What a hidden gem.
those final Motown albums were practically kept secret by that version of Motown..
She did a great live version on the Tonight Show. I always wanted this to be released as a single in the Uk but was overuled. Instead they went with "gone" a beautiful song for sure but never a major hit single.
"Gone" is a lovely song, but agree it was never going to score big as a single . Had the exciting promo vid for the first single "Take Me Higher" been aired on Top Of The Pops UK, instead of Diana singing from the Motown Museum, that also would have made more of a splash.
TMH is a superb album that still sounds fresh today. Unforunately by this time, even in the UK Diana had to promote her music by way of tv appearances, as any new music by her was rarely heard on radio. As regards "If your Not Gonna Love Me", i do wonder if she was perhaps perceived by the public at large as being a little to mature to be singing those kind of lyrics.....Just a thought.
This is a great song but for me the most overlooked song from the Take Me Higher sessions is Let Somebody Know. This was not included on the UK version of the album for some strange reason. It is one of Diana's best vocal performances IMO and the lyrics are so true of life. A missed opportunity.
I don't know about her being too old to sing "If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right" but you can't deny its groove and Diana sings so seductively on it and very sassy... I do think had someone like Monifah sang it, she would've had a hit with it since she was popular around that time with "I Miss You". This song fits her sound... Which is why I loved it coming from Miss Ross.
great track and album
Thanks for posting, skool... hard to believe she was 51 in that clip. Looking 41 lol
What a fantastic video - such a lovely smiley performance with spot on vocal accuracy!
I wish Diana would include Let Somebody Know in her live performances. This song has such a spiritual feel to it and would be very suitable for her lower key voice these days.
Back in 1985, she did almost half of the album live. I remember seeing her at Wolftrap before TMH came out and I was amazed by all the new songs as well by her cover of I Will Survive -- brought the house down... of course, by now she has been singing I Will Survive for twenty years...
This sounded weak. She needed to come out with something strong after not hitting for such a long time.
This sounded weak. She needed to come out with something strong after not hitting for such a long time.
I really don't think one could call the song weak, perhaps a little to sophisticated for mass appeal. Regarding pop hits, "I Will Survive" without doubt should have been the lead single, followed by "Swing It"...... All in all a fine album.
I thought [[and still do) think it was a great song. Even the specialist Radio Soul Shows which rarely played her music in the UK picked up on the remixes and everything looked good for a decent size hit over here, but EMI UK ignored them and went with the totally uncommercial "gone", which meant the chances of a major hit were "gone".
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