Essential Diana Ross!

Advantages: Every Track Is A Winner!
Disadvantages: None!

...By the end of the 1970's Diana Ross' recording career was back on shaky ground. Her studio albums, the excellent Baby It's Me (1977) and the hodge podge production of Ross (1978) had sold disappointingly. Not only that but her third silver screen venture The Wiz (1978) performed badly at the Box Office and became something of an embarassing fiasco to all concerned, not least to Ross who was virtually ridiculed by critics. Diana Ross always had that drive, determination and uncanny ability to bounce back no matter what set back her career endured (and she certainly has had more than her fair share of set-backs, especially in more recent years). At the fall of 1979 she wisely focused her attention on fixing her flagging recording career. As it stood, she hadn't had a major chart hit since 1976 with the exciting, tempo-shifting Disco...

IanPhillips 06.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Boss, The [Remastered] - Diana Ross

The landmark Album Of Diana Ross' Solo Career

Advantages: All eight tracks are masterpieces
Disadvantages: None

...diana - The Landmark Album Of Diana Ross Solo Career Nov 03 '06 Author's Product Rating Pros All eight recordings are pure R&B/Pop masterpieces and Ross is in superb voice throughout! Cons Would have been nice to have had more tracks but I guess less is more! The Bottom Line diana is a riotously funky masterpiece and arguably Diana Ross' most exciting, consistent studio projects. Full Review Legendary soul diva Diana Ross had not fully been recognised by critics as an important albums act at the point when the excellent diana had been released. Her studio albums had always drawn a mixed critical response though some met wide acclaim such as her magnificent and totally stunning debut Diana Ross (1970), Lady Sings The Blues Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1972), the absolutley superb, divine Diana Ross (1976...

IanPhillips 03.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Diana [Remastered] - Diana Ross

A celebration of Diana's life...

Advantages: Heart warming and sometimes harrowing account of life with a chronically ill family member, balanced with lots of humour
Disadvantages: Stock up on tissues...

...Normally, as a very fast reader, I can sit down with a paperback and whiz through it in a few hours, finish the thing, and then think no more about it. Until I read a copy of ‘Diana's Story’ by Deric Longden. This book moved me beyond words and for the first time in my life, I felt compelled to put pen to paper and drop a note to the author to congratulate him on a very wonderful and very sad but true story. I wanted to thank him for sharing his heart breaking account of life with M.E. sufferer Diana (his wife) and for portraying an M.E. sufferer as a real life human being with thoughts, strengths, humour, intelligence and wit and not just as an 'invalid'. Maybe I'm a little biased, as I am recovering from M.E. myself, but Longden's heart-warming and loving account of his life with this brave, funny and wonderful lady...

Squiggles 27.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Diana's Story - Deric Longden

The Very Best Of Diana Ross

Advantages: These are three of Diana Ross' best albums
Disadvantages: NONE!

...Lady Sings The Blues premiered to an eager, anticipating audience in October 1972. The public flocked in droves to the cinemas to see this much-hyped film, whilst critics watched intensley and eagerly sharpened their pencils. Soul singer and Motown legend, Diana Ross controversially took the role of the tortured Jazz legend, Billie Holiday and deservedly won wide critical acclaim for her harrowing and riviting performance in the film which subsequently gained her an oscar nomination (though Diana sadly lost out to Liza Minnelli for Cabaret - people claimed this was down to Berry Gordy's over-kill campaign to get her to win where Berry sent various extravagent gifts to members of the comittee which was merely perceived as a ploy to get her to win). Critics were instantly silenced on hearing the movies quintessential and divine...

IanPhillips 16.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Diana/Lady Sings The Blues/The Boss - Diana Ross

Diana Ross' Magnificent Solo Debut

Advantages: The exalting soul classic, Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Disadvantages: None!

...On the 15 January, 1970 at the prestigous Las Vegas Frontier Hotel, Diana Ross played her final concert with The Supremes - who remain the worlds biggest female vocal group of all time. At Ross' fawell concert she introduced her replacement Jean Terrell up on stage. The media then inevitably hyped up supposed competition between Diana Ross the solo star and The "New" Supremes. Indeed Ross opened up her first solo engagement with the words "Good evening ladies and gentleman and welcome to the lets see if Diana Ross can make it on her own show". She need not have worried! Diana Ross' solo career had been initially planned as far back as 1966 and rumours had been circulating in the media for quite some time about her imminent departure from the group. In 1969, when still offically a supreme, Ross recorded four tracks with Bonie...

IanPhillips 25.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Diana Ross [Remastered] - Diana Ross

Diana Ross' 1995 Studio Entry

Advantages: The urban R&B material
Disadvantages: Some of the ballads are just routine

...In late 1995 soul music legend Diana Ross returned with her first studio project in over four years. Whilst not quite duplicating the commercial success she enjoyed in Britain with The Force Behind The Power (1991)album, it was still indeed an enduring success that rapidly swept into the U.K Top 10 Album Charts. A series of producers are to be credited on the Take Me Higher album. These include Diana Ross herself, The Boom Brothers (a U.S Rap Group), Naranda Michael Walden (who also produced various work for another soul diva Whitney Houston), Rick Martinelli and Jon-John. Renowned producer Babyface puts his excellent production skills into full use on the more urban R&B/Hip Hop offerings (Swing It and Keep It Right There). Diana Ross obviously was wanting to hit the charts again as she once and reach that crucial younger generation...

IanPhillips 12.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Take Me Higher - Diana Ross

Diana, I'm On Your Side From This Moment On

Advantages: A well interpreted rendition of the blues
Disadvantages: none

...If this review puts me in the light as a knight riding in shining armor out to help a damsel in distress, I don?t mind at all. And I don?t mind taking sides for and in behalf of Diana Krall, that sultry-voiced singer and pianist who caught the jazz music arena by storms. But then there are negative reviews. And I can?t help it. The spectrum of reviews and critics from all walks of life is very wide ..There are critics/reviewers who think this album released in 2006 by the Verve Music Group, has pulled her banners down since her momentously great performance in ?Live In Paris?. There is no point comparing her to Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughn who are equally hall-of -famers in the jazz world but whose style completely differs from that of Diana Krall. The former two sing in long syllables that end in the melisma( a style which is even...

bertalways 23.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of From This Moment On - Diana Krall

Diana Ross' Last Album For Motown

Advantages: Some of Diana Ross' most beautiful ballads
Disadvantages: None!

...In early 1981 it was announced that Diana Ross was leaving Motown Records after twenty years for a reported $20,000,000 deal with RCA Records. After riding high on the success of the dynamic diana (1980) album, Diana Ross was certainly in a position to pick and choose. Following the news of her departure, Motown issued one last album, To Love Again which featured new-at-the-time-of-release songs as well as some old hits and tracks directly plucked from various albums. If anything it was a celebratory exercise to mark her dynamic combination with songwriter Michael Masser who later went on to produce Whitney Houston. To Love Again (1981) was deleted from Motown's catologue some years ago but re-surfaced in January 2003 with the bonus adding of some rare material and 1 unreleased track. Motown has finally recognised the potential in...

IanPhillips 18.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of To Love Again (Remastered And Expanded) - Diana Ross

Diana Ross Flys Back Into The British Top 10

Advantages: Contains 5 U.K Top 40 hits
Disadvantages: Not enough up-tempo numbers

...Diana Ross' recording career had taken a bit of a slide commercially in the late 1980's. The electric Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (1987) went by with barley any acknowledgement whilst the hip-hop sounds on the Workin' Overtime (1989) album was virtually ridiculed. However in 1991 she returned to her passion for love ballads on The Force Behind The Power album which saw Diana Ross zoom back into the Top 10 charts in the U.K and catapulted her back into view with the media. There were 5 U.K Top 40 entries, two of those going Top 10. The album would be variably produced by James Anthony Carmichael, Stevie Wonder and Diana herself. Apparently she turned to old Motown stable mates Smokey Robinson and the record labels founder, Berry Gordy for inspiration for this studio set which as she quoted herself was because "they know what songs I like...

IanPhillips 17.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Force Behind The Power - Diana Ross

Diana Ross' 1982 Gold-Selling Album

Advantages: Tracks like Who and Muscles
Disadvantages: Too many mediocre tracks

...a whole lot better. So Close is more vintage Diana Ross deeming it one of the best tracks on Silk Electric. The musical arrangements encapsulates a distinctley 1960's feel that is given a sharp, contemporary twist. Ross' exuberant delivery is crystal clear and evocative. Though So Close sounded like a sure-fire smash hit the track only struggled into the lower reaches on both the U.K and U.S Top 50 charts. Still In Love contains a touching performance from Ross amongst the schmaltzy, familiar arrangements whilst more startling than ever is her stab at (of all things) heavy metal on the rocking Fool For Your Love. This was a commendable and brave experiment on Ross' part but her voice sounds almost lost in the mix (though thankfully she has never delved into this genre again). Turn Me Over is a pointless inclusion to the CD mastered...

IanPhillips 14.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Silk Electric - Diana Ross