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  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    I just listened to WORKIN OVERTIME for the first time in my life....



    I think better lyrics for this number would have been:

    "get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans!" lol!!
    Ha ha ha! I would have to agree with you Boogiedown.

  2. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by daviddh View Post
    I have to say, I totally agree with your assessment of WDFFIL album.i wanted to like it, and after the success of Diana. I wanted to. I just cant for all the reasons you stated.
    weak songs and lazy vocals.
    I don't understand how she has repeatedly released a excellent hit album and followed it up with a dud. you would think she would have learned her lesson a few times over and would have been ready to fly in 1981, but she just dropped the ball.
    I am not sure how she sees herself as a singer.?
    She is not a great fan of her own voice, and rarely listens to her own music. She still loves to perform live, but never showed sufficient interest in her singing career to try and take it to the next level. Just imagine what she could have achieved had she been as keen as Berry Gordy at enhancing her career.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    Red Hot had its moments. Cross my heart, It's hard for me to say and Summertime are lovely songs, but there are some stiffs on there.
    I agree Bluebrock, there are some lovely songs and performances on RHRAB. I have always found "Dirty Looks" as dull as ditchwater and believe it helped kill interest in the album.
    The production on the album has a little of that icy 80's sound but Diana's voice is in glorious form throughout. I think the album should have been called Cross My Heart with that song being the lead single.
    Best songs, "Summertime" "Cross My Heart.
    Worst songs "Tell Me Again" "Dirty Looks".

  4. #54
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    the point of RHR&B was to accompany her tv special where she did do a somewhat valiant effort to explore the history and roots of r&b music. given the huge success of Dirty Dancing and how it re-introduced a lot of classic r&b music to the newer generation, i'm surprised that this didn't do better. i've watched the special and frankly it's nothing amazing. but it could have been - you have Etta James, Little Richard and others.

    the album was a hot mess. had it at least had the same approach as the special, then at least you would have had a cohesive project. but it's such a patchwork that it really just doesn't hold up as it's just too much of a mix of new and old content

    Dirty looks - not hideous but weak. somewhat contemporary but given what else was going on in pop music at time, not strong enough. Listen to what Whitney, Madonna and others were doing for great examples of pop. Plus the title of the lp was RHR&B
    Stranger in Paradise - interesting but even less fitting for the title of the lp
    Summertime - this is really quite excellent
    Shine - meh
    Tell Me Again - a pale comparison to Diana's own mega ballads from the 70s and early 80s and also to whitney's recent blockbusters. potential but so doesn't deliver
    Selfish one - finally a decent cover
    cross my heart - not a bad song but too pop for the original concept of the album
    There goes my baby - i liked this a lot when younger. and certainly hits with the lp concept. but in recent years i've come to realize it's a bit thin. she could have done a bit more
    It's hard for me to say - one of the strongest tracks
    Shockwaves - a decent song, at least it's done somewhat reminiscently of classic motown

    unfortunately some stronger songs were left off the US version - Mr Lee, Tell mama and Sweet soul music.

  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    She is not a great fan of her own voice, and rarely listens to her own music. She still loves to perform live, but never showed sufficient interest in her singing career to try and take it to the next level. Just imagine what she could have achieved had she been as keen as Berry Gordy at enhancing her career.
    Neither do I, but it's not her voice that counts, but what she does with it. In this sense, RCA albums are very disappointing. Everything has its exceptions, for me, Ross is her masterpiece. I'm crazy about her voice on this album, like for TMH or EDAND.

    If her voice is not exceptional, her tone is, and in her interpretations there is something both infinitely sad and full of compassion. Psychic sorrow?


    There are parts of her songs that I can listen to endlessly and the feeling doesn't change.

  6. #56
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    I just tried to watch the Working Overtime video for the first time in 30 years. I had the same reaction as 30 years ago. It was impossible to watch it. Ghastly song. Zero melody. I started to panic reaching for the off button. Honestly. Ross clearly has no independent musical sense of what the public likes and wants from her. She thought that looking pretty and posing like a model was what her fans wanted. LOL
    Last edited by Circa 1824; 03-05-2019 at 10:32 AM.

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    She thought that looking pretty and posing like a model was what her fans wanted. LOL
    She may not be all wrong thinking that. It's just her fans wanted that, and more...

  8. #58
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    I think Diana did a wonderful job of reinventing herself throughout the 70s.

    1. There was the dynamic diva launching her career and we got Mountain, Reach out and touch. she was still glam but her music and approach seemed a bit more accessible than her DRATS days. maybe we COULD reach out and touch or if we needed her, call her.

    2. lady evolution

    3. Touch me in the AM - this is sort of a continuation of #2 but she had matured as an artist, as a woman. the TMITM album is stunning.

    4. Disco queen - after a few hiccups of releases and another somewhat decent movie, Diana re-emerges again as a hot and sexy disco queen with Hangover. she sort of fizzles for a couple years and comes back AGAIN as a disco queen with Boss

    5. urban hip - diana 80 is sleek and hip. the look on the lp is striped of glitter. its real and from the streets almost

    6. woman of the 80s - with her first album or so with RCA, she's a true woman of the 80s. glamorous, successful. massive shoulder pads lol. big hair, heavy makeup

    and that's where, IMO, things stopped. She hasn't ever reinvented herself since the early 80s. sure the mane of hair changes to some degree. sometimes it's more a fro. sometimes has highlights or something. but I'd venture to say that Diana's reinventions throughout the 70s and early 80s rivals even some of the major changes other artists like Madonna have done. it's just that she stopped. And so after a while, people lose interest. regardless of quality of music.

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    I think Diana did a wonderful job of reinventing herself throughout the 70s.

    1. There was the dynamic diva launching her career and we got Mountain, Reach out and touch. she was still glam but her music and approach seemed a bit more accessible than her DRATS days. maybe we COULD reach out and touch or if we needed her, call her.

    2. lady evolution

    3. Touch me in the AM - this is sort of a continuation of #2 but she had matured as an artist, as a woman. the TMITM album is stunning.

    4. Disco queen - after a few hiccups of releases and another somewhat decent movie, Diana re-emerges again as a hot and sexy disco queen with Hangover. she sort of fizzles for a couple years and comes back AGAIN as a disco queen with Boss

    5. urban hip - diana 80 is sleek and hip. the look on the lp is striped of glitter. its real and from the streets almost

    6. woman of the 80s - with her first album or so with RCA, she's a true woman of the 80s. glamorous, successful. massive shoulder pads lol. big hair, heavy makeup

    and that's where, IMO, things stopped. She hasn't ever reinvented herself since the early 80s. sure the mane of hair changes to some degree. sometimes it's more a fro. sometimes has highlights or something. but I'd venture to say that Diana's reinventions throughout the 70s and early 80s rivals even some of the major changes other artists like Madonna have done. it's just that she stopped. And so after a while, people lose interest. regardless of quality of music.
    I feel the same. She tried, timidly with "Take Me Higher", but it didn't last. Theré is this choreographer she talked back in 89, for her WO tour. He came with new ideas, she rejected thème and him.
    It is true that since 1985, she has been living in the same style and, even if it seems ridiculous to say so, she has been presenting us with the same stage dresses since that date.
    Time proved her right, but during the 90s and even 2000, it was old-fashioned.
    Last edited by Albator; 03-07-2019 at 05:42 AM.

  10. #60
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    I have never really been a huge fan of the big frock, long hair image. As you say, she did change it up a bit in 95 for the TMH years which for me was a welcome change. After 2004 she pretty much settled into the image we see today. One of my favourite Diana looks was at the MTV Music Awards in 99. Full on glam, but still chic and.modern.

  11. #61
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    In 83, I brought Silk because of the video of Muscles. I was extremely disappointed by the MOR LP. Than I forget until I read about Central Park in a local newspaper [[south of France). They explained the shows and disturbances of Day 2. The title was "Diana Ross excite les New yorkais".
    They had B/W pictures of her intro costume [[the purple one) and the costume from "Muscles".
    Then back in Paris I rush at the US library to buy Life and much latter The New Yorker with it's fantastic cover and inside paper "Indecent expenses". In between I brought the Ross LP, and I was relieved to find she sang songs with a voice matching her stage presence.
    So my all time favorite look is the 83/85 period.
    Than, the WO tour.
    The 92/94 period was a little bit "to much".
    The TMH look could have worked for me but soon it turned into something wild and agressive.
    The Return To Love time, I hated. She wasn't well and it reflected in her look.
    The 2004/05 comeback , I adored. She was so slim, beautiful to watch.


    These days, she looks pretty amazing considering her age.

  12. #62
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    It's kind of sad that with this being the 30th anniversary of WO that Diana did not feel the need to record a follow up to the album. A Workin' Overtime companion as it were, much in the vein as to what Bab's did with Guilty. I think she could have had a lot of fun with such a project, perhaps with Nile once again at the helm.

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    It's kind of sad that with this being the 30th anniversary of WO that Diana did not feel the need to record a follow up to the album. A Workin' Overtime companion as it were, much in the vein as to what Bab's did with Guilty. I think she could have had a lot of fun with such a project, perhaps with Nile once again at the helm.
    We had already suffered enough with the original album Ollie. There was no need to inflict a companion album which could have turned out to be every bit as bad. Diana hated the album and basically wanted to forget that she ever inflicted it upon an unsuspecting public. Not sure what Nile thought of the album, but i think i shall try to do some investigating. His opinion would be interesting to say the least....

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    We had already suffered enough with the original album Ollie. There was no need to inflict a companion album which could have turned out to be every bit as bad. Diana hated the album and basically wanted to forget that she ever inflicted it upon an unsuspecting public. Not sure what Nile thought of the album, but i think i shall try to do some investigating. His opinion would be interesting to say the least....
    SUFFERED......SUFFERED.......How is that possible?. I'm playing the cd as i type and it's setting me up nicely for the day.
    It would very interesting to hear Niles views on the album, but how is that possible?.
    If not a companion album to WO, a new dance album i'm sure would go down a storm. As that is very unlikely to happen, perhaps a new remix album might be a good idea. With all the club hits she is having at the moment it would make sense.

  15. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    SUFFERED......SUFFERED.......How is that possible?. I'm playing the cd as i type and it's setting me up nicely for the day.
    It would very interesting to hear Niles views on the album, but how is that possible?.
    If not a companion album to WO, a new dance album i'm sure would go down a storm. As that is very unlikely to happen, perhaps a new remix album might be a good idea. With all the club hits she is having at the moment it would make sense.
    I have a friend who is a friend of a friend of Nile whom i may be able to get a message to. I don't know Nile, but he is playing a gig just 8 miles from my home soon, and i am hoping to set up a meeting with him so there may be a way of finding out his true opinion of the album. Glad you continue to enjoy it by the way. My opinion is just my opinion and i respect your right to disagree with me. Take care.

  16. #66
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    Even if Diana hate WO, even if Nile hate WO, they decided to do it as a comeback album at Motown. Since Diana was her own director, she is responsible for this.

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    ^ agreed but the problem [[i'm guessing) is that they were working up against a deadline. she had contractual commitments to get product out and so after they came up with this concept and direction, they sort of got stuck with it. had they had unlimited time, perhaps they would have dropped this and gone in a different direction. or perhaps they would have had more time to revamp things.

    it is a shame that this was the "return to motown debut" and it ended up like it did. There are some tracks that i like quite a bit. but overall it's not a fav of mine. And frankly this style and era of music is not one i personally cared for. then or now.

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    I wonder if the album of Supremes songs that Nile recorded with Diana in 2000 [[i think) will ever get to see the light of day. The musical climate is perfect for such a release methinks.

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    I forget about this one. Was it completed

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    wow - i didn't realize that she did a cover album of Sup material

  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    ^ agreed but the problem [[i'm guessing) is that they were working up against a deadline. she had contractual commitments to get product out and so after they came up with this concept and direction, they sort of got stuck with it. had they had unlimited time, perhaps they would have dropped this and gone in a different direction. or perhaps they would have had more time to revamp things.

    it is a shame that this was the "return to motown debut" and it ended up like it did. There are some tracks that i like quite a bit. but overall it's not a fav of mine. And frankly this style and era of music is not one i personally cared for. then or now.
    The last time I saw Ross was at the Fox Theatre in Detroit for the WO tour. I can’t say that even she was too excited abt the results. She asked the audience Wht they thoughtwith a luke warm response. Somebody said you are gonna have to do better than this. Ouch. She wasn’t in a great mood. However she killed missing you. Actually sounded better than the recording.

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    I saw the Working Overtime tour at Caesars Tahoe. The songs sounded great live. The audience loved the new songs.

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    Quote Originally Posted by vgalindo View Post
    I saw the Working Overtime tour at Caesars Tahoe. The songs sounded great live. The audience loved the new songs.
    Not in Detroit. The lobby was full of people getting their drinks and so was the suite area where I was entertaining my clients. Detroit is a tough audience. People went behind the Fox to “greet” on her way out after the show and she was outta there ASAP. Plus she was not happy with the sound issues. The last few rows on the main floor complained it was hard to hear.

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    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    Not in Detroit. The lobby was full of people getting their drinks and so was the suite area where I was entertaining my clients. Detroit is a tough audience. People went behind the Fox to “greet” on her way out after the show and she was outta there ASAP. Plus she was not happy with the sound issues. The last few rows on the main floor complained it was hard to hear.
    Well that's sad. I have been to so many Diana Ross concerts through the years that I lost count and I have never been to one of her concerts where the crowd didn't love her. However I have never been to a concert in Detroit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by vgalindo View Post
    Well that's sad. I have been to so many Diana Ross concerts through the years that I lost count and I have never been to one of her concerts where the crowd didn't love her. However I have never been to a concert in Detroit.

    Well the crowd sure lapped her up at the Detroit Opera House in 2004 and Chene Park in Summer of 2016. Detroit loved her a lot at those shows.

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    Well prob bc it was Detroit and she left Motown for RCA could have been an issue. $20 mil. Is a lot of money lol! The fans were expecting more from the new release. Maybe the Las Vegas type fan isn’t as hardcore as Detroit. Lastly, she showed no excitement doing the 60’s hits medley. Basically was looking at the stage floor thru the set. Anyway nuff said.

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    Of all the Diana's performances I'v been, The WO concert was the worst I saw. She was in a bad mood and was not pleasant.

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    the WO concert at London Wembly Arena was a huge success. I was there for two nights and on both occasions the audience responded really enthusiastically to the new songs. Diana was electric and appeared to be really enjoying herself. Had "Say We Can" or "Bottom" Line been the first single the album could have really taken off.
    As it was the The album reached 23 on the charts, a respectable showing.....and thats the bottom line.

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    This wasn't a terrible concert because of the new songs. If I remember well, the CD was not on stores while she played her european dates.

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    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    Well prob bc it was Detroit and she left Motown for RCA could have been an issue. $20 mil. Is a lot of money lol! The fans were expecting more from the new release. Maybe the Las Vegas type fan isn’t as hardcore as Detroit. Lastly, she showed no excitement doing the 60’s hits medley. Basically was looking at the stage floor thru the set. Anyway nuff said.
    I remember she brought her concert to Jones Beach on Long Island in 1995. One of my co workers went. They said that about 40 mins into the show, Diana Ross did a 3-5 min. Supremes medley. Right after that more than half of the audience got up and left! She was an oldies act and did not know it or acknowledge it. No one really wanted to hear her new material.

  31. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I remember she brought her concert to Jones Beach on Long Island in 1995. One of my co workers went. They said that about 40 mins into the show, Diana Ross did a 3-5 min. Supremes medley. Right after that more than half of the audience got up and left! She was an oldies act and did not know it or acknowledge it. No one really wanted to hear her new material.
    Half the audience left huh? Forgive me if i say you are talking out of your rear end yet again.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    Half the audience left huh? Forgive me if i say you are talking out of your rear end yet again.
    LOL. And its always a coworker or a cousin. hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe.

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    WORKIN' OVERTIME was Ross's worst chart performing album of her entire solo career [[wiki).

    I think the reasons were many [[mainly the music!!), but for starters what a pointless album title for what should have been one heralding an EPIC event , mainly Diana's grand return to her original hometown roots at Motown Records. Home again , at last!


    I can easily think of many album titles that might celebrate this occasion , the last of which would be one called WORKIN' OVERTIME.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    LOL. And its always a coworker or a cousin. hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe.
    He never seems to amaze me. So funny. No one in their right mind would ever believe that!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    WORKIN' OVERTIME was Ross's worst chart performing album of her entire solo career [[wiki).

    I think the reasons were many [[mainly the music!!), but for starters what a pointless album title for what should have been one heralding an EPIC event , mainly Diana's grand return to her original hometown roots at Motown Records. Home again , at last!


    I can easily think of many album titles that might celebrate this occasion , the last of which would be one called WORKIN' OVERTIME.
    With Berry Gordy gone, the people at Motown under Jheryl Busby did not want Diana Ross! They did not want to promote her product, they did not want her diva attitude...they just wanted her gone! It took 10 years for them to drop her from the label and she gave them plenty of good reason by turning out consecutive bad albums and extremely low sales overall.
    Last edited by marv2; 03-13-2019 at 05:49 PM.

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    Stooping here but...…….

    EXTREMELY low sales: Diana - 200,000. Mary - 2.

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    • Marv2:
      With Berry Gordy gone, the people at Motown under Jheryl Busby did not want Diana Ross! They did not want to promote her product, they did not want her diva attitude...they just wanted her gone! It took 10 years for them to drop her from the label and she gave them plenty of good reason by turning out consecutive bad albums and extremely low sales overall.


    Judging from this lackluster "comeback" album, I believe you Marv. There is nothing about it that says "Welcome Back Diana ! It's been ten lonely years without you! We love you, Motown"
    None of her old buddies wanted to welcome her back? Stevie, Smokey, Temptations, Lionel--- not a bit of involvement from any of them upon her return project.

    I would think this would have been Motown's headline news of the decade,"DIANA IS BACK!!", with a no holds celebratory project being self evident. Pull out all the stops, special guest appearances by classic Motown friends, songwriting credits from long time favorites, congratulatory liner notes from Berry Gordy himself [[ who urged Diana to resign), pictures with plenty of hugging ...etc. etc. etc.
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 03-13-2019 at 08:31 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post




    Judging from this lackluster "comeback" album, I believe you Marv.
    4 words above [[in bold) you never ever ever ever read on this here forum. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post




    Judging from this lackluster "comeback" album, I believe you Marv. There is nothing about it that says "Welcome Back Diana ! It's been ten lonely years without you! We love you, Motown"
    None of her old buddies wanted to welcome her back? Stevie, Smokey, Temptations, Lionel--- not a bit of involvement from any of them upon her return project.

    I would think this would have been Motown's headline news of the decade,"DIANA IS BACK!!", with a no holds celebratory project being self evident. Pull out all the stops, special guest appearances by classic Motown friends, songwriting credits from long time favorites, congratulatory liner notes from Berry Gordy himself [[ who urged Diana to resign), pictures with plenty of hugging ...etc. etc. etc.
    Any of what you described would have been complete "Fantasy Island". Let's not forget, Diana Ross was never that popular internally with the old Motown personnel. The new regime went from ignoring her to outright despising her! Some were young people just starting out with the old Motown and they remembered how poorly she treated them and just about eveyone else. The only thing I remember as far as the media went was a brief clip on like the entertainment minute on CNN of Ross returning to Motown as an artists and investor of some sort. Nothing else. A friend of mine that worked in Marketing and Promotion at Motown came to me one day and she asked me what should she do with Ross' "Force Behind the Power" album. This was in 1991 and I didn't have a clue for her, other than telling her the artwork sucked. LOL!

    They tried to make a public appearance of unity of the old Motown gang in 1995 when the first Motown Cafe opened in NYC. There was plenty of press and plenty of stars but it all seemed very stilted. As far as Diana Ross value as a recording artist, no one cared or took her seriously upon her return to Motown. The product she issued bore that out.
    Last edited by marv2; 03-13-2019 at 08:59 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Albator View Post
    This wasn't a terrible concert because of the new songs. If I remember well, the CD was not on stores while she played her european dates.
    Agreed. The USA is not generally known for it's loyalty to older artists. In europe audiences embraced these the new songs, much as they did her following return to motown albums. One only has to look at footage from Diana's World Tour 89 for proof of this. Here in the UK the album was 23 on the charts and sold well throughout europe.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    Stooping here but...…….

    EXTREMELY low sales: Diana - 200,000. Mary - 2.
    Not really stooping; merely relaying facts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    With Berry Gordy gone, the people at Motown under Jheryl Busby did not want Diana Ross! They did not want to promote her product, they did not want her diva attitude...they just wanted her gone! It took 10 years for them to drop her from the label and she gave them plenty of good reason by turning out consecutive bad albums and extremely low sales overall.
    Take a look at the European sales. Extremely low sales my ass. That can only apply to a certain other Supreme.You are getting your wires crossed sweetheart.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Any of what you described would have been complete "Fantasy Island". Let's not forget, Diana Ross was never that popular internally with the old Motown personnel. The new regime went from ignoring her to outright despising her! Some were young people just starting out with the old Motown and they remembered how poorly she treated them and just about eveyone else. The only thing I remember as far as the media went was a brief clip on like the entertainment minute on CNN of Ross returning to Motown as an artists and investor of some sort. Nothing else..
    Likely to the dismay of others, you continue to be right!, Marv! It's almost like Diana snuck in through the back door at Motown. I suppose to a degree it was like eating crow for her, two steps back, and a move that indeed would not play out to advance her career.

    Speaking of Ebony Magazine , returning to Motown , should've been a great avenue for some magazine coverage, interviews, some covers like Ebony. Pump this event up !!! Work it overtime! For some reason the celebratory atmosphere wasn't there , there apparently wasn't the belief or confidence in her within the core of Motown as you state.

    She certainly didn't need to resign with Motown in order to hook up with Nile Rodgers again. He would've been approachable anywhere along the way previously , he's not specifically in a relationship with Motown. In fact isn't Diana' 1980 album his only connection with them? Was he even considered "hot" by the end of the eighties?

    Seems like an effort of aimless desperation, their reunification , Diana and Nile's. They weren't really friends at this point were they, their issues resolved? ,. Did Motown make him an offer he couldn't refuse?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Likely to the dismay of others, you continue to be right!, Marv! It's almost like Diana snuck in through the back door at Motown. I suppose to a degree it was like eating crow for her, two steps back, and a move that indeed would not play out to advance her career.

    Speaking of Ebony Magazine , returning to Motown , should've been a great avenue for some magazine coverage, interviews, some covers like Ebony. Pump this event up !!! Work it overtime! For some reason the celebratory atmosphere wasn't there , there apparently wasn't the belief or confidence in her within the core of Motown as you state.

    She certainly didn't need to resign with Motown in order to hook up with Nile Rodgers again. He would've been approachable anywhere along the way previously , he's not specifically in a relationship with Motown. In fact isn't Diana' 1980 album his only connection with them? Was he even considered "hot" by the end of the eighties?

    Seems like an effort of aimless desperation, their reunification , Diana and Nile's. They weren't really friends at this point were they, their issues resolved? ,. Did Motown make him an offer he couldn't refuse?
    They were not friends! Nile was heavily on Coke by that time. [[He said so himself). If you paid him, he would have produced Miss Piggy even! His working with Diane was all her idea and no one at Motown could care less.

    Look at it this way. Berry Gordy and Motown made her a star. Promoted her at the expense of their other artists so that she could be in a position for a RCA to come knocking and offering her $20 million to sign with them. This caught Mr. Gordy and the company totally by surprise. No one actually believe she would leave the company, but when she did, they were beyond livid! Some secretly hated her guts. I know Mr. Gordy was very angry for a long time after that. He would only say that he was "disappointed" in the press.

    So the question is, why would Diana Ross try to come back to a company that felt she had stabbed in the back just for money? I think she did it because no other company would sign her at that point and had Berry Gordy not pulled some strings, the new Motown would not have ever signed her. So she came back and no one even asked to work with her, let alone guide her career like Berry and Motown had done in the past. She came there with the same mindset she had at RCA and destroyed what was left of her own recording career. She did that!
    Last edited by marv2; 03-14-2019 at 06:03 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Likely to the dismay of others, you continue to be right!, Marv! It's almost like Diana snuck in through the back door at Motown. I suppose to a degree it was like eating crow for her, two steps back, and a move that indeed would not play out to advance her career.

    Speaking of Ebony Magazine , returning to Motown , should've been a great avenue for some magazine coverage, interviews, some covers like Ebony. Pump this event up !!! Work it overtime! For some reason the celebratory atmosphere wasn't there , there apparently wasn't the belief or confidence in her within the core of Motown as you state.

    She certainly didn't need to resign with Motown in order to hook up with Nile Rodgers again. He would've been approachable anywhere along the way previously , he's not specifically in a relationship with Motown. In fact isn't Diana' 1980 album his only connection with them? Was he even considered "hot" by the end of the eighties?

    Seems like an effort of aimless desperation, their reunification , Diana and Nile's. They weren't really friends at this point were they, their issues resolved? ,. Did Motown make him an offer he couldn't refuse?
    Oh and regarding Ebony Magazine at that time? She had totally pissed off Mr. Johnson and his wife Eunice, who were still the principles at that time. She even made a bad impression on the staff photographers as well. Some have said that she did not "cooperate" when they did a 1981 cover story on her. The one where she pretended to not know whatever happened to Martha Reeves among others.

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    Nile and Diana are friends. Just today he posted the following:


    “Diana Ross changed my life. She allowed me to compose, orchestrate and play after #discosucks made me persona non grata to most. Friends for life.”

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    They were not friends! Nile was heavily on Coke by that time. [[He said so himself). If you paid him, he would have produced Miss Piggy even! His working with Diane was all her idea and no one at Motown could care less.

    Look at it this way. Berry Gordy and Motown made her a star. Promoted her at the expense of their other artiss so that she could be in a position for a RCA to come knocking and offering her $20 million to sign with them. This caught Mr. Gordy and the company totally by surprise. No one actually believe she would leave the company, but when she did, they were beyond livid! Some secretly hated her guts. I know Mr. Gordy was very angry for a long time after that. He would only say that he was "disappointed" in the press.

    So the question is, why would Diana Ross try to come back to a company that felt she had stabbed in the back just for money? I think she did it because no other company would sign her at that point and had Berry Gordy not pulled some strings, the new Motown would not have ever signed her. So she came back and no one even asked to work with her, let alone guide her career like Berry and Motown had done in the past. She came there with the same mindset she had at RCA and destroyed what was left of her own recording career. She did that!
    So the question is why do you care so much about a woman you loathe but are real obsessed with 24/7?

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    Quote Originally Posted by khansperac View Post
    Nile and Diana are friends. Just today he posted the following:


    “Diana Ross changed my life. She allowed me to compose, orchestrate and play after #discosucks made me persona non grata to most. Friends for life.”

    BAM......well done. The problem is the Diane obsessor tells more lies about Diana Ross that the fool in the White House.

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    Quote Originally Posted by khansperac View Post
    Nile and Diana are friends. Just today he posted the following:


    “Diana Ross changed my life. She allowed me to compose, orchestrate and play after #discosucks made me persona non grata to most. Friends for life.”
    That's almost a backhanded complement , "no one else would have us so we were left doing Diana Ross"... It's not even accurate, Chic had not crashed , they were the hottest ticket of 1979... and DIANA just cemented their worth.
    But I'm glad they're friends, they should be.

    Rodgers' autobiography is one I have not read....need to ....I wonder if in it , he discusses the WORKIN' OVERTIME project. Would love to hear his perspective. Is it a proud work of his ? He strikes me as a fish out of water doing that music style, both of them for that matter.
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 03-15-2019 at 03:58 PM.

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    aside from the snarkiness going on here, i do agree with the general statement that her return to motown failed to have much oomph or excitement around her initial release. maybe the label agreed with her and pretty much everyone else that the album wasn't a winner.

    There have been lots of stories about her alienating people - some probably true, some probably fiction. But maybe the making of the WO album was stressful too for all involved and so that added to the atmosphere.

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