Underrated D.R. Tracks

[Koach]

I know many people dislike the Everything is Everything album. It's not a real favorite of mine either, but there a few stand out tracks. My favorite is How About You. I feel it's one of her most underrated songs of the early 70s. What songs do you nominate for this thread?

[Ryon6]

My favorites from this album are "Baby Its Love", "My Place" and "Call Me".

Tyrone

[blackguy69]

I did like the Everything is Everything, but it didnt sound like solo Diana. it ended up sounding like vaulted DRATS material. but i always thought Gettin Ready for Love and the whole Baby Its Me album didnt get that much love

[jobeterob]

Baby It's Love, Call Me and My Place were clearly the standouts. Also, her version of The Long and Winding Road is good. Is it on this album? I forget.

[smark21]

Blame it on the Sun from The Force Behind the Power album; the entire Stolen Moments project; Remember from the I Love You album

[longtimefan]

Don't forget ... Diana's cover of "Call Me" was nominated for a Grammy in 1972! Amazing!

[franjoy56]

I know many people dislike the Everything is Everything album. It's not a real favorite of mine either, but there a few stand out tracks. My favorite is How About You. I feel it's one of her most underrated songs of the early 70s. What songs do you nominate for this thread?

I love aint no sad song, the surrender tracks, baby its me, and the 1980 diana album

[BayouMotownMan]

Something's On My Mind should have been a single
Reach Out I'll Be There and Surrender should have been much bigger
Just about every song on the Touch Me In The Morning lp had
single potential especially Brown Baby
My Mistake should have been the debut single off Diana & Marvin
I Thought It Took A Little Time is gorgeous and should not have been
pulled. She could have had a No. 1 and a Top Ten at the same time
The Same Love That Made Me Laugh should have been a single
It's My House should have been bigger than The Boss

[Ngroove]

"Workin' Overtime" - R&B charts, no problem - but Pop - Come On!!! It was jammin', New Jack Swingy, Diana, in my opinion, caught up to where it's at! She even had "edgy" ripped jeans and busted some moves!

But, to the pop people - to all who might have dismissed it by then as she's "too old" to be doing that - my opinion - she was still a BABE - then and still a babe throughout the nineties - not to say she's not still beautiful now - which she is.

And it was a Nile Rodgers effort too, wasn't it - shoulda been bigger!

[jobeterob]

Lovely Day, Remember, Voice of the Heart, Love is Like An Itching in my Heart, And If You See Him,

[supremester]

Why [[Must We Fall In Love)
We Need You
Brown Baby
Love Twins
Just Say, Just Say
When Will I Come Home To You
We're Always Saying Goodbye
never Say I Don't Love You
Where Did we Go Wrong
Now That You're Gone
Love Lies
Thats How You Start Over
Nobody Makes Me Crazy
Gone
Blue
Most Of Take Me Higher
Hope Is An Open Window'
Your Love
It's My Turn
Bottom Line

[supremester]

I like the album a lot except the title track. It's my fave of the first 3 studio LPs. Yes, seriously. [[Minus ANMHE and Remember Me)

I know many people dislike the Everything is Everything album. It's not a real favorite of mine either, but there a few stand out tracks. My favorite is How About You. I feel it's one of her most underrated songs of the early 70s. What songs do you nominate for this thread?

[supremester]

Yes it is..........I like it too. I like her work with Deke...... he hears her like I do.

Baby It's Love, Call Me and My Place were clearly the standouts. Also, her version of The Long and Winding Road is good. Is it on this album? I forget.

[supremester]

I LOVE this thread!!!

Something's On My Mind should have been a single
[[HUH??????)
Reach Out I'll Be There and Surrender should have been much bigger
[[COULD have with a vastly different edit)
Just about every song on the Touch Me In The Morning lp had
single potential especially Brown Baby
[[Absolutely - so do they do? release only ONE LOL!!)
My Mistake should have been the debut single off Diana & Marvin
[[third: after Love Twins & Just Say, Just Say but before Pledging My Love)
I Thought It Took A Little Time is gorgeous and should not have been
pulled. She could have had a No. 1 and a Top Ten at the same time
[[it would have been her first top ten not to hit #1)
The Same Love That Made Me Laugh should have been a single
[[It's the ONLY single in BIM)
It's My House should have been bigger than The Boss
[[HUH???????......I think THE hit would have been I Ain't Been Licked)

This is perfect: I absolutely concur on many of your pics, and shake my head at others. As it should be.

[144man]

"I'm Still Waiting" was belatedly released as a single only because of its success in the UK. Did it deserve its release in the USA? If it hadn't have been released, would it have qualified as an underrated DR track?

[florence]

Must be a cultural thing - whilst Everything Is Everything is for me mostly an album of fillers the two standout tracks are I'm Still Waiting and Doobe'Dood'nDoobe both successful singles in the UK particularly ISW.

I thought I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For you had smash written all over it - Diana gives a really brilliantly, heartfelt performance.

From the much underrated Silk Electric album two great ballads Still In Love and In Your Arms.

[ejluther]

Another bit of love for an underrated SILK ELECTRIC track [[even though it was a single) the fun doo-wop cut "SO CLOSE"

[ejluther]

And I've always thought her version of "REACH OUT, I'LL BE THERE" deserves more love [[also an official single):

[honest man]

And I've always thought her version of "REACH OUT, I'LL BE THERE" deserves more love [[also an official single):

Does nothing for me ,to long and tiresome bores me actually ,cannot get to like it.,But just my taste,love EVERYTHING about Everything is Everything album,one of my faves,lovely cover of Close to you. Waiting in the Wings another great song trom Force Behind Power album,cheers.

[honest man]

Forgot to mention Love Everything album cover,it was worth buying for cover alone at the time ha,not to forget the great Tammi Terrell sound Come on and see me [how about you].what a brilliant nod to 60s Motown that song was,cheers.

[sup_fan]

wow - great list of songs here. i agree with lots of them. trying to add a few more

Bottom Line [[workin' overtime)
battlefield [[force behind)
My place [[everything is everything)
we need you and almost everything on Touch Me
The Boss and It's my house both should have charted higher

[captainjames]

When I first heard the " Everything Is Everything" album I said ....Oh its not !!....I grew to Love the songs " I'm Still Waiting", " Baby Its Love" and that DoBeNDo" song.

[Roberta75]

I think Diane sings Forever Young better than anyone Ive ever heard. its real, real pretty.

Roberta

[florence]

Such a sad end to Diana's [[at the time) Motown career.

As a Brit I wouldn't have my finger on the pulse of the US market but surely Stay With Me was crying out to be the lead single from To Love Again?

And how on earth did Never Say I Don't Love You lie unnoticed on the Ross 78 album for years? It's right up there among the very best of Diana's ballads and surely screams COMMERCIAL!

[mowsville]

On the subject of Everthing is Everything who is/are the male voice/voices on the track "baby it's love".

[stephanie]

My Place should have been the single for Everything is Everything! I dont know why Im Still Waiting didnt do as well in the US as it did in Britain I will always be confused about that. How come nobody mentions I Heard a Love Song from The Last Time I Saw Him album that would have made a great single hit. Maybe its me but I am shocked that Last Time I Saw Him even made it on the charts when I first heard it I couldnt believe it was Diana Ross! Maybe the people in Nashville bought it and didnt tell anyone I cant listen to that song.

[stephanie]

I sometimes wonder now at 70 if Diana Ross looks at the performance of her and Bertie Pickett together on Red Hot Rhythm and Blues. It would be interesting to know how she feels about that performance it was interesting.

[supremester]

I love My Place - but cannot see it hitting - instead, like many of her early solo singles, winding up in format Purgatory. I think the Black stations wooda had an especially hard time with it - plus it didn't fit AC either, so it needed strong Pop play - and I just don't think it was gonna get adds where it would need them. I think it would have sounded OK on the radio, however if it got the chance.

I'm Still Waiting followed three unsuccessful singles in a successive rate of flopnosity. If Remember Me couldN'T get adds, and the dirge Reach Out I'll Be There did half of what Remember Me did, and the THIS-IS-A-SINGLE???? sURRENDER DID EVEN WORSE,. By the time IMW came out, the album had dropped off the chart, she hadn't worked in over half a year and never promoted any of her early singles on TV anyway. The first was Mahogany. Plus, JMC were slipping, and Touch was laying an egg, Bless You was gasping for breath so here comes another single from a weakened group of Motown females. PLUS, to my horror, they cut off the last 25% of the song......ruining it. I think if she had done it on TV a few times it would have hit. It needed to be heard. Even Reach Out2 would probably have found an audience if she had worked in on TV and/or her special.

In '73 Motown messed up Miss Ross so badly, I'm surprised Touch Me in the Morning got out as a 45 - and they even botched that initially. A killer record like that had a very slow start also. I liked i Heard a Love Song except for that cornball lrric in the beginning: within ya/Virginia - LOL - geez - has nothing to do with anything - might as well have been "ya never even talked to my kin - ya..." There was something to work with, but that album was a hot mess and why it was rushed out baffles me.

My Place should have been the single for Everything is Everything! I dont know why Im Still Waiting didnt do as well in the US as it did in Britain I will always be confused about that. How come nobody mentions I Heard a Love Song from The Last Time I Saw Him album that would have made a great single hit. Maybe its me but I am shocked that Last Time I Saw Him even made it on the charts when I first heard it I couldnt believe it was Diana Ross! Maybe the people in Nashville bought it and didnt tell anyone I cant listen to that song.

[rovereab]

After the success of Not Over You Yet in the UK I am very surprised that Carry On was not released as a follow up or even an edit of Every Day Is New Day. Both are strong underrated songs.

[Jimi LaLumia]

the cover of "I Will Survive" , when it was released as a single, never got the push it should have had..it could be re issued right now and do better as a result of this "Motown Year" we're in ..

[TheMotownManiac]

Motown never issued I Will Survive as a single. EMI did with a lot of success.

[stephanie]

After the success of Not Over You Yet in the UK I am very surprised that Carry On was not released as a follow up or even an edit of Every Day Is New Day. Both are strong underrated songs. Rove said this......

Rove I wondered the same thing Carry On was brilliant! Ross was in fine form vocally and I wonder did Martha Wash or someone of her ilk do this because it sounds so good I cant imagine some disco diva doing this song prior. This is the only song on this album I could play over and over.

[stephanie]

Supremester I wonder if they thought that Diana in white and that red background light would help to sell the record. It reminds me of that "blue lights in the basement look" that Martha and the Vandellas had on their last album Black Magic. Motown seemed to be giving an ethereal look to things. I bought it because of the cover not for that song Last Time I Saw Him. I will always believe she should have done another song on the Muppets too not Love Hangover it was too creepy looking to me. Was it Love Hangover I forgot?

I think I Will Survive was left alone out of respect for Gloria Gaynor I could be wrong.

[Jaap]

I think I Will Survive was left alone out of respect for Gloria Gaynor I could be wrong.

I think it is more likely that -- if US Motown ever considered releasing I Will Survive as a single -- they were beat by the version of Chantay Savage that come out around the same time [[and became a moderate hit).