35 Years Ago: Diana Ross Releases Her Biggest-Selling Album ‘Diana’

[milven]

Ten years after leaving the Supremes, Diana Ross had enjoyed a pretty good decade. She’d become one of the biggest singers in the world, with a bunch of pop smashes and hit albums to her credit, not to mention she was an Academy Award-nominated actress for her role in 1972′s Lady Sings the Blues. But, as the ’80s were about to dawn, Ross wanted to do something to freshen up her sound.

Inspired by the music she was hearing at New York’s Studio 54, the Motown star decided to work with new collaborators. For her next album — her 10th solo studio release — she wanted to partner with Chic masterminds Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The boys behind “Good Times” jumped at the opportunity to work with a music icon.


Full article at below link

http://theboombox.com/diana-ross-diana/

[RobertZ]

Ten years after leaving the Supremes, Diana Ross had enjoyed a pretty good decade. She’d become one of the biggest singers in the world, with a bunch of pop smashes and hit albums to her credit, not to mention she was an Academy Award-nominated actress for her role in 1972′s Lady Sings the Blues. But, as the ’80s were about to dawn, Ross wanted to do something to freshen up her sound.

Inspired by the music she was hearing at New York’s Studio 54, the Motown star decided to work with new collaborators. For her next album — her 10th solo studio release — she wanted to partner with Chic masterminds Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The boys behind “Good Times” jumped at the opportunity to work with a music icon.


Full article at below link

http://theboombox.com/diana-ross-diana/

Hard to believe, isn't it? 35 years! And it's a masterpiece. Thanks for the post and the article. Edwards is well meaning but incorrect - he was not the first to care about structuring lyric to Ms. Ross' life - A&S had done that already with "The Boss" - but I digress and thank him for this wonderful music.

[soulster]

"diana" was the first Ross album I ever cared to buy because I am a huge Chic fan.

[timmyfunk]

Still have to get the deluxe edition of Diana and hear the original mix of the album prior to Ms. Ross getting her grubby hands on it.

[ralpht]

There is an inside story to this album. Some forum members may remember this, but I'll post the video for newer members to see.

Tim. Grubby hands?? That is Russ's mix.

https://youtu.be/A9uiouUw2PY

[marv2]

Chic were still very popular by 1980. It was like a Chic album featuring Diana Ross.

[Roberta75]

Chic were still very popular by 1980. It was like a Chic album featuring Diana Ross.

of course it was. lol Ever wonder why it was Dianes name on the album cover.

[RobertZ]

[QUOTE=ralpht;285562]There is an inside story to this album. Some forum members may remember this, but I'll post the video for newer members to see.

Tim. Grubby hands?? That is Russ's mix.

https://youtu.be/A9uiouUwy

Thanks for the link, Ralph. I've not seen that one before. BTW, you know we can't ever have a completely civil thread here with Ms. Ross' name in it - don't take the comment seriously.

[soulster]

Still have to get the deluxe edition of Diana and hear the original mix of the album prior to Ms. Ross getting her grubby hands on it.

You never heard it? Its been out on CD for more than a decade!

[RobertZ]

[QUOTE=ralpht;285562]There is an inside story to this album. Some forum members may remember this, but I'll post the video for newer members to see.

Tim. Grubby hands?? That is Russ's mix.

https://youtu.be/A9uio

The statement about making the vocals "surf" the music is excellent; really illustrates a goal of the process. Russ and yourself mostly answer my next question with your "art" comment; my question is [[specifically for this project) when sitting mostly alone mixing do you aim for the "best" sound without commercial concerns, or do you let contemporary sounds guide your mixes? Really, for this or any project?

[soulster]

My thoughts:

As far as this Diana Ross album is concerned, this is not about the way the levels of the vocals. I find that the vocals are about the same levels in both the Bob Clearmountain and Russ Terrana mixes. The main difference between the two is that the music is more prominent in the Clearmountain mixes, in that the details of the instruments were brought out more, especially Nile Rodgers' guitar. Chic does jam more in the Clearmountain version. I think that calling it a Chic album with Ross as a guest vocalist is an extreme reaction, really. It's just a different approach. I also think that Ross wasn't used to the concept of her not being front and center above all else. In the case of the original mixes, Chic also shares the spotlight. The editing, especially on "Tenderness", demonstrates this.

On the technical side, I am happy that Russ decided to back off on the compressor for Tony Thompson's drum track on "I'm Coming Out". His mix provides the proper ass-kicking the song's intro needed that Kevin Reeves' CD mastering of the album brought out so well.

I generally do not like when the vocals ride on top of the music. I prefer vocals to blend in more with the music, 70s style. Of course, every situation is different. A soft ballad by, say, Bread, isn't going to sound right with the vocal further back in the mix.

[RobertZ]

My thoughts:

As far as this Diana Ross album is concerned, this is not about the way the levels of the vocals. I find that the vocals are about the same levels in both the Bob Clearmountain and Russ Terrana mixes. The main difference between the two is that the music is more prominent in the Clearmountain mixes, in that the details of the instruments were brought out more, especially Nile Rodgers' guitar. Chic does jam more in the Clearmountain version. I think that calling it a Chic album with Ross as a guest vocalist is an extreme reaction, really. It's just a different approach. I also think that Ross wasn't used to the concept of her not being front and center above all else. In the case of the original mixes, Chic also shares the spotlight. The editing, especially on "Tenderness", demonstrates this.

On the technical side, I am happy that Russ decided to back off on the compressor for Tony Thompson's drum track on "I'm Coming Out". His mix provides the proper ass-kicking the song's intro needed that Kevin Reeves' CD mastering of the album brought out so well.

I generally do not like when the vocals ride on top of the music. I prefer vocals to blend in more with the music, 70s style. Of course, every situation is different. A soft ballad by, say, Bread, isn't going to sound right with the vocI al further back in the mix.

Lots of interesting ideas; thanks for stating them. As a total tech novice I certainly hear
a difference between the mixes; I find the Chic mix generally "darker" and "spacier". According to Mr. Edwards himself his drug use was rampant so that may have been a factor in how he preferred the aural experience. Mr. T's mix is "brighter" and "snappier", all in the best ways possible. It is my opinion that this released version helped greatly to the sales success of the album.

[soulster]

Lots of interesting ideas; thanks for stating them. As a total tech novice I certainly hear
a difference between the mixes; I find the Chic mix generally "darker" and "spacier". According to Mr. Edwards himself his drug use was rampant so that may have been a factor in how he preferred the aural experience. Mr. T's mix is "brighter" and "snappier", all in the best ways possible. It is my opinion that this released version helped greatly to the sales success of the album.

From what I understand, Bernard's drug use didn't become a problem until later in the 80s. Remember that Bob Clearmountain mixed all their projects up to 1981. The "Real People" album, released a couple of months after "diana" was the last album Clearmountain recorded and mixed for the Chic Organization. That spacious sound came from the studio they worked in the famed The Power Station in NYC. However, they did not record in the "big" room. At that time, R&B artists and producers used the smaller studio, and tended to close-mic the instruments, as typical of the recording practices in the 70s. It was Madonna who made Nile use the main room, believe it or not. That's right! Madonna was hands-on every recording and mixing session! Anyway, another reason Chic sounded the way they did was because Tony Thompson played drums very hard. He pounded everything. He even busted microphones. What the engineer had to do was place his drum kit mics across the room. Study and Chic Organization recording, or any other recording Tony Thompson played on: He hit HARD! No where this is more evident than on The Power Station album with Robert Palmer, Bernard Edwards, and Andy Taylor [[from Duran Duran).

Bernard Edwards was just as hard at work in the 80s as Nile was, but only managed to do one solo album. He did produce The Power Station, Missing Persons, and played on that "Like A Virgin" album by Madonna, as well as that Power Station album, though. The only think i'm not sure about is if he detoxed before he produced Rod Stewart or after. He did a fine job on the "CHIC-ism" album.

[RobertZ]

From what I understand, Bernard's drug use didn't become a problem until later in the 80s. Remember that Bob Clearmountain mixed all their projects up to 1981. The "Real People" album, released a couple of months after "diana" was the last album Clearmountain recorded and mixed for the Chic Organization. That spacious sound came from the studio they worked in the famed The Power Station in NYC. However, they did not record in the "big" room. At that time, R&B artists and producers used the smaller studio, and tended to close-mic the instruments, as typical of the recording practices in the 70s. It was Madonna who made Nile use the main room, believe it or not. That's right! Madonna was hands-on every recording and mixing session! Anyway, another reason Chic sounded the way they did was because Tony Thompson played drums very hard. He pounded everything. He even busted microphones. What the engineer had to do was place his drum kit mics across the room. Study and Chic Organization recording, or any other recording Tony Thompson played on: He hit HARD! No where this is more evident than on The Power Station album with Robert Palmer, Bernard Edwards, and Andy Taylor [[from Duran Duran).

Bernard Edwards was just as hard at work in the 80s as Nile was, but only managed to do one solo album. He did produce The Power Station, Missing Persons, and played on that "Like A Virgin" album by Madonna, as well as that Power Station album, though. The only think i'm not sure about is if he detoxed before he produced Rod Stewart or after. He did a fine job on the "CHIC-ism" album.

Lots of great information; thanks for posting! Tony Thompson was certainly a major part of the Chic sound, on their LPs and others. Hats off to the engineers who recorded him so brilliantly! This thread led me to order the Classic Series 5-LP Chic box; I loved "Take It Off" [[probably because it's less played) and look forward to hearing all the LPs again. BTW I did not mean disrespect about the drug reference; it was just an idea about what may have influenced a certain sound. I love hearing these tech stories and wish those such as yourself would post more; I always read the Dennis Coffey pieces. I'm a tech dunce and don't know what to ask but I do love to read about the challanges of recording.