crowd-pleaser the song is. Had it been released as a single, I’m not sure what market it would have been aimed at; still, the song is so good that it deserved a shot at a wider audience.

2. Love Is All That Matters: This is the Diane Warren-penned theme song to Diana’s television movie Double Platinum; it is the song that she performs with singer Brandy (playing her daughter) at the end of the movie, and the two singers promoted the song by performing it on Oprah (another stunning performance). The two women actually recorded a version of the song together, and it was planned as a single; unfortunately, a deal between labels was apparently never reached, and thus the song can only be heard in the movie (a shame; an early mention in Billboard Magazine predicted the duet would be a chart-topper). The version featured here is a Diana Ross solo performance; her voice is doubled, however, and she basically performs it as a duet with herself (as she did on 1982’s “In Your Arms”) — I’d venture the guess Brandy’s vocals were lifted out and Diana’s own “second” vocals plugged in. The song itself is classic Diane Warren, who was enjoying tremendous success in 1990s thanks to penning massive hits including Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” and “How Do I Live” recorded by LeAnne Rimes. The lyrics and melody here are simple and memorable; the sing-songy verses and pretty chorus are certainly radio-friendly, and there’s a nice, powerful bridge typical of late-90s pop ballads. Miss Ross offers up a nice, if at times un-energetic performance; her delivery is crystal-clear, and her work on both the bridge and the final chorus of the song display a nice, raw power — her “Love is all that matters!” at 3:43 certainly shows off her ability to soar when she wants to. However, the verses are a bit slow-going; again, Diana’s voice is lovely, but she sounds a little sleepy on a few lines, and isn’t helped by the vaguely generic sound of the track. Typical of ballads from this era, the background is a wash of programmed instruments, rather than live playing; more distinction between actual instruments probably would’ve helped the song pop a little more. In any case, “Love Is All That Matters” is a memorable ballad, but it’s too bad listeners never got to hear it as a true duet, as intended.

3. Until We Meet Again: The album’s third song is an acoustic guitar-driven ballad also heavily featured in Double Platinum; this is the first of the really somber songs on the CD, and one of the most melancholy Ross performances since “Forever Young” from 1984’s Swept Away. Though the lilting guitar adds an exotic musical element to the song, the overwhelming feeling here is one of great sadness; Miss Ross’s voice sounds different here than it has on the previous two songs, almost “worn-out” in comparison to the uplifting “He Lives In You.” This is not to say that Diana sounds bad or weak here; she doesn’t. She does, however, sound like she’s emotionally drained; listen, for example to her utter “hey” at the end of the first verse (at :39 in), as though she’s given everything she’s got and is pushing through the song on sheer will. Interpreting music with such honesty is, of course, what makes Diana Ross such a truly great vocalist; few singers put the message and lyric of the song before themselves, and Diana Ross always has. However, in this case, the song can be a challenging repeat listen; it is so heavy that it almost becomes oppressive after awhile. Again, this is not a criticism of the singer or the song; “Until We Meet Again” is still an important inclusion on the album.

4. Got To Be Free: This song kicks off a quartet of contemporary soul tracks produced by ‘Zavy Kid’ Malik Pendleton; placing the four songs together at the center of the album (along with the similar “Sugarfree” produced by Chuckii Booker) turns this into an extended cool, slow-groove interlude, and the bouncy “Got To Be Free” is a nice way to start it all off and break the dense, dark atmosphere set by “Until We Meet Again” without being too jarring. The lyrics here inject a little power back into Miss Ross; while she crooned “…you’re always in my heart…” on the previous song, here she slickly declares, “You don’t know why, haven’t got a clue, in the dark about why I am leaving you.” Her performance here is laid-back and husky; there’s a deeper shading to her voice than was ever apparent on 1995’s Take Me Higher, and consequently she sounds even older and wiser than she did on that album. It seems like it took a long time for Diana Ross to really become comfortable using her lower register in the recording studio; she almost never did on her albums for RCA, nor on her early 90s works. Here, however, she is in full command of the lowest notes in her range, and she sounds fantastic; listen to her dive for the word “around” at 1:08. Producer Pendleton does a nice job creating a modern, hip track that still sounds appropriate for an artist of Ross’s stature and maturity; there’s a nice bass that’s playful but never overpowering, and the youthful background voices perfectly balance Miss Ross’s seasoned, smoky delivery. Though “Got To Be Free” isn’t the most memorable song here (it lacks a really strong hook), it’s a refreshing addition.

5. Not Over You Yet: This is one of the unqualified highlights of the album, not to mention Diana Ross’s solo output post-RCA. Brilliantly building off of “Got To Be Free,” writer/producer Malik Pendleton creates a hypnotic groove upon which Diana offers up one of her sexiest and more accomplished vocal performances. The track here has an industrial, metallic feel, as though the listener is hearing sounds lifted straight out of a factory; that muscular feel is an amazing counterpoint to Miss Ross’s smooth performance, in which she again demonstrates a mastery of her lower range. The control in her vocals here is really astounding; she skillfully glides along the melody, never letting the deepness of the notes or her hushed tones obscure the lyrics. The mesmeric, repetitive chorus is extremely well-constructed; it’s a strong, memorable hook that would have played very well on R&B radio, and Diana’s voice blends beautifully with the backing of Stephanie Cook and Mr. Pendleton himself. Diana’s work at 2:15, as the croons, “I love you so, I can’t let go, I’m crazy for you…” is genius; this is soul singing on par with anything released by any female singer in the late-90s, and is definitive proof for any of Miss Ross’s critics who say she’s not a “real” soul singer that indeed, she is and always has been. It is mind-boggling that Motown didn’t send this song immediately to R&B stations; it deserved a shot, and probably could have gotten strong play had it been give the right push. Once again, Diana’s overseas team showed much stronger judgement, choosing this song as a single and remixing it for clubs and radio; it was a top 10 hit in the UK, and should have enjoyed the same success for Diana at home.

6. So They Say: Another chunk of adult soul similar in sound to “Got To Be Free” and “Not Over You Yet,” this features an even “deeper” groove, and is a looser, more relaxed song in structure. This allows Miss Ross to give an appealingly sexy and confident vocal performance, with some nice, airy flourishes and a playfully light touch on the verses. The verses are relatively wordy (i.e. “Can’t say I regret that things that I got and didn’t get…”), but Miss Ross delivers them like a pro, vocally skipping along without ever tossing away words or jumbling them the way someone oversinging might have. This, of course, is one of the great skills of Diana Ross as a vocalist; her attention to the lyrics and the details in the words has always allowed her to sell a song. Her work here is similar in many ways to her performance on the #4 R&B hit “No Matter What You Do” — her duet with Al B. Sure! from the early 90s. Both songs have a leisurely, languid feel, allowing Miss Ross freedom to really dig into the material. While “No Matter What You Do” did well on R&B radio, “So They Say” is probably a little too loose to have been released as a single; there’s not much of a hook here and it’s not an immediately memorable composition in the way that “Not Over You Yet” or “He Lives In You” are. That said, it’s still a really nice performance and production, and a welcome addition here; Miss Ross was really hitting her stride with these smooth, soulful songs, and her command of the material is a joy.

7. Every Day Is A New Day: The album’s title track rounds out the quartet of Malik Pendlton productions, and is another album highlight; this is a rich, dynamic piece of neo-soul/jazz on par with the current and similarly-toned work being turned out by Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, and Angie Stone. This is another song that takes its time; the musical intro here is almost a minute long, before a progression of popping bass strings finally leads to the intricate tapestry of voices singing the song’s memorable chorus. Once again, Diana Ross is in relaxed voice, displaying some of the most confident vocals of her career; the song’s key perfectly suits both the deeper end of her range and her upper, breathy range, and it allows her to display both impressively. The lyrics here are a full 180 away from the morose “Until We Meet Again” — here, Diana sassily tells a former lover, “…now that you’re gone, I’m doin’ just fine without you…how I bless the day you went away.” As with the previous tune, co-writer Pendleton turns in some quickly-paced lines that force Diana to cram a lot of lyrics into a few bars of music, and once again she employs her lightness of touch to the material to keep it from sounding too dense. The shuffling beat here is nice, as is the popping bass, but most impressive is the vocal arrangement on the choruses, which combines Diana’s voice and that of the background singers into complex, jazzy chords. Together, the voices end up sounding almost like a grouping of brass instruments; the effect is interesting to listen to and adds a lot of depth to the song and the overall album. This is a striking addition to the Diana Ross discography, a song which takes advantage of her proficiency in both soul and jazz music; it’s enough of a standout that it certainly justifies being the title track of the CD.

8. Sugarfree: The contemporary soul continues with this track, written and produced by Chuckii Booker, who among other things has served as musical director for artists ranging from Janet Jackson to TLC to Faith Evans. This song certainly sounds like it could have been recorded by any of those artists, but it also manages to be a perfect fit for Miss Ross, who offers up another impressive performance. Though it was never released as a single, it interestingly gained some R&B airplay and stopped just outside the top 100 on that chart; had it gotten any promotion from Motown or Miss Ross, it probably could have charted much higher. While there are stronger compositions on the CD, this is a nice song with a catchy chorus and sly lyrics; it’s hard not to sing along with “…without my love, you’ll always be Sugarfree.” Miss Ross is full of feeling here; she even demonstrates a little melisma — something she’s not generally known for — such as at 2:28, at which she glides over several notes during the word “turned.” She also shows off a little more vocal strength than she had on the previous few songs, sounding clear and strong on her vocal run at 3:00. It’s too bad that once stations began picking up the song, the label didn’t jump on it; it likely wouldn’t have gotten any pop play, but it would have been a nice fit on R&B radio in 1999, a year when female artists were dominating (Deborah Cox, Whitney Houston, TLC, Destiny’s Child, Faith Evans, and Mariah Carey all enjoyed #1 R&B hits that year).

9. Someone That You Loved Before: After five mid-tempo soul stunners in a row, Diana Ross returns to the pop ballad here, recording another Diane Warren composition (which, like “Love Is All That Matters,” was also heavily featured in the TV movie Double Platinum). Of the three sweeping love ballads here (the other two being “Love Is All That Matters” and “Until We Meet Again”), this is the strongest in terms composition; it’s a deceptively simple melody and lyric which are instantly memorable and relatable. Had Diana Ross recorded this song in the mid-1970s, it probably would have been a #1 hit. Her vocal performance here is strong and effective, showier than on “Until We Meet Again” but similarly heavy; there are moments when Diana seems really, overwhelmingly sad. As with most Diane Warren ballads, there’s a big finish here, beginning around 2:22 as Diana howls, “Baby, I…” Her work for the duration of the song is beautifully rendered, with Diana finally getting to really push herself to the top limits of her range, something she hasn’t done much of until now. If there’s a fault here, it’s with the production; the sound of the track is a little generic and over-produced. It’s not bad, but there’s nothing really distinct about it and no single instrument really takes the lead, which results in a wash of programming behind Diana that really doesn’t match her emotion. Had the track been a little stronger, the song really could have been a standout ballad for Miss Ross; as it is, it’s a strong album track and a memorable vocal performance.

10. Hope Is An Open Window: A gospel-ish, soulful ballad that serves as this album’s “Only Love Can Conquer All” (from 1995’s Take Me Higher), this is a rare composition bearing the name Diana Ross as co-writer. Miss Ross apparently had the idea to incorporate Sonia Sanchez’s “An Anthem” into the song, which serves as a nice, modern intro; hearing another voice layered into the mix in such a unique way is a surprise and certainly different for a Diana Ross song. The uplifting song is built upon a slowly shuffling, almost locomotive instrumental line; it evokes images of a passing train, which fits perfectly with lyrics like, “I walk these city streets…see the people there…look into the eyes of quiet dispar.” Backing Diana along with the session singers (including, by the way, Alicia Moore, later known as pop artist Pink!), is the New Creation Choir, and the full, powerful voices are absolutely stunning. Miss Ross herself turns in a nicely pitched performance; her clear, concise delivery easily transmits the message of compassion and companionship, and she does some nice, quiet wordless vocalizing during the bridge. Just a few short years after the release of Every Day Is A New Day, the United States was dealing with the most devastating terrorist attack in its history, and this song — for me — took on a whole new meaning; the lyrics here seem to completely capture both the strange isolation and then sudden rush of togetherness that followed the September 11th attacks of 2001. A song like this — honest, simple, and completely unpretentious — has the ability to becoming an emotional release and even a healing power for listeners, and on that level, “Hope Is An Open Window” is a major success and important addition to Diana Ross’s discography.

11. Carry On: Of all the great songs on 1995’s Take Me Higher, Diana Ross’s remake of “I Will Survive” had the biggest impact, becoming an anthem for the singer herself and becoming her concert-closer. Thus, it’s no surprise she chose to remake another dance song for this album, and went a little “deeper” this time to find Martha Wash’s early 90s club hit “Carry On.” Ross’s version figured into Double Platinum during the “Grammy party” scene, though the version on this CD is a remix of what’s heard in the film. In any case, this is a perfect dance song for Diana Ross; she sounds strong and energetic, displaying probably her best vocals on the entire project aside from possibly her work on “He Lives In You.” This song was club-ready, and thus it is a total mystery as to why her team chose to release to remixed “Until We Meet Again” to clubs instead of this one. I have no doubt that had “Carry On” been sent to clubs and radio, it would have garnered plenty of spins, and probably would have hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance Music/Club Play chart. Listen to her near-screech on “I stand alone…” at 1:01, and then to her “I won’t stop, I will not…BE DENIED!” at 2:27 — this is Diana Ross at her best, belting her heart out in a way that she rarely does, but excels at when she chooses to. This song even stood a chance at pop radio; in the aftermath of Cher’s worldwide #1 smash “Believe,” radio certainly would have been less reluctant to play a new song by a more seasoned singer, and this is a catchy, engaging recording that deserved to find success. After displaying smooth, confident, and controlled vocals on many of this CD’s songs, it’s nice to hear Diana really let loose and prove that her vocal stamina really hadn’t diminished much over the years; this is Diana the Dance Diva at her most impressive.

12. Until We Meet Again (Hex Hector Remix): Though it’s only listed as one track, there are actually two dance mixes of “Until We Meet Again” here; the first runs roughly 3:50, and is then followed by :30 seconds of silence, before the second begins at 4:20 (thus the total track’s listed running time of 8:05). The strategy to re-imagine this song was a success, in the regard that “Until We Meet Again” his #2 on the dance charts, although it didn’t get play on any other format. The song structure and vocals (lead and background) are retained from the earlier ballad version, so both dance versions here are different only in terms of the backing tracks and tempo; both are pretty good dance remixes, with the first a little darker in tone, and the second featuring a repetitive four-note motif similar to that on Cher’s massive dance hit “Believe.” Both are successful in terms of keeping the integrity of the original recording in tact while also progressing it forward for a new audience; they are as listenable as the original and don’t diminish Diana’s vocal performance at all. That said, as noted before, Every Day Is A New Day already had a dance stunner in “Carry On,” so it’s really unclear why Miss Ross and her team decided to remix this ballad and push it; I still believe “Carry On” had the potential to be a far bigger dance success (and a success on other formats) than this.

Not Over You Yet (Metro Radio Edit): The album’s biggest hit anywhere was this song, a top 10 in the UK propelled by an energetic video featuring Miss Ross in a sexy black leather catsuit. The original version of “Not Over You Yet” is one of this CD’s best songs, and this is brilliantly-conceived makeover; it works as a remix far better than either of the versions of “Until We Meet Again” — again, begging the question why Motown decided to remix that song and focus on it. The simmering original version of “Not Over You Yet” had the potential to be an R&B hit for Miss Ross, had it been given a proper push, and releasing this remix in the states could have further helped the song’s chance at success. With a one-two punch of “Not Over You Yet” and “Carry On” in dance clubs and the original “Not Over…” sent to R&B radio and BET, the fate of Every Day Is A New Day could have been very different in Diana’s home country.

Drop The Mask: An interesting, funky number released on the Japanese edition of this CD; many fans have speculated that this song was directed at Michael Jackson, as it was co-written by Miss Ross and contains pointed lyrics such as: “I knew you then, I love you now…you can call me up when it gets you down. Behind the shades there’s someone real…behind your eyes, I wonder how you feel…” I have no idea if this is really meant as a message for her old friend, but it’s certainly an unusual, sparse song; there’s some nice, Prince-like guitar work and eerily-arranged background vocals, and Miss Ross’s performance is slick and sly, making good use of her deeper tones. Though this is a memorable song, it’s not strong enough that it seems sorely missing from other editions of Every Day Is A New Day; if Diana Ross had to leave a few songs off for other markets, this wasn’t a bad choice to pass over.

Free (I’m Gone): Another rare side featured on the Japanese edition of Every Day…, this is a better recording than “Drop The Mask” and probably should have figured onto the US and UK-editions of the albums somehow; it’s far more unique and compelling than some of the other tunes that ended up being included on all versions of the project. The track is beautifully done, with a funky, neo-soul vibe that mixes vintage elements with a modern percussive beat very similar to the one featured on the TLC-smash “Waterfalls”; Diana’s performance is breathy and relaxed and she again impressively handles the quickly-paced, syncopated verses. The chorus here (“I’m Free…like the wind…independent…once again…”) isn’t the most “hooky” on the album, which is probably why it was left off; still I’d say this song is every bit as strong as “Got To Be Free” and “So They Say” and even “Until We Meet Again” and the track is good enough that it might have even gotten a little R&B airplay had it been given a chance in the states.

***

In his book Diana Ross: A Biography, J. Randy Taraborrelli writes of this album, “No one seemed to be interested in doing a thing to promote this record — even Diana lost interest in it” (521). This seems accurate; the only real “promotion” for Every Day Is A New Day came through some of the songs being featured in Double Platinum; Diana’s talk show appearances and magazine interviews during this time really focused only on the movie. The album would continue to be overshadowed in the next few years to come, with publicity surrounding Diana’s airport security incident at Heathrow in England, her divorce, and then her Supremes-themed tour, Return To Love. Consequently, the songs from this CD have really been lost over the years, with the All Music Guide writing it off by saying, “Although the album sounds good, nothing on it truly catches hold the way even such latter-day hits as ‘Missing You,’ ‘Swept Away’ and ‘Muscles’ did.”

Thankfully, this really isn’t true; there are plenty of songs here that catch hold, with some of them standing out as real career highlights. Overall, this album doesn’t match the consistent high quality of Take Me Higher; every single song on that album was perfectly produced and sequenced. Here, the biggest issue is that there seems to be two albums crammed into one; Diana’s sophisticated soul quintet (tracks 4-8) could have been expanded into one album, while the remaining productions seem to be pitched for another one. The somber, muted quality is also an added layer that makes listening a bit of a challenge at times; those expecting joy from the singer of “The Boss” and “I’m Coming Out” will be surprised by her obvious anguish on “Until We Meet Again” and “Someone That You Loved Before.” Still, Every Day Is A New Day is a successful work and a project that holds up well, and is easily one of the better complete albums of her solo years.

Final Analysis: 4.5/5 (Diana Manages To “Carry On”)

“My yesterday was blue, dear…now I’m a part of you, dear…”

“I found the reels for Blue just mixed in haphazardly among dozens of Marvin Gaye tapes. Of course, within two seconds of listening I knew what we had” (Taraborrelli 273).

Catalog producer George Solomon is credited in J. Randy Taraborrelli’s Diana Ross: A Biography with finding Blue in the Motown vaults in 1990. When it was finally released in 2006, it became Diana Ross’s first studio album of the new millennium; strange, since it’s not really a new album at all. The album is a collection of jazz standards, songs written by masters ranging from Cole Porter to George Gershwin. According to Solomon, the songs had been sitting in the vaults since the early 1970s, when Miss Ross scored her first (and only) #1 solo album, the soundtrack to her Oscar-nominated film Lady Sings The Blues: “Some Motown executives who were around back in the seventies indicated that with the success of the Lady soundtrack, The Blue Album was intended to be the follow up LP” (273).

Of course, Touch Me In The Morning ended up being the follow up LP, and rumors of this album remained unconfirmed until it finally showed up on store shelves, initially as a Starbucks exclusive. It shot to #2 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart and #71 on the R&B album chart…not bad for a project recorded more than 30 years earlier. Reviews were also far better than anything Miss Ross had released in years; typical is this write-up from All Music Guide: “Blue is an album every bit as bold an artistic statement as her contemporaries Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, who were recording the opuses Where I’m Coming From and What’s Going On around the same time…”

Whatever the reasons for Blue being held back in the early 1970s, it was a welcome release in 2006. Diana Ross had suffered some very bad press at the beginning of the decade, and Blue brought the focus back to her music, setting her up for an even bigger return to the charts with her next album, I Love You. Because Diana had tended to recycle the songs from the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack quite frequently in her concerts, it’s refreshing to hear her tackle “new” jazz classics here; it’s also nice to hear the songs “Smile” and “Little Girl Blue” — each of which ended up on other 70s albums — in their originally intended surroundings. But at the end of the day, the joy of Blue is that voice; there’s a great complexity to her performances here, but it’s always masked in purity and simplicity. Diana Ross’s greatest skill is making it all sound easy; her effortless delivery here is a great reminder of that.

***

1. What A Diff’rence A Day Makes: The set opens with probably its single best track, an achingly beautiful and delicate reading of the classic most closely identified with Dinah Washington (who won a Grammy for it in 1960). This recording is so good — so perfect in every element — that it’s really quite surprising it never managed to find its way onto an album earlier; it would’ve fit well on Touch Me In The Morning, for example. Opening with swirling strings and driven by a lovely acoustic guitar similar to that featured on “Little Girl Blue,” the instrumental here is absolutely masterful; it is languid, relaxed, sophisticated, and sexy. Diana Ross’s performance here is all of those things, too; this is perhaps one of her best recorded vocals ever, a stunning mix of youthful optimism and mature wisdom. Listen, for example, to Ross begin the second verse, crooning “What a diff’rence a day makes…there’s a rainbow before me…” with a skillfully masked joy; as sluggish as the lyrics come, the listener can’t help but notice a “smile” in Diana’s voice. This transmission of emotion through tone is something Miss Ross excels at; it’s what makes her such an outstanding vocalist. She also demonstrates a pleasant playfulness around 2:45 in, as she changes up the melody while singing, “…since that moment of bliss…” — she is even more relaxed and loose here than she was on some of her Lady Sings The Blues recordings. This is such an accomplished delivery that it’s easy to forget it came so early in Diana Ross’s solo career; this cool chanteuse is light years away from the girl singing with soulful abandon on 1971’s Surrender. Though this track was also included on the 2006 Diana Ross solo compilation The Definitive Collection and released to iTunes as “single,” it should have been pushed — hard — to adult contemporary and adult R&B radio stations; artists like Rod Stewart were getting serious play out of standards-themed “songbook” albums at this time, and with a performance like this, Diana proved she did it first — and best.

2. No More: Another one of Blue’s highlights is the work turned in by Diana Ross on this song, which was recorded by Billie Holiday in 1944 (and, according to online sources, she cited as a personal favorite). It’s interesting that this one was left off of Lady Sings The Blues — I’d wager that it was a little “too jazz” for those at Motown, who reportedly worried the soundtrack would stray too far from Diana’s pop/soul sound. “No More” is musically a much more complex composition than “Don’t Explain” or “Good Morning Heartache,” in that its structure isn’t nearly as traditional; the dark, minor key and lack of easily identifiable refrain make it a much more challenging song to follow. This, then, is the kind of song that really showcases Miss Ross’s natural affinity for singing jazz and blues; a lot of pop singers take on standards like “All Of Me,” but few could tackle a piece like this and pull it off. I think the key here is phrasing; because the musical line is a little more unorthodox, it would be easy for a singer to get “lost” along the way. Billie Holiday was famous for her phrasing, and Diana excels at it here, too; listen to her sing the words, “Woke up this morning and found and I didn’t care for you no more…” — her angular delivery and odd phrasing really do echo Holiday, maybe even more clearly than she had on the film soundtrack. Because it’s not an easy song to sing along with, “No More” doesn’t stand out as much as something like the previous track; however, it’s absolutely worth listening closely to, as it really is an impressive piece of work.

3. Let’s Do It: Diana Ross’s take on Cole Porter’s comically suggestive love song “Let’s Do It” is a joy to listen to; again, this is an exercise in style and sophistication, and such an adult recording it bears repeating that Miss Ross was still in her 20s when she recorded it. The instrumental track is brassy and slick, similar in feel to “‘Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do” in its undercurrent of brash sexiness. Unlike many of the torch song standards recorded by Miss Ross, this one puts her in the role of aggressor; here, she sings a series of carefully masked come-ons (“The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it, not to mention the Fins…folks in Siam do it, think of Siamese Twins…”). There’s a cool, coy quality to Diana here; rather than milk the clever lyrics for giggles from the audience (as she might have done early in her Supremes days, like on a song like “Fancy Passes”), she plays it totally straight, letting the words speak for themselves. Though the melody line isn’t particularly showy or challenging, Diana takes a few liberties and shows a little range, especially after the faux-ending at 2:00 (at that point, the musical break provides a nice fake-out, before a hammering drum kicks the song back to the bridge). Notably, Miss Ross also holds the last note for nearly 12-seconds, something she rarely does as a vocalist, and it’s a nice touch. Overall, “Let’s Do It” is a sparkling addition to the album and a nice pairing of a mature, understated vocal with a song that deserves exactly that.

4. I Loves Ya Porgy: Of all the songs on Blue, reviewers at the time of release seemed to have an issue most often with this, Diana’s version of the Gershwin classic from Porgy And Bess; About.com Guide’s Robert Fontenot, for example, said “she sings as if she learned it phonetically.” There is absolutely no doubt that the upbeat, jaunty version here is WORLDS away from Nina Simone’s haunting, mournful reading of the song from the late 1950s — not to mention the various operatic stage versions over the years. The lyrics are certainly not upbeat ones; in the song, the character of Bess begs for Porgy to protect and “keep” her. In this arrangement, by the brilliant musical director/conductor Gil Askey, the song becomes a big-band swing, and Diana is almost breathless in her vibrant energy here, which certainly seems to clash with the intentions of the piece as written. That said, placed in this uptempo arrangement, Diana gives a splendid performance; to fault her with singing it this way isn’t really fair, since that’s what the tone set by the band calls for. She is calm and controlled for the first 1:50 of the song, singing at the lower end of her range, before suddenly kicking it up a notch, almost mimicking a trumpet in the way she jumps up and down notes (especially at 2:50, with her skipping “…keep me Porgy, I wanna stay here…”). Her vocal gymnastics (her belting of the title at 3:37 is the most “muscle” she shows on the whole album) may indeed seem an odd juxtaposition with the somber origin of the song, but this is also great singing, and hearing Diana Ross get into a song is a thrill, especially given her coolness on so many of the other tracks on Blue. She even throws in a short “scat” at the end of the song…though, let’s be honest, it’s sounds a little more like Detroit beat-boxing than Ella Fitzgerald!

5. Smile: This is the same “Smile” — written by Sir Charles Chaplin, aka The Little Tramp — that first appeared on Diana’s 1976 hit album Diana Ross; it was lifted from the vaults and placed as the final track on that album. After some great sophisticated ballads on that album, “Smile” fell woefully short; as I wrote in that album’s discussion: “There’s a saccharine and syrupy quality to her performance here that echoes some of the most pretentious of her Supremes recordings, and this is especially evident in light of her masterful readings of ballads like ‘Theme From Mahogany’ and the previous track, ‘After You.'” Here, in its original context, “Smile” certainly sounds better and makes more sense; that said, the commentary on Diana’s vocal still holds true. After incredible restraint on “What A Diff’rence…” and “No More,” her singing on this tune really sounds overdone. Listen to the way she twists a word like “near” into “neeeahhhh” at 1:38; she seems to be wringing emotion out of a phrase that really doesn’t need it, and when simplicity would’ve served so much better. Askey’s equally sugary arrangement doesn’t really help, either; though all of the tracks on Blue are polished, this string-led arrangement is almost a little too polished. Diana’s live reading of “Smile” on the recording of her one-woman show An Evening With Diana Ross easily surpasses this recorded version, if only because it’s a little rougher around the edges, and thus sounds more honest.

6. But Beautiful: A pretty song recorded by Billie Holiday for her classic Lady In Satin album, this is similar to “No More” in that Miss Ross really does sound like the jazz legend here. Just 20 seconds in, as she sings the words “…quiet…or it’s mad…” there’s an audible rough edge to her voice, especially on the word “or,” that sounds almost identical to Billie Holiday on the Lady In Satin album. It happens again at :50, with “I wouldn’t mind at all…” — the sharp, gravelly sound to her voice is almost startling in its imperfection, not to mention its similarity to Holiday. Because the song isn’t quite as catchy as others here, and the melody isn’t as distinct, it’s not one of the more immediately memorable on Blue, but it’s no less important to the project’s overall success. Really, it’s a pity it wasn’t included as part of the film and soundtrack recording of Lady Sings The Blues, as it’s further proof of just how far Miss Ross came in capturing the sound and essence of Holiday.

7. Had You Been Around: This is one of the great treats of Blue, in that it’s a song that had featured on the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack — but not with Diana’s voice gracing it. In the film, this is sung by another woman in the “Cafe Manhattan” scene, during which Diana as Billie is introduced to the kind of high-class clubs she aspires to perform in. The other “treat,” for those who realize it, is that this really isn’t a “standard” in the way the other songs are. In fact, this is a song co-written by Ron Miller (of “Touch Me In The Morning”) and recorded by Billy Eckstine for his 1965 Motown album Prime Of My Life. It blends in perfectly with the rest of the album, however, and indeed stands out as one of the very best tracks here; this is a light, upbeat swinging tune with a beautifully rendered big-band sound and great, refreshing lead vocal from Diana. Because she’s not working off a “blueprint” set by Billie Holiday, she sounds more like herself here, although she still brilliantly captures the off-the-beat timing and restraint she’d mastered on the older songs. There’s a real, audible joy in Diana’s voice on this track; here again is that “smile” in her sound, which works well to elevate the performance and make it memorable. Had Blue indeed been released back in the 70s, when it was intended, this would have been a likely (and good) choice for a single release; it has even more pop appeal than “Good Morning Heartache” (which managed to hit the top 40 in 1972) and features a sweet, youthful vocal performance reminiscent of the mid-1960s work that made Diana Ross a star in the first place.

8. Little Girl Blue: This song was initially saved from the vaults by placement on 1973’s Touch Me In The Morning; it was that album’s high point, standing out as one of the single best album tracks from Diana Ross’s entire discography. The version here features the same gorgeous instrumental track; the delicate jazz guitar work and haunting strings are heartbreakingly beautiful, the work of masters. The difference here is in the lead vocal; the Blue version features a spoken intro, for starters, a startling change for those used to Diana’s velvety beginning in the Touch Me… recording. Because that version is so perfect in its effortlessness, hearing Diana “act” the opening lyrics is a little bit of a comedown; the other-worldly quality to her singing is missing in this spoken section. Thankfully, she quickly picks up the melody and croons with the same sort of sincerity that marked her other vocal take; she continues with her achingly beautiful vocal performance until the end, when her voice is doubled and she speaks a few lyrics again. As on the intro, the spoken section just doesn’t measure up; it robs the song of some of the ethereal quality that made it such a masterpiece. Now, all of this said, it’s really not fair to compare the two versions, since they were never intended to compete with each other. For those who don’t have the two versions to compare, “Little Girl Blue” here will be a beautiful piece of work; it’s still a dazzling combination of skillful musicians and a singer connecting to a tender lyric.

9. I Can’t Get Started: A jazz classic that first appeared in the 1930s and found everlasting fame as a trumpet masterpiece for Bunny Berigan, this is another vocal and instrumental masterwork. The jazz guitar playing — sadly uncredited — is breathtaking, and the solo beginning around 2:27 rivals the violin on 1999’s “He Lives In You” (from Every Day Is A New Day) as the best instrumental solo ever featured on a Diana Ross recording. Miss Ross’s performance is beautifully realized; there is a definite sense of resignation to her voice, perfectly fitting lyrical lines like, “…the North Pole I’ve charted, but I can’t get started with you.” Her sound here is so clear and defined that it’s like audible glass; there’s not a wasted breath to this efficient, effective performance. She’s especially impressive at her transition from “And what good does it do?” at 1:32, during which she turns the word “good” into a musical sigh, to “I’ve sold my kisses at a bazaar…,” at which point she lifts her vocal up an octave. This may not be the showiest or most recognizable song on Blue, but in its brief, 3-minute running time, it manages to capture everything the entire album aims for; it’s an exquisite slice of jazz performed by seasoned veterans and sung by a woman hitting a new artistic plane. Even the harshest critics of Miss Ross as a jazz singer can’t deny the power in her clarity and the skill she shows in selling this song.

10. Love Is Here To Stay: This is the first true case of a crossover between Blue and Lady Sings The Blues; “Love Is Here To Stay” was featured with an alternate vocal at the close of the soundtrack’s first LP. The song is truly an American classic; it’s the final one written by both George and Ira Gershwin (George apparently passed away before Ira had written the lyrics), and was notably featured in the 1951 film An American In Paris, which was a big success and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was a standout on the Lady… soundtrack because it was one of the bounciest and upbeat songs included; Miss Ross’s performance on it was as shimmering and joyful as the best of her Supremes Rodgers and Hart recordings. The alternate vocal here is equally good; in fact, her quiet ad-libbing during the instrumental break at 1:06 raises the bar and makes this a more unique and compelling listen than the other released version. She’s certainly looser with the melody, too; she bounces up and down notes a little more freely, which gives the song an added spontaneity and element of surprise. As with the earlier version, the final refrain of the song’s title (which is also the last sung lyrics of the song) reflect Diana Ross at her very best; hearing her sing “Our love is here to stay…” at 1:58, and listening to that full-bodied, satisfying final note, is just pure bliss for fans of Miss Ross’s voice. Any one of the many, many songs from the Lady… soundtrack could have been pulled over for inclusion on this album, but choosing this one was a wise move.

11. You’ve Changed: Another song that had already featured on the soundtrack to Diana’s Oscar-nominated film debut, this one gets a much different treatment on Blue; starting with a completely new arrangement. The instrumental is far more complex, featuring wind instruments, a strumming guitar, horns, and swelling strings; the film version was much more bare and piano-driven. This one is also cut in a higher key and features a slightly faster tempo; it’s far truer to the sound of the Billie Holiday recording on her Lady In Satin album. Strangely, although the musical track is more much like Holiday’s version, Diana’s vocal sounds less like Holiday than it did on the film soundtrack version. In the movie, she sang the song with a stark, almost hollow sound that reflected the frailty of Billie Holiday’s performance on the song. In this version, Diana sounds a lot more like herself; the high, crisp tone is smoother and lighter here, giving the song a much more youthful and healthy feel. Listen to her sing “You’ve changed…” at 1:25; her voice is so angelic that she honestly sounds like a ringing bell. Because Diana’s two versions of the song are so different, it’s actually easier to appreciate each one’s merits. This version, while not nearly as haunting, is a more enjoyable listening experience, and the beautiful, fuller instrumental arrangement is a gorgeous listen and only serves to enhance Diana’s voice.

12. My Man (Mon Homme): This has got to be one of the single most recorded songs in the Diana Ross discography; it featured on the Farewell double-LP by Diana and the Supremes, on the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack, and on her live albums Live At Caesar’s Palace, An Evening With Diana Ross, and Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings…Jazz And Blues. For my money, it never got better than the original soundtrack version, which was a wrenching study in controlled emotion and vocal tension; that version stands as one of the best in her entire recording history, and is a perfect example of her gift for interpreting lyrics with total honesty. This recording of “My Man” (which was popularized by Fannie Brice in the 1920s before it was recorded by Billie Holiday) falls somewhere closer to Diana’s version with the Supremes and her live recordings; technically it’s a good performance, but the emotion is nowhere near as gripping as it was on the soundtrack. Rather than authentically delivering the words, she is audibly “acting” a little bit here; the performance is more dramatic and “showy,” as though it’s being performed before an audience. The fatigue and resignation of a woman caught in a bad relationship — which was sharply evident on the soundtrack — is replaced here with a more girlish vocal that does lessen the impact of the lyrics somewhat. Again, technically this is a good performance; “My Man” gives Diana a chance to show some vocal muscle and really reach toward the upper end of her range at the end, which is nice to hear after so many laid-back vocals on Blue. This song was to have been the final track on the album, and while it’s a good finish, a more impactful vocal would have really left listeners breathless.

13. Easy Living: The remainder of the songs here, beginning with “Easy Living,” are listed as Bonus Tracks — apparently discovered in the vaults but not intended for original release on Blue. It’s interesting that this one wasn’t part of the scheduled lineup, because it’s a brilliant track; this is one of the best recording here in terms of both the instrumental and the vocal. There is something about “Easy Living” that really captures the sound of the 1930s (the song was written in 1937); it actually sounds like it could have been recorded in that era, unlike some of the other songs that were chosen for release on Blue. The track here has a lazy, brassy feel that conjures images of vintage New York in the summertime; one can easily imagine Diana Ross sitting on a brownstone porch step or a fire escape in the heat, crooning the lyrics, “Livin’ for you…is easy livin’…it’s easy to live when you’re in love…” Her vocal here is utter perfection; there’s a lovely sluggishness to her vocal, as though she’s almost taunting the band behind her to keep going and leave her behind. The horn work here is also top-notch; Gil Askey’s arrangement is so completely authentic to the period that it really does sound decades older than the 70s. This is a recording on which every single element comes together in elegant perfection; again, it’s amazing that it wasn’t going to be included on either the Lady… soundtrack or Blue — had this been left in the vaults forever, it would have been an absolute shame.

14. Solitude: A slow, haunting ballad featuring another gorgeous vocal performance from Diana Ross. The instrumental track is muted here, allowing the singer to really retain complete focus for the entire running time. Written by the great Duke Ellington in the 1930s, this one was recorded by Billie Holiday and other masters like Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone; Diana Ross’s performance is every bit as effective, conveying the lyrics simply and with a stunning clarity of tone. This is an extremely brief recording, running only two minutes, and thus is the shortest of any of the songs on Blue. It is to the credit of all involved that in two minutes, the song manages to establish a definite atmosphere and retain it so strongly. A nice addition by the re-issue producers here is leaving in some studio chatter at the end of the song; as the final note fades away, a male voice (probably Askey) calls out “Very good!” and Miss Ross replies, “Good one, yeah.”

15. He’s Funny That Way: A nice “bonus” track, if not the standout that “Easy Living” or even “Solitude” is. Diana’s performance here is nicely done; her lower notes are sublime (listen at :52 to her “I’ve got a man…crazy for me…”) and there’s a pleasing roundness to her voice on the higher notes. The instrumental provides a perfect musical bed; a strumming guitar keeps the beat and there’s some nice brass and piano work that keep the piece shuffling along. At the end of the day, this track just doesn’t stand out as much as many of the others here, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad or not worth inclusion; it’s a fine album track and again showcases some extremely talented artists at work.

16. T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do: The final track here is another one that’s immediately recognizable to fans; not only was it featured on the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack, but Miss Ross has also performed snippets of it on several live albums and television specials. As with “My Man (Mon Homme)” — it’s extremely hard to top the soundtrack version, and this recording doesn’t quite measure up. Miss Ross’s performance for the film featured a subdued swagger that conveyed a cool toughness, perfectly underscoring the lyrics about living one’s life without care to what others think. She’s a little too giddy on this version; at times, her girlish delivery is very much like her early work with the Supremes (i.e. her “But I’m going to do…” at :33) and doesn’t really fit with the coyly belligerent tone the song calls for. For fans, this song at least provides an interesting glimpse into Diana’s willingness to try different things in the studio.

***

The success of Blue in 2006 is a testament to the strength of the songs included and the immense talent on display all around. Gil Askey’s work here arranging and producing this batch of classics really is award-worthy, and Miss Diana Ross is in more-than-fine voice from beginning to end. There are very, very few pop/soul artists who could take on emotionally and musically complex songs like “No More” and “Easy Living” and deliver stunning interpretations that sound so effortless; performances like these are definitive proof of Diana Ross’s keen artistry and innate musical ability. It’s impossible to say what would have happened had Blue been released in 1972 or 1973; it might have been a blockbuster that changed the course of Diana’s career, leading to even more jazz and blues work, or it might have been a “so-so” seller that led Motown to scramble for a successful pop follow up. Instead of Blue, the world got the #1 hit “Touch Me In The Morning” and its great namesake album, so it’s hard to regret the choices Motown made.

Still, it’s a wonderful miracle that these recordings survived in such great shape and are now part of the Diana Ross discography, because they deserve to be. This is Diana Ross at her best. Those who say her voice is operating in a “limited range” on this album — as some critics did — just simply aren’t listening closely enough, or are letting personal opinions of Miss Ross get in the way of hearing the genius on display. Blue is perfection, and a must-have for not only Diana Ross fans, but also those who just appreciate good, sophisticated music.

Final Analysis: 5/5 (A Nothing “But Beautiful” Album)

“And when at last I find you, your song will fill the air…”

In the wake of 1999’s Every Day Is A New Day, Diana Ross’s recording career pretty much ceased to exist. The new millennium brought some exciting new re-issues — like 1970’s Diana Ross and 1981’s To Love Again — which contained previously unreleased tracks from the vaults and alternate vocal takes, and the world finally got to hear her shelved early 70s jazz album, Blue. But fans craving new studio material from Miss Ross were left waiting…and waiting…and waiting. 2005 brought two notable new tracks; “I’ve Got A Crush On You” — a duet with Rod Stewart from his Thanks For The Memory…The Great American Songbook IV — which ended up in the top 20 of the Adult Contemporary chart, and “When You Tell Me That You Love Me,” a remake of her 1991 #2 UK hit, this time performed with the group Westlife and, amazingly, again hitting #2 in the UK.

The success of those songs — along with the strong sales and reviews of Blue — proved audiences could be receptive to a new album by Miss Ross, even though her studio albums of the 90s hadn’t been big hits in the states. And the release of I Love You (in January of 2007, though it hit shelves months earlier overseas) proved that; it debuted on the Billboard 200 at #32 — far higher than anything since 1984’s Swept Away — and hit the top 20 of the R&B Albums chart. A press release from Manhattan/EMI Music Marketing trumpeted: “The #32 debut with first-week sales totaling 21,222 marks Ms. Ross’ highest chart debut and strongest sales week in the SoundScan era.” The album’s release was promoted with several notable television appearances, including a well-received stint as a “mentor” to contestants on “American Idol” and a memorable night with host James Lipton on “Inside The Actors Studio,” on which she both talked extensively about her career and performed several songs. Sales also weren’t hurt, of course, by the simultaneous release of the film Dreamgirls, a fictional account of the Supremes which revived interest in the group.

Despite the album’s chart success, reviews were mixed, with many writers less-than-thrilled about Diana’s choice to record an album of love song covers (All Music Guide’s Jeff Tamarkin wrote that Miss Ross “sleepwalks through a mishmash of seemingly randomly chosen love songs”). Indeed, of I Love You‘s 15 tracks (16 total recorded, as the US and international versions feature a slightly different lineup), only one song is an original, and many have been recorded dozens of times before. But to say she’s “sleepwalking” here — or that the lineup is “random” — is to clearly miss the point of the entire project. Certain songs, like “I Want You” and “To Be Loved,” have a deep connection to Diana’s history, and some of the vocal performances here are among her most heartfelt ever. I Love You is not an innovative album, and doesn’t break any new ground in terms of Diana’s artistry or career. But for a woman who hadn’t really released any new material for the better part of a decade, Miss Ross often sounds as assured and confident as ever.

***

1. Remember: It’s fitting that I Love You opens (and closes) with Harry Nilsson’s “Remember,” and very deliberate, too. In interviews, Diana Ross stated it was while listening to this song and looking through family photos that she got the idea to record an album of classic love songs. And the idea of Diana listening to Harry Nilsson makes sense, too, given that she devoted an entire segment of her one-woman Broadway show, An Evening With Diana Ross, to songs from his album The Point! in 1976. Ross and producer Peter Asher create a lush, dreamy tone for this opening number, echoing the song’s lyrics (which often repeat the word “dream”). Miss Ross begins the song with a hushed, sensitive delivery; the years that have passed between this and her previous studio album are evident in her deepened, huskier tone. This is not a bad thing at all; the lower end of her range is beautifully smooth, as is evidenced when she sings the words “…is a place from long ago…” at 32 seconds in. This is the voice of a wise, mature woman, which adds to the credibility of the song and makes it far more poignant for listeners, many of whom would have aged right along with Diana Ross. At 1:26, as she begins the “Dream…love is only in a dream…” refrain, she gets to push up into the higher end of her range, and the good news is that it hasn’t been weakened by the passing of years; there is still that gorgeous purity of tone that has always marked the best of Diana Ross’s ballad performances, though there’s a subtle smokiness now that adds an interesting shading to her sound. “Remember” is an interesting composition in that it’s not a traditionally structured song; therefore, it’s not as immediately memorable as something like “Lovely Day” or “More Today Than Yesterday.” It is, however, a mood piece, and the bittersweet atmosphere that Miss Ross creates with her voice and Peter Asher creates with the instrumental track is very effective and successful.

2. More Today Than Yesterday: An absolutely fabulous recording — as bouncy and joyful as anything Miss Ross had recorded in years — this one was produced by Steve Tyrell and is a remake of a 1960s hit by The Spiral Staircase. Diana Ross used this song in several of her television appearances to promote the album, and turned in an especially energetic and successful performance of it on “The Late Show With David Letterman.” The production here is extremely similar to that of the original 1960s recording, and thus it takes Miss Ross right back to her classic pop roots; she clearly has an affinity and a gift for such music, and thus this is a natural for her. Her vocal performance is one of the best on the album, if not the very best — her work on the verses is cool and controlled, her voice sliding down to satisfying low notes (“…what day it was…”) before erupting into the powerful refrain, during which she literally shouts with joy (“…but darlin’…not as much as TOMORROW!”). In fact, the catchy chorus here allows Miss Ross to display more power than she had on much of her work in the 1990s; she is really belting here and sounds phenomenal doing so, nailing each note with the precision of a surgeon. “More Today Than Yesterday” is truly an incredible song in that it really brings Diana Ross “full circle,” taking her back to the finger-popping light soul that made her a star more than 40 years earlier; she handles the song with the same kind of attention to enunciation and vocal clarity that she would have in the 1960s, but also bring a sense of confidence and wisdom now that she couldn’t have delivered in her youth. This is a standout track not only on this latest album, but also in the whole of the Diana Ross discography; it’s magic.

3. I Want You: This song was a hit for Marvin Gaye back in 1976, but the connection between it and Miss Ross runs deeper than the fact that it was a Motown release. The co-writer on “I Want You” is Arthur “T-Boy” Ross, Diana’s younger brother, who wrote several songs at Motown and even recorded a solo album for the label in 1979. T-Boy Ross passed away in 1996, making Diana’s choice to record the song a tribute to her late brother. Produced again by Steve Tyrell, this is a sexy, adult presentation, smartly retaining the disco feel of Gaye’s original without sounding dated or campy. Tyrell’s production is mainly driven by an electric guitar and soaring background vocals, which perfectly complement Diana’s passionate reading of the lyrics. Here again, there’s a smokiness to Miss Ross’s voice that works well with the theme of composition, and she sounds self-assured and sexy without it ever becoming forced. There’s a lot of “oooh-ing” and “aaaah-ing” by Miss Ross, too, something she really hadn’t done much of since her work with Holland-Dozier-Holland in the 1960s; thankfully, she’s lost none of her innate feel for when flourishes like these are appropriate. Listen to her work beginning around 2:40, as she croons, “Oh…don’t you wanna care? It’s lonely out there…” — there’s a power and an urgency to her vocal that adds some much-needed excitement to an album that’s overwhelmingly loaded with ballads. Her high-note wail at 3:37 is beautifully done, as is the follow up around 4:02; this willingness to push her voice and go for the note is something she really hadn’t done much of since 1989’s Workin’ Overtime. “I Want You” is superb latter-day Ross, a wonderful tribute not only to her brother, but the abundance of dance classics produced by Motown in the 1970s.

4. I Love You (That’s All That Really Matters): The set’s title song is also its only original tune, penned by Miss Ross’s background singer Fred White. Because White had been backing up Diana for years, he clearly had a keen understanding of her voice, and this song certainly suits her range and abilities perfectly. Perhaps it makes sense that this song strongly resembles in both structure and sound “It’s Hard For Me To Say” from 1987’s Red Hot Rhythm & Blues — that song was written by Luther Vandross, another man who’d studied Ross’s voice for years and certainly knew how to make it sound its best. This is a lovely R&B ballad, simple and straightforward in its lyric and message (“I love you for who you are…and that’s all that really matters”), and because Diana’s gift as a vocalist is selling lyrics with honesty, the song comes off as an extremely sincere message to her listeners. The melody allows her to sing comfortably in the “middle range” of her soprano, while also stretching higher during the “…that’s all that really matters” refrain. The purity of her tone here really is astounding; she’s as pitch-perfect and crystal-clear as she’d been on the songs of Blue, released the year before but recorded in the early 70s. At more than five minutes in length, the song takes its time and shuffles along slowly but deliberately, which gives Miss Ross a nice opportunity to do some ad-libbing toward the end; her “I love you…I do, I do…” starting around 4:20 is beautifully relaxed and intimate, as though the listener is standing in the recording booth with Miss Ross. This is a worthy title track, and could have been serviced to Adult R&B radio and probably gotten some spins.

5. What About Love: One of the most beautiful, haunting performances of Diana Ross’s career, this is a song that she probably could have only recorded at this point in her life. The astonishing authenticity with which she interprets the lyrics are doubtless the result of more than sixty years of life experience; every bit of joy and pain she’s been dealt in her life seem to come through in her deeply-felt performance. The song itself is a beautifully written essay on love, penned in part by the brilliant Brenda Russell (who’d delivered some stunners for Miss Ross on 1995’s Take Me Higher) for the Broadway musical The Color Purple (which was produced by Diana’s friend Oprah Winfrey). The entire production here is handled so delicately that it’s almost impossible to breathe while listening, for fear of missing the abundance of subtle nuances in both the instrumental and in the vocal performance. The musical track produced by Peter Asher is sensitive and classy, with an almost rustic sound in the piano and cello that give the song an intimate, timeless feel; that said, the star here is the woman delivering the lead vocal. Listen to Diana begin the song, her voice deep and controlled, singing the lyrics, “Is that me…who’s floating away?” — there seems to be a well of emotion that the singer is just holding a bay. Later, at 2:19, she sings the line, “Will I see a new world in your eyes?” with such a heartbreaking wistfulness that she almost seems to be defying her listeners not to be swept away by the moment. Never in her storied career has Miss Ross sounded more invested in a set of lyrics; for a singer who is known as a gifted interpreter of other people’s compositions, she certainly takes that gift to a whole new level here. This is a moving masterpiece that should have won Diana that competitive Grammy award that she’d been denied for so long; I would wager that there was not a more honest vocal performance released that year.

6. The Look Of Love: During the promotion of I Love You, Diana mentioned several times her respect for the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David; she’d recorded many over the years, starting with several during her stint with the Supremes (including “The Look Of Love,” which went unreleased for decades) all the way through 1994, with “What The World Needs Now Is Love” on A Very Special Season. “The Look Of Love” is one of the duo’s most famous compositions, having first appeared in 1967 in the film Casino Royale (with a soundtrack vocal by Dusty Springfield), and subsequently being covered by dozens of popular artists. Miss Ross’s version opens with a lovely Spanish guitar intro — one of the best instrumental moments on the album, credited to Heitor Pereira — before giving way to a shuffling, Latin-inspired track with lovely orchestral strings which ebb and flow in the background. Diana’s vocal is breathy and relaxed; though she sounds slightly less engaged here than she has on the previous five tracks, the coolness works well for the song, giving it a remoteness that plays well into the lyrics (which are, after all, about non-verbal love). Though this is one of the most oft-recorded songs Miss Ross chose to include on I Love You, this is a slickly produced work that doesn’t feel tired or unnecessary, which is in itself an accomplishment.

7. Take My Breath Away: Sadly, after six very good tracks, I Love You reaches its first dud with “Take My Breath Away,” Diana’s version of the 1980s hit by Berlin. This wasn’t included on the international release of the album (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was featured in its place), which indicates perhaps executives even knew this wasn’t the strongest work. In any case, this is an example of extremely lackluster production really sinking a track; the backing here sounds like it was created on an outdated computer by someone playing around with a music program — it is almost totally devoid of life or inspiration. Unfortunately, Diana Ross doesn’t do a whole lot to liven up the proceedings; her performance is fine, but she doesn’t sound particularly invested and really seems to be just singing to get through the song. She’s more emotive during the final minute of the tune, but by this time it’s a little too late; the song sort of crashes to a finish with a shaky final few notes from Diana and a distinctly discordant musical track behind her. To cut Peter Asher and Diana Ross a little slack, the song itself isn’t a particularly conducive one to covers; “Take My Breath Away” stands as a song very much of its era (it was originally part of the Top Gun soundtrack in 1986) and was so ubiquitous that it’s very difficult to erase the memory of the original’s sound. Whatever the ultimate reason, this just doesn’t even come close to the quality of the songs that precede it.

8. Lovely Day: Thank goodness Miss Ross and producers bounce right back after the misstep of “Take My Breath Away” with a cool, modern version of Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day.” This song was first a hit in 1977, and Diana’s reason for wanting to record it is quoted in the Manhattan/EMI press release: “This song makes me dance. Everyone wants a lovely day.” The song is given a smooth jazz/easy listening arrangement, more polished but less soulful than that of the original; the easy listening vibe veers a little close to a Muzak sound at times, but thankfully sidesteps that trap with some great instrumental touches and a nice, low-key performance by Miss Ross. The track opens with an interesting stuttering electronic intro before Brandon Fields’s accomplished saxophone work takes over; Diana’s vocal, meanwhile, opens with a trademark sigh (imagine a “Love Hangover 2007″ moment) and continues with a cool efficiency that nicely matches the staccato feel of the track. Diana’s voice is also very prominent on the background vocal arrangement (the repetition of “lovely day”), which is a great touch and reminiscent of her early RCA work, when she often provided her own backgrounds. This song probably could have been sent to smooth jazz/adult R&B radio and gotten some play; it’s certainly hard not to sing-along with the song when it comes on.

9. Only You: A slowed-down, simmering version of the 1950s hit song, which was originally made famous by The Platters. Steve Tyrell’s production here has a nice, warm sound; the ghostly background vocals (woven expertly into the track) and some jazzy keyboard work help keep it from becoming laborious, despite the song being so slow it basically lacks a beat. Diana’s vocal is interesting; at times she comes off as a little too affected, such as her “o-O-nly you…” at 1:13, and her final, big “You!” at 3:39 feels a little wobbly, but there’s also some expert work here. Diana’s delivery of “You’re my dream come true…” at 3:26 is reminiscent of her work from the early 70s; there’s something about the vitality in her voice as she belts the word “you’re” that calls to mind her passionate work on 1970’s Diana Ross and 1971’s Surrender. There’s also a beautiful smoothness to her low notes that really shows off a new, sultry layer to Diana’s voice; her “You are my destiny…” at 1:35 is a perfect example of that. In the liner notes to this CD, Miss Ross writes, “…’Only You’ reminded me of a time when we’d listen to records, slow dancing with one light glowing from above.” The intent here was clearly to create a song that brings that image to life, and in that case, it is successful. It lacks some fire and doesn’t match the depth of “What About Love” nor the crispness of “I Love You (That’s All That Really Matters),” but there are some nice moments of soulfulness to Diana’s work that makes this a worthwhile effort and a nice listen.

10. To Be Loved: Another one of the most meaningful selections on I Love You is “To Be Loved,” a song co-written by Berry Gordy, Jr. for Jackie Wilson back in 1957. Not that is probably needs to be said, but Gordy is the founder of Motown Records, the man who nurtured her career from the 1960s until she left the label in 1980, and the father of her oldest daughter, Rhonda. Being that Gordy is such an important part of Diana’s life and career, it makes total sense that she’d include a song with a connection to him on this album (and it should be noted that the song is also clearly meaningful to Gordy, as he titled his memoirs after it). The song is arranged pretty faithfully to Wilson’s original version, with a shuffling “sock-hop” beat; unfortunately, the production by Steve Tyrell also leans too far toward the “easy listening” spectrum, killing any opportunity for the song to have an authentic, soulful feel. The All Music Guide review unfairly points the finger toward Diana in its review, stating, “Ross takes Jackie Wilson’s “To Be Loved” and bleeds the soul from it” — in truth, Miss Ross’s vocal is full of soul and feeling, but the blaring sax is just plain overpowering and makes it difficult for the lead vocal to dominate the song, as it should. Taken on its own, this really is one of the more impressive vocals on the entire album; she is clear and deliberate in her delivery, with some nice vocal runs (especially at :58) adding a little color and variation. The final verse beginning at around 3:00 into the running time is perhaps the best example of Diana’s power here; she builds and builds until her jubilant “Oh…OH! What a feeling…” at 3:30 brings the song to its musical climax. Though she would have been served much, much better by a less polished, rougher musical track (a live band accompanying her would have been a nice change), it’s hard to fault Miss Ross here, as she really does serve up a fine performance.

11. I Will: An absolute gem of a song, this is one of the clear standouts of I Love You, a shimmering, acoustic ballad that is perfect in its simplicity. “I Will” is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and included on the 1968 album The Beatles. It’s appearance here may have something to do with the fact that producer Peter Asher was once in charge of A&R at Apple Records, the label founded by the Beatles in ’68. Whatever the case, it’s a brilliant addition; it’s not as immediately recognizable as many of the other songs, and thus doesn’t conjure up comparisons to other recordings of it (in the way “Take My Breath Away” does, for example). The arrangement here is just lovely; there’s a refreshing sweetness to the sound of recording that is a pleasure to listen to, and Diana respects that feeling with the simplicity of her vocal. The soulful flourishes and “deep digging” of the previous track are completely gone; here, Miss Ross sings with a purposeful crispness, plucking each word softly just as the strings of the guitar are being gently plucked. Though she sounds mature and wise in her tone, there’s a subtle playfulness to her performance that gives it a child-like edge; in that way, it’s vaguely reminiscent of something like “When We Grow Up,” her recording from the 1972 album Free To Be…You And Me. The song itself is very brief — running just under three minutes — but there’s not a wasted moment here; this is just perfection from start to finish, a real treat.

12. This Magic Moment: The second of two real low points on I Love You, this one rivals “Take Me Breath Away” in its lack of inspiration and weak production. While some of the tracks thus far have dipped their toes into the Muzak pool, this one dives in headfirst; Diana Ross sounds as though she’s singing in an elevator, with the generic, glossy backing track just completely murdering the song. There is a mind-boggling abundance of strange sounds included here, from the reedy wind-instrument opening to the odd robotic voice that underscores Diana on the “…sweeter than wine…” sections. The instrumental break, meanwhile, sounds like the cheap computer recreation of an actual recording; it is just completely unsophisticated. The best that can be said for Miss Ross here is that she sounds relaxed; unfortunately, that relaxation doesn’t come across as effortlessness so much as boredom. Being that I Love You has a relatively high track count, it’s a shame someone didn’t decide to leave this one off; its absence would have strengthened the overall project.

13. You Are So Beautiful: Your tolerance for this song will probably depend on your tolerance for other versions of it; “You Are So Beautiful” tends to be a song that people either love or hate, and it’s certainly has never lacked in airplay. Written and recorded by Billy Preston, singer Joe Cocker covered the song in 1974 and made it a huge hit; it’s since been referenced countless times in movies and television programs, and played at proms and weddings ad nauseam. The good news here is that Miss Ross’s version is actually very restrained and listenable; the production is mercifully not overdone, and features a well-balanced mix of low-key piano and strings. Diana’s performance, meanwhile, is deep and soulful; she doesn’t do any adorning, and lets the lyrics “breathe” and speak for themselves. Her one embellishment is pushing the last two words an octave higher, and her “to me” is a beautifully done finale. In a way, the feel of “You Are So Beautiful” is analogous to her performance of “Forever Young” on 1984’s Swept Away; on both songs, Miss Ross takes an optimistic lyric and tinges it with sadness in her delivery, lending the song a bittersweet feeling that it otherwise probably wouldn’t have. For my money, this version of “You Are So Beautiful” is the most successful of any recording of it; it’s easy for the lyrics to sound syrupy and almost disingenuous, but there’s an emotional honesty in this rendition that really elevates it.

14. Always And Forever: The final full song on I Love You is a lush, stunning version of the 1977 hit “Always And Forever” by Heatwave, a song that was also famously covered by Luther Vandross and gained him a Grammy nomination in 1994. Miss Ross’s vocal here was more than worthy of a Grammy nomination, too; this is as good as her voice sounds on the entire album and, really, as good as she’d sounded in years (in his book Diana Ross: A Biography, J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that it “probably rates with the best of her ballad performances” [522]). The arrangement here is highlighted by gorgeous violin and piano work, creating an atmospheric and luxuriant background for Miss Ross. After the hushed, restrained delivery on “You Are So Beautiful,” Diana opens up her voice here, powerfully pushing her upper register at the end of each refrain; listen to her work beginning at 2:36, as she passionately sings the lyrics, “Take time to tell me, you really care…and we’ll share tomorrow together…” — this is singing at its highest caliber, a stunning mix of technique and feeling. But beyond the showier moments, Miss Ross’s work on the verses is smooth and controlled, her deeper notes as clean and precise as glass. Mr. Taraborrelli seems to be on mark with his assessment; this really is the quintessential Diana Ross ballad, as perfectly suited to her voice as well-known hits like “Theme From Mahogany” and “Endless Love.” Of any song on I Love You, this one really should have been pushed as a single; had it been serviced to Adult R&B and Adult Contemporary radio and given the right kind of attention, it surely could have equalled the success her duet with Rod Stewart had in 2005, if not bettered it. For anyone whose appreciation of Diana Ross has dimmed over the years, this is required listening; this song proves Miss Ross is still one of the most gifted vocalists of all time.

15. Remember Reprise: A brief reprise of the album’s first track closes things out; this is a nice way to bring the project full circle and finish it off gracefully.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love: This track appeared on international versions of I Love You in place of “Take My Breath Away” — being that it’s really the only true uptempo song other than “More Today Than Yesterday,” it’s strange that executives in the states decided to do without it. Having another energetic song definitely helps break up the album a little bit and give it some variety, even if this one isn’t nearly as succesful as “More Today…” The issue here is not at all with Miss Ross — her performance is vibrant and fun, and she sounds a lot like she did on several songs from 1987’s Red Hot Rhythm & Blues. The production, unfortunately, is a mess; it opens with a garish marching band sound that never lets up, and the instruments all sound insanely discordant. The one other bright spot here is the quick guitar solo by Queen’s Brian May — Queen, of course, took the song to #1 back in 1980. His involvement is a nice touch, and it’s fun to hear Diana having a good time in the studio, but this really isn’t a standout track.

***

Seeing Diana Ross back in the top 40 of the Billboard Album charts was a huge thrill for fans in 2007; after the commercial disappointments of such stellar albums as Take Me Higher and Every Day Is A New Day, the success of this project seemed not only deserved, but sorely overdue. I Love You is not as consistent as either of those albums, but it is a nice, cohesive work that features some fine vocal performances, and a couple of absolutely stellar ones. In some cases, the production lets her down — a few of the songs just don’t have the kind of lush, high-end feel that a legend like Diana Ross deserves — and while most of the song choices are solid, a few (“Take My Breath Away” and “This Magic Moment,” I’m looking at you…) just seem like total throw-aways. But the great news is that these faults don’t sink the album — the bright spots here are so bright that they elevate this album to being an essential part of her discography.

Final Analysis: 4/5 (A “Lovely” Album)

“Let my baby be a baby in this world…”

As was the case with Blue in 2006, Diana Ross fans got a rare treat in late 2009 when an entire previously shelved album was finally pulled from the vaults and released to the public. To The Baby had been recorded in the early 1970s; most tracks were cut in either late 1971 or early 1972, during a busy time in Miss Ross’s career when she was working on several projects, including her Oscar-nominated film Lady Sings The Blues. She’s quoted in the release’s liner notes as saying, “I recorded [the songs] while I was pregnant, songs about children, for my children. I wanted something to give them that they can listen to and say, ‘Hey, this is what my mother was doing when I was a kid,’ you know? And I wanted to do an album that I can talk to them in.”

Plans changed, of course, when Motown decided to follow the movie with a big pop hit, and Diana soared to #1 with “Touch Me In The Morning.” An album was pulled together around the single, and several of the songs meant for the To The Baby album ended up on Touch Me In The Morning — and thus, Diana’s children-themed project seemed doomed to oblivion. Thankfully, Universal Music Group imprint Hip-O Select, in reissuing Miss Ross’s solo albums, resurrected To The Baby and included the entire album on its Touch Me In The Morning Expanded Edition. The release gave fans five new songs, including the title track written by Miss Ross’s younger brother Arthur “T-Boy” Ross (coincidentally, Diana recorded her brother’s “I Want You” just a few years before this release, on her I Love You). The other five songs had all been previously released on other projects, but in very different versions. As a bonus, Hip-O included two other similarly themed tracks to round out the disc.

It’s hard to say how To The Baby would have done if it had been released in the early 70s; being that the world got “Touch Me In The Morning” instead, it’s hard to argue with Motown’s master plan. Still, finally hearing this scrapped project is like getting an intimate glimpse into Diana’s private life during an exciting time in her life. Though she didn’t write the songs here, she worked clearly worked closely with producer Tom Baird on them — and even produced a few of the tracks herself. Consequently, the project feels extremely personal; her vocals here are warm, relaxed, and tinged with the excitement of childbirth; it’s impossible to listen to opening track “Part Of You” and not feel the giddiness of an expectant mother. More than anything else, To The Baby also serves as continued proof of just how strong the material being recorded and released by Miss Ross was during this time period. Most artists would kill to create an album this good; it’s amazing to think Motown and Diana had so much good stuff, they could afford to leave this one behind.

***

1. Part Of You: Written and produced by Tom Baird, this is a glorious opening track, built upon a shimmering, syncopated rhythm and featuring a sparkling, knowing performance from Diana Ross. Because this was recorded around the same time that Miss Ross was transitioning from her Ashford & Simpson work to the jazz standards of Lady Sings The Blues, her vocal style is a mix of the two; there’s a warm crispness to her voice that nods to the Billie Holiday recordings, but she also sounds much more contemporary here, keeping her voice nailed to the beat rather than letting it lag behind as it does on much of her jazz work. Baird’s production is impeccable; the song’s musical track sounds like a grown-up lullaby, built upon an accented piano line that gives way to swirling strings and a classic, soulful choir of background voices, and there’s a “tick-tock” that comes at the end of each chorus that serves as a smart, subtle nod to the theme of the song. They lyrics here are intelligently written, coming across as a love poem from an expectant mother to the father of her child, filled with the excitement of the journey or parenthood. Had To The Baby been released in the early 70s, this would have been a nice choice for a single; the song is incredibly catchy, and probably could have done well at radio, and Diana’s voice is at her gorgeous best.

2. A Wonderful Guest: Also written and produced by Tom Baird, this song serves almost like a slowed down sequel to “Part Of Me,” opening again with a piano line and also featuring lyrics from the point of view of an expectant mother. Because the song is set at a slower tempo, Diana gets to really sink her teeth into the material, and her voice sounds great here; the warmth and fullness of tone are on full display as she sings lines like “How…how can it be?” at :43, beautifully drawing out the first word over five full seconds. The instrumental break here is a bit odd; producer Baird brings in what sounds like a mariachi band to fill the space between 1:30 and 2:05, which doesn’t quite match the pensive, lullaby-esque atmosphere set by the other elements. Still, this is a lovely, touching ballad that again feels very authentic and unforced; the melody is almost as memorable as the snappy “Part Of You,” which is saying a lot.

3. Young Mothers: This is an alternate version of the acoustic ballad that first showed up on 1983’s Anthology as a “previously unreleased” track. Again produced by Tom Baird, he co-wrote this one with Kaye Lawrence Dunham, and it certainly has a different feel than the previous two pieces of music, which he’d written alone. “Young Mothers” is far more evocative of the folk/pop sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s, thanks to the persistent strumming guitar and the lyrics, which nod to the Vietnam War with lines like, “Hey now, young mothers…how shall we raise our sons? To live their lives in peace, and not take out the guns?” Miss Ross’s performance here is simple and pretty; she sounds gentle and knowing as she calls to other young women to raise their children in a world of peace. Because of the theme and sound of the production, “Young Mothers” does come off as more dated than much of the other material on To The Baby, and it’s certainly less exciting than many of the other songs here. That said, it’s nice to hear Diana “sing” her feelings about the war on record (she’d earlier called for the return of troops from Vietnam during the Supremes farewell concert in 1970, a moment that’s captured on the recording of that show). Most in the general public never associate Diana Ross with anything remotely political, though fans know she often made her case for peace and civil rights in her own elegant way.

4. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face: During the same time Diana was recording the songs for To The Baby, Roberta Flack was enjoying her first massive hit with this song. Flack had recorded it back in 1969, but it only became a hit when it was used by Clint Eastwood in his 1971 film Play Misty For Me. Flack’s version spent several weeks at #1, and soon became an oft-recorded standard. Miss Ross’s version here is produced by none other than Gil Askey, the man who’d been handling her jazz work; the reissue lines notes state it happened “…on a break from Lady Sings The Blues.” His touch is immediately audible on “First Time…,” there’s a lush, dreamy feel to the song that echoes songs like “Little Girl Blue” and “I Can’t Get Started” on Blue. Miss Ross opens the song with a spoken dedication to her “little baby, Rhonda,” a nice reminder of the motivation for this entire project, before launching into a fine vocal performance. The only fault with the lead here is that it does seems a little affected, similar to her work on “Smile” (featured on both 1976’s Diana Ross and Blue), meaning she seems to be laying it on a little thick, rather than just letting the performance happen. Her delivery on other songs from the era, like “Little Girl Blue” and “Touch Me In The Morning,” seemed more effortless and organic; there was an innate sophistication in those performances and others that just isn’t quite matched here. That said, Miss Ross is interpreting this song as a love song to a baby, not an adult lover, which means it would make sense for her to use a different tone in her voice. Listened to in that context, there is certainly an appealing sweetness to “First Time…,” even if it ultimately isn’t the standout here.

5. Got To Be There: This is a real treat of To The Baby, a self-produced version of the 1971 hit from Michael Jackson (his first solo single, which topped out at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100). Miss Ross’s recording is beautifully done, featuring one of her best and most engaging vocals on To The Baby, and an absolutely gorgeous backing track. Jackson’s version, of course, is a classic, but there’s no denying it sounds quite dated today; the harpsichord-opening, overdubbing of the lead, and background vocal arrangement are all pure late 60s/early 70s. Diana’s interpretation of the song is far more timeless; as producer, she must be credited with the joyful, elegant arrangement, including the bouncier, string-laden instrumental track. The vocal here is warm and inviting; Miss Ross nails the highest notes without the slightest hint of strain, especially her “me” at two minutes in (which she holds for a solid five seconds or so) and “home” at 2:34, which nicely jumps up a note, then back down again. Though there’s overdubbing of the vocal here, it’s not nearly as invasive as it is on Jackson’s recording; Miss Ross layers her voice off and on, at times overlapping lines as though she’s duetting with herself, and the effect is unique and memorable without seeming gimmicky or dated. Had Jackson’s version never been released, this one certainly could have; the fact that she’s singing it to her little girl might have limited its commercial appeal, but it’s a great listen and Diana sounds far better than she did on several songs from her albums of this era (like Diana & Marvin) that actually were released.

6. To The Baby: The album’s title track is another gem that went unheard for far too long; aside from being a wonderful, soulful recording, it also happens to feature the name Arthur “T-Boy” Ross as co-writer. Diana’s younger brother wrote some well-known songs at Motown (Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” and Michael Jackson’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are”) and even released an album of his own on the label in 1979. His involvement in the title track makes this entire project seem even more personal, given that Diana’s babies were also his family. Interestingly, “To The Baby” has a sound that’s not unlike that which was coming out of Philadelphia at the time, as Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff were setting up Philadelphia International Records to compete with Motown. This Philly soul sound was lush and full, a little less “rough around the edges” than the Funk Brothers-driven Motown sound. “To The Baby” has that smooth, lush sound; it could easily been recorded by the Stylistics. The lyrics speak of letting children enjoy their childhood and not growing up too fast; Miss Ross sings “To the baby, for the baby…to my little girl,” which makes it seem like she’s speaking directly to her own daughter, a nice touch. Her vocal here is sublime; she’s low-key but there’s an obvious emotion behind her delivery. For example, her “…she’ll reach up and kiss you, ’cause she loves you…” at 1:26 and the section that follows, with Diana’s voice doubled, sound convincingly impassioned; you wonder how differently she would have interpreted the lyrics had she not been a new mother herself. The song itself is extremely brief; it runs only around two-and-a-half minutes. It is, however, a sterling track and one of the best on the album; it’s good enough that it’s surprising it was never placed on another album of the era, like Touch Me In The Morning or Last Time I Saw Him.

7. Brown Baby: Here’s one that actually was released on another album; fans will recognize “Brown Baby” as part of a medley with “Save The Children” on Touch Me In The Morning. That medley was one of the great treasures of that album, thanks to its incedible, soulful instrumental track, still one of the best ever featured on a Diana Ross album. Hearing the song on To The Baby without the “Save The Children” interlude is a huge treat; it means the hypnotic, dark groove plays unbroken for more than four minutes. Miss Ross’s performance is one of her most deeply felt; she combines the loose, lazy feeling of her jazz recordings with the more urgent, intense tone of her pop work. Had it not been sliced up for the medley — and had it been released to radio in this form — this song probably could have been at least an R&B hit for Miss Ross; like “To The Baby,” it sounds akin to the Philly soul hits that were starting to really take off in the early 70s, but has the benefit the amazing Motown musicians creating a mesmeric musical reverie.

8. My Baby (My Baby My Own): Another Tom Baird composition and production, this song showed up in an altered version on Touch Me In The Morning. The difference between the two is both subtle and striking; the version from Touch Me… is slowed down, resulting in Diana Ross seeming to have a far deeper voice. It’s interesting, therefore, for fans who are used to Miss Ross’s deep, mournful call on the released version to suddenly hear the piece at a faster tempo and higher key. Miss Ross’s performance in no less impressive — in fact, her ad libs around 2:25 are maybe some of her best ever — but the song sounds much less somber here on To The Baby, something that works since the intended audience for this project was Diana’s children. Back to those ad libs — listen to her work closely at 2:25; her wordless improv here is so sublime it’s worth putting on repeat a few times. Miss Ross’s devotion to jazz music at this point in her career is obvious in the way she handles her vocal performance at the end of this song; her musical ear was clearly well-developed at this time and she confidently slides up and down the scale, using her voice as a musical instrument rather than solely as a tool to convey lyrics.

9. Turn Around: This song was released with a different mix on Miss Ross’s Last Time I Saw Him; on the discussion for that album, I wrote: “‘Turn Around’ doubtlessly would have worked better in the context of other child-themed songs; here, coming on the heels of youthful, contemporary, and energetic tracks, it’s far too saccharine and overproduced to be enjoyable.” That is true; surrounded by other similarly toned songs, “Turn Around” does sound better, though it remains pretty saccharine in comparison to soulful songs like “Brown Baby” and “To The Baby.” The lead vocal featured on this recording is a little more relaxed and less-affected than the one chosen for Last Time…, which helps the song sound less dated. The production, however, with the “Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhh” opening background vocals (which are then repeated several times) still sounds pretty silly and overdone. This isn’t one of the strongest tunes on To The Baby, which makes it all the more strange that it was released on an album in place of better tunes that were left in the vaults for decades.

10. Medley: Imagine/Save The Children: On Diana’s hit 1973 album Touch Me In The Morning, her self-production of the John Lennon classic “Imagine” and a medley of “Brown Baby/Save The Children” were the final two tracks. Little did listeners know that initially, the songs had been conceptualized in a different way, with “Brown Baby” as its own recording and “Imagine/Save The Children” making up the medley. On To The Baby, fans get to hear the songs as they were apparently originally recorded and, as it turns out, they’re just as good if not better than the more famous versions from the Touch Me… album. Though “Brown Baby” and “Save The Children” worked well together thematically, “Brown Baby” is such an outstanding recording that — as mentioned earlier — it’s nice to hear it unbroken. In the same way, “Imagine” and “Save The Children” end up working well together, lyrically making sense and each adding excitement to the other. Miss Ross’s vocal on “Imagine” is lovely and wistful, striking just the right note of optimism without sounding forced or phony. “Save The Children,” meanwhile, remains a satisfying soulful interlude, with Miss Ross both singing and speaking the lyrics passionately. Who knows why Motown switched things up when choosing to place these songs on Touch Me… — perhaps execs felt having the recognizable “Imagine” as its own recording would resultsin better sales, as Lennon’s version had hit #3 in the US. Whatever the case, they really needn’t have bothered; though all three recordings stand as very good ones, they actually sound best in his original context.

11. Kewpie Doll: The first “bonus track” included here is a revelation and a masterpiece; written and produced by Smokey Robinson, this is a fabulous recording that languished in the Motown vaults for far too long. Ross and Robinson, of course, shared a long history; Robinson was responsible for helping the Supremes obtain their first audition at Motown, and he’d written and produced several songs for the group over the years, though none had been big hits. Incredibly, Robinson and Ross really never collaborated after she went solo (save for the song “Pops, We Love You” in 1979), which makes “Kewpie Doll” — recorded in 1971 — such a spectacular find. The track here is sublime, driven by a soul-stirring guitar; the composition shifts from major to minor key in a unique way that gives is far more complexity than much of Diana’s other work of the period. But best of all is the vocal arrangement; Smokey Robinson provides the background vocals here, and they are so prominent that the song is pretty much a collaboration between him and Diana Ross. This turns out to be a great thing, as both are in fine voice; Diana Ross is as smooth and soulful as she’d ever been on record here, delivering the same kind of youthful passion heard on her earliest solo albums without any of the rawness that crept through. Robinson’s layered backgrounds are just breathtaking; they work with Diana’s vocal rather than detract from it, adding an aching and tenderness to the recording that it really needed to have. The end result is such a classic, timeless song that it really doesn’t sound that dated; it could easily be a “neo-soul” tune by a contemporary artist. Again, it’s just incredible that this song went unreleased for so long; according to the liner notes, an entire collaboration between the two artists was being talked about, and so when Diana’s career focus shifted to film, that project and this song probably just died in the water. Still, it’s an absolute shame the two never really teamed up again (look online for a fantastic clip of the two singing Diana’s “Missing You” together on TV in the 80s for further proof of their compatibility) — being that both are still recording, someone should start a petition to get them teamed up for an album — PRONTO!

12. When We Grow Up: The second “bonus” is Diana’s recording from the 1972 album Free To Be…You And Me, a collection of songs by various artists aimed a kids and promoting confidence and individuality (the project was the idea of actress Marlo Thomas). Ross’s song on the album was “When We Grow Up,” the lyrics of which repeat “…we don’t have to change at all,” a message of self-esteem to young boys and girls. Diana acts the song as much as sings it; listen to her at 1:31, sing-speaking “Like making noise…and making faces…” — you can picture her mugging in front of the microphone like she did in her television comedic sketches of the era. The brief song is really cute and very memorable; it ended up many years later being used as the end-credit song for the film Young Adult starring Charlize Theron. When Free To Be…You And Me was made into a popular TV special in 1974, Roberta Flack and Michael Jackson took over “When We Grow Up” — an interesting coincidence, since Diana had already covered Flack’s “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and Jackson’s “Got To Be There” for To The Baby.

***

Had To The Baby been released in the early 1970s, it would have been a great-sounding album, if nothing else. There’s no telling if it would have been a hit or produced any singles; this is a concept album, something that Motown didn’t do much of until Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder mastered the form. But each of the recordings here is extremely well-done, and certainly show off Diana Ross’s interpretive gifts. Recordings like “Part Of Me,” “Got To Be There,” “To The Baby,” and especially “Kewpie Doll” stand up with the best of Diana’s work from this transitional phase of her career; the performances are better than much of the filler included on Diana & Marvin and Last Time I Saw Him, and are certainly more worthy of notice than her live album released 1974 (but recorded in ’73), Live At Caesar’s Palace. Though it would have been nice to enjoy these recordings years ago, they do come a great time given that Diana’s recording output has been so sparse in the new millennium. And, as it is, To The Baby serves as a pleasing companion piece to 2007’s I Love You — both are concept albums that focus on life, love, and family.

Final Analysis: 4.5/5 (A “Wonderful” Treat)

“And all too soon it was so easy to tell that I was winning in a game…”

March 26, 2002 marked Diana Ross’s 58th birthday, but it was her legions of fans that received an amazing birthday gift. Motown finally re-released her 1970 debut album, Diana Ross, which had been out-of-print for some time; better yet, the CD came loaded with eight bonus tracks, including live performances, alternate vocals takes, and — best of all — a batch of tracks from the vaults. Those tracks were produced by Bones Howe, and had apparently been recorded as possibilities for Miss Ross’s debut album as a solo artist. Her former manager Shelly Burger is quoted in the liner notes of that re-release: “I had known Bones for a while and he was very hot at the time, particularly with the Fifth Dimension. The thought was we should go outside the company to do something completely different for Diana’s first album.”

Motown, of course, was scrambling to hit upon a winning formula for Miss Ross the solo artist; she’d been delivering #1 hits as lead singer of the Supremes for almost a decade, and expectations were high for her first post-group offering. One of the first solo possibilities, the Johnny Bristol-produced “Someday We’ll Be Together,” ended up being released as a Supremes single. Then the brilliant writing/producing/performing team of Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson began working on songs for Diana, as did Howe. Miss Ross finished four songs with Mr. Howe, including the Laura Nyro-written “Time And Love” and “Stoney End,” but it was Ashford and Simpson who ended up handling her debut album. It’s impossible to argue with that decision today, given that Diana Ross was a solid success and game Miss Ross a top 20 hit, “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” and a Grammy-nominated #1 masterpiece, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Still, what’s surprising is just how good the Bones Howe-produced songs are. The four songs lean more toward the “pop” side of the spectrum than Ross’s soulful, darker work with Ashford and Simpson, and after years of crooning pop standards on television and in clubs, she is more than adept at the sunnier style of music. There’s a youthful sparkle to her performances on these songs, but they also showcase Diana in fine, full voice, giving her chances to belt and reach for high notes that many listeners still don’t realize she’s capable of. While 1970’s Diana Ross really is the perfect debut album for Miss Ross — spectacular and stylish and still surprising more than 40 years later — it’s a treat to hear what might have been with a different direction and team behind her.

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Time And Love: Written by singer/songwriter Laura Nyro, this song first appeared on her 1969 album New York Tendaberry. Diana, of course, recorded the song not long after the release of that album, and when her version was shelved, Motown lifted the track from the vaults and had Jean Terrell dub over a new lead vocal, placing the song on the 1971 Supremes album Touch. “Time And Love” also hit the charts in 1971 when Barbra Streisand included it on her album Stoney End (which also, of course, featured the song “Stoney End” — also cut on Ross by Howe!), which was produced by Richard Perry. Miss Ross’s version here is a swinging, big-band, Vegas extravaganza, as buoyant and energetic as anything Diana had ever recorded. It would be easy to imagine this song becoming a Ross concert-opener; she sounds comfortable and confident on the verses, her performance a mix of sexy breathiness and youthful zeal. She gets to open her voice up and really show off some power on the choruses; this is especially true as she repeats it in the last 40 seconds of the song, emitting a soaring shout at 3:42 followed by a nice alteration of the melody as she sings, “Don’t you let that devil fool ya, here comes the dove…” The “full-steam ahead” brashness of the arrangement and the choir of male and female singers behind her do date the song; it certainly sounds far less contemporary than “Ain’t No Mountain…” and other works that eventually made it onto her first album. That said, this is a thoroughly enjoyable song and performance, displaying the excitement of a young woman finally coming into her own as a singer and performer. (Note: “Time And Love” did get a release on the superb Diana compilation The Motown Anthology, which had hit store shelves a year earlier, in March of 2001.)

Stoney End: Another Laura Nyro composition, this one was first recorded by the writer for her 1967 debut album, then by actress Peggy Lipton in 1968. It, of course, also fell into the hands of Barbra Streisand, who named her 1971 album after it and released it as a single; it became a top 10 hit for her. Nyro’s version has an interesting, almost rustic feel, with a banging piano and harmonica leading the way; Streisand’s was more rock-oriented and theatrical. Miss Ross’s version here is the glossiest of them all, shimmering pop perfection that stands as the best of these Howe tracks in terms of production and vocal performance. The arrangement here retains some of the brashness of “Time And Love” during the intro and the choruses, but layers in a beautifully done bongo line and features a nice, classy restraint during the verses that really allows Miss Ross’s performance to shine. She’s at her most alluring here, eschewing the gutsiness of her Ashford and Simpson recordings and reigning in the brassiness of her latter-day Supremes works, and letting her voice smoothly ride the melody and showcase the passion of the lyrics at just the right moments (her slowed-down “Cradle me…mama, cradle me…” at 2:34 is as perfectly emoted as any Broadway star could hope for). Just listen to her first line; her “I was born from love…” is as gorgeous as she’d ever sounded on record. Again, it’s impossible to say what would have been, but this recording certainly had the potential to be every bit the hit that Streisand’s was the next year; this is a beautifully crafted work of pop. It’s also a reminder of how strong the material being given to Diana Ross was at the time; she was the biggest female star in the music world, and on the cusp of even greater achievements. That a song this good would be left in the vaults for years and years is pretty amazing; it would be a career benchmark for most anyone else.

The Interim: The production by Howe here is much different from his work on the previous two songs; the horns and bass are plodding and almost laborious, creating a dense musical bed devoid of any bounciness or joy for most of the running time. Diana’s vocal is also much different; she matches the instruments by drawing out the lyrics, each word stretched and twisted like taffy. Her work here, shaded with soul and mystery, is much closer in tone to some of the songs that ended up being released as part of her finished debut; Ashford and Simpson-produced tracks like “Dark Side Of The World” and “Keep An Eye” also feature Diana in a deeper, almost-mournful voice. While it’s not as immediately striking as “Stoney End,” this is a compelling piece of work; Diana’s vocal is extremely mature, especially as she wails the line, “I wish that I was stronger and able to hold, without the help of someone weaker I can mold into the person I would like myself to be…” at 2:40. This is great singing, and while the song probably never would have been a hit due to its complexity and lack of traditional structure, it’s a fascinating listen. (NOTE — though the 2002 CD reissue of Diana Ross lists this song as written by Jimmy Webb, I was recently contacted and told that it was indeed penned by Cheryl Ernst Wells, a staff writer for Bones Howe during the recording period. According to this e-mail, she actually owns the copyright and has the original recordings.)

Love’s Lines, Angles And Rhymes: An oddly titled song that found fame as a single by The 5th Dimension; the group named its 1971 album after the song, which climbed into the top 20 of the pop charts. That version was also produced by Bones Howe, which explains why it’s so similar to Diana’s, recorded a year earlier. The rhythm of the song cleverly mimics the pendulum referred to in the lyrics; it swings back and forth, giving Miss Ross a chance to vacillate between being sexy/breathy on the lower notes and more powerful in her higher range. Her performance on just the opening words (“Love…leads…”) has got to be among the sexiest she’s ever sounded on record; it’s impossible not to be immediately drawn into the song with her delivery. Interestingly, this song is also one of the few cases of Diana audibly “working” while singing; for someone who usually makes it sound so effortless, her run of lyrics starting at 2:34 (“Of the angles and rhymes of the circles and lines of the tunnels of love running over…”) sound raw and unrehearsed, with the singer taking some deep breaths to get through it. This “break” in the gloss is actually nice to hear; Miss Ross sounds like a woman totally caught up in the moment. Behind her, the instrumental is hypnotic, if quite dated; the bass work is ridiculously accomplished, though, with the plucking the strings adding nice intrigue to the piece. Heard today, “Love’s Lines…” certainly doesn’t sound as timeless as much of Diana’s other work of the era, and doesn’t immediately sound like a “lost hit” — however, being that an extremely similar version was a hit for another group, it’s hard to say what would have been had it been released on Diana.

***

If nothing else, the release of these four songs in 2002 was a good reminder of just how much was at stake when Diana Ross went solo in 1970. Her success wasn’t necessarily a sure bet; the singer herself said, “The fear was, you know, Will I be okay? Will my records be hits? People had done some of the same things, and they weren’t successful” (David Nathan’s The Soulful Divas, 152). These tracks show that there was some experimentation when it came to Miss Ross’s solo career, and that her versatility as lead singer of the Supremes obviously led to some question about what direction she ought to take. As good as these four recordings are — and they are all very good — there’s no doubt the work Ashford and Simpson came up with for 1970’s Diana Ross was the perfect springboard for her future career. Still, these are four welcome additions to the Diana Ross discography and continued proof of her power and skill as a vocalist.

“All I ever will recall of my life…is all of my life…with you.”

The 2008 Hip-O Select reissue of Everything Is Everything gave fans a new opportunity to discover Diana Ross’s second solo LP. The 1970 album was something of a “lost” work, considering it didn’t produce any major US hits and came out mere months after her solo debut, which had featured the #1 “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and thus stole most of the attention. While there’s no doubt Everything Is Everything is an uneven album, it does feature some stellar collaborations between Miss Ross and producer Deke Richards, including the UK #1 “I’m Still Waiting” and the sublime, Grammy-nominated “I Love You (Call Me).”

Though Richards comments in the re-release liner notes that he was scrambling to get the LP together (“…all I remember is Berry [Gordy] said he wanted something different. Problem was he wanted it yesterday”), he did end up leaving at least three tracks off of the final lineup. One is a song he’d written himself, “Wish I Knew,” a tune he’d previously cut on Diana in the late 1960s as a possible Supremes release. The other two were popular tunes at the time; “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?” is the Oscar-nominated theme to the 1969 film The Happy Ending, and “Something” is a George Harrison-penned Beatles song that topped the charts in 1969, as well. All three sat in the vaults for years, until the Hip-O reissue of Everything Is Everything finally brought them to the public.

It’s not clear why the three were left in the vaults; incredibly, all three would have been good additions to the original 1970 album lineup — in some cases, even stronger than the songs that ended up being included on the LP. “Wish I Knew” is a totally bizarre song, but it’s at least more memorable than the Richards composition “How About You” (track 10 on Everything…) and both the covers are far superior to “The Long And Winding Road,” the Beatles cover that did make the cut. Of the three, “What Are You Doing…” stands as the best; it really is an unearthed treasure that’s an exhilarating listen and a classic Ross ballad performance. But all three songs are worthy listens and display two talented artists working to make some classics.

***

1. Wish I Knew: In the liner notes to the Everything Is Everything CD, Deke Richards notes that his recording of “Wish I Knew” (again, the second time he’d cut it on Diana) was in “humble tribute” to songwriter Burt Bacharach, who he’d wanted to write a song for Diana. The odd song structure is certainly reminiscent of some of Bacharach’s work, and there’s a definite “late 60s/early 70s pop” sound here. That said, the instrumental is almost more like something you’d hear in a Spaghetti Western film; it’s easy to imagine Ennio Morricone coming up with the dramatic “duh-duh-duh” breaks and the bizarre background rattle noises. Even the quick guitar work on the instrumental breaks sounds like a meshing of European and American Old West musical styles, as does the eerie organ which ends up accompanying Diana toward the middle of the track. As crazily grandiose as the track is, Miss Ross herself is amazing retrained; this is a simple and straightforward as she’s ever sounded on her work from the dawn of the 70s, a time when she was often given to soaring ad-libs, yelps, and even some screeches. She sounds almost childlike during the first minute of the song (before the sudden instrumental break), forcing a “smallness” in her voice that works well, especially as she opens up a bit around :38, singing the song’s title with a bit of breathy sexiness. However, the instrumental break prepares the listener for something more vocally than Diana ever delivers; she comes back about 20 seconds later with the same childlike performance, and doesn’t really vary her tone much despite the stuttering musical track behind her (the sudden stops between each refrain do get to be a little much). Though this is not really a great performance by Diana (though, to be fair, this may have been only a “scratch” vocal for her — who knows how it might have changed that Richards decided to include it on the LP) and the song isn’t really great, either, it does have a very memorable hook, something that some of the songs on Everything Is Everything don’t have at all.

2. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?: This is one of those great cases of a singer being paired with a song perfect for him/her; this romantic ballad could have been written for Diana Ross, such is the hand-in-glove fit of the melody and lyrics to her dreamy, sensitive performance. Interestingly, the music was written by Michel Legrand, who also composed the love theme to Diana’s 1972 film debut Lady Sings The Blues, so perhaps it makes sense that this song seems tailor-made for her. The melody is a challenging one, with a unique run of notes on the opening words, “What are you doing the rest of your life?” — Diana nails them, her voice almost haunting in its breathiness, and her delivery continues pitch-perfectly through the opening verse, which ends with some lovely (and rare for the time) low notes on “…all with me.” There is a beautiful, genuine wistfulness to her work here; listen her starting at 50 seconds in, as she sings the lyrics, “…times of your days, all the nickels and the dimes of your days…let the reasons and rhymes of your days…” — there seems to be an entire story playing on top of the words here, a passion laid out through Miss Ross’s phrasing the way she lingers on certain words and brushes by other. This is her interpretive gift at its best, and played to a different effect than on many of her later ballads like “Touch Me In The Morning” and “Theme From Mahogany,” on which her voice sounds much more polished and her emotions far more restrained. There is no denying that Miss Ross’s approach to singing changed after 1972’s Lady Sings The Blues, and became less dramatic and showy (something that really wouldn’t return to her performances until 1978’s The Wiz soundtrack); therefore, this is really one of the few ballads from 1970-1971 that display her really “going for it” (something also audible on early ballads like “I Wouldn’t Change The Man He Is” and “All The Befores”). Diana is helped immensely by the sexy, torchy production of Deke Richards; the instrumental is sublime, with swirling strings and a slinky piano kept at bay just enough that they never distract from the vocal performance. It’s really unfortunate that it took so many years for Diana Ross’s version of this song to come to light, as it would have been standout on the Everything Is Everything album had it been included; though it’s not really in the style of anything else on the album, it probably wouldn’t have mattered given that the album’s sound is varied anyway.

3. Something: The two Beatles covers on Everything Is Everything ranged from good to…well…terrible; her “Come Together” is still an interesting, compelling listen, and her “The Long And Winding Road” remains one of the worst of her early 70s recordings and a rare case of her completely overdoing a performance. Deke Richards also cut “Something” on Diana, which had been a 1969 #1 hit (a double A-side with “Come Together”) written by George Harrison. Why he chose “The Long And Winding Road” in place of this one for eventual release is a mystery, as “Something” is a far superior song for Miss Ross and much better recording; it blends quite well with “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?” — the two feature similar musical arrangements — which may be why they both ended up left in the vaults. Miss Ross’s performance here is strong and assured; she is sexy and sensitive on the song’s opening two verses, and gets to demonstrate some power on the song’s bridge at 1:30, during which she channels some of her latter-day Supremes brashness to nice effect. Deke Richards offers up a nice musical arrangement, with different instruments taking the forefront at different points in the song, from the opening sax to strings to more modern, muted electric guitars. While this recording isn’t perhaps the “lost classic” that the previous one is, this is a really nice recording that would have fit well within the context of Diana’s second LP.

***

Everything Is Everything remains a fascinating listen more than forty years after its release precisely because it is such an interesting mix of styles; it is sandwiched between the remarkably strong and consistent Diana Ross (1970) and Surrender (1971), two of the best complete works in the Diana Ross discography. Therefore, in comparison, her 2nd solo LP has always seemed like a collection of tracks rather than a deliberate, thought-out project. The addition of these three tracks only adds to the existing questions of the intentions of Motown, producer Richards, and Diana Ross herself; they certainly had their reasons for choosing which recordings ended up on the album, but a listen to these three songs seems to rule out quality as being one of those reasons. Certainly in the case of the two covers here, Miss Ross and Mr. Richards turn in splendid versions that stand up among other popular renditions of the tunes.

Whatever the case was back in 1970, Everything Is Everything gave Diana Ross a massive international hit and her second solo Grammy nomination. And it’s hard to complain now that listeners get to hear these three recordings remastered, something that Hip-O Select deserves massive praise for; longtime fans of Diana Ross are certainly being treated to some wonderful surprises as the Motown vaults are raided for unreleased recordings.

Best Of The Bunch: “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?”

“Don’t let your pride hold you back…that’s a silly way to act…”

Diana Ross’s 1971 album Surrender remains the best of her early solo work, and is still one of the strongest albums of her entire career — probably in the top 2 or 3. In terms of vocal performance, Diana Ross never sounded better than she did on Surrender’s eleven tracks, each produced by the brilliant Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson; her work during the final minute of “I Can’t Give Back The Love I Feel For You” is some of the most impressive and powerful singing she’s ever released, and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” is nearly as good as her masterpiece “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — which is saying a lot. Though it wasn’t the huge hit it should have been, it did produce three top 40 singles and is considered by many to be the most soulful work Diana Ross recorded. In truth, it’s also one of the best early 70s Motown albums, easily ranking with the work being turned out by Marvin Gaye and The Temptations at the time.

In 2008, on the heels of the masterful reissue of Everything Is Everything, Hip-O Select released an expanded edition of Surrender, adding several alternate versions to the existing lineup (not to mention also tacking on the UK #1 “I’m Still Waiting” and an alternate mix of “Ain’t No Mountain…”). Most exciting of all was the release of the song “Baby I’ll Come,” apparently the only song from the Surrender recording sessions which didn’t make the final cut. The song was also written and produced by Ashford and Simpson, and in the liner notes to the reissue, Simpson doesn’t offer any reason for the song’s exclusion from the original lineup except to say, “It’s a strange song, not really commercial, and something we wrote early, early on in our career, not for the Surrender project” (the liner notes also mention it was first recorded by singer Mary Love in 1967). So, of course, the question is — does “Baby I’ll Come” match the quality of the eleven songs that did make the album?

Incredibly, yes.

Opening with a striking, staccato piano line unlike anything else on the Surrender album, “Baby I’ll Come” soon erupts into the kind of sizzling, soulful groove that Ashford and Simpson became known for with songs like “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. In fact, the driving percussion here is extremely similar to that song’s, though the melody line on this tune is more challenging and abstract. Diana’s performance here is as vibrant and soulful as on songs like “And If You See Him” from the original LP; listen to her voice build through the first minute of running time, from the deep, breathy delivery of the initial words through the soaring “I’ll come!” refrain. This is the kind of singing that only Ashford and Simpson seemed capable of drawing from her in those early days; her “…baby, BABY, I’ll come!” at 1:18 displays the kind of abandon that she would rarely show in the next few years, once she was into her more sophisticated, muted work. She is especially strong starting at 1:50, with, “I’ll love you more for saying you’re wrong…” and continuing through the end of the song; there’s a real power and elasticity to her voice that would surprise many who don’t consider Diana Ross a “real” soul singer. She was — and is — and it was never more evident than on her work with Ashford and Simpson. While Simpson says the song isn’t “commercial,” there is something about it that sounds modern today; the muscular piano line that drives much of the tune and the complexity of the melody give it a timeless feel, and it’s not hard to imagine someone like Alicia Keys covering it. That is, of course, true of much of the Surrender album; the performances of everyone involved are so good that they just don’t date the way other material from the early 70s does.

Though leaving the song off of Surrender‘s final lineup obviously doesn’t hurt the LP, the addition of “Baby I’ll Come” wouldn’t have hurt it, either; it probably could have worked well between the tenth and eleventh tracks, serving as a bridge between the soulful, peppy “I’m A Winner” and the darker, more intricate “All The Befores.” In any case, it’s a thrill to hear today; it’s further proof that Ashford and Simpson were the perfect teammates for Diana Ross, pushing her to push herself in the studio and allowing her to feel confident enough in her voice to really show off and explore the top and bottom ends of her range. “Baby I’ll Come” is a welcome addition to what is already one of the absolute shining moments of Diana Ross’s long, storied career.