Missing You

[Levi Stubbs Tears]

It's funny that people think Nile & Bernard's music was dated in the early 1980s when they went on to have huge successes with Madonna, David Bowie, Power Station, Duran Duran, INXS and many more that decade.

Nile & Bernard also wrote many lovely ballads. Pretty much all of them were superior to anything Diana recorded during the RCA years.

[Ollie9]

It's funny that people think Nile & Bernard's music was dated in the early 1980s when they went on to have huge successes with Madonna, David Bowie, Power Station, Duran Duran, INXS and many more that decade.

Nile & Bernard also wrote many lovely ballads. Pretty much all of them were superior to anything Diana recorded during the RCA years.

Very much agree.

[sup_fan]

It's funny that people think Nile & Bernard's music was dated in the early 1980s when they went on to have huge successes with Madonna, David Bowie, Power Station, Duran Duran, INXS and many more that decade.

Nile & Bernard also wrote many lovely ballads. Pretty much all of them were superior to anything Diana recorded during the RCA years.

very true but that was all a little after a "cooling off" period of a couple years. chic was so hot in the late 70s and then the diana album in 80. but then the next big hit was Bowie's Let's Dance.

[RanRan79]

It's funny that people think Nile & Bernard's music was dated in the early 1980s when they went on to have huge successes with Madonna, David Bowie, Power Station, Duran Duran, INXS and many more that decade.

I can only speak for myself, but when I say the sound was dead, I was talking about the Chic sound. Everyone knows a Chic production of the late 70s into early 80s. It has a signature sound. Diana got that sound when it was fast on the way out. She did not need to have any more productions post 1980 that sounded like the diana80 album.

The successes Nile and Bernard moved on to throughout the 80s sounds nothing like the sound they became known for in the disco era. So yeah, using them during this time makes a lot of sense. But Diana could not have afforded a diana80 sound alike in 1981. The public had been there and done that and moved on.

[Ollie9]

I can only speak for myself, but when I say the sound was dead, I was talking about the Chic sound. Everyone knows a Chic production of the late 70s into early 80s. It has a signature sound. Diana got that sound when it was fast on the way out. She did not need to have any more productions post 1980 that sounded like the diana80 album.

The successes Nile and Bernard moved on to throughout the 80s sounds nothing like the sound they became known for in the disco era. So yeah, using them during this time makes a lot of sense. But Diana could not have afforded a diana80 sound alike in 1981. The public had been there and done that and moved on.

The point being that with the exception of “Mirror Mirror” Diana didn’t move on with her music. In 81 she was doing 50’s retreads or dated disco schlock like “It’s Never Too Late”. The “diana” album sounded fresh and cutting edge by comparison.

[sup_fan]

The point being that with the exception of “Mirror Mirror” Diana didn’t move on with her music. In 81 she was doing 50’s retreads or dated disco schlock like “It’s Never Too Late”. The “diana” album sounded fresh and cutting edge by comparison.

i do agree with this. she was mostly just singing run of the mill pop tunes. I think Mirror, Sweet Surrender and the backing track to Work that Body could have been the anchor of a fresh new sound and album. heck even the title Work That Body could have been super sexy and hot. but the inane lyrics about eating cake!?!? made it a joke of a song.

[Ollie9]

i do agree with this. she was mostly just singing run of the mill pop tunes. I think Mirror, Sweet Surrender and the backing track to Work that Body could have been the anchor of a fresh new sound and album. heck even the title Work That Body could have been super sexy and hot. but the inane lyrics about eating cake!?!? made it a joke of a song.

I’m pleased we agree on something sup lol.

[sup_fan]

I’m pleased we agree on something sup lol.

haha i know!! although this is one of my fav past times here. comparing notes on what we each like/dislike, seeing who's in agreement with us but also seeing who has different ideas. there have been a few times where i've changed my mind about one of the tunes as i've heard more POVs on it.

[RanRan79]

The point being that with the exception of “Mirror Mirror” Diana didn’t move on with her music. In 81 she was doing 50’s retreads or dated disco schlock like “It’s Never Too Late”. The “diana” album sounded fresh and cutting edge by comparison.

I agree, but repeating diana80 wasn't the right move either. In 1981 disco was officially dead. It was time to move on. "Mirror, Mirror" was definitely the right direction. It's unfortunate that she didn't insist the entire album be structured around this more progressive sound.

[Ollie9]

I agree, but repeating diana80 wasn't the right move either. In 1981 disco was officially dead. It was time to move on. "Mirror, Mirror" was definitely the right direction. It's unfortunate that she didn't insist the entire album be structured around this more progressive sound.

I disagree. “diana” wasn’t a traditional disco album in the vein if ‘I Will Survive. It was funky and exciting r&b that took her in another direction. The public loved this new sound being why it took off. “Mirror Mirror” was fresh, but i don’t think soft rock was a place to linger as in 5O’s retreads being it wasn’t the genre of music she was famous for.
It’s worth noting that the single flopped here in the UK, usually her most reliable market.

[sup_fan]

I disagree. “diana” wasn’t a traditional disco album in the vein if ‘I Will Survive. It was funky and exciting r&b that took her in another direction. The public loved this new sound being why it took off. “Mirror Mirror” was fresh, but i don’t think soft rock was a place to linger as in 5O’s retreads being it wasn’t the genre of music she was famous for.
It’s worth noting that the single flopped here in the UK, usually her most reliable market.

see - another point we agree upon! lol diana 80 wasn't traditional disco and it also wasn't all just traditional chic either. yes there are some parts of it that are very, very chic-heavy. but I'm Coming Out is a total departure from their sound. As you mention, there was a enough funk and urban groove to help it steer clear of being "disco"

[Ollie9]

see - another point we agree upon! lol diana 80 wasn't traditional disco and it also wasn't all just traditional chic either. yes there are some parts of it that are very, very chic-heavy. but I'm Coming Out is a total departure from their sound. As you mention, there was a enough funk and urban groove to help it steer clear of being "disco"

We should be careful, this could become a habit. I would have loved for Nile & Bernard to have worked on a follow up to the funky “diana” set. A slightly harder edged album might have been good in the vein of “Give Up”.
They might even have produced “Mirror Mirror” and “Sweet Surrender” as songs Diana particularly wanted to record.

[RanRan79]

see - another point we agree upon! lol diana 80 wasn't traditional disco and it also wasn't all just traditional chic either. yes there are some parts of it that are very, very chic-heavy. but I'm Coming Out is a total departure from their sound. As you mention, there was a enough funk and urban groove to help it steer clear of being "disco"

The intro to "I'm Coming Out" isn't characteristic Chic. The rest of it has Chic written all over it.

[RanRan79]

I disagree. “diana” wasn’t a traditional disco album in the vein if ‘I Will Survive. It was funky and exciting r&b that took her in another direction. The public loved this new sound being why it took off. “Mirror Mirror” was fresh, but i don’t think soft rock was a place to linger as in 5O’s retreads being it wasn’t the genre of music she was famous for.
It’s worth noting that the single flopped here in the UK, usually her most reliable market.

I agree that it wasn't traditional disco, maybe not even disco at all. But Chic was a driving force of some of disco's biggest sounds. To the public Bernard and Niles were Chic and they had a rather identifiable sound.

"Mirror, Mirror" wasn't just fresh, it was funky. Soft rock? There's a rockish guitar doing it's thing, but me thinks a "rockish guitar" does not a rock song make. I don't know why "Mirror" didn't break big in the UK, but in the States it was a big hit, just missing the number one spot on the R&B chart. [[I'm curious to know from those of you who may know- looking at you Reese- what was the song that kept "Mirror" from the number one spot?)

"Mirror", "Work That Body" with different lyrics, "Think I'm In Love", and "Sweet Surrender" were all worth keeping. She needed four more edgy cuts and one big ballad and I think the Mirror, Mirror album [[because that's what I would have called it) would have been classic.

[reese]

"Mirror, Mirror" wasn't just fresh, it was funky. Soft rock? There's a rockish guitar doing it's thing, but me thinks a "rockish guitar" does not a rock song make. I don't know why "Mirror" didn't break big in the UK, but in the States it was a big hit, just missing the number one spot on the R&B chart. [[I'm curious to know from those of you who may know- looking at you Reese- what was the song that kept "Mirror" from the number one spot?)

Not sure, but looking at dates, it could possibly be Stevie Wonder's THAT GIRL.

[Levi Stubbs Tears]

To the public Bernard and Niles were Chic and they had a rather identifiable sound.

I don't think in 1980 'the public' would have even known who Nile & Nard were. And their sound was always changing. The people that say Debbie Harry's solo album sounds like 'diana leftovers' crack me up.

They wrote Diana's album 'to order' [['songs that my kids can sing') and wrote Debbie's album with a rap [[one of the first)/hip-hop theme. The Koo-koo album was ahead of its' time [[probably why it was not a bigger hit) and still stands out today. Very few of the 'Chic Organisation' productions sound the same apart from quality.

I remember a record review in the early 80s [[post 'Disco sucks' and the Chic hit years) describing a Nile/Nard song as 'pre-meditated excellence'. Maybe 'Record Mirror' or another UK publication.

ETA - I remember the review now. It was the Chic song '26'.

'26 - my baby's a 26. On a scale of 1 to 10, my baby's a 26' lol

[Levi Stubbs Tears]

She did not need to have any more productions post 1980 that sounded like the diana80 album.

The public had been there and done that and moved on.

I think the public had also moved on from songs like 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love' from the 50s, but obviously Diana didn't agree.

[RanRan79]

I think the public had also moved on from songs like 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love' from the 50s, but obviously Diana didn't agree.

Apparently they didn't move on because the song was a hit. I'll never understand why it was a hit. To me it sounds like karaoke and it definitely is not how I would have kicked off this phase of her career. But the public felt differently, unfortunately.