Originally Posted by
RanRan79
What's there to understand? Diana took creative control of her career and since she was in control, the buck stops with her when it's time to figure out what went wrong. Her intention at RCA was to get the big pay off for signing. After that it was to do whatever the hell she felt like doing when she woke up in the morning. If that meant going into the studio and recording a masterpiece like "Swept Away" [[yes, I consider "Swept Away" to be one of the only masterpieces she did at RCA) or fluff like "So Close", then that's just how it was and everybody, from the head of RCA down to the average fan on the street, had to be happy with it. And if we weren't, Diana didn't give a crap.
And just because she may have spent a ton of money hiring musicians and producers and whoever else doesn't mean the music doesn't sound cheap. So much of what she did at RCA sounds like it could have been cut by just about any small, out of the way record label in the country, not necessarily a giant like RCA. Diana squandered her time at RCA when you consider what she accomplished vs what she could have accomplished.
Now mind you, this is all relative. Diana has the enviable position of being able to have her RCA years critiqued against the incredible run she had at Motown, including her time with the Supremes and there are countless singers who would have killed for Diana's RCA success alone. But lets get real, if it were not for her Motown years, Diana wouldn't necessarily be a forgotten vocalist if all we had were her RCA discography, but legendary run? No way. And she's to blame for that, in addition to RCA who let her run amok.