Luther Vandross on Diana Ross’s Singing

[jobeterob]

He talks about her starting at about 337 for about 4 minutes

[jobeterob]

[Ollie9]

I agree with Luther regarding how Diana’s voice had progressed at that point in time.
The 91 interview she did with Arsenio was a good one, with the host moving away from the usual questions being asked.
When asked what the biggest misconception is about her Diana refers to her children. This seems to be her get out jail card when asked any potentially awkward questions. It might have served her better had she been a little more candid during those years so the world might have seen things from her perspective. Answering such questions indirectly just added fuel to any misconceptions about her.

[Circa 1824]

Luther is right, it is all about the tone and not the vocal gymnastics. You can keep your Patti Labelle and others. Give me Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Karen Carpenter, and others any day of the week.

[BobbyC]

I agree about tone. DR, at her peak, sounded smooth and soothing--and on the right song [[Touch Me In the Morning), nobody sounded better. I'm glad she left the nasal singing waaaay behind by 1967 or so. That being said, I tend to prefer "vocal gymnastics" by people like Patti, Nona, Chaka and others. It's all just preference and I know I am, generally speaking, in the minority on that.

[carlo]

Great Luther interview. Thanks for posting this, Rob. I don't think I had seen this one before. Love Luther and can't wait for the documentary. I wish he had produced an entire album for Diana.

[sup_fan]

I agree about tone. DR, at her peak, sounded smooth and soothing--and on the right song [[Touch Me In the Morning), nobody sounded better. I'm glad she left the nasal singing waaaay behind by 1967 or so. That being said, I tend to prefer "vocal gymnastics" by people like Patti, Nona, Chaka and others. It's all just preference and I know I am, generally speaking, in the minority on that.

exactly. lots of people can sail up and down and all around the scale but Diana is a master at understand the lyrical message of a song and conveying it so beautifully. she uses the words to create an emotional connection with the listener. not just her vocal pyrotechnics.

[RanRan79]

I just love "voice", so I'm impressed by a lot of the different nuances that come with individual singers. The "runners" and vocal acrobatics have their place, as do the most understated and subtle singers, like Diana Ross. She does have a beautiful tone, particular her lower register, IMO. And the actress in her voice is one of the reasons I love her. She is as skilled a singer as Patti Labelle or Jennifer Holliday, they just have very different voices than she and can do different things with their voices that Diana cannot. But likewise, Diana can do things with her voice that they cannot.

[midnightman]

Luther is right, it is all about the tone and not the vocal gymnastics. You can keep your Patti Labelle and others. Give me Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Karen Carpenter, and others any day of the week.

You know Luther was a Patti LaBelle stan, right? Lol

Luther just understood voices. He didn't just listen to one particular type of singer. What made him great is he studied the greats and added his own nuances to them. That said, Patti was more one-dimensional of a singer than, say, Karen Carpenter was and I find myself preferring Karen over to someone like Patti. Whitney was the best of both worlds [[she could smooth it down, soothe you and then jolt you!). Aretha also had the similar ability. Chaka is better than Patti at the "vocal gymnastics" to me lol

[RanRan79]

You know Luther was a Patti LaBelle stan, right? Lol

Luther just understood voices. He didn't just listen to one particular type of singer. What made him great is he studied the greats and added his own nuances to them. That said, Patti was more one-dimensional of a singer than, say, Karen Carpenter was and I find myself preferring Karen over to someone like Patti. Whitney was the best of both worlds [[she could smooth it down, soothe you and then jolt you!). Aretha also had the similar ability. Chaka is better than Patti at the "vocal gymnastics" to me lol

I prefer Patti when she's blasting away, live. I am not usually a fan of some of the ways she's approached recording a song in the past, which has allowed me to be a fan of her live work but not so much her recorded work. Sometimes less is more, and many times "more" should come later in the song than right out the gate, IMO.

Chaka, on the other hand, I prefer when she uses her lower register, but at least, for a very long time, she understood when to go BOOM and when to hold back. Nowadays, she seems to scream more than sing and I find it incredibly annoying.

Both Whitney and Aretha were great at knowing when to hold back and when to let go, although on occasion Queen Ree could get a little carried away, particularly over the last 30 years or so. On the other hand, Diana didn't always seem to know when to let it rip. So many times I thought a song- recorded or live- would have benefitted from her getting to a point in the song where she tears it up but instead she kind of coasts along and doesn't give it a big finish, as it may have deserved.

But that's the thing about singers: they have their pros and their cons. None of them are perfect, but their work speaks for itself.

[midnightman]

^ Patti's inability to control herself when she recorded a song is why her career peaked when it did commercially. Diana's inability after she left the Supremes to consistently find a song that could communicate well with fans was also why her recording career has had the ups and downs it has. Same with Aretha by the late 1970s onwards.

[jobeterob]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...00091226390153

Not sure this’ll work - but it’s a 3 night Norwegian Cruise with Michael MacDonald and Patti Labelle - I much prefer her On My Own style of singing rather than the wailing

[sansradio]

Same with Aretha by the late 1970s onwards.

Ummm, "Freeway of Love" would like a word with you.

[midnightman]

Ummm, "Freeway of Love" would like a word with you.

Lol nah. I don't mess with '80s Aretha too much these days hehe [[besides I Knew You Were Waiting for Me... I'll give you that ).

[RanRan79]

Ree had a great rebound in the 80s for a time. I think it was Sarah Vaughn that had some rough words for the Queen during this time. Not about her talent, of course, but the material. I personally think the period is an excellent example of an older artist updating their sound while remaining true to themselves. And she was making songs that resonated with all ages.

My Queen Ree love life flows like this:

Aretha 61 thru Laughing On the Inside= Hit and miss

Unforgettable thru Take It Like You Give It= More hit, less miss

I Never Loved a Man thru You= I play all of this, all the time

Sweet Passion- La Diva= Barely interested

Aretha 80 thru Aretha 86= I listen to these a lot, maybe as much as I do Never Loved thru You

Everything after Aretha 86 is definitely another hodgepodge of hits or misses with me, but she did occasionally cut some serious Aretha tunes.

Wait, what was this thread about again?

[sansradio]

Sweet Passion- La Diva= Barely interested

Young man, these are fightin' words. Ree was giving a pint of blood vocally on those albums! I know some of the material is lackluster, but Mama was doing her good singing! Meet me in the parking lot.

ETA: It seems you leapfrogged right over Sparkle, which I consider one of her crowning achievements. I trust you'd put it in with the Atlantic glory days group, no? [Even if so, I still wanna fight you.]

[RanRan79]

Young man, these are fightin' words. Ree was giving a pint of blood vocally on those albums! I know some of the material is lackluster, but Mama was doing her good singing! Meet me in the parking lot.

ETA: It seems you leapfrogged right over Sparkle, which I consider one of her crowning achievements. I trust you'd put it in with the Atlantic glory days group, no? [Even if so, I still wanna fight you.]

Okay Sans, you're gonna force me to re-listen to those cuts. There are a couple highlights for me during that period, but yeah, most of it has always come across so unlike the Aretha I love and need. Let me get to listening before I get my butt kicked.

And yes, I totally skipped over Sparkle. It should have been included in the classic Atlantic period. Fantastic album from the first song to the last.