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    Diana Ross In the 90s...An Alternate Musical Direction?

    I was listening to Natalie Cole earlier today [[easily in the top 10 of my fav female vocalists, highly likely she's in my top 5). Her Take A Look album got me to thinking. Diana Ross as a Supreme was popular with audiences as she sang showtunes and standards. And of course with the success of her taking on Billie Holiday recordings in the 70s, she continued to wow audiences with her renditions of jazz and blues numbers. Seems like with the arrival of the 80s she almost completely ditched this part of her artistry in favor of crap like "Pieces of Ice". [[I know, I know...I should give it a rest about "Pieces of Ice" but I just can't help thinking that it's at the very least in the running for #1 WTF Was She Thinking moment in her career. But I digress...)

    I believe it's been mentioned that she did toy with the idea of recording an album of standards in the mid 80s and even managed to complete a couple of cuts before abandoning the project and focusing on "Pieces Of Ice" [[last one, I swear it). While I'm betting that if and when these cuts see the light of day they will probably contain brilliant vocals, I do think it was a good idea to move away from this idea at that time. There was still some hit making gas in the tank in the mid 80s if Diana had only put the peddle to the metal instead of slipping on pieces of...nope, not gonna go there.

    My question is, does anyone think in the 90s that Diana should've gone in the same direction as Natalie Cole did, with the jazzy, mellow mood albums? The first few ones in the 90s that Natalie released were major successes for her. I've always felt that Natalie was a similar type vocalist to Diana in the sense that Natalie seems at home in just about any genre she tackles. Diana did do the Stolen Moments live album, which didn't take the music world by storm, but as great as those performances were, everyone had already heard her do those songs, so what was incentive for running out and getting it? I wonder if maybe Diana had gone for a more mellow direction with her musical output if she would have had greater success in the 90s than she did with the stuff she put out.

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    I really like Diana’s 90’s discography. Force was ok. I Don’t count live albums, but the Pay per view airing of Stolen Moments and DVD was great. Same with Christmas in Vienna. So that leaves Diana Xtended- it was really cool to see Diana work with the top remixers of the day. It made her classic hits cool again on the club scene. She was burning up the dance floors again and reached a new audience. Didn’t care for the mixes of Chain Reaction or Your gonna love it- she could have left that one off this project. I can’t say enough good things about the Take me Higher album and Every day is a new Day. For me those 2 are some of her best albums. They are great. I prefer R&B/Soulful Diana. I don’t think she was too old for these projects. Keep in mind she was the same age as Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani, and Jennifer Lopez are now. But to answer your question, It would have been great to hear an album with jazzier songs like Confide in Me. She did a great job on I thought that we were still in Love. So a more contemporary jazz album would no doubt have been a great project.

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    Force was not a great album, but it had her last bunch of decent hits [[except for the US) on it. If I could re-write history, I would have liked to see her do an album with one producer after Force. Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards had just re-united so perhaps they could have produced a 'ross' album to bookend 1980's 'diana'. But anyone with a cohesive vision really.

    I think she could have left the standards for later, since she still had some gas in the tank.

    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I just can't help thinking that it's at the very least in the running for #1 WTF Was She Thinking moment in her career.
    I remember reading an Aussie news article before the album was released - about Capek [[who was an Australian musician before relocating to Nth America) - saying something like 'he has written what is predicted to be Diana's biggest hit in years'. lol

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I was listening to Natalie Cole earlier today [[easily in the top 10 of my fav female vocalists, highly likely she's in my top 5). Her Take A Look album got me to thinking. Diana Ross as a Supreme was popular with audiences as she sang showtunes and standards. And of course with the success of her taking on Billie Holiday recordings in the 70s, she continued to wow audiences with her renditions of jazz and blues numbers. Seems like with the arrival of the 80s she almost completely ditched this part of her artistry in favor of crap like "Pieces of Ice". [[I know, I know...I should give it a rest about "Pieces of Ice" but I just can't help thinking that it's at the very least in the running for #1 WTF Was She Thinking moment in her career. But I digress...)

    I believe it's been mentioned that she did toy with the idea of recording an album of standards in the mid 80s and even managed to complete a couple of cuts before abandoning the project and focusing on "Pieces Of Ice" [[last one, I swear it). While I'm betting that if and when these cuts see the light of day they will probably contain brilliant vocals, I do think it was a good idea to move away from this idea at that time. There was still some hit making gas in the tank in the mid 80s if Diana had only put the peddle to the metal instead of slipping on pieces of...nope, not gonna go there.

    My question is, does anyone think in the 90s that Diana should've gone in the same direction as Natalie Cole did, with the jazzy, mellow mood albums? The first few ones in the 90s that Natalie released were major successes for her. I've always felt that Natalie was a similar type vocalist to Diana in the sense that Natalie seems at home in just about any genre she tackles. Diana did do the Stolen Moments live album, which didn't take the music world by storm, but as great as those performances were, everyone had already heard her do those songs, so what was incentive for running out and getting it? I wonder if maybe Diana had gone for a more mellow direction with her musical output if she would have had greater success in the 90s than she did with the stuff she put out.
    Pieces of Ice was not THAT bad. Sure enough it was a terrible choice for the first single but she recorded far worse material on Why do fools and Silk Electric.
    However getting back to the topic in hand, and i do not think it would have been a good idea to turn to jazzy albums in the 90's. She still had much to offer in the pop/soul field. Her recordings in the 90's stand up well against her classic 70's albums and were quite successful in certain territories. However, i do think it would have been a good idea to explore her jazzier side in the 2000's when Clive Davies wanted to sign her. I know he wanted her to explore the Great American Songbook like a female Rod Stewart, but i would have preferred her to go deeper and perhaps tackle some of the more obscure gems that are often overlooked rather than competing directly with the likes of Rod and Michael Buble. It could have been good. She was experiencing a lot of personal issues at the time, and i think the stresses and emotions going through her mind could have resulted in some heartfelt and very personal vocal performances. A real lost opportunity.
    Good post RanRan.

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    A jazz album would have been a far better choice then "I Love You". Actually, a Blues/jazz would have been even better. Her voice was deeper by then and she could have covered songs ranging from Bessie Smith to Dinah Washington. She did a great job on the "Bread and Gravy" duet with Ethel waters and that was when she was 24!!
    Last edited by Ollie9; 10-08-2019 at 08:07 AM.

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    ok - here's my assessment of her post RCA

    Motown Part 2

    WO - i wasn't overly excited about much of the material. Obviously WO is a nightmare, although a couple songs have stayed pretty high in my DR playlists. Namely Bottom Line

    Force - a decent album but i don't love it as much as other fans do. some solid songs on it but i don't add much of it to playlists today. a couple of the tracks maybe. I think i'm just not as much of a fan of the sound of this era rather than Diana's songs or performances. that early 90s sound just isn't my cup of tea

    Remixes - again, the sound of these songs just isn't for me. and frankly i hate what they did with The Boss, turning it dark. Imagine if they'd remixed it into a modern wild dance song. now THAT would have worked for me

    Take - better IMO than Force and i do like the more adult r&b vibe.

    Everyday - honestly this is my fav of her 90s work. Carry On is incredible and the remixes were super hot! shame it was totally lost

    I think post M2, she def should have signed with Clive. he could have done wonders for her. I too would love her to explore deeper into jazz, american song book, etc. Her work with Lady's songbook is wonderful but why stop there? she should have long since expanded into other greats.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    I think post M2, she def should have signed with Clive. he could have done wonders for her. I too would love her to explore deeper into jazz, american song book, etc. Her work with Lady's songbook is wonderful but why stop there? she should have long since expanded into other greats.
    A collaboration with Clive might have been interesting. If nothing else, he definitely would have pulled out all the stops with promotion. Considering I LOVE YOU became Diana's first Top 40 album in 20 years due to some nice TV spots on Diana's part, as well as being caught up in the DREAMGIRLS hubbub, an album with Clive would probably have done even better.

    I think Diana did an album of Harold Arlen material somewhere in the early 90s, maybe during the time she performed OVER THE RAINBOW on the Oscars. She mentioned it during one of her GMA appearances but I never heard why it wasn't released or if it was even completed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I think Diana did an album of Harold Arlen material somewhere in the early 90s, maybe during the time she performed OVER THE RAINBOW on the Oscars. She mentioned it during one of her GMA appearances but I never heard why it wasn't released or if it was even completed.
    It was mentioned in the booklet from one of her Funky Town Grooves reissued RCA titles. I would be very curious to hear those recordings.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    A collaboration with Clive might have been interesting. If nothing else, he definitely would have pulled out all the stops with promotion. Considering I LOVE YOU became Diana's first Top 40 album in 20 years due to some nice TV spots on Diana's part, as well as being caught up in the DREAMGIRLS hubbub, an album with Clive would probably have done even better.

    I think Diana did an album of Harold Arlen material somewhere in the early 90s, maybe during the time she performed OVER THE RAINBOW on the Oscars. She mentioned it during one of her GMA appearances but I never heard why it wasn't released or if it was even completed.
    yeah i think it would have done better and it would have been viewed as a bit more of a worthy project. ILY is one step above karaoke although her vocals generally sound fine. and a few of the tracks work pretty well

    i think they might have been able to do a series of albums of her exploration of the american songbook. she could have done the MOR material on one, jazz on another, maybe even a motown tribute with modern and new interpretations of classic motown songs. Imagine her doing the slow jazzy version of My World Is Empty similar to what jean and scherrie did live in the 70s!

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    back to the topic of new musical direction in the 90s, although i'm backing up to late 80s lol

    How do you think she would have done with some of Paula Abdul's material? a song like Straight Up was contemporary but not too heavy into hip hop. i think diana could have sounded great on it. and Forever Your Girl. and i love the idea of her singing Rush, Rush.

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    Quote Originally Posted by khansperac View Post
    I prefer R&B/Soulful Diana. I don’t think she was too old for these projects.
    I also prefer Diana doing R&B music. However, my theory is that since the public could care less about the music Diana was doing during this period, perhaps a shift in direction might have given her more success. Again comparing her to Natalie, Natalie was even younger than Diana when she made the shift. Sure, this was probably overwhelmingly due to the popularity of the Unforgettable album. Once Natalie hit pay dirt with that she decided to keep to that lane for awhile, and obviously the public shifted with her. Her first handful of albums in this vein were much more successful [[golds and platinums) than anything Diana released during the same period. Only a handful of the "aging" divas of Diana's music class retained any type of music relevancy into the 90s, namely Tina [[who got a major 90s boost thanks to her biopic), Aretha [[she was the queen so it was hard to keep her off the throne), Gladys, and Patti. The public was buying what they were selling, IMO in large part due to the fact that each of those ladies pretty much stayed true to the artist they had been from the very beginning. [[Patti did a bit of a switch but yet was still very much Patti.) I suspect the wild ride the public was taken on by Diana at RCA and then her return to Motown and the wildly varied single selections allowed the public to sit her in the "past" column. Maybe a jazzy vein might have been the shot she needed to remain relevant.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    back to the topic of new musical direction in the 90s, although i'm backing up to late 80s lol

    How do you think she would have done with some of Paula Abdul's material? a song like Straight Up was contemporary but not too heavy into hip hop. i think diana could have sounded great on it. and Forever Your Girl. and i love the idea of her singing Rush, Rush.
    Yeah, if she was still 25. Lol As good as those songs were, I don't think they would've sounded right for a woman of Diana's age. Although "Rush" would be an exception. She may have done that one very well.

    Of the late 80s crew, if there was anyone's music I think Diana might have had a chance with is Jody Watley. While Jody's image was definitely that of a woman "far" younger than Diana, those songs could've worked for Diana. I could hear her singing "Looking For A New Love", "Most Of All", "Don't You Want Me" and most of the others. It was hip, funky, pop. Just what Diana needed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Levi Stubbs Tears View Post

    I remember reading an Aussie news article before the album was released - about Capek [[who was an Australian musician before relocating to Nth America) - saying something like 'he has written what is predicted to be Diana's biggest hit in years'. lol
    Oh the horror!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    Pieces of Ice was not THAT bad.
    If you say so. Honestly in the hands of another artist, it would be good. This song just wasn't a good fit for Diana at all. But the one musical component of the song that really does make for a horrible listening experience is the chorus. I hate that chorus. I have to wonder how much better I would dig the song if the chorus was different.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Yeah, if she was still 25. Lol As good as those songs were, I don't think they would've sounded right for a woman of Diana's age. Although "Rush" would be an exception. She may have done that one very well.

    Of the late 80s crew, if there was anyone's music I think Diana might have had a chance with is Jody Watley. While Jody's image was definitely that of a woman "far" younger than Diana, those songs could've worked for Diana. I could hear her singing "Looking For A New Love", "Most Of All", "Don't You Want Me" and most of the others. It was hip, funky, pop. Just what Diana needed.
    hahaha i don't think Diana was too old for Paula's song. yes paula has a sort of baby-girl tone to her voice. but i think diana's vocals would still have sounded fine on them. heck she was closing in on 40 when she did the Chic set and a couple years older with Mirror. and she was 40 with Swept Away.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    If you say so. Honestly in the hands of another artist, it would be good. This song just wasn't a good fit for Diana at all. But the one musical component of the song that really does make for a horrible listening experience is the chorus. I hate that chorus. I have to wonder how much better I would dig the song if the chorus was different.
    Diana has made a career about singing songs with meaningful lyrics that have a strong sense of emotion. she is wonderful at enunciation and diction and can clearly convey the story of a song lyric.

    that is when a song has a story lolol

    i think the prob with Pieces is:

    1. absurd and artsy lyric - what the fuck is Zebra Lightning?!?!? lol
    2. vocals where produced in a manner that made them mushy and indistinguishable. hard to understand what's she's saying

    but the sound of the song isn't a problem, nor the melody. certainly not my fav but it's a sound and product of the time. synth heavy early 80s

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    ^ Agree.
    I think "Pieces Of Ice" is a really cool song that still sounds fresh today. Although it was a new sound for Diana, it still maintained a soulful edge. It was the more than silly title and the arty-farty, nonsensical lyrics that prevented it going further. Add to that the rather daft promo and the odds were against it.
    In contrast, with a song such as "Up Front" she was delving to far into the rock vibe where the shouty lyrics are a waste of her talents.
    I remember a review at at the time commenting "It's like throwing vintage wine into a bowl of punch".

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    Diana has made a career about singing songs with meaningful lyrics that have a strong sense of emotion. she is wonderful at enunciation and diction and can clearly convey the story of a song lyric.

    that is when a song has a story lolol

    i think the prob with Pieces is:

    1. absurd and artsy lyric - what the fuck is Zebra Lightning?!?!? lol
    2. vocals where produced in a manner that made them mushy and indistinguishable. hard to understand what's she's saying

    but the sound of the song isn't a problem, nor the melody. certainly not my fav but it's a sound and product of the time. synth heavy early 80s
    I like 80s synth, so like I said, in someone else's hands I would probably like "Pieces". This just doesn't work for Diana. Somebody who cared should've jacked this woman up, reminded her of the legendary career she had at Motown and told her to tap into that and make some great music. She was trying so hard to be something she wasn't as the public really wasn't buying it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I like 80s synth, so like I said, in someone else's hands I would probably like "Pieces". This just doesn't work for Diana. Somebody who cared should've jacked this woman up, reminded her of the legendary career she had at Motown and told her to tap into that and make some great music. She was trying so hard to be something she wasn't as the public really wasn't buying it.
    The main problem was that she would listen to no-one at this particular stage of her career. She was making shed loads of money that would set her up for life. It was only in the 90's that she began to heed the advice offered by certain well meaning individuals!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    The main problem was that she would listen to no-one at this particular stage of her career. She was making shed loads of money that would set her up for life. It was only in the 90's that she began to heed the advice offered by certain well meaning individuals!
    For a long time and mostly due to her 80's recordings, i assumed Diana did not care much for soul/pop, r&b music at all. She appeared happy as long as there was an electric guitar yowling somewhere in the background.
    Was it failing record sales, advice she acted upon or both that prompted her to return to a more traditional pop/soul sound in the 90's?.
    Perhaps she just get bored with the whole rock vibe thing, or perhaps and maybe that is the style of music she wishes she was still recording.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    For a long time and mostly due to her 80's recordings, i assumed Diana did not care much for soul/pop, r&b music at all. She appeared happy as long as there was an electric guitar yowling somewhere in the background.
    Was it failing record sales, advice she acted upon or both that prompted her to return to a more traditional pop/soul sound in the 90's?.
    Perhaps she just get bored with the whole rock vibe thing, or perhaps and maybe that is the style of music she wishes she was still recording.
    She was a fan of sunshine pop as much as soul and r&b as i recall. She loved The Beach Boys, Mamas and the Papas and the Beatles. She also loved Marvin and Stevie. She loved a lot of the Broadway tunes too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    For a long time and mostly due to her 80's recordings, i assumed Diana did not care much for soul/pop, r&b music at all. She appeared happy as long as there was an electric guitar yowling somewhere in the background.
    Was it failing record sales, advice she acted upon or both that prompted her to return to a more traditional pop/soul sound in the 90's?.
    Perhaps she just get bored with the whole rock vibe thing, or perhaps and maybe that is the style of music she wishes she was still recording.
    She was influenced and took advice from Gene Simmons of all people. Most of her output from the 80s is forgettable [[in America) and her 90s material was never heard by the majority of the public here.
    Last edited by marv2; 10-18-2019 at 10:47 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    She was influenced and took advice from Gene Simmons of all people. Most of her out from the 80s is forgettable [[in America) and her 90s material was never heard by the majority of the public here.
    it was an interesting combo - Diana and Gene.

    i will give him credit though for having 1 POV that certainly is justifiable. His view is that this is a BUSINESS and nothing is promised for tomorrow. so maximize what you can get today. basically strike now and hard while the iron is hot

    That's one point of view and certainly can make strong financial sense. it does tend to overlook the idea of artistry. From THAT point of view, money and business isn't the key objective. musical expression is. so whether an album sells 1 or 1,000,000 copies, it has artistic merit.

    I don't know that you can say one view is superior to the other. just like in any profession, you're there to earn a living and, hopefully, get some fulfillment and satisfaction from it. but plenty of people don't. and there are plenty of people the forego monetary gains for personal. just depends on what their goals are

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    it was an interesting combo - Diana and Gene.

    i will give him credit though for having 1 POV that certainly is justifiable. His view is that this is a BUSINESS and nothing is promised for tomorrow. so maximize what you can get today. basically strike now and hard while the iron is hot

    That's one point of view and certainly can make strong financial sense. it does tend to overlook the idea of artistry. From THAT point of view, money and business isn't the key objective. musical expression is. so whether an album sells 1 or 1,000,000 copies, it has artistic merit.

    I don't know that you can say one view is superior to the other. just like in any profession, you're there to earn a living and, hopefully, get some fulfillment and satisfaction from it. but plenty of people don't. and there are plenty of people the forego monetary gains for personal. just depends on what their goals are
    One thing I can say that overrides everything and that is Berry Gordy and Motown took very special care of all aspects of her career.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    The main problem was that she would listen to no-one at this particular stage of her career. She was making shed loads of money that would set her up for life. It was only in the 90's that she began to heed the advice offered by certain well meaning individuals!
    ... and may we assume we know who one of those is ?

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    ... and may we assume we know who one of those is ?
    To quote the lyrics of "Give up" you can draw your own conclusions!

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    it was an interesting combo - Diana and Gene.

    i will give him credit though for having 1 POV that certainly is justifiable. His view is that this is a BUSINESS and nothing is promised for tomorrow. so maximize what you can get today. basically strike now and hard while the iron is hot

    That's one point of view and certainly can make strong financial sense. it does tend to overlook the idea of artistry. From THAT point of view, money and business isn't the key objective. musical expression is. so whether an album sells 1 or 1,000,000 copies, it has artistic merit.

    I don't know that you can say one view is superior to the other. just like in any profession, you're there to earn a living and, hopefully, get some fulfillment and satisfaction from it. but plenty of people don't. and there are plenty of people the forego monetary gains for personal. just depends on what their goals are
    Wise and well-stated. I may add: it's quite easy, 30-40+ years later to 'predict' what songs would and would not have been hits. However, in the moment [[any moment) the vast majority of recordings are thought out and recorded with proficiency;a very few performers or producers say 'Let's release a record that will flop!'

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    I love her 90s catalogue. Some classic Ross albums.
    I saw her perform with the tenors at some point and originally thought she would be out of place but of course she was great and I was sooooo wrong.i remember her singing a classic.....I think Moon River.....wow...omg.
    At that point I thought she should record a standards album. But she didn't unfortunately.
    But I love the music she has put out minus IlY.

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    PS..I liked Pieces of Ice.think it's held up well

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    For a long time and mostly due to her 80's recordings, i assumed Diana did not care much for soul/pop, r&b music at all. She appeared happy as long as there was an electric guitar yowling somewhere in the background.
    Was it failing record sales, advice she acted upon or both that prompted her to return to a more traditional pop/soul sound in the 90's?.
    Perhaps she just get bored with the whole rock vibe thing, or perhaps and maybe that is the style of music she wishes she was still recording.
    I don't think that's it at all. She built her whole career [[up to that point) on mostly soul/pop and I'd be surprised if she disliked every minute of it. I think two things occurred:

    1) When she left Motown it was like she was leaving home for the first time. Good or bad, Motown did everything for her like she was a child. Now at RCA she was truly on her own. I believe that her desire to control her entire career while at RCA, even to a detriment, had a lot to do with the mental fallout from having been controlled by Gordy and the label basically since she was about 16 years old. She was like the preacher's kid who lives in this sheltered world and then leaves home for college and suddenly is the star of Girls Gone Wild. She started doing a lot of stuff that she would've never done at Motown. There's very little of her RCA material that I believe would've been possible on the Motown label where a star of her caliber was concerned. So she was doing as much non Motown stuff as she could.

    2) She was trying to keep up with the youngsters and set herself apart from her peers. The ladies she had grown up in the business with were all pretty much doing the r&b/pop thing. Diana has always wanted to be different. I can't think of one of her peers from the 60s who would've ever looked twice at "Pieces Of Ice".

    While I'm fond of saying that her RCA period sucked, the truth is that, while it does pale very much so in comparison to her Motown output IMO, she did record some nice stuff, even a couple of gems. I think the fact that she never recorded a clear classic album at RCA hurts the RCA period tremendously. But every now and then somehow all the right pieces would come together to create a hit single and classic, like "Mirror, Mirror", "Muscles", "Swept Away" and "Missing You" [[and "Chain Reaction" for the non US crowd).

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    One thing I can say that overrides everything and that is Berry Gordy and Motown took very special care of all aspects of her career.
    They took special care but not always the best care. And of course they took real good care of the money...right into their accounts, which was one of the reasons Ross left.

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    Quote Originally Posted by daviddh View Post
    I love her 90s catalogue. Some classic Ross albums.
    I saw her perform with the tenors at some point and originally thought she would be out of place but of course she was great and I was sooooo wrong.i remember her singing a classic.....I think Moon River.....wow...omg.
    At that point I thought she should record a standards album. But she didn't unfortunately.
    But I love the music she has put out minus IlY.
    Yeah the tenors project turned out very nice. I wouldn't have thought Ross could hang but she did.

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    I agree..as the years went on I think her RCA got better.
    I thought Eaten Alive was a good album but I don't think it's as pop as I would have liked and I would like a bit less Bee Gees on some tracks. ...while other songs the Bee Gees are fine.
    I feel it was her best album effort.
    I always thought Pieces of Ice would have fit on Swept Away lp.
    There are some fine vocals on EA .....I'm watching you....more and more....crimes of Passion....

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