Diana Ross' Diana album from 1980

[funkyone71]

Below is a link to an article I wrote about Diana Ross' smash album from 1980 entitled Diana which featured Upside Down and I'm Coming Out.

http://soultrain.com/2015/05/04/clas...na-ross-diana/

[soulster]

The album had a disco sound which Ross wanted to get away from. When the legendary New York disc jockey Frankie Crocker heard the album, he warned Ross that the album, with its disco sounds coming off of the heels of the anti-disco backlash, could slowly end her recording career.

It's not so much that she was trying to get away from disco, she didn't want it to sound like she was a guest singer on a Chic album.

[Bluebrock]

I never rated this album much at the time of release but now I realise what a gamble it was for Diana to take a chance with Chic who by this time were on the wane. I now rate it as one of Diana's best albums.

[rovereab]

It's not so much that she was trying to get away from disco, she didn't want it to sound like she was a guest singer on a Chic album.

I guess this is the same approach adopted by David Bowie with Let's Dance by the nature of the album's mix.

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

[RossHolloway]

Hard to believe that album is now 35 years old and still being listened to and talked about.

[rovereab]

I never tire of this album and would have loved it to have been a double album being a big fan of Diana Ross and Chic.

I must dig my vinyl copy out as I am sure that the tracks are listed in small print towards one corner on the back of the cover in a different order to the actual LP.

Edit - you can see the track listing here:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=di...l%3B806%3B1600

[captainjames]

I consider myself among those that have a good ear for the "diana" sound [[the quality room sound) and when I heard this I said Oh Sh*6%tt she has really has a hit on her hands.

[reese]

I have to admit that on first listen, I wasn't impressed with this album at all, especially coming after THE BOSS. Over time, I grew to like it, but I hardly ever play it.

[vgalindo]

I love "Upside Down", "I'm Coming Out", and "Have Fun". Other than that I really didn't care for the album. It has also grown on me over time but I still don't play it much.

[soulster]

I guess this is the same approach adopted by David Bowie with Let's Dance by the nature of the album's mix.

No, not at all! "Let's Dance" absolutely featured Nile Rodgers' signature sound, and that is somewhat apart from what he did with his Chic partner Bernard Edwards. Bowie was absolutely on board with that sound.

[soulster]

Hard to believe that album is now 35 years old and still being listened to and talked about.

Well, people are still talking about and listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones...

[soulster]

I have to admit that on first listen, I wasn't impressed with this album at all, especially coming after THE BOSS. Over time, I grew to like it, but I hardly ever play it.

the 1980 album is about the only Ross album I consistently reach for. I like all of the songs except "Friend To Friend".

[jobeterob]

The best songs to me were Give Up and Upside Down ~ there is a section of Upside Down where she takes it over and owns that song. She and Russ did an excellent remix. The Chic mixes were poor.

Now That Your Gone is also good. I'm tired of I'm Coming Out and never liked Friend to Friend.

[vgalindo]

The best songs to me were Give Up and Upside Down ~ there is a section of Upside Down where she takes it over and owns that song. She and Russ did an excellent remix. The Chic mixes were poor.

Now That Your Gone is also good. I'm tired of I'm Coming Out and never liked Friend to Friend.

Yes I forgot about "Give Up". I really do like that one too. Worst song "Friend to Friend". Never did like it.

[Bluebrock]

friend to friend had the potential to be a good song but the production and performance was so lifeless. It never really got going. I think it could have benefited by picking up the tempo and turn itself into a dance anthem the way Donna Summer reworked Macarthur Park.
Give up could have been a hit in its own right rather than wasted as a B side. Now that your gone should have been longer . Upside Down and I'm coming out remain classics .All told Diana gave some of her finest vocal performances on this album.

[soulster]

Nah! The released version of "That You're Gone" is too long as it is. That is why the original Bob Clearmountain version is better with the cold ending.

[Bluebrock]

I still believe now that your gone could have been a great song but as with friend to friend there was something missing. I respect your opinion soulster but I disagree with it, but that is what this forum is all about.

[vgalindo]

Nah! The released version of "That You're Gone" is too long as it is. That is why the original Bob Clearmountain version is better with the cold ending.

I also agree it's too long. I start off really liking the song but get tired of it because its too long.

[stephanie]

I still think Surrender is her best album. I couldnt get into this one.

[rovereab]

No, not at all! "Let's Dance" absolutely featured Nile Rodgers' signature sound, and that is somewhat apart from what he did with his Chic partner Bernard Edwards. Bowie was absolutely on board with that sound.

It's amazing how we all hear different things. To my ears the degree of "Chic sound" is very similar and the released version of Diana and Let's Dance have the vocals pushed forward in the mix in a similar manner.

Still, what is good is that we all appreciate a great release!

[RossHolloway]

I think this is one of her albums that I can listen to from beginning to end without skipping a track. And I've always loved Friend to Friend and I think its because its a slow song and you get to really hear and feel the texture of her voice.

[detmotownguy]

I still think Surrender is her best album. I couldnt get into this one.

I remember buying this album for $.99 in the cutout bin at a store in Detroit call Spartan Atlantic just a few months after it came out. I like the photos esp with the moon on the background. To me it seemed smooth and somewhat cohesive. I am in the minority from what I can tell that I really liked I'll be There. It may not have been "super hip", but I found it to be a gentle effort that was easy to listen too

[Bokiluis]

After "The Boss", I would have to say that I was initially disappointed. I had tried to imagine what a diana/Chic collaboration would sound like. The massive success helped to ease the pain. It really took the release of the Chic mixes for me to "get it". Now that's really the mixes I listen to. I love the extended ending of "Upside Down" and "Tenderness".
It still doesn't make my personal Diana Top 10. But I would love for her to do a one night only show performing the entire album. [[I can dream, can't I?)

[motown4ever]

I am a huge Chic Fan, and My Old Piano gets my nod. It was probably recorded towards the end of the sessions, when there was tension in the air. Had it been recorded earlier with the right amount of TLC it could have been a hit IMO.

[masterblaster]

I am a huge Chic Fan, and My Old Piano gets my nod. It was probably recorded towards the end of the sessions, when there was tension in the air. Had it been recorded earlier with the right amount of TLC it could have been a hit IMO.

It was a huge hit in Europe, UK - #5, France # 3, Belgium #4 and Holland #2.

[soulster]

I am a huge Chic Fan, and My Old Piano gets my nod. It was probably recorded towards the end of the sessions, when there was tension in the air. Had it been recorded earlier with the right amount of TLC it could have been a hit IMO.

My understanding is that it was one of the first songs written.

[skooldem1]

I thought the tension came after the album was recorded and Diana had it remixed. Never heard that there was tension during the recording session.

[reese]

I thought the tension came after the album was recorded and Diana had it remixed. Never heard that there was tension during the recording session.

In THE BILLBOARD BOOK OF NUMBER ONE R&B HITS, Nile Rodgers said that at one point, they told Diana that she was singing flat, and it wasn't received well. She went off to the South of France for two or three months but they worked it all out.

[sansradio]

In THE BILLBOARD BOOK OF NUMBER ONE R&B HITS, Nile Rodgers said that at one point, they told Diana that she was singing flat, and it wasn't received well. She went off to the South of France for two or three months but they worked it all out.

Yes, apparently she told them something to the effect of "Berry Gordy never told me I sing flat" and stormed out. Gotta love her!

[soulster]

Yes, apparently she told them something to the effect of "Berry Gordy never told me I sing flat" and stormed out. Gotta love her!

Love her for not being able to take criticism well? For not being able to accept the truth? Really?

[sansradio]

Love her for not being able to take criticism well? For not being able to accept the truth? Really?

Lighten up, soulster. I was being facetious.

[mysterysinger]

The two disc Deluxe Edition has the following tracks....

Tracks
Disc 1
Diana
01 Upside Down
02 Tenderness
03 Friend To Friend
04 I'm Coming Out
05 Have Fun [[Again)
06 My Old Piano
07 Now That You're Gone
08 Give Up

Diana - unreleased Chic mix **
09 Upside Down
10 Tenderness
11 Friend To Friend
12 I'm Coming Out
13 Have Fun [[Again)
14 My Old Piano
15 Now That You're Gone
16 Give Up


Disc 2
01 Love Hangover [[extended alternative mix) **
02 Your Love Is So Good For Me [[12" mix)
03 Top Of The World
04 Lovin', Livin' and Givin' [[LP mix)
05 What You Gave Me [[12" mix)
06 You Were The One
07 Diana Ross & The Supremes Medley of Hits [[12" mix)
08 No One Gets The Prize / The Boss [[12" re-edit)
09 I Ain't Been Licked [[12" mix) **
10 Fire Don't Burn **
11 We Can Never Light That Old Flame Again [[alternate mix)
12 You Build Me Up To Tear Me Down **
13 Sweet Summertime Livin' **

** Previously unreleased