Buzzfeed: 19 Essential Diana Ross Songs of the 1990's.

Here is the latest Buzzfeed article from Facebook.com/DianainSimsbury

http://www.buzzfeed.com/dianainsimsb...the-1990s-idf9

Another pretty good list; I would have included the duets, Love is All That Matters and I've Got a Crush on You, Brandy and Rod Stewart.

I would have included "Let Somebody Know" from the USA edition of the Take Me Higher album. How this was left off the UK version of this album amazes me as this is one of the best ballads of her career in my opinion.

A fantastic song and a fantastic performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpYfV3s8MoA

Interesting list.

Diana had had many great songs in the 90s which were deserving of success in the US and it's hard to know exactly what went wrong.

I suppose you need radio play to break a track and it would seem that radio in general had more or less stopped supporting Diana around the mid-80s.

It seems to be a generally accepted fact that RCA had given up on her at around this period but was it a chicken and egg situation? Perhaps they gave up because they felt they were battering against a brick wall trying to get airplay while Radio passed on her product because of the half-hearted promotion by the record company.

I don't know the position with Motown in the US in the 90s but but I get the impression they weren't putting in a lot of effort on her behalf.

I'd love to know just how hard they pushed with Take Me Higher? It was in the Bubbling Under Billboard chart for 7 weeks reaching #114 so a real effort could probably have broken it although for all I know maybe there was one?

Take the dance edit of Until we Meet Again. It reached #2 on the dance chart so there was obviously potential but Motown never even bothered releasing it as a single.

Although the 90s were quite a successful period for Diana in the UK there were missed opportunities.

Practically the only country where Diana was not her biggest selling album was here. That accolade belonged to The Force Behind The Power which although it didn't go top 10 peaking at #11 it sold steadily over a long period being the #51 best selling album in both 1991 and 1992 and falling not far short of double platinum.

Th glorious When You Tell Me That You Love Me was the song that put Diana firmly back in favour with the British public just missing out on the Christmas #1 slot but EMI missed an opportunity by overlooking Battlefield - a Michael Carrick song and a throwback to her Supremes' days. Most of the UK music press was sneering of Diana by this time but it was the one track which received rave reviews when the album was released.

Then there was Promise Me You'll Try which for some strange reason only ever released in the Far East. Although not exactly cutting edge - it was a super pop/dance track a la Stock/Aiken/Waterman and had smash hit written all over it for the UK as this genre of music was huge in this period.

Although Every Day Is A New Day barely troubled the chart in the UK Not Over You Yet went top 10 and yet EMI didn't bother to release a second single which could have reignited interest in the album.

They had the perfect track in the dance mix of the aforementioned Until We Meet Again big on the US dance scene.

Odd because EMI UK were generally very good at marketing Diana.

take out I WILL SURVIVE and add in TOO MANY HIGHTS or PROMISE YOU'LL TRY......WAS one shining moment listed?another gem

The duet with Rod Stewart was actually released in 2005. I think she should have at least gotten a lot more AC air play with some of the ballads. For me, those are the highlights of TMH and EDIAND. The rest seemed a little too "youthful" although "Take Me Higher" and "Until We Meet Again" were dynamite club hits.

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Originally Posted by florence

Interesting list.

Diana had had many great songs in the 90s which were deserving of success in the US and it's hard to know exactly what went wrong.

I suppose you need radio play to break a track and it would seem that radio in general had more or less stopped supporting Diana around the mid-80s.

It seems to be a generally accepted fact that RCA had given up on her at around this period but was it a chicken and egg situation? Perhaps they gave up because they felt they were battering against a brick wall trying to get airplay while Radio passed on her product because of the half-hearted promotion by the record company.

I don't know the position with Motown in the US in the 90s but but I get the impression they weren't putting in a lot of effort on her behalf.

I'd love to know just how hard they pushed with Take Me Higher? It was in the Bubbling Under Billboard chart for 7 weeks reaching #114 so a real effort could probably have broken it although for all I know maybe there was one?

Take the dance edit of Until we Meet Again. It reached #2 on the dance chart so there was obviously potential but Motown never even bothered releasing it as a single.

Although the 90s were quite a successful period for Diana in the UK there were missed opportunities.

Practically the only country where Diana was not her biggest selling album was here. That accolade belonged to The Force Behind The Power which although it didn't go top 10 peaking at #11 it sold steadily over a long period being the #51 best selling album in both 1991 and 1992 and falling not far short of double platinum.

Th glorious When You Tell Me That You Love Me was the song that put Diana firmly back in favour with the British public just missing out on the Christmas #1 slot but EMI missed an opportunity by overlooking Battlefield - a Michael Carrick song and a throwback to her Supremes' days. Most of the UK music press was sneering of Diana by this time but it was the one track which received rave reviews when the album was released.

Then there was Promise Me You'll Try which for some strange reason only ever released in the Far East. Although not exactly cutting edge - it was a super pop/dance track a la Stock/Aiken/Waterman and had smash hit written all over it for the UK as this genre of music was huge in this period.

Although Every Day Is A New Day barely troubled the chart in the UK Not Over You Yet went top 10 and yet EMI didn't bother to release a second single which could have reignited interest in the album.

They had the perfect track in the dance mix of the aforementioned Until We Meet Again big on the US dance scene.

Odd because EMI UK were generally very good at marketing Diana.

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Florence,
You make a lot of really great points here, some of which are also mentioned in the original article. I think that a lot of the problem in the 1990's with Motown stems from a power struggle. I believe that often the people running the label didn't want to do things Diana's way and vice versa. So when they couldn't come to an agreement they would pull support from Diana's projects. I believe this happened both on Take Me Higher and Every Day is a New Day.

NOt to mention Diana aged out of the pop market in the US by the mid 80s.

I enjoyed this thread, but I never cared for any of Diana's hip-hop nor "current"-styled R&B sound. It seemed like she was trying to be something she wasn't in order to appeal to the younger record-buying public but it didn't work. The kids didn't want to buy music by an artist old enough to be their grandmother, and Diana's faithful [[older) fans didn't like the new style at all. To my ears, Diana sounds best when she sticks to what she does best -- dance/disco tracks, jazz, and power ballads. I was surprised and disappointed that tracks like Battlefield, One Shining Moment, and Someone That You Loved Before didn't make the above list of her most important recordings. Go figure!

Almost forgot --Also, add to Diana's Best 1990's Top Contenders List "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "When You Dream", and "Promise Me You'll Try".

Too bad no love for Stolen Moments, which was her best 90s project. Her near acapella rendition of Strange Fruit should have been listed. Much more powerful song and performance than any of the interchangeable R and B midtemp songs that appeared on Take Me Higher or Every Day is a New day.

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Originally Posted by smark21

Too bad no love for Stolen Moments, which was her best 90s project. Her near acapella rendition of Strange Fruit should have been listed. Much more powerful song and performance than any of the interchangeable R and B midtemp songs that appeared on Take Me Higher or Every Day is a New day.

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You're right, smark21. "Stolen Moments", especially the DVD version, was pure class from start to finish. Diana Ross excels in the jazz medium. And, man, those jazz musicians in that show could really SWING! It was top drawer all the way!

Hey Motown Gary. I'd have to disagree with you. I think to the contrary Diana was keeping up with the times WITHOUT sounding like something she wasn't. I think Diana's 90's work is some of her most true artistic work, as far as song selection in relation to where she was in her life. I think TMH is a very sexy and youthful album, but never too immature for Diana in production or lyrical content. If you look at Diana's life and her physical appearance and energy at the time, I think the TMH album is exactly where she was coming from. She had just turned 50. She felt and WAS as sexy as ever, or sexier, because she had experience and wisdom now. I love that about Diana's 90's era work. Take a look at the commentary in the article regarding songs like "Swing it" and "Don't Stop" they sum up how Diana was striking a balance between a woman of experience but also still feeling youthful and sexy. Songs like "Don't Stop," "Keep It Right There," and "Swing it" are all songs that convey a great deal of confidence. They are commanding, and delivered perfectly from a woman who knows what she wants. A girl couldn't deliver those lyrics to the same affect. I think the TMH project was very well balanced in terms of content and that also helped her pull off those sexy more hip hop driven numbers... it wasn't the whole album, there was a balance between house, AC, Pop, Hip Hop, and jazz. Diana gets to really flex her versatility muscle. Something many artists can't do or can't do nearly as well as Diana. "Battlefield" and "One Shining Moment" are both excellent example of Diana at her best. However the list being only 19 songs long, there wasn't room for everything and precedence was given to the songs that for the most part could still be released today and not sound very dated. This brings us to "Someone That You Loved Before" Diane Warren turns in a great lyric and composition here, and Diana an incredible vocal performance. Sadly this song is a bit over produced with too much emphasis on computer generated instrumentation. This song sounded dated even in 1999 with this production and would've been more believable as part of "Working Overtime or "Force Behind The Power." Had the production been paired back a little bit, with a real piano and real strings, guitars and drums, I think this probably would have been one her best recordings..... ever. The vocal, lyric and composition warrant it.

I left Stolen Moments out because it is a live album, not a studio album. It was also left out because Stolen Moments as a project is it's own reflection back on Billie Holiday's music and Diana's work in the film and Gil Askeys arrangements. It's a special project that stands alone really and it didn't make sense in the scope of this retrospective or Diana's original material from the 90's.

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Originally Posted by DianaLove

Hey Motown Gary. I'd have to disagree with you. I think to the contrary Diana was keeping up with the times WITHOUT sounding like something she wasn't. I think Diana's 90's work is some of her most true artistic work, as far as song selection in relation to where she was in her life. I think TMH is a very sexy and youthful album, but never too immature for Diana in production or lyrical content. If you look at Diana's life and her physical appearance and energy at the time, I think the TMH album is exactly where she was coming from. She had just turned 50. She felt and WAS as sexy as ever, or sexier, because she had experience and wisdom now. I love that about Diana's 90's era work. Take a look at the commentary in the article regarding songs like "Swing it" and "Don't Stop" they sum up how Diana was striking a balance between a woman of experience but also still feeling youthful and sexy. Songs like "Don't Stop," "Keep It Right There," and "Swing it" are all songs that convey a great deal of confidence. They are commanding, and delivered perfectly from a woman who knows what she wants. A girl couldn't deliver those lyrics to the same affect. I think the TMH project was very well balanced in terms of content and that also helped her pull off those sexy more hip hop driven numbers... it wasn't the whole album, there was a balance between house, AC, Pop, Hip Hop, and jazz. Diana gets to really flex her versatility muscle. Something many artists can't do or can't do nearly as well as Diana. "Battlefield" and "One Shining Moment" are both excellent example of Diana at her best. However the list being only 19 songs long, there wasn't room for everything and precedence was given to the songs that for the most part could still be released today and not sound very dated. This brings us to "Someone That You Loved Before" Diane Warren turns in a great lyric and composition here, and Diana an incredible vocal performance. Sadly this song is a bit over produced with too much emphasis on computer generated instrumentation. This song sounded dated even in 1999 with this production and would've been more believable as part of "Working Overtime or "Force Behind The Power." Had the production been paired back a little bit, with a real piano and real strings, guitars and drums, I think this probably would have been one her best recordings..... ever. The vocal, lyric and composition warrant it.

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I never said that I don’t like Diana’s 1990's Motown recordings. Some of them are great and classic Motown/Diana. But others are....well,....not at all Motown/Diana-sounding. Those are the songs that I don’t care for.

I also never said that Diana doesn’t look, act, and sound young. She is the most youthful, energetic performer I know with class and stage presence to spare. Hip-hop singers look and act young, too, but that doesn’t mean that Diana has to make music that appeals to 20-year-olds. The dismal failure of her "Workin’ Overtime" is a classic example.

To each his own. Beauty is in the ears of the beholder.