Favorite Diana Ross albums.

[Bluebrock]

Okay, so we have covered our least favorite Diana Ross albums, but have we ever discussed our absolute favorite Diana albums? Apologies in advance if i am duplicating a previous post.
Here are my top 5 all time favorite studio albums.

1. The Boss.
2. Surrender.
3. Baby it's me.
4. Diana Ross70.
5. Diana Ross76.

Touch me in the morning misses out by a narrow margin whilst Diana, Force behind the power and Take me Higher are all there or thereabouts.
Over to you guys....

[johnjeb]

1. The Boss
2. Diana Ross [[1970)
3. Surrender
4. Everything Is Everything
5. Diana Ross [[1976)

[lucky2012]

1. The Boss
2. Diana Ross [[1976)
3. Baby, It's Me
4. Touch Me In The Morning
5. Diana Ross [[1970)

[reese]

1) Diana Ross [[1970)
2) Surrender
3) Lady Sings the Blues
4) Touch Me in the Morning
5) The Boss [[1979)

[JohnnyB]

Here we go...

1. The Boss
2. Take Me Higher
3. Baby It’s Me
4. Touch Me In The Morning
5. Surrender...

and the next 3...

Diana Ross [[1970)
The Force Behind The Power
Swept Away

[Ollie9]

Based on what I play the most...

1. Take Me Higher
2. Everyday Is A New Day
3.​Workin’ Overtime
4. Ross 83
5. diana

[djessie]

1. Diana Ross [[1970)
2. Take Me Higher
3. The Boss
4. Surrender
5. Baby It´s Me / Every Day Is A New Day

[Albator]

1 Ross 83
2 everyday is a new day
3 TMH
4 Baby it’s me
5 swept away

No place left for Ashford & Simpson 🤭

[SatansBlues]

Diana [[1980)
The Boss
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
To Love Again
Ross [[1978)

[florence]

01 The Force Behind The Power
02 Swept Away
03 To Love Again [[The re-issued version is even better)
04 Silk Electric
05 Diana Ross [[76)

Tastes do vary from time to time - a few years back I would have had DR 76 higher.

Touch Me In The Morning just misses out - to me it has some glorious high spots but it has several low spots too!

Such a pity the parent company vetoed it but there was more gold to be mined from that album in the UK in the shape of singles.

I know To Love Again has a lot previously released material but the songs are so good it has to be up there even if it does contain of her worst ever songs - One More Chance.

Force is a blockbuster of an album full of great pop songs.

It marked the renaissance of Diana in the UK - just a pity it meant little in the US, basically Diana was largely a spent force after the mid 80s and the album never got a fair hearing.

In an earlier era it would have been big.

Diana's compilations sold by the bucketful in the UK but this has sold more than double of any other studio album here - probably the only territory in the world it outsold diana.

I think that if If We Hold On Together had been released as the follow-up to When You Tell Me instead of being held over until next Christmas it would have gone BIG.

Bluebrock has explained the rationale behind the single releases and I know Heart was Diana's choice but frankly it was a mistake.

I do believe there were at least another two hit singles which could have been released from Force but as #s 6 and 7 they would definitely have needed Diana to promote them and she wasn't available.

Funnily, although I do quite like it and I know many fans think really highly of it Change Of Heart isn't one of my favourite tracks - just slightly dull, much in the style of Gettin' Ready For Love.

[sup_fan]

^ interesting you selected Silk Electric. i enjoy the album but i know a lot of others have differing views

[vgalindo]

1. Eaten Alive
2. Baby It’s me
3. Silk Electric
4. The Boss
5. Everyday is a new day / Force behind the power.

[Guy]

1. diana
2. The Boss
3. Every Day Is A New Day
4. Surrender
5. Diana Ross [[1976)

[mowsville]

1. Diana Ross [[1970)
2. Surrender
3. The Boss
4. Diana and Marvin
5. Diana [[1980)

[jim aka jtigre99]

Surrender
Diana Ross[[Debut 1970)
Lady Sings The Blues[[Soundtrack)
Diana Ross[[1976)
diana

[jobeterob]

Blue
Baby It’s Me
Touch Me in the Morning
Diana Ross 1976
diana

[daviddh]

Diana ross 76
Baby it's me
The boss
Diana
Diana ross 70

[PeaceNHarmony]

Surrender
First solo lp
The Boss
The Chic diana
Take Me Higher

[Levi Stubbs Tears]

1) diana
2) The Boss
3) The Force Behind the Power
4) Swept Away
5) Diana & Marvin & Eaten Alive [[1986)

[Bluebrock]

^ interesting you selected Silk Electric. i enjoy the album but i know a lot of others have differing views

Damn right we do! Ha ha.

[sup_fan]

Damn right we do! Ha ha.

haha - i enjoy the album but certainly wouldn't put it in the top 5. but hey - different fans, different tastes

[Bluebrock]

haha - i enjoy the album but certainly wouldn't put it in the top 5. but hey - different fans, different tastes

Joking apart what exactly is it that you enjoy about the album? Is it the high quality songs? Diana's outstanding vocals on the album, her peerless production skills or is it a lethal combination of all three?

[sup_fan]

i think many of the songs on the album are fairly decent. it does get tiring to have to listen to an entire album where it sounds like she recorded her vocals sitting at the bottom of a well. as for the overall direction of the album, i can sort of accept that practically every tune is a radically different style and approach. it's almost like a buffet - try a little of this, sample that dish, etc. It's almost as if she specifically went out to explore a different musical genre with each track. and given her lack of freedom in her career before, i can accept her wanting to do this. but i do realize that i might be giving her MUCH more credit than deserved. not so sure she approached this project in that manner vs just assembling a bunch of random tracks.

Muscles was a strong song, even though her vocals are truly mush here. there's an intensity, crispness and sharpness to the overall production.

so close - not my fav. i can deal with it as an album track. and the Perry produced single certainly improves on things. but

still in love is another good track but with somewhat lazy vocals. not her worst vocal production on the album. there's considerable potential with this track IMO

Fool for your love - i don't like this song but can deal with it based on my idea that she wanted to test a genre with each song. this is far from the best vocal performance she has ever waxed and her grunts and growls are really not her place. If i was producer i would have explored different approaches to a heavy metal sound. but it's an experiment.

turn me over - ok i realize this isn't so much a song as a funny gimmick but i think it's entertaining. Side 1 though feels a bit incomplete. needs another track

who - like Still In Love, this is a rather decent song. and like Still, there's potential here. i think had she stepped up the vocals again, it would have been better. but i do like the iciness of her styling.

Love Lies - this needs to be just a bit faster. it plods as is and the echo is too heavy. but if you listen past the distracting echo, this is one of her better and stronger vocal performances.

In your arms - this one i struggle with. in and of itself, it's not terrible but it's such a Michael Masser knock off that for any fan who knows the DR catalog, you just wish so badly that he was producing it.

anywhere you run to - i like this song and think it's one of the strongest on the album. a good pop track, solid vocal from Diana that isn't overly lazy. the echo isn't as maddening here. I think this could have been the f/u single after Muscles.

I am me - like many of the other tracks, a decent song and the backing track is solid. too much echo although i think it's effective when she's ad libbing and doing the ending. semi lazy performance on the verses here. could have been punched up and stronger.

[sup_fan]

Joking apart what exactly is it that you enjoy about the album? Is it the high quality songs? Diana's outstanding vocals on the album, her peerless production skills or is it a lethal combination of all three?

now i'd like to hear your thoughts on each track?

[Bluebrock]

now i'd like to hear your thoughts on each track?

I like Muscles and Love Lies, but the rest of the album's songs range from average at best to abysmal. I honestly think Fool for your love is the worst song she ever recorded, and I am me is almost as bad. The production is cheap and shoddy, and Diana sounds bored and lacklustre.
However i do like the cover.

[sup_fan]

I like Muscles and Love Lies, but the rest of the album's songs range from average at best to abysmal. I honestly think Fool for your love is the worst song she ever recorded, and I am me is almost as bad. The production is cheap and shoddy, and Diana sounds bored and lacklustre.
However i do like the cover.

haha the cover i think was one of the more boring aspects of the set. while i love the andy warhol art, to do a gatefold style cover typically means there's going to be "something" on the inside. and yes i get it that part of Warhol's approach is multiple iterations of the subject. but i think simply taking 4 warhols and making them the 4 panels shows a lack of imagination

[Bluebrock]

haha the cover i think was one of the more boring aspects of the set. while i love the andy warhol art, to do a gatefold style cover typically means there's going to be "something" on the inside. and yes i get it that part of Warhol's approach is multiple iterations of the subject. but i think simply taking 4 warhols and making them the 4 panels shows a lack of imagination

I would say the whole project showed a lack of imagination once the needle hit those grooves.

[JohnnyB]

haha the cover i think was one of the more boring aspects of the set. while i love the andy warhol art, to do a gatefold style cover typically means there's going to be "something" on the inside. and yes i get it that part of Warhol's approach is multiple iterations of the subject. but i think simply taking 4 warhols and making them the 4 panels shows a lack of imagination

I’m loving this critique of the Silk Electric LP. Regarding the cover, I remember being very disappointed in the gatefold being basically the same drawing repeatedly. I was equally disappointed seeing the title graphic was actually a sticker attached to the LP shrink wrap—I was too young to know of Andy Warhol’s art. Now older, I really appreciate the cover and can understand the statement of it.

[markdtiller]

1. Stolen Moments Live
2. Baby It's Me
3. Take Me Higher
4. Dana
5. Red Hot Rhythm & Blues

[Bluebrock]

1. Stolen Moments Live
2. Baby It's Me
3. Take Me Higher
4. Dana
5. Red Hot Rhythm & Blues

I haven't listened to Stolen Moments for years and years. I must give it another listen.

[drlorne]

Force Behind the Power
The Boss
Diana
Stolen Moments
Baby it's Me and Blue. [[ I only had 4 bad ones, so I used my left over vote here)

[captainjames]

Diana Ross 1970
The Boss
Force Behind the Power
Take Me Higher
Surrender
Baby Its Me

[nomis]

Take Me Higher
The Boss
Swept Away
Eaten Alive

[daviddh]

My 2nd top 5
Blue
Take me higher
Touch me in the morning
The force behind the power
Surrender

[Bluebrock]

My 2nd top 5
Blue
Take me higher
Touch me in the morning
The force behind the power
Surrender

Good choices David. Perhaps i should have made it a top 10 in the first place rather than just a top 5. Here is mine

1. The Boss
2. Surrender
3. Baby it's Me
4. Diana Ross70
5. Diana Ross76
6. Take Me Higher
7. Diana.
8. Touch Me In The Morning
9. Force Behind The Power.
10. Eaten Alive.

[lucky2012]

1. The Boss
2. Diana Ross [[1976)
3. Baby, It's Me
4. Touch Me In The Morning
5. Diana Ross [[1970)

6. diana [[1980)
7. Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
8. To Love Again
9. Surrender
10. Force Behind The Power

[vgalindo]

Good choices David. Perhaps i should have made it a top 10 in the first place rather than just a top 5. Here is mine

1. The Boss
2. Surrender
3. Baby it's Me
4. Diana Ross70
5. Diana Ross76
6. Take Me Higher
7. Diana.
8. Touch Me In The Morning
9. Force Behind The Power.
10. Eaten Alive.

Great list Bluebrock. Merry Christmas.

[Bluebrock]

Great list Bluebrock. Merry Christmas.

And the same to you my friend!

[Albator]

If it si 10, it is easier...
I only consider studio album.

1 Ross 83
2 everyday is a new day
3 TMH
4 Baby it’s me
5 swept away
6 The Boss
7 diana
8 Surrender
9 FBTP
10 Diana Ross 1970

[Bluebrock]

If it si 10, it is easier...
I only consider studio album.

1 Ross 83
2 everyday is a new day
3 TMH
4 Baby it’s me
5 swept away
6 The Boss
7 diana
8 Surrender
9 FBTP
10 Diana Ross 1970

Interesting list
.Ross83 is a very divisive album. I like all the tracks except Girls and Upfront. It lacked a killer hit single. So many cool and classy tracks. Sadly it was released just as Ms Ross butted heads with the Head of RCA. Such a wasted opportunity.

[Albator]

Interesting list
.Ross83 is a very divisive album. I like all the tracks except Girls and Upfront. It lacked a killer hit single. So many cool and classy tracks. Sadly it was released just as Ms Ross butted heads with the Head of RCA. Such a wasted opportunity.

I'v always like "Up front", it seems the lyrics are very reflective of Diana Ross way of thinking about relationships with men. And with time, "Girls" has grown on me positively. Ross is the second album I'v bought. The first was Silk, because of Muscles. But the album was so MOR, I thought it doesn't sound like the the impresive cover art promesses.
After watching "Pieces of ice" clip, and a few hot pictures of her CP concert, I couldn't resist. At least she sounds like the cover made me think she'll do. "Swept" is high on my list because I'm crazy for 4 songs.
What happened at RCA? Isn't it more than RCA because she did poorly in the UK in the 80's.