Diana produced by Luther!

[TomatoTom123]

I've been listening to Luther Vandross' work with Cheryl Lynn, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick in the early 80s and I thought "why didn't Diana hook up with the guy!?"

I think it could have been a great step forward after 1980's Diana, keeping it fresh and relevant, but retaining Diana's unique style and identity, as Luther did with the other ladies!

I have listened to Diana's Luther-produced ballad "It's Hard For Me To Say" from 1987's Red Hot Rhythm And Blues, which is very lovely, but seems a bit like too little too late. I would have loved to see what Luther would have done with Diana in the early 80s.

What do you think? :)

[Bluebrock]

I've been listening to Luther Vandross' work with Cheryl Lynn, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick in the early 80s and I thought "why didn't Diana hook up with the guy!?"

I think it could have been a great step forward after 1980's Diana, keeping it fresh and relevant, but retaining Diana's unique style and identity, as Luther did with the other ladies!

I have listened to Diana's Luther-produced ballad "It's Hard For Me To Say" from 1987's Red Hot Rhythm And Blues, which is very lovely, but seems a bit like too little too late. I would have loved to see what Luther would have done with Diana in the early 80s.

What do you think? :)
Luther was desperate to do a full album with Diana, but she was strangely unresponsive to his pleas. He did everything within his power to persuade her to change her mind, and even turned down an offer to produce just one track on Swept Away. He had songs ready for her and insisted he wanted to do a full album. Eventually he realised she wasn't going to let him do a full album so he agreed to do IHFMTS on Red Hot, hoping she would be sufficiently pleased with it to finally relent and let him do a full album. They remained on good terms, but never officially worked together again, but rumours persist that they did do some work together in a London recording studio.I honestly do not know how much truth there is in that story.

[reese]

Luther was desperate to do a full album with Diana, but she was strangely unresponsive to his pleas. He did everything within his power to persuade her to change her mind, and even turned down an offer to produce just one track on Swept Away. He had songs ready for her and insisted he wanted to do a full album. Eventually he realised she wasn't going to let him do a full album so he agreed to do IHFMTS on Red Hot, hoping she would be sufficiently pleased with it to finally relent and let him do a full album. They remained on good terms, but never officially worked together again, but rumours persist that they did do some work together in a London recording studio.I honestly do not know how much truth there is in that story.

I remember reading an interview with Luther where he said that he felt Diana wasn't comfortable handing over a full project to him. I thought he said she wanted him to do three tracks but it could have been only one. In any event, he said he was holding out for an album. So I was surprised [[but pleasantly so) when I saw the track on RHRAB.

Much later, I vaguely recall reading that Luther had written a song called RETURN TO LOVE for a proposed project after that tour. Not sure how true that is. I do know that he showed up for the first and last shows of that tour.

Judging by IHFMTS, its obvious that they worked well together. But I do wonder what a full album would sound like. It took me a little time to warm to his albums with Aretha and Dionne, although they were good.

[PeaceNHarmony]

Many singers have made injudicious decisions regarding producers and I think Diana did so in not enlisting Luther for a full lp. However the lady had her reasons so I'm happy to have the one track they did together.

[Bluebrock]

I remember reading an interview with Luther where he said that he felt Diana wasn't comfortable handing over a full project to him. I thought he said she wanted him to do three tracks but it could have been only one. In any event, he said he was holding out for an album. So I was surprised [[but pleasantly so) when I saw the track on RHRAB.

Much later, I vaguely recall reading that Luther had written a song called RETURN TO LOVE for a proposed project after that tour. Not sure how true that is. I do know that he showed up for the first and last shows of that tour.

Judging by IHFMTS, its obvious that they worked well together. But I do wonder what a full album would sound like. It took me a little time to warm to his albums with Aretha and Dionne, although they were good.

I recall Diana loving the work Luther did with Aretha, but she was not impressed with the album he did with Dionne. Not everything Luther produced turned out well, but when he got it right the results were often sublime. A full album with Diana could have gone either way, but i do wish she had relented.

[Guy]

It is only in comparison to her actual 80s output that makes it odd that Ross didn't want Luther to produce her. It is not as if she had some distinctive creative vision. He could not have done any worse by her.

Personally, I really only wanted a Luther/Ross duet. Their voices would have blended perfectly. I can see why Ross was not a fan of everything Luther produced for his divas. The Dionne album and Aretha's albums were not as consistent or impressive as Luther's own albums. I also think that his one collaboration with Whitney -- "Who Do You Love" -- is unlistenable.

[Albator]

It is only in comparison to her actual 80s output that makes it odd that Ross didn't want Luther to produce her. It is not as if she had some distinctive creative vision. He could not have done any worse by her.

Personally, I really only wanted a Luther/Ross duet. Their voices would have blended perfectly. I can see why Ross was not a fan of everything Luther produced for his divas. The Dionne album and Aretha's albums were not as consistent or impressive as Luther's own albums. I also think that his one collaboration with Whitney -- "Who Do You Love" -- is unlistenable.
That's not nice but true ;)
I wonder why he agreed arranging background vocals for some songs.

[sansradio]

Lest we forget, Diana and Luther did collaborate before "It's Hard for Me to Say." From 1982's Silk Electric:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYRdzZ3EzYA

[TomatoTom123]

I have found all of Luther's work in the early 80s, both his own stuff and that which he produced for Cheryl, Dionne and Aretha to be consistently excellent! I think it would have been great to have a full collaborative album between him and Diana. "So Close" [[which I just checked out, very nice thanks sans) and "It's Hard For Me To Say" just make me think "what could have been"... :)

[TomatoTom123]

Also, just listening to "Who Do You Love", I like it! I can't believe you think it's unlistenable Guy! There you go.

[TomatoTom123]

Luther was desperate to do a full album with Diana, but she was strangely unresponsive to his pleas. He did everything within his power to persuade her to change her mind, and even turned down an offer to produce just one track on Swept Away. He had songs ready for her and insisted he wanted to do a full album. Eventually he realised she wasn't going to let him do a full album so he agreed to do IHFMTS on Red Hot, hoping she would be sufficiently pleased with it to finally relent and let him do a full album. They remained on good terms, but never officially worked together again, but rumours persist that they did do some work together in a London recording studio.I honestly do not know how much truth there is in that story.

Thanks for the info Bluebrock. Interesting! :)

[TomatoTom123]

I just find it odd that Diana enlisted Barry Gibb and Nile Rodgers to produce albums for her, both of whom were, by the time of their respective collaborations, probably a bit "past their prime". Not that the albums weren't any good, but Luther in the 80s was hot and ripe for picking!!!! :)

[Bluebrock]

I just find it odd that Diana enlisted Barry Gibb and Nile Rodgers to produce albums for her, both of whom were, by the time of their respective collaborations, probably a bit "past their prime". Not that the albums weren't any good, but Luther in the 80s was hot and ripe for picking!!!! :)
Barry and Nile's productions were probably more geared towards top 40 radio whereas Luther hadn't really crossed over on a regular basis. Perhaps she was targeting the white audience.

[TomatoTom123]

Barry and Nile's productions were probably more geared towards top 40 radio whereas Luther hadn't really crossed over on a regular basis. Perhaps she was targeting the white audience.

Good point Blue, that is true. Yeah, that makes sense. :)

[florence]

Wasn't Luther supposedly singing on Your Love from the One Woman album?

It was released as a single in the UK going Top 20 Christmas 1993.

However no matter how hard I listen I just don't hear him on it.

[Albator]

Barry and Nile's productions were probably more geared towards top 40 radio whereas Luther hadn't really crossed over on a regular basis. Perhaps she was targeting the white audience.Isn't it a mistake? She had a white audience. The is a picture, in a new book about Black performers. Aretha, Roberta Flack, Gladys etc... When there is a concert picture, it's obvious the audience is mostly black, but there is one with Diana in 74 at Universal Amphitheatre while she is doing her "reach out and touch" routine. More than half of the audience is white. Much more in fact.

"Eaten alive" was way to white for her :o

[reese]

Wasn't Luther supposedly singing on Your Love from the One Woman album?

It was released as a single in the UK going Top 20 Christmas 1993.

However no matter how hard I listen I just don't hear him on it.

I don't hear him on it either. I wouldn't be surprised if many don't. But its producer, Nick Martinelli, said he is indeed on the recording and that his vocals really blend in with the orchestration.

[Bluebrock]

Wasn't Luther supposedly singing on Your Love from the One Woman album?

It was released as a single in the UK going Top 20 Christmas 1993.

However no matter how hard I listen I just don't hear him on it.

Yes he is on there but i must admit that i cannot hear him much as i try.

[sup_fan]

i guess i can sort of understand her thought to not do an album with him in the 80s. she was focused primarily on the US pop market and that, at that time, really wasn't his domain. In the 80s, she was still attempting to hit the current pop trends

in the 90s, as she seemed to focus more on an adult oriented, light pop/r&b approach, seems he would have been ideal

[TomatoTom123]

Yeah, I hadn't really considered that Luther might not be the most pop-orientated producer to go with. That's fair enough. I would still say that a collaboration between the two may have proved a larger success [[critical and commercial) than anything else Diana did in the 80s, in terms of albums. :)

[midnightman]

DR was so hellbent on control that I feel she wasted a whole lot of opportunities. The way this album was produced shows that maybe she should've experimented with just one producer. She applied too many cooks and that definitely didn't help her as her recording career faltered.

[sup_fan]

through the 80s she was definitely experimenting with producers to give her more of a pop sound

MJ - on muscles
Steely Dan on the Ross 83 material
Ray Parker Jr on the Ross 83 material
Daryl Hall on Swept Away
Lionel Richie on SA
Richard Perry on SW
Berry Gibb on EA
MJ on EA

[Albator]

And Bernard Edwards on Téléphone

[Guy]

Barry and Nile's productions were probably more geared towards top 40 radio whereas Luther hadn't really crossed over on a regular basis. Perhaps she was targeting the white audience.

I think that's it, Bluebrock. Ross was determined to be a crossover artist and did not want an album produced by someone with no pop chart track record. Playlists were still segregated for most of the 80s. However, by the time of WO she seemed content to do a "black" album.

[Guy]

"Eaten alive" was way to white for her :o

LOL! And me too. I think it would have been too white for Olivia Newton-John.

[Albator]

LOL! And me too. I think it would have been too white for Olivia Newton-John.He made an even wither LP for himself, highlighted by a sexy duet with Olivia.

[RanRan79]

Don't get me started on Ross' producer choices.:rolleyes: She really needed someone to take the reins. As great as she is in so many ways, controlling her own career wasn't one of them.

I will admit that I never considered her reluctance to go with a Luther project being a result of his lack of pop success. Makes sense. But IMO her biggest RCA hits [[aside from the atrocious "Why Do Fools") weren't really pop sounding to me at all [["Mirror, Mirror" and "Swept Away" and "Muscles"). They sound at home on an R&B playlist, and out of place among a lot of the pop music of the time. And I still maintain that Ross with a bit of soul was more popular with audiences than Ross going full pop, like "Pieces of Ice". It was as if she still didn't know her audience or know what it is they wanted from her.

But Luther and Diana would've been an interesting combo. Lionel and Diana also would've been an unbeatable combination.

[midnightman]

Diana didn't know her audience until late in her career.

[TomatoTom123]

I was listening to Diana's "Work That Body" the other day and thought, notwithstanding the campy lyrics and silly [[but very fun) theme, that it wasn't a million miles away from a Luther production. Prominent bassline, guitar licks, strings, horns, sassy backing vocals. What do you think? :)

[sansradio]

I was listening to Diana's "Work That Body" the other day and thought, notwithstanding the campy lyrics and silly [[but very fun) theme, that it wasn't a million miles away from a Luther production. Prominent bassline, guitar licks, strings, horns, sassy backing vocals. What do you think? :)

Hmmm...I've always gotten more of a Nile/Bernard vibe from "WTB," particularly the choppy structure of the verses and background chants.

[TomatoTom123]

Hmmm...I've always gotten more of a Nile/Bernard vibe from "WTB," particularly the choppy structure of the verses and background chants.

I can hear that too sans. And I guess that's what Diana might have been going for, following on from Diana in 1980. I still hear a bit of Luther though. :)

[RanRan79]

I can hear the Chic influence like Sans, but if you really pay attention to the groove it is very Luther-esqe. I hadn't paid attention before but I definitely agree with you Tom. Wish Luther had written the lyrics. If it wasn't so silly lyrically, "Work That Body" may have been a major hit for Diana.

[reese]

I can hear the Chic influence like Sans, but if you really pay attention to the groove it is very Luther-esqe. I hadn't paid attention before but I definitely agree with you Tom. Wish Luther had written the lyrics. If it wasn't so silly lyrically, "Work That Body" may have been a major hit for Diana.

It was a Top 10 hit in England, and made the Top 40 in America. But I agree that a lyric change might make it seem less trendy today.

[mowsville]

I have always thought WTB is one of the funkiest tracks Diana ever did [[apart from the stupid lyrics)..its the only track I feel was right on track for the time...all of her other releases always seem a couple of years behind the times.

[RanRan79]

It was a Top 10 hit in England, and made the Top 40 in America. But I agree that a lyric change might make it seem less trendy today.

I don't know how popular it is in England, but over here nobody talks about "Work That Body". I don't believe I've ever even heard it on the radio, unlike her other hits of the time. It did go top 40 r&b but it stalled a few spots outside the top 40 pop, neither of which qualifies it as a major hit over here. And I think the lyrics have everything to do with it because that track is hot and Diana is killing it. Even the background singers are great. Always so many missed opportunities with this lady.

[reese]

I don't know how popular it is in England, but over here nobody talks about "Work That Body". I don't believe I've ever even heard it on the radio, unlike her other hits of the time. It did go top 40 r&b but it stalled a few spots outside the top 40 pop, neither of which qualifies it as a major hit over here. And I think the lyrics have everything to do with it because that track is hot and Diana is killing it. Even the background singers are great. Always so many missed opportunities with this lady.

When it was released as a single, I heard it all of the time on my local radio stations. I thought it was a much bigger hit than it was. It wasn't until years later that I saw the chart positions. If nothing else, it was a great audience participation number.

[RanRan79]

I have always thought WTB is one of the funkiest tracks Diana ever did [[apart from the stupid lyrics)..its the only track I feel was right on track for the time...all of her other releases always seem a couple of years behind the times.

I agree about the lyrics and the funkiness of the track, but I think most of the tracks of the singles at the time sound contemporary, it's just most of them weren't doing anything to set them above the competition. There was a lot of good stuff out at that time. "Work That Body"'s subject matter killed it's chances, but "Mirror, Mirror" was right on the money and the public responded to it. The same with "Muscles". I still don't understand why "Fools" was a major hit. Every time I hear it, it sounds like a precursor to the I Love You album and it's karaoke sound. Between "Muscles" and "Swept Away", those songs were out of touch with Diana's fan base. She was never gonna win with that stuff. And if she couldn't connect with the audience, she definitely wasn't going to get the non fans who might have bought a single just because the song is good and not because they particularly care for Diana. She was back on track for "Swept" and "Missing You" and then it's pretty much down hill from there.

[sup_fan]

I think WTB was too literal about aerobic exercise and needed more "double entendra" to make it work. it's a totally campy song but it the lyrics had been a bit more sexual or fun [[and less about eating cake lol) it might have done better.

[reese]

I think WTB was too literal about aerobic exercise and needed more "double entendra" to make it work. it's a totally campy song but it the lyrics had been a bit more sexual or fun [[and less about eating cake lol) it might have done better.

If it had been a bigger hit in the USA, I wonder what it might have inspired. In the inner sleeve for the WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE album, there was an address to write to for Diana's fan club and her "disc aerobics." I wrote but all that I received back was a tour schedule for the next summer and some Diana paraphernelia to buy.

[vgalindo]

WTB was a crowd favorite during her world tour that year. She had the arena rocking!!

[thommg]

I am always surprised when people say negative things about Why Do Fools Fall In Love. When her album came out, I was working at a dinner theatre and we jumped on that song, playing it when we set up, and then used it for warm up before the show itself. It always got everyone moving and feeling good before the show. That could be why I have such fond memories of the song. In fact, I loved the entire album but Work That Body didn't really impress me much. I didn't even realize it had been released as a single.

[TomatoTom123]

I don't know how popular it is in England, but over here nobody talks about "Work That Body". I don't believe I've ever even heard it on the radio, unlike her other hits of the time. It did go top 40 r&b but it stalled a few spots outside the top 40 pop, neither of which qualifies it as a major hit over here. And I think the lyrics have everything to do with it because that track is hot and Diana is killing it. Even the background singers are great. Always so many missed opportunities with this lady.

I'm surprised that "Work That Body" was a Top 10 hit in the UK, because I had never ever heard it before [[on the radio) or seen it on any Diana compilations. [[Just checking now, it appears on one compilation, Love And Life: The Very Best Of Diana Ross). For contrast, "I'm Coming Out" made #13, but that's a bonafide classic!

[RanRan79]

I am always surprised when people say negative things about Why Do Fools Fall In Love. When her album came out, I was working at a dinner theatre and we jumped on that song, playing it when we set up, and then used it for warm up before the show itself. It always got everyone moving and feeling good before the show. That could be why I have such fond memories of the song. In fact, I loved the entire album but Work That Body didn't really impress me much. I didn't even realize it had been released as a single.

Of course every song has it's fans and haters. For "Fools" I just can't find anything redeemable about it. The track is weak. So weak. Especially after what she had just done with "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". And vocally...this is not the song I point people to if they want to know why I think Diana is a great singer. She's not hitting bad notes or anything, but Ciara or Britney Spears or somebody like that could get in a time machine and go back to 1981 and do a similar vocal. Diana Ross was better than that. If she was going to go back into her favorites, I think a funky mid tempo "There Goes My Baby" would've been a better choice. The track that did end up "There Goes" for RHRAB wasn't leaps and bounds better than "Fools", but Diana's vocal surely was.

My take anyway.

[RanRan79]

I'm surprised that "Work That Body" was a Top 10 hit in the UK, because I had never ever heard it before [[on the radio) or seen it on any Diana compilations. [[Just checking now, it appears on one compilation, Love And Life: The Very Best Of Diana Ross). For contrast, "I'm Coming Out" made #13, but that's a bonafide classic!

It's weird how some songs just stay in rotation while others go missing, despite initial success. "One Love In My Lifetime" was a top 10 r&b hit, but still today I don't think I've ever heard it on the radio and outside of this forum no one ever mentions it. "It's My House" hit #27 r&b and growing up I heard it on the radio all the time and people would sing it even when it wasn't on. I've even heard people sing the chorus on a sitcom or two over the years. Weird.

[sup_fan]

Of course every song has it's fans and haters. For "Fools" I just can't find anything redeemable about it. The track is weak. So weak. Especially after what she had just done with "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". And vocally...this is not the song I point people to if they want to know why I think Diana is a great singer. She's not hitting bad notes or anything, but Ciara or Britney Spears or somebody like that could get in a time machine and go back to 1981 and do a similar vocal. Diana Ross was better than that. If she was going to go back into her favorites, I think a funky mid tempo "There Goes My Baby" would've been a better choice. The track that did end up "There Goes" for RHRAB wasn't leaps and bounds better than "Fools", but Diana's vocal surely was.

My take anyway.

haha - here we go again Ran :rolleyes:

now i actually think the lp WDFFIL is pretty solid. no it's not The Boss. But frankly i find diana 80 to be very mechanical. yes it's still a hot set but artistically it's not diana pinnacle. she really is just a guest vocalist on a set of chic songs. other than I'm coming out, none of the material required a modicum of the vocal preparation or capabilities as much of the material on The Boss

as for Why, i think the title track is the upbeat fun you need. I'm not 100% sold on the need to "return to my roots" but hey - if that's what was motivating her than fine. There Goes My Baby isn't joyful. Sweet surrender is a rather hot track as is Mirror. i think the production of her voice on this is rather muffled but not as bad as it would become on later projects w RCA. it's Never too late & think i'm in love are both decent album tracks. Sweet Nothings is a fun campy track and frankly one campy song would have sufficed. having this and WTB is probably too much fluff.

Two can make it is rather weak. not terrible but needs something to give some oomph. Endless Love is ghastly.

But all in all, i give it a B/B-. diana 80 i'd give a B+/A-. Boss i give an A/A+

[Bluebrock]

Of course every song has it's fans and haters. For "Fools" I just can't find anything redeemable about it. The track is weak. So weak. Especially after what she had just done with "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". And vocally...this is not the song I point people to if they want to know why I think Diana is a great singer. She's not hitting bad notes or anything, but Ciara or Britney Spears or somebody like that could get in a time machine and go back to 1981 and do a similar vocal. Diana Ross was better than that. If she was going to go back into her favorites, I think a funky mid tempo "There Goes My Baby" would've been a better choice. The track that did end up "There Goes" for RHRAB wasn't leaps and bounds better than "Fools", but Diana's vocal surely was.

My take anyway.

Totally agree. It was a lazy and badly produced album. The only good tune was Mirror Mirror. There were a couple of half decent ballads but the rest was substandard. Diana needed the original choice of producer Quincy Jones to push her vocally in the studio. It is an album i can barely listen to.

[midnightman]

We know how Diana feels when a producer tells her what to do. LOL

Maybe that's why she didn't want a single producer on her albums. She's alright with a duo apparently lol

Why didn't she work with Stock Aitken Waterman though? Lol

[Bluebrock]

We know how Diana feels when a producer tells her what to do. LOL

Maybe that's why she didn't want a single producer on her albums. She's alright with a duo apparently lol

Why didn't she work with Stock Aitken Waterman though? Lol
She turned down the opportunity of working with SAW just before they hooked up with Donna Summer.

[midnightman]

Ah. She wasted so many great opportunities imho

[RanRan79]

haha - here we go again Ran :rolleyes:

now i actually think the lp WDFFIL is pretty solid. no it's not The Boss. But frankly i find diana 80 to be very mechanical. yes it's still a hot set but artistically it's not diana pinnacle. she really is just a guest vocalist on a set of chic songs. other than I'm coming out, none of the material required a modicum of the vocal preparation or capabilities as much of the material on The Boss

as for Why, i think the title track is the upbeat fun you need. I'm not 100% sold on the need to "return to my roots" but hey - if that's what was motivating her than fine. There Goes My Baby isn't joyful. Sweet surrender is a rather hot track as is Mirror. i think the production of her voice on this is rather muffled but not as bad as it would become on later projects w RCA. it's Never too late & think i'm in love are both decent album tracks. Sweet Nothings is a fun campy track and frankly one campy song would have sufficed. having this and WTB is probably too much fluff.

Two can make it is rather weak. not terrible but needs something to give some oomph. Endless Love is ghastly.

But all in all, i give it a B/B-. diana 80 i'd give a B+/A-. Boss i give an A/A+

I was referring to the single "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", not the album. The album is pleasant enough, but other than "Mirror" and "Work That Body", none of it knocks me out. "Sweet Surrender" has grown on me in recent years. But clearly the album's success was off the strength of the Diana Ross name. For this album to have been classic, she needed someone other than herself to produce it, and in my mind that would've been Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Arif Mardin, Ashford and Simpson.

"There Goes My Baby" isn't joyful? Was that necessary for a hit song?

I agree about Diana 80. It's actually an album I never play because honestly I'm not a fan of that Chic sound. For years I hated "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". I like them both now, but I hardly ever make a point of playing them. The Boss is IMO the last great Diana album of her popular years. Not a bad song on it and vocally Diana is giving me what I need from her.

[lucky2012]

… about Diana 80... It's actually an album I never play because honestly I'm not a fan of that Chic sound...The Boss is IMO the last great Diana album of her popular years. Not a bad song on it and vocally Diana is giving me what I need from her.
I have to be in the mood for "that Chic sound". But when I am, I don't play the whole album, but rather a Nile Rodgers playlist that includes Upside Down, I'm Coming Out, My Old Piano, Give Up and Friend to Friend.
Come to think of it, The Boss is indeed "the last great album of her popular years". I do occasionally play the whole album. My only quibble is that I think Sparkle goes on too long at the end.
IMO Take Me Higher, Every Day Is a New Day and Red Hot Rhythm & Blues are Very Good if not Great albums from her "unpopular" years.

[Jaap]

It's weird how some songs just stay in rotation while others go missing, despite initial success. "One Love In My Lifetime" was a top 10 r&b hit, but still today I don't think I've ever heard it on the radio and outside of this forum no one ever mentions it. "It's My House" hit #27 r&b and growing up I heard it on the radio all the time and people would sing it even when it wasn't on. I've even heard people sing the chorus on a sitcom or two over the years. Weird.

One Love in My Lifetime was one of those more "obscure" Diana Ross songs that would get some airplay back in the 1980s on Dutch radio, even though the single never charted when released in 1976. Now you don't hear it anymore, even on the "Soul & Jazz" station I listen to [[and which plays a lot of Ross, both with and without the Supremes).

[sup_fan]

I was referring to the single "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", not the album. The album is pleasant enough, but other than "Mirror" and "Work That Body", none of it knocks me out. "Sweet Surrender" has grown on me in recent years. But clearly the album's success was off the strength of the Diana Ross name. For this album to have been classic, she needed someone other than herself to produce it, and in my mind that would've been Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Arif Mardin, Ashford and Simpson.

"There Goes My Baby" isn't joyful? Was that necessary for a hit song?

I agree about Diana 80. It's actually an album I never play because honestly I'm not a fan of that Chic sound. For years I hated "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". I like them both now, but I hardly ever make a point of playing them. The Boss is IMO the last great Diana album of her popular years. Not a bad song on it and vocally Diana is giving me what I need from her.

oh i see - i thought you were referring to the lp. I do think the set could have been stronger than it was. and i do really like There Goes My Baby on RHRAB. it's a fav of mine and often put it on playlists. but i think WDFLIL has more catchy appeal. TGMB is a ballad and i think to start her new time with RCA needed something with more zing

[RanRan79]

oh i see - i thought you were referring to the lp. I do think the set could have been stronger than it was. and i do really like There Goes My Baby on RHRAB. it's a fav of mine and often put it on playlists. but i think WDFLIL has more catchy appeal. TGMB is a ballad and i think to start her new time with RCA needed something with more zing

Yeah, I like "There Goes" on RHRAB too. Nothing red hot about it, but I love Diana's vocal and the arrangement is cool, just not for an album with that title. I think "There Goes My Baby" could've been given an uptempo funky arrangement and been a hit in 1981, ala what 4 On the Floor did with it in 1979:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84jRTPWgd5E

Of course Diana's would be less disco and more funky, similar to "Work That Body". Donna Summer would have a #20 r&b and #21 pop hit with a New Wave sounding version in 1984. So I think Diana might have made a more classic cover of it than going with "Fools".

I'll be honest, I don't think there was any way to inject "Fools" with soul in the early 80s unless Diana turned the song on it's head, slowed it down and made it sad and dramatic. Which now that I think of it, I wonder how an overproduced dramatic reading of "Fools", ala "Aint No Mountain High Enough", would've fared. Moving on to the new label but doing a throwback to throwback classic Diana Ross.

As it is, "Fools" is just too light and too pop for my taste.