Nile Rodgers on What Motown Would Have Done with Upside Down

[jobeterob]

Nile Rodgers: ‘Le Freak’ [[2011)
The “sex, drugs, and disco” revolution of the Seventies, as seen by the Chic guitarist who permanently changed the way music sounds and feels and moves. This is a cerebral and unabashed celebration of disco; as Nile Rodgers puts it, “We shared Afrobromantic dreams of what it would be like to have real artistic freedom.” He also reveals that when he and Bernard Edwards wrote the classic “Upside Down” for Diana Ross, everybody at Motown hated it. The song would have been axed forever, if not for the one listener who recognized its brilliance. “We played it for Gene Simmons of KISS, who was recording next door, and he told us it was great. We respected Gene, but he was dating Diana Ross at the time, so what else would he say?”
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[PeaceNHarmony]

Yes, Motown's initial rejection of the entire Diana/Chic collection was a tad late to the party! I think it shows just how out of touch the label had become.

[monicarivers]

Bump......

[jobeterob]

Think Diana was wise to do the remix - she did it much better

[rovereab]

The remix was definitely needed as well as the different vocals. Upside down became much more punchy albeit still having the essential Chic elements.

The original My Old Piano just drags whereas the remixed version with the different vocals sprang to life and deservedly became a sizeable hit in the UK.

[PeaceNHarmony]

I like both versions of the single and entire album, but I do find the Chic versions somewhat 'darker'. The official releases are, as time has proven, more listener-ready.

[jobeterob]

If Russ and Diana had not done those remixes, the singles and album would not have been the massive hits they were

[Levi Stubbs Tears]

I don't think the album needed to be remixed, however the single mix for i'm Coming Out was more radio-friendly.

Upside Down isn't that much different to the Chic mix.

I remember at the time it happened Nile commented in a music magazine that what had been done to Upside Down and another track [[I forget which one) was ok, but he thought they had ruined the ballad 'Now that You're Gone'.

It's a testament to the quality of Nile & Bernard's tracks that 'diana' was such a hit. Certainly Motown did very little to promote it properly - it could have been much more massive.