merge and purge - Diana's first two RCA albums

[sup_fan]

ok - seems like most fans aren't real "fans" of these two lps and feel they were a weak intro to her RCA career. I've heard that much of Silk Electric was recorded during the WDFFIL time but weren't selected for that album.

So how would you merge/purge these two lps into 1? which tracks?

[reese]

I could do without SWEET SURRENDER, SO CLOSE, STILL IN LOVE, WHO, and LOVE LIES.

[vgalindo]

I could do without SWEET SURRENDER, SO CLOSE, STILL IN LOVE, WHO, and LOVE LIES.

Oh wow. “Love lies” and “Still in Love” are two of my favorite Diana Ross songs.

[lucky2012]

I'm so ambivalent about these albums that it hurt my head thinking about how to merge them. But here goes:

Side One:
Why Do Fools Fall In Love?
Mirror, Mirror
Still In Love
Who?

Side Two:
Muscles
Sweet Surrender
Two Can Make It
In Your Arms
Work That Body

It would still be all over the place, but it keeps the tracks that I don't hate.

How realistic, timewise, would this be, considering that RCA probably wanted the album
ASAP and wouldn't want to wait two years for the next one?

[Bluebrock]

I would have canned Why do fools, Sweet nothings, work that body and the solo version of endless love from the first album, and got rid of I am me, fool for your lovin', and replaced the album version of so close with the Richard Perry remix.

[Bluebrock]

I could do without SWEET SURRENDER, SO CLOSE, STILL IN LOVE, WHO, and LOVE LIES.

I think Love Lies is the "lost" hit from Silk Electric. One of my personal favorites, but variety is the spice of life i guess!

[sup_fan]

I'd do:

Mirror Mirror [[and use this as the lead single)
Sweet Surrender
Muscles
who
Work that body
Turn me over [[come on - it's just fun!! lol)

Sweet nothings
It's never too late
Love lies
Anywhere you run to
Think I'm in love
I am me

This sort of makes the A side a more aggressive, hard edge sound and the B side disco/pop

[florence]

Fools was an okay album but I love Silk Electric and think it is much maligned.

Apologies to Diana but bin the solo version of Endless Love - it just didn't work and personally I'm not a fan of Muscles.

So Close from SE is an okay album track but wasn't strong enough to be a successful single.

There are three tracks on SE which with promotion could have been UK hits - Still In Love, In Your Arms and Love Lies and Who and Anywhere You Run To were good fun album tracks.

Why Do Fools Fall In Love [[Similarly Work That Body) is what it is a good, infectious,fun pop record, very popular in Western Europe - #1 in Belgium and The Netherlands' #4 in Denmark and #4 in the UK. It was the biggest selling non top 3 hit of the year and in terms of shelf life was Diana's 4th biggest selling single here.

It's in my Diana Ross Top 10.

[sup_fan]

i think both WDF and SE are solid albums and are too maligned too. I do understand that for her DEBUT on the new label, she probably should have gone for a stronger set that WDFFIL. but overall i enjoy it.

And IMO, her goal with Silk was to really allow herself to just sort of go wild and experiment. She'd had a gold album [[Boss), two platinum albums [[diana and Why) and i believe another gold with All The Great Hits. Not sure what To Love Again did but that's some major lp sales in just 2 - 3 years. so now she didn't necessarily have to worry about sticking with a formula or something expected. At just about any other time in her career she would have been able to do hard rock, reggae, hard 80s pop, 50s doo wop, ballads and disco all within 1 package and have it still sort of work. the lack of thematic unity is almost the goal/theme of the album

[reese]

I saw a rather nice gold record award for TO LOVE AGAIN so that was a hit as well, even though it only had three new songs. Just shows how truly hot she was during that period.

Re the WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE album, it is my understanding that Diana wanted Lionel Richie or Quincy Jones to produce it but neither were available and she had promised the master to RCA by a certain time. So she did it herself. I don't think of it on the level of THE BOSS, but for a quickly-done debut, it wasn't too bad. I still like it much more than SILK ELECTRIC.

[jobeterob]

To Love Again - 200,000

WDFFIL - 1,125,000

Silk Electric - 550,000

The Boss - 700,000

All The Great Hits - 1,000,000

Lady Sings the Blues - 2,100,000

[sup_fan]

To Love Again is an interesting package. 4 new songs [[it's my turn, one more change, crying my heart over you, stay with me) and then 5 repeats. but the 5 repeats are great songs so this package, IMO, held up better than Ross 78. It is amazing that Masser never got the opportunity to do an entire DR lp. after Touch Me In the AM was a hit, they had him working on a bunch of material and it would have been logical to give him at least the majority of the next lp. but he only got 2 songs.

[RanRan79]

Keep Mirror, Work That Body, Muscles and purge everything else, even the stuff that I find likable. There was just so much better material available to THE Diana Ross if she had only solicited them when she first came to RCA.

[Bluebrock]

I saw a rather nice gold record award for TO LOVE AGAIN so that was a hit as well, even though it only had three new songs. Just shows how truly hot she was during that period.

Re the WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE album, it is my understanding that Diana wanted Lionel Richie or Quincy Jones to produce it but neither were available and she had promised the master to RCA by a certain time. So she did it herself. I don't think of it on the level of THE BOSS, but for a quickly-done debut, it wasn't too bad. I still like it much more than SILK ELECTRIC.

Not sure if Lionel was approached at that stage, but Quincy was indeed the original choice as producer, but he was delayed producing Patti Austin's splendid "every home should have one". RCA were unwilling to wait an additional six months for the album so Diana made the unfortunate decision to produce it herself.

[Albator]

Not sure if Lionel was approached at that stage, but Quincy was indeed the original choice as producer, but he was delayed producing Patti Austin's splendid "every home should have one". RCA were unwilling to wait an additional six months for the album so Diana made the unfortunate decision to produce it herself.

What surprise me the most, is that she was anable to produce her own voice. She sounds more than flat.

[Ollie9]

Keep Mirror, Work That Body, Muscles and purge everything else, even the stuff that I find likable. There was just so much better material available to THE Diana Ross if she had only solicited them when she first came to RCA.

Totally agree with that one.
It did not help matters that fans and public alike craved a new diana [[chic) type album, such was it's success. In fact i think they spent the entire decade waiting for one. It's testament to Diana's popularity at the time that those first two rca albums sold as well as they did.
As i feel compelled... here goes.
Side 1.
Why Do Fools. [[Only because it was a huge hit)
Muscles
Mirror Mirror
Love Lies. [[Should have been a single).

Side 2
Work That Body
Sweet Surrender
Who
Think I'm In Love
Still In Love

Much better me thinks.

[RanRan79]

Totally agree with that one.
It did not help matters that fans and public alike craved a new diana [[chic) type album, such was it's success. In fact i think they spent the entire decade waiting for one. It's testament to Diana's popularity at the time that those first two rca albums sold as well as they did.
As i feel compelled... here goes.
Side 1.
Why Do Fools. [[Only because it was a huge hit)
Muscles
Mirror Mirror
Love Lies. [[Should have been a single).

Side 2
Work That Body
Sweet Surrender
Who
Think I'm In Love
Still In Love

Much better me thinks.

Yeah, your album is definitely an improvement.

[daviddh]

why do fools fall
sweet surrender
mirror
think im in love
who
love lies
anywhere you run to
still in love
i am me
bonus/ fool for your love

muslces
thats how you start over
love will make it right
you do it
lets go up
pieces of ice
love or loneliness
so close
fight for it