Wrong Lead Single - Ross lps

[Ollie9]

You must bear in mind that the "workin overtime" album had already been released when i came on board. From what i heard it appears she had met with Motown execs upon her return to the label to discuss the first project. Janet Jackson was very big at this time and certain people thought Diana should go down that particular avenue and have a younger more streetwise image and sound. Initially she embraced the idea and was open to working with Nile Rodgers again however the finished project was not what had been hoped for. Diana wanted to scrap the album and start again but had insufficient time to deliver new product, and therefore had to make do with the songs already recorded. It is true she had a major say in the first single and then had a change of heart when it was too late to change it. She said she would look ridiculous performing it on prime time TV and just plain refused to sing that song. It was decided that "this house" would be the easiest song to rehearse with only 1 day to spare. She worked so hard that day and sang the song as well as it could be sang. She bonded quite well with Terry Wogan who was a long standing fan and the interview went well. Motown wanted some comeback on their investment so she agreed to sing several album tracks on that tour but promptly dropped them all at the end of that tour.

Thanks Bluebrock, all this makes sense now. I enjoy "WO" better then any album she ever recorded for RCA.
I remember feeling hugely dissapointed when the cd box set was released. The remastering was crap, the cheap packaging made it difficult to take the cd out and there was nothing rare from her back catalouge on it. It even had the wrong track listing. It has to be said that it paled considerably when compared to the slick box set Columbia released on Streisand around the time. What went wrong?.
Was all of this your doin????.................JUST JOKING!!!

[Bluebrock]

Thanks Bluebrock, all this makes sense now. I enjoy "WO" better then any album she ever recorded for RCA.
I remember feeling hugely dissapointed when the cd box set was released. The remastering was crap, the cheap packaging made it difficult to take the cd out and there was nothing rare from her back catalouge on it. It even had the wrong track listing. It has to be said that it paled considerably when compared to the slick box set Columbia released on Streisand around the time. What went wrong?.
Was all of this your doin????.................JUST JOKING!!!

Ollie - had i had any input in this project it would have been much better - i promise you that. My only contribution was to promote it. I think more thought was given to her "sparrow" book which came out around the same time. We picked up the pieces as best we could , worked with what we had and did a pretty decent job if i say so myself!!

[detmotownguy]

In Detroit at the Fox Theater: after performing a couple of songs from WO she asked if they liked it.......response was luke warm. It seemed as though ahe was really unsure of the WO project. she then proceeded to run the the 60's hits with lightening speed and a lack of interest. The other songs sounded good.

[soulster]

You sound like you know what you are talking about soulster. The box set should have been much better and i do believe someone once said that the UK version had stronger mastering than the USA one. Having never heard the USA one i couldn't possibly comment but i agree that the tracklisting could have been improved, The days of such box sets appear to be behind us so i am not expecting a call anytime soon to compile a new one sadly!

And I would leave off The Supremes tracks. If we're talking about her solo career, there's no need to put the group stuff on it. And, I would use the mono mixes where applicable.

"Workin' Overtime" would be on it.

[soulster]

Thanks Bluebrock, all this makes sense now. I enjoy "WO" better then any album she ever recorded for RCA.
I remember feeling hugely dissapointed when the cd box set was released. The remastering was crap, the cheap packaging made it difficult to take the cd out and there was nothing rare from her back catalouge on it. It even had the wrong track listing. It has to be said that it paled considerably when compared to the slick box set Columbia released on Streisand around the time. What went wrong?.
Was all of this your doin????.................JUST JOKING!!!

It was explained that the box was entirely Ross Records' deal. All Motown did was release and distribute it. Needless to say, Ross's people were in charge, and she appears to have done it as cheaply as possible.

I'm not the biggest Ross fan by any means, but even I thought that it was a shoddy way to treat a major recording artist, from the mastering to the packaging. When I found out it was Ross's company that put it together, it made me wonder even more why she wouldn't ensure that it was worthy. I got rid of the box as soon as I could. I didn't even want it in my sight! Much later, Harry Weinger would produce the 2-CD The Diana Ross Motown Anthology, and that is much better, but it's not a box, and i'm not totally satisfied with Suha Gur's work on it.

[daviddh]

I do think that in the 80s, she got a bit stale. Red Hot was a really good album and if it was released in maybe 83,it would have worked but by 1987, it wasn't working ,unless you were a long lost fan like many of us.
Tell Me Again as a single,yikes! not for me.Shine, Summertime.
I thought that THE FORCE was a great album and would have chosen Change OF Heart as first single,then Waiting In The Wings,One Shining Moment
I always hoped and thought Take Me Higher should have been a her return to Motown album,great album.I would have gone with If Youre Not Gonna Love Me Right, as second single.
why wasn't NOt Over You Yet released as a single here in US. I think the USA screwed her up.
back at RCA, SO Close, Up Front nope not for me.

[reese]

why wasn't NOt Over You Yet released as a single here in US.

By the time EVERYDAY IS A NEW DAY was released [[1999), a lot of US labels weren't releasing commercial singles on their artists. A 12-inch was released of UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, with a sticker mistakenly labeled EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY before being corrected. Other songs like the title track and SUGARFREE were released on promo cds only.

[soulster]

"Up Front" would have been better if Ray Parker Jr. had kept it for himself.

[Bluebrock]

I do think that in the 80s, she got a bit stale. Red Hot was a really good album and if it was released in maybe 83,it would have worked but by 1987, it wasn't working ,unless you were a long lost fan like many of us.
Tell Me Again as a single,yikes! not for me.Shine, Summertime.
I thought that THE FORCE was a great album and would have chosen Change OF Heart as first single,then Waiting In The Wings,One Shining Moment
I always hoped and thought Take Me Higher should have been a her return to Motown album,great album.I would have gone with If Youre Not Gonna Love Me Right, as second single.
why wasn't NOt Over You Yet released as a single here in US. I think the USA screwed her up.
back at RCA, SO Close, Up Front nope not for me.

The USA did come out with some odd choices for singles and it is little wonder so many songs tanked. Diana must shoulder much of the blame here. She alienated those who were paid to promote her product and thus killed her RCA career. However , let's be honest. It was hardly a stellar period in her career., but the return to Motown, Workin overtime aside produced some of the finest music of her career and it is criminal that those final 3 albums could be so overlooked. Just look what we did with them here in the UK and i remain proud of what we achieved and i am delighted to say so did Diana.

[Ollie9]

When reflecting on Diana's stint at RCA, it always brings to mind a song featured on the soundtrack of Mahogany titled "Can You Hear It In My Music". For the most part the answer was no. I guess purely from a financial point of view the move made sense. RHRAB was an ok album and the music that followed for me was a real return to form and the Diana we all fell in love with.
After 85, i really don't think the USA would have bitten no matter how strong the first single was. They had turned her off. Europe was a different matter where a commercial lead single could still determine the success of a project.
It would indeed be very interesting to know what Diana herself really feels about her RCA years and the music she produced.

[Bluebrock]

When reflecting on Diana's stint at RCA, it always brings to mind a song featured on the soundtrack of Mahogany titled "Can You Hear It In My Music". For the most part the answer was no. I guess purely from a financial point of view the move made sense. RHRAB was an ok album and the music that followed for me was a real return to form and the Diana we all fell in love with.
After 85, i really don't think the USA would have bitten no matter how strong the first single was. They had turned her off. Europe was a different matter where a commercial lead single could still determine the success of a project.
It would indeed be very interesting to know what Diana herself really feels about her RCA years and the music she produced.

I think looking back she would not be proud of the first 3 albums. The move from motown gave her a huge financial boost and it seems that was more important than producing quality music. "wdffil" got her RCA career off to a successful start but it was a huge disappointment creatively after "the boss" and "diana". When she finally began to find her creative feet with "swept away" the writing was on the wall. She continued to alienate staff, producers and anyone else who disagreed with her. It could have been all so different.

[sansradio]

a song featured on the soundtrack of Mahogany titled "Can You Hear It In My Music"

On a side note, Ollie9, I'm not familiar with this title. Is it known under an alternate title as well?

[sup_fan]

her RCA work has grown on me. some i've started to enjoy quite a bit. i think her first lp or two were pretty good. I of course like 1980's diana but let's face it, it was hardly her most ambitious or vocally engaging lp. her singing on Baby's its me was much more satisfying.

i dislike how much she relied on echo and reverb. much of Eaten Alive is maddening - whispy breathy vocals and the Gibbs nasality combined with Diana's nasality is NOT a strong combo. Then there are RCA tracks like Tell Me Again where you really wish Michael Masser was producing.

IMO much of her lead singles on her 90s albums were too "inspirational" - like He Lives In You, Take me Higher, Force Behind the power. the lyrics try to be more of a message song and just don't really do it. borderline cheesy. on occasion those songs hit with the public. i would have opted to have more traditional love and romance lyrics.

[Bluebrock]

her RCA work has grown on me. some i've started to enjoy quite a bit. i think her first lp or two were pretty good. I of course like 1980's diana but let's face it, it was hardly her most ambitious or vocally engaging lp. her singing on Baby's its me was much more satisfying.

i dislike how much she relied on echo and reverb. much of Eaten Alive is maddening - whispy breathy vocals and the Gibbs nasality combined with Diana's nasality is NOT a strong combo. Then there are RCA tracks like Tell Me Again where you really wish Michael Masser was producing.

IMO much of her lead singles on her 90s albums were too "inspirational" - like He Lives In You, Take me Higher, Force Behind the power. the lyrics try to be more of a message song and just don't really do it. borderline cheesy. on occasion those songs hit with the public. i would have opted to have more traditional love and romance lyrics.

Did "he lives in you" get a single release in the States? If so then i never knew that. I tried hard to have it as the 2nd UK single but was overruled by someone with more influence than me who has since gone on to practically ruin a couple of other artists careers.Diana herself agreed with me to no avail.
I am glad you enjoyed the RCA period more than i did, yet i enjoyed "eaten alive" and i maintain to this very day that "crimes of passion" would have made a great follow up single to "chain reaction" over here. I agree the album wasn't as strong as "guilty" or "heartbreaker" but it was still by far her finest RCA effort up to that point. The Gibb brothers thought "chain reaction" to be their best ever production on another artist. I know that for a fact because Barry Gibb himself told me so. Despite this there were tensions in the studio which we shall not go into here.
I age that Michael Masser could have been a good choice on production duties for certain songs on "rhrab". He was approached to do some work on "fbtp" but discussions never really got out of 1st gear.

[Ollie9]

On a side note, Ollie9, I'm not familiar with this title. Is it known under an alternate title as well?

Not that i am aware of sansradio. It is the 4th track on the original film soundtrack recording.
Lovely it is to.....

[reese]

Did "he lives in you" get a single release in the States? If so then i never knew that. I tried hard to have it as the 2nd UK single but was overruled by someone with more influence than me who has since gone on to practically ruin a couple of other artists careers.Diana herself agreed with me to no avail.

EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY had no commercial releases in the US, aside from a 12-inch of UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN.

[Ollie9]

I know it's far from a great album, but I would liked to have seen "I Love You" released as a single in the UK and perhaps the rest of Europe. Diana's voice sounds younger and more engaged on this one song compared to others on the album. It is a heartfelt performance, and i think it could have done well with a little promo....A last "hurrah" perhaps!!!

[Bluebrock]

EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY had no commercial releases in the US, aside from a 12-inch of UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN.

Oh so they really did push that album didn't they?

[reese]

Oh so they really did push that album didn't they?

It came out at a bad time in Diana's life, with the divorce, Heathrow, and so forth. Besides appearances on OPRAH and THE VIEW, she didn't promote it. And the Oprah appearance was more geared to her tv-movie DOUBLE PLATINUM with Brandy.

[Bluebrock]

It came out at a bad time in Diana's life, with the divorce, Heathrow, and so forth. Besides appearances on OPRAH and THE VIEW, she didn't promote it. And the Oprah appearance was more geared to her tv-movie DOUBLE PLATINUM with Brandy.

We did lots of promotions in the UK. Numerous TV spots, radio, interviews. She was in good spirits for the most part.

[Bluebrock]

I know it's far from a great album, but I would liked to have seen "I Love You" released as a single in the UK and perhaps the rest of Europe. Diana's voice sounds younger and more engaged on this one song compared to others on the album. It is a heartfelt performance, and i think it could have done well with a little promo....A last "hurrah" perhaps!!!

It was a one album deal and there was never a question of a single being released. It was not even considered. I don't think a hit single was on that album but we shall never know for sure.

[daviddh]

I was under the impression that she wanted to do something different with her solo box set including a dvd and more bonus tracks but was told no. I think she gave up in the end because it seemed not to go her way, or that is how I was lead to believe .
I agree crimes of passion could have been a hit. also hard for me to say

[Bluebrock]

I was under the impression that she wanted to do something different with her solo box set including a dvd and more bonus tracks but was told no. I think she gave up in the end because it seemed not to go her way, or that is how I was lead to believe .
I agree crimes of passion could have been a hit. also hard for me to say

No, the box set was Diana's baby. She chose the tracks and she oversaw the packaging, photos etc. We had no input on that one.
it's hard for me to say is indeed a little gem. Once again it is Diana's fault that Luther did not produce a full album on her. He cherished this project , sent her demos, wined and dined her until she relented and they went into the studio and cut 4 tracks so i am told. Of the missing 3 one is a reworking of an old motown classic whilst the other 2 are Vandross/Marcus Miller originals of which one is a duet. I haven't heard these songs and i am not even 100% convinced they actually exist but i do know that Diana and Luther spent a week in a London studio in 1986. I was told this by one of her aides. Diana eventually decided on "ihfmts" and dumped the other 3. I would love to hear these tunes but Diana has the key to this vault which also contains many other discarded tracks from the RCA years.

[reese]

No, the box set was Diana's baby. She chose the tracks and she oversaw the packaging, photos etc. We had no input on that one.
it's hard for me to say is indeed a little gem. Once again it is Diana's fault that Luther did not produce a full album on her. He cherished this project , sent her demos, wined and dined her until she relented and they went into the studio and cut 4 tracks so i am told. Of the missing 3 one is a reworking of an old motown classic whilst the other 2 are Vandross/Marcus Miller originals of which one is a duet. I haven't heard these songs and i am not even 100% convinced they actually exist but i do know that Diana and Luther spent a week in a London studio in 1986. I was told this by one of her aides. Diana eventually decided on "ihfmts" and dumped the other 3. I would love to hear these tunes but Diana has the key to this vault which also contains many other discarded tracks from the RCA years.

If they exist, it is too bad they weren't released. I thought ITS HARD FOR ME TO SAY was one of the best tracks of her RCA years, and totally surprised when it wasn't released as the second single from RED HOT RHYTHM AND BLUES. Instead they put out TELL ME AGAIN which I understand was special to her as it was sung at her wedding to Arne by her minister Wintley Phipps.

[sansradio]

Not that i am aware of sansradio. It is the 4th track on the original film soundtrack recording.
Lovely it is to.....

Thanks, Ollie9. I've done the research; curiously, the cut-out LP I owned in the early '80s omits that track and "Christian's Theme." You learn something new every day here! I'd love a download; Universal, are you listening?

[soulster]

Concerning that box: It's proof that she needs direction. She isn't really capable of making good production decisions. I think the reason for this is because she came from a corporate culture [[Motown) where she didn't have to learn any of that. And, unlike her former peers at Motown, she didn't bother to learn. Having said that, I think the "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" album was one of those rare times she had it together, although I don't know how much input her engineer had.

[Bluebrock]

Concerning that box: It's proof that she needs direction. She isn't really capable of making good production decisions. I think the reason for this is because she came from a corporate culture [[Motown) where she didn't have to learn any of that. And, unlike her former peers at Motown, she didn't bother to learn. Having said that, I think the "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" album was one of those rare times she had it together, although I don't know how much input her engineer had.

It was all quite rushed. Quincy Jones had been approached to produce this album and he agreed but not until he had completed work on Patti Austin's magnificent "every home should have one". Diana and RCA could/would not wait an extra few months so she took partial control. I thought it was an okay album. Nothing more, nothing less. Could and should have been much better.

[Ollie9]

I have always been puzzled as to why EMI in the UK chose"Heart Don't Change My Mind" as the fifth single to be released from FBTP. True, it was a modest hit and Diana's interpretation of the song is lovely, but there were surely far more commercial songs on the album still to be released which could/would have given her another sizeable hit. "Battlefield" or "Waiting In The Wings" had far more obvious hit potential.......Strange one!!!

[florence]

I have always been puzzled as to why EMI in the UK chose"Heart Don't Change My Mind" as the fifth single to be released from FBTP. True, it was a modest hit and Diana's interpretation of the song is lovely, but there were surely far more commercial songs on the album still to be released which could/would have given her another sizeable hit. "Battlefield" or "Waiting In The Wings" had far more obvious hit potential.......Strange one!!!

Well this is uncanny or what?

Great minds and all that. When I was out walking the dog this morning I was pondering the exact same thing and like yourself I would have gone with either Battlefield or Waiting In The Wings [[original version).

Obviously by the time you get to the fifth single it's becoming more commercially difficult although didn't Diana perform this on Top Of The Pops so I would have expected it to do better than it did.

Perhaps they thought Heart would play more into Valentine's Day which was around when it was released?

Bluerock has said he chose the singles from FBTP so maybe he has some info?

I agree WITW had more hit potential and I was always a supporter of Battlefield being a single but then what do I know? I had previously thought Shockwaves would be successful and it had even received airplay on Radio 1.

Battlefield was released as a single in some European markets and didn't do particularly well. I do think it was worth a shot in the UK though. It could have dropped like a stone or gone massive. I remember it being the one track that was singled out as being of merit when the album was being reviewed [[and slated!) by those who generally didn't appreciate Diana's music.

[Bluebrock]

I have always been puzzled as to why EMI in the UK chose"Heart Don't Change My Mind" as the fifth single to be released from FBTP. True, it was a modest hit and Diana's interpretation of the song is lovely, but there were surely far more commercial songs on the album still to be released which could/would have given her another sizeable hit. "Battlefield" or "Waiting In The Wings" had far more obvious hit potential.......Strange one!!!

The reasons why we went with "hdcmm" are as follows.
It was Diana's personal favourite song on the album. She adored Streisands version and had wanted to record it for years. We had enjoyed great success with ballads off this album and I was torn between "waiting in the wings" which I loved and "change of heart" which I thought was okay but nothing special. It was the 5th single off the album and we were pushing it somewhat . We said if it went top 40 we would be happy. Diana had performed "hdcmm" live on Italian TV and had got a great reception so I went for this beautiful song. Diana agreed with me and promised to do "totp" despite being on vacation with her husband. She took 2 days out to rehearse and delivered a stunning performance in my opinion. Maybe "witw" would have been a more commercial choice but we were disappointed with the title tracks performance - I was convinced we had another top 10 hit on our hands, so we took the "safe". Maybe I was wrong but it was my decision and how could I go against Diana?

[florence]

Very interesting and as you say how could you go against Diana.

As the follow-up to the smash When You Tell Me and considering the song when down a storm when Diana performed it you would have expected Force to have done much better in the chart but as you say in the 90s the UK seemed to respond better to Diana's ballads.

One Shining Moment was always going to be a hit but I have often wondered whether If We Hold On Together could have been mega had it been released in the wake of When You Tell Me.

[Bluebrock]

Very interesting and as you say how could you go against Diana.

As the follow-up to the smash When You Tell Me and considering the song when down a storm when Diana performed it you would have expected Force to have done much better in the chart but as you say in the 90s the UK seemed to respond better to Diana's ballads.

One Shining Moment was always going to be a hit but I have often wondered whether If We Hold On Together could have been mega had it been released in the wake of When You Tell Me.

Good point Florence. The reason why we went for Osm" as the 3rd single was because it had made a big impression with the general public. The lyrics really had made a deep impression with many people. Both radio 1 and radio 2 had played it as an album track and promised lots more airplay if it was made a single. Diana herself was pleasantly surprised by the reaction. She thought "iwhot" should be the next single but when told of the public reaction to "osm" she immediately went with our opinion. She had initially thought it to be no more than an album track but was gracious enough to concede she had been mistaken and she grew to love performing the song.

[reese]

Good point Florence. The reason why we went for Osm" as the 3rd single was because it had made a big impression with the general public. The lyrics really had made a deep impression with many people. Both radio 1 and radio 2 had played it as an album track and promised lots more airplay if it was made a single. Diana herself was pleasantly surprised by the reaction. She thought "iwhot" should be the next single but when told of the public reaction to "osm" she immediately went with our opinion. She had initially thought it to be no more than an album track but was gracious enough to concede she had been mistaken and she grew to love performing the song.

I always loved ONE SHINING MOMENT. When I was in Europe in '92, every night I would come back to my room and it would be playing on the radio.

I met its writer, Vanesse Thomas, once when she was singing backup for Aretha Franklin. They happened to be staying in the same hotel I was and I ran into Vanesse in the hotel lobby. After complimenting her on the show the night before, I told her how ONE SHINING MOMENT was one of my favorite songs. She was so tickled!

[Ollie9]

Interesting stuff Flo & Bluebrock. Nice to finally know the reasons as to why "HDCMM" was given the nod for single release.. It's funny, but when this album was first released i didn't really care for it that much. Most of the songs were to pop orientated for my own taste and i thought "When You Tell Me" way to overwrought. Now i really appreciate it and it's one i still play from time to time.....Like yesterday.
I do wonder if Diana had recorded "Take Me Higher a little sooner, perhaps instead of "A Very Special Season" or straight after the "One Woman" collection when her profile was sky high in the UK it might have produced as many hits as FBTP... It most certainly was choc full of potential hit singles.
Thinking back this was a very productive period for Diana.

[thommg]

Reading all this information [[thanks everyone!), but I couldn't remember One Shining Moment. I went to YouTube to check it out and found a video that has some great footage of Diana doing an outdoor photo shoot. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYRj5Hpt0Zk

[Bluebrock]

Reading all this information [[thanks everyone!), but I couldn't remember One Shining Moment. I went to YouTube to check it out and found a video that has some great footage of Diana doing an outdoor photo shoot. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYRj5Hpt0Zk

It was shot in black and white with Diana wearing hardly any make up. This was her idea and we had two very enjoyable days larking around. Happy days.

[Bluebrock]

I always loved ONE SHINING MOMENT. When I was in Europe in '92, every night I would come back to my room and it would be playing on the radio.

I met its writer, Vanesse Thomas, once when she was singing backup for Aretha Franklin. They happened to be staying in the same hotel I was and I ran into Vanesse in the hotel lobby. After complimenting her on the show the night before, I told her how ONE SHINING MOMENT was one of my favorite songs. She was so tickled!

Lionel Richie was the original choice to produce "fbtp" but he dropped out due to personal problems. Before he dropped out "osm" was one of the songs he brought to the project. Vanesse Thomas is a great singer in her own right and a fine songwriter, She was delighted when "osm" was chosen for the project. She was a big fan of Diana and it is a pity more songs were not forthcoming. Maybe if Lionel had stayed on board there would have been but most of the songs on the album were chosen after he had departed.

[reese]

Lionel Richie was the original choice to produce "fbtp" but he dropped out due to personal problems. Before he dropped out "osm" was one of the songs he brought to the project. Vanesse Thomas is a great singer in her own right and a fine songwriter, She was delighted when "osm" was chosen for the project. She was a big fan of Diana and it is a pity more songs were not forthcoming. Maybe if Lionel had stayed on board there would have been but most of the songs on the album were chosen after he had departed.

Interesting re Lionel. During the European trip I mentioned earlier, it seems like all I heard was his MY DESTINY and Diana's ONE SHINING MOMENT.

One night on the same trip, I discovered that there was a video for ONE SHINING MOMENT. It aired on one of those countdown video shows that aired over and over again. My friends thought I was crazy because I would stay up waiting to see it. I had to tell them that the record wasn't a single in America and I would probably never see the video again.

[Ollie9]

It would very much appear "I Love You" is going to go down as Diana's very last complete album of new recordings....alas.
I do think a DEFINITIVE rca collection containing unreleased songs she recorded while at the label, coupled with ALL of the single edits for completion would be a strong seller. If only for the unreleased stuff. The compilation RCA put out some years back was badly remastered, and well.... not very complete.

[Bluebrock]

It would very much appear "I Love You" is going to go down as Diana's very last complete album of new recordings....alas.
I do think a DEFINITIVE rca collection containing unreleased songs she recorded while at the label, coupled with ALL of the single edits for completion would be a strong seller. If only for the unreleased stuff. The compilation RCA put out some years back was badly remastered, and well.... not very complete.

Only Diana can make that happen Ollie. She refused to offer any unreleased stuff in the vault when Funkytowngrooves did their reissues a couple of years ago, Apart from the Luther songs there is an album of covers but other than those i do not know what else is left over, but judging by the quality of some of the stuff that did come out i wouldn't be too optimistic about their quality. I do know their are a few songs unreleased from her 2nd motown stint. a couple of outtakes from "workin overtime" a couple from the "fbtp"sessions and several from "tmh". not 100% sure about "ediand". I think a couple of extra songs were on the japanese version but other than a few remixes i am not sure.

[Ollie9]

Only Diana can make that happen Ollie. She refused to offer any unreleased stuff in the vault when Funkytowngrooves did their reissues a couple of years ago, Apart from the Luther songs there is an album of covers but other than those i do not know what else is left over, but judging by the quality of some of the stuff that did come out i wouldn't be too optimistic about their quality. I do know their are a few songs unreleased from her 2nd motown stint. a couple of outtakes from "workin overtime" a couple from the "fbtp"sessions and several from "tmh". not 100% sure about "ediand". I think a couple of extra songs were on the japanese version but other than a few remixes i am not sure.

I seem to remember a few years back RCA were set to re-release "ross", replacing "Girls" with an unused song from the ross sessions. It had been assigned a catalouge number but was cancelled at the last minute. Talking of quality, could any of the unused songs from the RCA years have been worse than "Girls". IMO the worst song she has ever recorded, though i know you quite like it Bluebrock.

[daviddh]

wasn't WORKIN OVERTIME back at Motown , not RCA. I thought that that was her return to Motown lp.
I do think a RCA box set would be great idea with out takes but I think Ross, I heard wont release any of the out takes.??

[daviddh]

btw, didn't she record an album of standards at RCA that never got released.
this has been a joy to read , no fussing, just all about the music. thank you to all ,esp BlueBrook and Ollie for their posts. very enjoyable reads.
I do recall hearing there were more songs for VOICE OF lOVE. I do think an album filled with out takes from 1999-99 would be great[[ and hits) would be a good idea.

[Bluebrock]

I seem to remember a few years back RCA were set to re-release "ross", replacing "Girls" with an unused song from the ross sessions. It had been assigned a catalouge number but was cancelled at the last minute. Talking of quality, could any of the unused songs from the RCA years have been worse than "Girls". IMO the worst song she has ever recorded, though i know you quite like it Bluebrock.

Oh yes Ollie. "girls" is an absolute gem and i rarely go a day without playing it!
12 songs were recorded for the "ross" sessions. The album was originally going to contain 10 tracks but this was reduced to 8 for reasons we will not go into here. i haven't heard the 4 canned tracks but i know people who have and they say there were a couple of goodies there. As you say Ollie they must surely be better than "girls". Maybe one day we will get the chance to judge for yourselves. Then again maybe not.

[Bluebrock]

btw, didn't she record an album of standards at RCA that never got released.
this has been a joy to read , no fussing, just all about the music. thank you to all ,esp BlueBrook and Ollie for their posts. very enjoyable reads.
I do recall hearing there were more songs for VOICE OF lOVE. I do think an album filled with out takes from 1999-99 would be great[[ and hits) would be a good idea.

Thank you David. You are very kind.
You are quite correct when you say there were extra songs recorded for "voice of love". I think i mentioned them in an earlier post on this thread. There are 3 additional songs only released in Japan.
She did indeed record an album of standards in 1985. They included jazz, swing, easy listening stuff originally recorded by the likes of Sinatra, Ella, Judy Garland. For some reason Diana vetoed the project despite it being her idea in the first place.

[Ollie9]

Cheers david h....
Mr Bluebrock, do you know who produced this album of standards from 85?. ...Please tell me it was not Diana herself. I'm a little suprised more is not known of this intended project. On paper it sounds potentially wonderful.
Does Diana really have TOTAL contol of what is aloud to be released from her back catalogue at RCA?.
'Tis true she is still recording for a record company, but Streisand is now releasing whole albums made up of songs that for various reasons never saw the light of day. I really can't understand why Diana is so reluctant. Fans would lap it up.

[sup_fan]

big thanks to all of the fans here for making this such an interesting series of posts. great discussion, no nonsense or petty hate coming out. lots of extremely insightful posts and people sharing memories and history

Now Bluebrock, you've stated multiple times "for reasons i can't go into here" lolol. i'll give you my email and let's discuss!

[Jimi LaLumia]

yeah, I'd be interested in that myself strictly confidential

[Bluebrock]

Cheers david h....
Mr Bluebrock, do you know who produced this album of standards from 85?. ...Please tell me it was not Diana herself. I'm a little suprised more is not known of this intended project. On paper it sounds potentially wonderful.
Does Diana really have TOTAL contol of what is aloud to be released from her back catalogue at RCA?.
'Tis true she is still recording for a record company, but Streisand is now releasing whole albums made up of songs that for various reasons never saw the light of day. I really can't understand why Diana is so reluctant. Fans would lap it up.

Ollie - I sent you a private message which wasn't originally intended for you but hopefully you will understand what I am trying to say.
Diana did indeed buy all the masters from her RCA years and unless she has a change of heart the unreleased songs will remain in the vault.
The standards album was not produced by Diana thankfully. Bear in mind it was recorded before I arrived on the scene but I think it was recorded in London with 2 or 3 different producers from what I was told. Let me check in my diaries for any additional information because I don't for the moment recall exactly who Diana worked with. I think Daryl Hall and Michael Mcdonald both had some input but details are quite sketchy. It was RCA who did not rate the end product rather than Diana herself, and this did not help the already receding relationship between artist and Record Company.
As regards Streisand she retains total control over her back catalogue and it is only now that she is trawling through the treasure trove of unreleased gems. Most of Diana's Motown product has now seen the light of day but there remain a handful of tracks from 75-77 that have only recently surfaced. Hopefully they will emerge on an expanded Ross 78. Diana has no control over her early Motown recordings so cannot prevent them being released.
Going back to Streisand there are 3 unreleased songs from the Guilty sessions one of which eventually emerged on "eaten alive" that have yet to see the light of day. She would not allow them to be included on the reissue of "guilty" around 10 years ago.

Hope the above helps.

[rovereab]

Carry On would have made a great first single off EDIAND or at least a follow-up to Not Over You Yet in the UK.