Diana Ross - "My Place"

**PeaceNHarmony** · 05-01-2020, 06:39 AM

My Place is the opening cut on Diana's second solo lp, 'Everything Is Everything', released in September of 1970 just as 'Ain't No Mountain' was at its peak on the singles charts. According to the booklet included with the expanded edition of EIE [[a MUST for Diana fans) after the [[relatively) slow start of 'Reach Out' Gordy was already 'thinking ahead' and enlisted Deke Richards to begin assembling the next Diana solo lp. In the interview Deke gave for the expanded edition he says that he knew he did not have enough time to write 10 new tracks for the lp so he enlisted Hal Davis, who wrote and produced this delightful, up-tempo track.

**rovereab** · 05-01-2020, 09:46 AM

This great song should have been a single at the time.

**lucky2012** · 05-01-2020, 12:00 PM

Love this song. Great way to open the album. Exuberant, feel-good.

**daviddh** · 05-03-2020, 08:35 PM

Great track. Should be a single

**jobucats** · 05-03-2020, 09:07 PM

I agree with the others. This was my favorite from this album. This, in my opinion, could have been considered as the opening number during her concerts had it ever been released as a single. The tempo and the lyrics invite a feeling of excitement in anticipation of an intimate concert performance. "This is my place, and I want to share it with you."

**mindful1** · 05-03-2020, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by jobucats

I agree with the others. This was my favorite from this album. This, in my opinion, could have been considered as the opening number during her concerts had it ever been released as a single. The tempo and the lyrics invite a feeling of excitement in anticipation of an intimate concert performance. "This is my place, and I want to share it with you."

Great idea... she would have had have another great option to the old standby

**Circa 1824** · 05-03-2020, 09:36 PM

Her voice is too shrill for my liking on this cut.

**sophisticated_soul** · 05-03-2020, 10:22 PM

Speaking of places, I always thought Bacharach/David's "This Empty Place" would have been a great tune for Ross to record.

**gordy_hunk** · 05-04-2020, 01:06 PM

I'm fairly sure that when Motown Chartbusters Volume 5 was released, there was a 'floppy' 7" disc which had several tracks on it - one of these being "my place". It was a 331/3 rpm. Also on the disc was The Supremes opening track to their "New ways but love stays" LP "Together we can make such sweet music". [[There were 5 tracks in total).

I have the disc somewhere but in a different part of the house.

**blkfrost** · 05-04-2020, 01:48 PM

One of the Jackson 5 cartoon episodes shows an animated Diana Ross character singing "My Place" in the studio. This was my favorite episode because it had her in it. At the time I thought "My Place" would have been the next single.

**sup_fan** · 05-04-2020, 02:32 PM

i like that song. though not as strong as the A&S material, i think it would have been a good lead single off of EIE.

I think the album and singles should have been held as a follow up to Surrender. After her debut album and Mountain, I think they should have followed with Surrender [[single) and album. then Remember me. Then the EIE collection with My Place as first single and I'm still waiting as follow up to that.

This would have taken her through 71 and into 72. After I'm Still Waiting would have been her Lady material

**Ollie9** · 05-05-2020, 05:37 AM

After the majestic “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “My Place” sounds pretty lightweight. It’s criminal that a musically dazzling, high quality debut album was abandoned in favour of a pleasant, if lightweight album such as EIE.

**jobeterob** · 05-05-2020, 06:05 PM

I've always liked this song and I've thought it could be a single; listening right now, I'm not so sure; I don't think it is of the same quality as Remember Me or Ain't No Mountain High Enough; but it does have nice hooks here and there and I suspect listened to on a decent sound system it would be better quality than I'm hearing.

**daviddh** · 05-05-2020, 08:31 PM

U think My Place would have done well if released as a single. Maybe even in 1974...after Last Time I Saw Him

**RanRan79** · 05-06-2020, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by jobucats

I agree with the others. This was my favorite from this album. This, in my opinion, could have been considered as the opening number during her concerts had it ever been released as a single. The tempo and the lyrics invite a feeling of excitement in anticipation of an intimate concert performance. "This is my place, and I want to share it with you."

I agree. I have a few favs from this album and "My Place" is definitely one of them. Would've loved to hear her do it live.

**RanRan79** · 05-06-2020, 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by sup_fan

i like that song. though not as strong as the A&S material, i think it would have been a good lead single off of EIE.

I think the album and singles should have been held as a follow up to Surrender. After her debut album and Mountain, I think they should have followed with Surrender [[single) and album. then Remember me. Then the EIE collection with My Place as first single and I'm still waiting as follow up to that.

This would have taken her through 71 and into 72. After I'm Still Waiting would have been her Lady material

I agree. Surrender should've been completed and released, and then EIE. Diana's release schedule during this time was bullshit.

**Ollie9** · 05-06-2020, 05:22 AM

[QUOTE=daviddh;575105]U think My Place would have done well if released as a single. Maybe even in 1974...after Last Time I Saw Him[/QUOTE

Had the songs recorded for EIE been held back and the cream of those recordings used in conjunction with the best tracks from the LTISH album then “My Place” would have been a strong candidate as a follow up LTISH.

**lucky2012** · 05-06-2020, 09:22 AM

[QUOTE=Ollie9;575164]

Originally Posted by daviddh

U think My Place would have done well if released as a single. Maybe even in 1974...after Last Time I Saw Him[/QUOTE

Had the songs recorded for EIE been held back and the cream of those recordings used in conjunction with the best tracks from the LTISH album then “My Place” would have been a strong candidate as a follow up LTISH.

I love My Place, but never thought of it as a single. This thought by you two changes my mind, though. My Place after LTISH would have been a good fit in 1974. The best of the two albums, released in 1974, would have been preferable [[to me, anyway), instead of releasing the weak EIE after the stunning debut album.

**nathanj06** · 05-06-2020, 01:48 PM

It would have made a great pop single after "Mountain". Completely different and they could have saved "Remember Me" for early 1971 to coincide closer to her first TV special and skip that horrible "Reach Out I'll Be There" then onto "Surrender". I know some like "Reach" but I could never get into it plus it was obviously a play on "Mountain". That usually never works and it didn't. Even "Something On My Mind" would have been better. Great song.

**lucky2012** · 05-06-2020, 02:37 PM

I'm Still Waiting would've/could've been a great pop single after ANMHE. Similar in theme and pop setting yet with a different producer/writer's approach and feel. Remember Me would have followed very nicely afterward. I do love My Place, though, as one of 2 or 3 songs I listen to from EIE.

**sup_fan** · 05-06-2020, 04:30 PM

i think My Place and all of the EIE was too much in contract with Mountain. IMO Mountain is just a masterpiece and so having anything come after would be unfairly compared. Surrender and the rest of the songs on that LP seem to do a better job. Agree that Reach Out I'll Be There is too much of a knockoff. Surrender seems to whip up the same hysteria but is quite a different song. So perhaps that would have done well following mountain.

Remember me make a nice followup to Surrender as it still has very high peaks but offers some more range and variety. This way you sort of ease off the big and bombastic and then transition into other styles

**jobucats** · 05-06-2020, 05:52 PM

Another thing comes to my mind about the "Everything Is Everything" album and how it fits between Diana's debut album and the "Surrender" album. EIE, along with the song selections, is, in my opinion, a cold and harsh sounding album especially when I consider how lush and smooth sounding the prior album and the album after it were. Add to it, the cover which appeared less than what I considered she deserved.

As I stated before, I do like "My Place"a lot; however, it is very harsh sounding to my ears. If they had asked me, this could be remedied in the mixing and mastering process. However, they didn't ask me. LOL

**sup_fan** · 05-07-2020, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by jobucats

Another thing comes to my mind about the "Everything Is Everything" album and how it fits between Diana's debut album and the "Surrender" album. EIE, along with the song selections, is, in my opinion, a cold and harsh sounding album especially when I consider how lush and smooth sounding the prior album and the album after it were. Add to it, the cover which appeared less than what I considered she deserved.

As I stated before, I do like "My Place"a lot; however, it is very harsh sounding to my ears. If they had asked me, this could be remedied in the mixing and mastering process. However, they didn't ask me. LOL

very valid point. i agree with you that "something" is very different with the sound and tone of the songs on EIE. don't know the technical descriptions but hard, metallic, bright [[in a bad sense) come to mind

**jobucats** · 05-07-2020, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by sup_fan

very valid point. i agree with you that "something" is very different with the sound and tone of the songs on EIE. don't know the technical descriptions but hard, metallic, bright [[in a bad sense) come to mind

sup fan, Although it might not be a musical term, 'metallic' is an excellent descriptive word. I play around with recording and mixing myself [[very low scale), and when my little productions have that metallic/harsh sounds, I usually have to fool around with the upper middle range of my equalizer to smooth and soften the abrasiveness of the sound.