No I didn't. It was Ollie9 that first mentioned that flop record in post #96.
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She did indeed. I quite like Streisand's version but think Natalie cole has the edge.
I really love the song and so wish Diana had recorded it for the "To Love Again" album. To me it was a natural.
With songs such as this and by motown being able to include EL and DOY the album could have been huge with hits a plenty. As it were they were forced to release two fairly pleasant album tracks as singles which never stood a chance.
Talking of B.S, i think her version of "Home is fairly awful. It should have been great, but it just doesn't work. Diana really does have the definitive on that one.....imo.
I wouldn't say it was awful, but i don't think it will be mentioned when tributes are paid when she eventually passes, which i trust will not be for quite some time yet. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her recently. She was totally different to what i was expecting. A true legend in every respect.
The first time I heard this song [[by Natalie Cole) I knew it should have been recorded by Diana. Natalie and Barbra interpret it well but I can just imagine and "hear" the perfect version by Ross.
Yes, that would have been better. That way, another single from diana could have been released instead of One More Chance. [[One More Chance is my favorite of the "new" Masser songs on To Love Again. I think it is a marvelous, dramatic vocal performance by Ross. But it was a poor, or at least not timely, choice for a single.)Quote:
Getting back to the "To Love Again album, it's a huge shame that the album could not have been released at the same time "Endless Love" was climbing the charts.
It could have been titled Endless Love" to include "Dreaming Of You". Had this been the case i think the album could have gone top 10.
I can't see another big hit single on diana unless My Old Piano had been released in the US in 1980 on the heels of I'm Coming Out when the album was still hot instead of being held back until 1982 and in direct competition with Mirror Mirror.
Whatever your opinion of the music Diana had a very successful start to her RCA stint.
It's hard to get a handle on what would be successful for Diana in the UK after 1980 but for me the lost UK hit from To Love Again was Stay With Me - it would certainly have been massive in the early and mid-70s.
And Chain Reaction was BIG in Boston and Cleveland.
Perhaps not awful, just a little bland. I met her in 82 but only got to say hi.
She was in the UK working on Yentl and my b/friend was best friend with the costume designer of the film. All the crew said she was a real trooper. I know for a fact she did not want to be called M's Streisand all the time lol.
My bottom line opinion of "Bad Weather" is that it is a really good song. I do think Jean's lead was more laidback on the recorded version and after hearing her live, the record would've probably been better with a more lively and passionate performance, because Jean killed this song live, especially on Soul Train.
"Chain Reaction" had pop hit written all over it. I personally suspect that the turn off wasn't Diana or the track but was instead the voices of the Bee Gees. Had they given Diana a soulful backing group of vocalists- the Waters perhaps- I think the song would've gone top 10. Ross and Bee Gees don't make for a good blend of sound. Diana could've even done the backgrounds herself and made the record much more ear appealing to US audiences.
I love "Home", and wouldn't mind it being tackled by any vocalist that is going to do it justice. Steph, Diana and Whitney are definitely the three who sing my favorite versions, in that order. I'm not a Streisand fan so I shudder at the thought of what she may have done to it.
She was lovely Ollie. I was expecting tissues and issues, but i got a very astute and intelligent lady. She was calm, happy and relaxed. An absolute pleasure to work with. Those 5 or 6 days literally flew by. She promised to return for a tour in 2021 when she will hopefully have her next album out. Fingers crossed.
yeah Piano is ok but was never anything remarkable to me. Have Fun is soooooo chic that it lacks anything new or exciting to make it DR or make it memorable. Tenderness is a bit stronger. and Friend and Now are ballads and i think not strong enough for singles
Perhaps Give Up would have had enough excitement. But it pales compared to Upside and Coming.
I would have moved her either into a 2nd Chic lp or Lionel content.
I know she has a personal assistant named Renata who has been with her like forever. Judy, who worked on the costumes told my partner she was nice but you had to know your stuff because she has such an eye for detail.
So come on Bluebrock, please spill some beans. How does working with Diana compare with Barbra. From what i do know, Bab's is a perfectionist but a lot more relaxed around people then Diana.
I have only once seen Diana out and about in South London. Perhaps she was having a bad day....... That's all i will say.
I am forbidden to say too much, but what i will say is that Barbra had a far better knowledge of her career than Diana did of hers. When i mentioned certain songs Barbra recorded she could tell me what album it was on and who wrote and produced it. Diana's knowledge of her own recordings was most disappointing. It was most obvious that Diana's career played a poor 2nd to her personal life, whilst Barbra was fully in control of her own career and controlled every aspect of it. Unlike Diana she told me she has never recorded a song that she did not fully believe in. However she did admit that a couple of her films were done purely to satisfy a financial commitment.
Ta for sharing Bluebrock. It's a shame the two women have never met. I admire Diana for putting family first. Her priorities have always been in a good place.
Both women have worked with Barry Gibb, but with the exception of CR, Barry seems to keep his best stuff for Streisand.
Diana and Barbra are two different women. Diana had thought about how she was gonna take care of her children, plus she spent years molded by a Svengali so it's no surprise she was bad with musical stuff.
Barbra has basically been her own boss since the start of her career. Therein lies the difference between the two.
I’m willing to bet Diana has recorded more songs than Barbra. Some people simply don’t have that kind of memory/recall, like Barbra or Martha, or Mary, with details. Diana always says her career comes 2nd, and more recently 3rd. Can’t fault her for putting family first. Regarding if they have ever met, I’m sure they must have. They were both at the Legends Ball. So that would be at least one time.
They have met. We were discussing Barry Gibb's work with various divas, and i slipped it into the conversation about working with Diana, and i cheekily said it was a pity they had never met face to face. She very quickly put me in my place and said they had met on a few occasions. She recalled a tribute show for Mohammed Ali where they spoke , and also a Diana concert in the early 70's where she went backstage and met Diana. She also told me in no uncertain terms that Diana had attended at least two of her shows. I quickly recoiled and changed the subject......
But you cannot just disregard the USA, the largest market for popular music. Diana Ross even performed "Chain Reaction" and "Eaten Alive" on The American Music Awards, which is nationally televised and still both records bombed. Same thing happened a few years later when she was promoting her "Take Me Higher" album during the half time show of the Super Bowl. The album and all singles flopped in the U.S. The Super Bowl as a platform and they still did not sell? OMG!
Wasn't her hour long, network television special "Red Hot Rhythm & Blues" used as a vehicle to promote her then current album? With that kind of exposure and it still bombed in America? It should tell you something.
But what should it tell one??. The RHRAB network special did rather well i believe. The fact that she able to star in her own network tv special in 87 is testament to her enduring popularity...... Hits or no hits
If America were not biting it most certainly was not a reflection on the quality of music. Chain Reaction is one of the most commercial songs of her career and the TMH set is a solid, classy album that still sounds fresh today
Perhaps to American eyes Diana was old school. Loyalty to veteran artists is not something their known for. More fool them i say.
Nobody's disregarding the US - lots of records don't make it there, its just a matter of different tastes - it doesn't make their opinion right or wrong.
Any record such as Chain Reaction which was a global million seller in 1986 went Gold in the UK and was the fifth biggest selling single of the year and the biggest selling single of the year in Australia going Platinum with chart action in many other countries is a major success.
What it tells me is that in the case of RHRAB, the album and it's singles weren't interesting enough to the public to warrant them running out and making purchases. And by the time "Take Me Higher" was out there, the public was rarely giving any attention to old school singers. Diana and her peers were respected legends but considered of the past in favor of a new crop of acts. I'm not sure what else these things are supposed to say.
Holy hooligan bajayzuz - Ross can sing some. What a gorgeous record.
The industry's habit of catering to the young started in the 70s. By the time 1986 rolled around, MANY older artists were just not "in" anymore. Some managed to survive the changing trends, most didn't. But technically Diana still had young fans, they were just mostly gay. Same with a lot of the divas from Tina, Patti, Cher on down.
RHRB was a dreary affair with dreadful singles. I can enjoy a few tracks enough to play occasionally, but, the commercial outlook for this mess was zilch.
I ‘I do not blame Ross or the new Supremes decline on bad advice as they didn’t have to take the bad advice. They made crap decisions in various ways and paid the price. Ross’ vision was pretty weak as far as her music went, and the New Supremes had no musical, visual or production vision with each new show one step closer to oblivion. Ross, luckily by the 80s, had established herself worldwide as a superstar and played arenas constantly while putting out weak music. The Supremes never got established, never were embraced by a segment of the public large enough to sustain it and so when they started going on TV looking ridiculous and doing shows That had no real direction, they had no Safetynet and were really on a downward spiral within a year of Ross leaving the group that they never got out of - But it was never a question of their vocal talent. The last time I saw JML in Chicago, they were great in spots, but there was a lot of lackluster applause for songs like automatically sunshine, your wonderful sweet sweet love, Nathan Jones and Floy Joy plus they didn’t even do up the ladder. I remember Jean did such a great job on somewhere, and got good applause, but it was awkward to present a 15 year old ballad in the middle of all these fast paced songs that were really really speeded up…… they should have been more current...Their show was a mess, they didn’t have a command over the audience….Jean was kind of weak, Lynda was the best talking to the audience, Mary acted silly and over exuberant...but damn their harmony was incredible and on good hair nights, they were a breathtakingly beautiful sight to behold.
‘’Ross took her own advice, and in many ways, so did the girls and both paid for it.
sure you can disregard the US market. Mary certainly has. she had limited [[at best) track record here but has certainly commanded larger audiences and all in Europe and elsewhere. She even acknowledges this in Sup Faith. the american audience is notoriously fickle and therefore she spent much of her solo time playing theaters overseas. same with the 70s supremes. once the shine on the 70s grouping began to fade, they would tour more overseas because 1) they records were charting higher over there and 2) they could generate more concert revenue. in the US they were sometimes playing to half-sold houses
very spot-on assessment of the 70s sups. at first in 1970, there was an excitement with the return to the name Sups, diana's exit/farewell hoopla, the new group sound, the vision with their songs and lyrics being focused on peace, love and an higher vision of mankind
but then they thwarted all that by 1) the duets and 2) screwing up the branding of New Ways. the girly pink font and nonsense photos killed the packaging.
then the group didn't evolve. their shows remained too "cabaret." Mary was too giggly and silly. Jean i think was losing her confidence and also just getting weary of touring. the image was becoming outdated and too plastic. they had a chance to really do something new and different but threw it away
then when scherrie joined it was unfortunately an ill-advised platform for mary's solo aspirations. big ballgown style outfits, the same old tired shows. and when susaye joined, they didn't bother to update the image more by now having two writer/producers as members. susaye mostly had spot light solos doing He Ain't heavy and people which were leftover musical charts from the Jean era.