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  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Diana actually signed two separate contracts in 1981: RCA for North America and Canada, and EMI for the rest of the world. So it was EMI that worked those recordings internationally.
    Interesting, Reese - it seems the overall EMI did a better marketing job than RCA. Along the same lines I've always wondered if, after the 'whatever' USA response to Tina's Foreign Affair lp and its now-iconic single The Best stalling at #15, Capital decided to concentrate on the Euro market for Turner's future lps [[which, I feel, have a decided Euro-pop sound).

  2. #52
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    I enjoy alot of her RCA work,no ,it dosent have the same feel as her classic 70s Motown output..but would that style work in the synth - driven 80s market ?...also Motown had lost much of its clout as the 80s dawned.. Wonder and Richie still managed heavy chart hitting success but would Diana ?..if she had stayed would her WDFLIL album have been any different from the RCA version ? By this stage in the game she wasnt listening to Motown - would the A&R development have been contentious ? i suspect so..

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Interesting, Reese - it seems the overall EMI did a better marketing job than RCA. Along the same lines I've always wondered if, after the 'whatever' USA response to Tina's Foreign Affair lp and its now-iconic single The Best stalling at #15, Capital decided to concentrate on the Euro market for Turner's future lps [[which, I feel, have a decided Euro-pop sound).
    Maybe. I think the US started to lose a bit of interest in Tina's recordings starting with the release of TWO PEOPLE from BREAK EVERY RULE. It was a nice recording but I don't think it should have been the second single.

    For FOREIGN AFFAIR, Tina actually did some listening parties in select US cities because she liked the album so. But when it "only" went gold here, she didn't even bother bringing the FOREIGN AFFAIR tour to the US, the only time I recall that happening.

  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by daviddh View Post
    minus the title cut, eaten alive is a good album. solid vocals and one producer.. if i could remix it i would lower the bee gees vocals or use other back ground singers. except Chain Reaction, great track
    I think it an ok album, if a little dull in places. Problem with “EA” being there really is only one hit single on it. I don’t think any other song on the album could have duplicated the international success of “Chain Reaction”, sounding more classic Motown then Bee Gees..
    To me the album smacks a little of desperation. As if hooking up with Michael would guarantee her chart success no matter what.
    Perhaps if MJ had produced half the album it might have proved a little more exciting then it finally did.

  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I think it an ok album, if a little dull in places. Problem with “EA” being there really is only one hit single on it. I don’t think any other song on the album could have duplicated the international success of “Chain Reaction”, sounding more classic Motown then Bee Gees..
    To me the album smacks a little of desperation. As if hooking up with Michael would guarantee her chart success no matter what.
    Perhaps if MJ had produced half the album it might have proved a little more exciting then it finally did.
    Ive read that EA was basically a finished demo track in March 1985 before MJ became involved..he made a visit to the recording sessions at Middle East Bar studio in Miami, being the Diana fan he was,and wanted to hear how her work was going with The Bee Gees....he became very excited on hearing EA and felt he could add to the track and was invited to co write the track..however co producer Albhy Galuten was said not be happy with MJ's revisions to the song.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    Ive read that EA was basically a finished demo track in March 1985 before MJ became involved..he made a visit to the recording sessions at Middle East Bar studio in Miami, being the Diana fan he was,and wanted to hear how her work was going with The Bee Gees....he became very excited on hearing EA and felt he could add to the track and was invited to co write the track..however co producer Albhy Galuten was said not be happy with MJ's revisions to the song.
    Interesting info nomis. I wonder what the revisions were?. It’s a huge shame the original version was not included on the expanded edition to compare and contrast.
    I think it only the daft lyrics that held the song back, although it appears to have been quite successful across Europe.
    Its interesting the album features two of her very best video’s in “EA” and the brilliant “Chain Reaction. What it lacks is a killer follow up to “CR”.

  7. #57
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    Originally Posted by Ollie9
    Its interesting the album features two of her very best video’s in “EA” and the brilliant “Chain Reaction
    \

    agreed!

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Interesting info nomis. I wonder what the revisions were?. It’s a huge shame the original version was not included on the expanded edition to compare and contrast.
    I think it only the daft lyrics that held the song back, although it appears to have been quite successful across Europe.
    Its interesting the album features two of her very best video’s in “EA” and the brilliant “Chain Reaction. What it lacks is a killer follow up to “CR”.
    agree both videos are brilliant..I suspect one of MJ additions is the lyrics "tie me to a tree,crawl allover me etc" [[as hes singing this part).
    Barry Gibb released his demos of the album on I tunes minus EA and CR..two EA demos are known to exist - The Gibb penned March 1985 version then a second demo version with MJ
    EA album did respectful business -
    Australia #11
    Austria #14
    Dutch # 8
    Germany # 14
    Norway #9
    Sweden # 3
    Switzerland# 10
    U.k # 11
    and a disapointing U.S. #45

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Maybe. I think the US started to lose a bit of interest in Tina's recordings starting with the release of TWO PEOPLE from BREAK EVERY RULE. It was a nice recording but I don't think it should have been the second single.

    For FOREIGN AFFAIR, Tina actually did some listening parties in select US cities because she liked the album so. But when it "only" went gold here, she didn't even bother bringing the FOREIGN AFFAIR tour to the US, the only time I recall that happening.
    Agreed with BEE. Generally not the album needed to follow-up PD and to my thinking both Typical Male and Two People were bad single choices; add that to an ugly lp cover and the notorious Big Shoe. TM maybe with different lyrics and no yuppie lawyer in the video? Interesting that now many fans [[including: self) think of FA as Tina's best solo album.

  10. #60
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    Eaten Alive album only climbed the UK chart following the success of Chain Reaction - for such a massive hit the album reaching only #11 is a disappointment.

    Bluebrock did mention there were apparently a number of sales not recorded but never came back with details.

  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Its interesting the album features two of her very best video’s in “EA” and the brilliant “Chain Reaction. What it lacks is a killer follow up to “CR”.
    Obviously not a "killer" but on the heels of Chain Reaction I believe Crime Of Passion would have been big in the UK.

    It seemed an okay decision at the time but in retrospect Experience was a terrible choice of single.

    The [[I Love) Being In Love With You/ Crime Of Passion/ Don't Give Up On Each Other segment is brilliant - I listen to those three regularly
    Last edited by florence; 12-01-2021 at 09:08 AM.

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by florence View Post
    Obviously not a "killer" but on the heels of Chain Reaction I believe Crime Of Passion would have been big in the UK.

    It seemed an okay decision at the time but in retrospect Experience was a terrible choice of single.

    The [[I Love) Being In Love With You/ Crime Of Passion/ Don't Give Up On Each Other segment is brilliant - I listen to those three regularly
    I think “Crime Of Passion” would most probably have bombed. The UK never really warmed to Diana with yowling guitars, this perhaps being the reason “Swept Away” was never released as a UK single.
    On “COP” the production is rather fuzzy, making it hard to understand the lyrics. Never a good thing.
    ”Experience” was a little to vanilla to follow the glorious “Chain Reaction”. It might have made more sense to re-promote “Eaten Alive, complete with that fun video.
    Last edited by Ollie9; 12-01-2021 at 03:03 PM.

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I think “Crime Of Passion” would most probably have bombed. The UK never really warmed to Diana with yowling guitars, this perhaps being the reason “Swept Away” was never released as a UK single.
    On “COP” the production is rather fuzzy, making it hard to understand the lyrics. Never a good thing.
    ”Experience” was a little to vanilla to follow the glorious “Chain Reaction”. It might have made more sense to re-promote “Eaten Alive, complete with that fun video.
    IMO the EA project is among her worst and most unlistenable. It and WO trade off on my score card as her worst albums.

    I find the combination of the Bee Gee falsetto vocals [[which are naturally very nasal) and Diana's vocals [[which are also naturally quite nasal) as grating and very unsettling. the combo just didn't work as well as it did on Guilty with Barbra [[who also has a nasal tone).

    many of diana's vocals sound extremely weak to me. like either she isn't committing to the performance or something. just a far far cry from her glorious work with Masser back at motown.

    Finally the decision to swamp her vocals with echo and bury them in the productions was simply idiotic. it is so challenging to make out what the hell she's singing about. This is something that happened on both the title track and the overall album. MJ and the Bee Gees had an approach to their own music that was much much different than diana's. the BGs had lots of echo and much of their music was almost more about the atmosphere than the actual story of the lyric. Their monster disco hits almost all have large sections of the songs where you can barely figure out what the fuck they're saying.

    Michael too - he enunciation of words and how he sings his lyrics are uniquely his. and they obviously work. for him.

    Diana built her career on this glorious way she interpreted her songs and conveyed the LYRIC! even a silly non-hit like My Heart Can't Take It No More - she is so totally committed to the story line. even though the song sort of sucks, you still have to acknowledge her passion to it.

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    IMO the EA project is among her worst and most unlistenable. It and WO trade off on my score card as her worst albums.

    I find the combination of the Bee Gee falsetto vocals [[which are naturally very nasal) and Diana's vocals [[which are also naturally quite nasal) as grating and very unsettling. the combo just didn't work as well as it did on Guilty with Barbra [[who also has a nasal tone).

    many of diana's vocals sound extremely weak to me. like either she isn't committing to the performance or something. just a far far cry from her glorious work with Masser back at motown.

    Finally the decision to swamp her vocals with echo and bury them in the productions was simply idiotic. it is so challenging to make out what the hell she's singing about. This is something that happened on both the title track and the overall album. MJ and the Bee Gees had an approach to their own music that was much much different than diana's. the BGs had lots of echo and much of their music was almost more about the atmosphere than the actual story of the lyric. Their monster disco hits almost all have large sections of the songs where you can barely figure out what the fuck they're saying.

    Michael too - he enunciation of words and how he sings his lyrics are uniquely his. and they obviously work. for him.

    Diana built her career on this glorious way she interpreted her songs and conveyed the LYRIC! even a silly non-hit like My Heart Can't Take It No More - she is so totally committed to the story line. even though the song sort of sucks, you still have to acknowledge her passion to it.
    Barry Gibb told the Bee Gees biographer that Diana was unfocused recording EA putting it down in part to I think was an appearance she was making at the Academy Awards mid way thru recording

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    Plus, wasn't it a rush job, recorded in only 4 or 5 days?

    Diana had ignored Barry Gibb's request to produce an album for her but when whoever was due to produce it dropped out at the last minute Diana "ordered" Barry to undertake it because the studio time had already been booked - and he did.

    Apparently Maurice Gibb wasn't happy at all about it and he was banned from the studio at one stage.

    Chain Reaction wasn't to be on the album at all - Barry played it to Diana as the Bee Gees next single and she pleaded with him to let her have it until he relented and Thank the Good Lord for that - at least as far as the UK and many other territories were concerned.

    [[My mind has gone blank as to who the original producer was to be - was it Quincy?)

    Bluebrock made a post about this.

    I disagree with y'all- I like the majority of the tracks on the album.

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    IMO the EA project is among her worst and most unlistenable. It and WO trade off on my score card as her worst albums.

    I find the combination of the Bee Gee falsetto vocals [[which are naturally very nasal) and Diana's vocals [[which are also naturally quite nasal) as grating and very unsettling. the combo just didn't work as well as it did on Guilty with Barbra [[who also has a nasal tone).

    many of diana's vocals sound extremely weak to me. like either she isn't committing to the performance or something. just a far far cry from her glorious work with Masser back at motown.

    Finally the decision to swamp her vocals with echo and bury them in the productions was simply idiotic. it is so challenging to make out what the hell she's singing about. This is something that happened on both the title track and the overall album. MJ and the Bee Gees had an approach to their own music that was much much different than diana's. the BGs had lots of echo and much of their music was almost more about the atmosphere than the actual story of the lyric. Their monster disco hits almost all have large sections of the songs where you can barely figure out what the fuck they're saying.

    Michael too - he enunciation of words and how he sings his lyrics are uniquely his. and they obviously work. for him.

    Diana built her career on this glorious way she interpreted her songs and conveyed the LYRIC! even a silly non-hit like My Heart Can't Take It No More - she is so totally committed to the story line. even though the song sort of sucks, you still have to acknowledge her passion to it.
    Why beat about the bush sup. If you don’t like the album just be honest and say so.
    I think there are some decent songs and performances on “EA”, it’s the awful echoey production that with the exception of “Chain Reaction” afflicts many of the songs.
    Its rather odd, as on “Guilty” and “Heartbreaker” Bab’s And Dionne’s voices are crystal clear.
    Another problem being rather then put her own stamp on the songs, she seems to be trying to recreate an exact copy of Barry’s demos.
    Having said that, i still prefer it to “Fools” or “Silk Electric” which I find unlistenable.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Why beat about the bush sup. If you don’t like the album just be honest and say so.
    I think there are some decent songs and performances on “EA”, it’s the awful echoey production that with the exception of “Chain Reaction” afflicts many of the songs.
    Its rather odd, as on “Guilty” and “Heartbreaker” Bab’s And Dionne’s voices are crystal clear.
    I like the songs but I hate the Bee Gees--type of vocals. It ruined the album for me, I prefer her other RCA releases.

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    Despite its' issues [[particularly the Gibbs listening to MJ) probably the best album of her RCA run.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Why beat about the bush sup. If you don’t like the album just be honest and say so.
    I think there are some decent songs and performances on “EA”, it’s the awful echoey production that with the exception of “Chain Reaction” afflicts many of the songs.
    Its rather odd, as on “Guilty” and “Heartbreaker” Bab’s And Dionne’s voices are crystal clear.
    Another problem being rather then put her own stamp on the songs, she seems to be trying to recreate an exact copy of Barry’s demos.
    Having said that, i still prefer it to “Fools” or “Silk Electric” which I find unlistenable.
    haha you know i'm always vague about my opinions on things here! lolol

    I do agree that there was some strong potential with many of the songs. but the execution is where things fell apart.

    I enjoy Crime of Passion, Oh Teacher. and i don't hate the title track. More is one that, again, had strong potential but her vocals are so whispy and weak.

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    I have always enjoyed the Eaten Alive album. That said, I wish that Silk Electric and Eaten Alive would be totally remixed with all the echo pulled back. Both albums sound muddy to me, and would benefit from a crisper sound.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Levi Stubbs Tears View Post
    Despite its' issues [[particularly the Gibbs listening to MJ) probably the best album of her RCA run.
    I tend to agree.
    I’m Watching You” in particular is a beautiful ballad with the album at least sounding cohesive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thommg View Post
    I have always enjoyed the Eaten Alive album. That said, I wish that Silk Electric and Eaten Alive would be totally remixed with all the echo pulled back. Both albums sound muddy to me, and would benefit from a crisper sound.
    agreed. it would be interesting to have Andy and George remix the albums similar to how we've gone those bonus tracks on the various motown EE's. have different mixing of the instrumentals too

    like on Baby It's Me, the new mix of Gettin' Ready For Love, those strings on the intro are AMAZING!!! how could they not be included on the released version!?!!?? it makes the opening just explode!

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    haha you know i'm always vague about my opinions on things here! lolol

    I do agree that there was some strong potential with many of the songs. but the execution is where things fell apart.

    I enjoy Crime of Passion, Oh Teacher. and i don't hate the title track. More is one that, again, had strong potential but her vocals are so whispy and weak.
    I tend to like “More & More”. She sings it like it’s the end of a long and exhausting day. I imagine her reclined on a smattering of silk cushions, , sipping a dry martini while someone massages her feet.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thommg View Post
    I have always enjoyed the Eaten Alive album. That said, I wish that Silk Electric and Eaten Alive would be totally remixed with all the echo pulled back. Both albums sound muddy to me, and would benefit from a crisper sound.
    I have to agree on the 'muddy' mix-or-production sound ...

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    i love Crimes Of Passion and Diana rocks that vocal. also Watching You is another favorite,.i would love for Kevin Reeves to remix the eaten alive lp

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Agreed with BEE. Generally not the album needed to follow-up PD and to my thinking both Typical Male and Two People were bad single choices; add that to an ugly lp cover and the notorious Big Shoe. TM maybe with different lyrics and no yuppie lawyer in the video? Interesting that now many fans [[including: self) think of FA as Tina's best solo album.
    Now what, pray tell is “the big shoe?”

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    Quote Originally Posted by kenneth View Post
    Now what, pray tell is “the big shoe?”
    In the TYPICAL MALE video, Tina pranced around a big shoe.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kenneth View Post
    Now what, pray tell is “the big shoe?”
    BIG SHOE! And a wet floor. As a 'second-gen I&TT OG' [[meaning: pre-'Proud Mary', in '69 when one could enter a record store monthly and find a 'new' I&TT lp!) I was pretty much appalled at the general weakness of the lp 'Break Every Rule' and the rather ... grotesque? ... spectacle of Tina desperately trying to seduce a decades-younger lawyer while, indeed. prancing around a big shoe. In one lp Tina went from slash-and-burn rock-soul independent woman to the virtual opposite of 'What's Love ...'. My love for Tina remains to this day and I attended at least one show of each of her tours here in the US since Carnegie Hall with the Revue in '71, but her recording career was rather a train-wreck of weak material and constant repackages of hits, live material and box sets. PD and FA are the only two lps I retained and can still listen to; the cast lp of the dynamic Broadway musical has joined that canon!

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    Not to get off on a Tina tangent, but the one song on Break Every Rule that I loved was I'll Be Thunder. That album was a letdown from the fantastic Private Dancer. In addition to Foreign Affair, I also loved Wildest Dreams. I saw her every time she came into town. Her concerts were legendary.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thommg View Post
    Not to get off on a Tina tangent, but the one song on Break Every Rule that I loved was I'll Be Thunder. That album was a letdown from the fantastic Private Dancer. In addition to Foreign Affair, I also loved Wildest Dreams. I saw her every time she came into town. Her concerts were legendary.
    I also thought that 'I'll Be Thunder' was excellent. There were parts of Wildest Dreams that I liked - I remember thinking it kinda ... noisy. The cuts did work live, though.

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    i actually would not mind if Geroge and Andy did an RCA lost and found and had some of these RCA tracks remixed by Kevin Reeves

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    "Eaten Alive" should have been a duet with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. The video would have been phenomenal! I like this song. On the dance floor this song rocks! There are remixed versions of this song to prove my point.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post

    Lionel had hits until mid 86 and then he was done. Stevie was hot through 85 and then totally not.
    Stevie was popular through 1988. You probably forgot the "Characters" album.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TNSUN View Post
    "Eaten Alive" should have been a duet with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. The video would have been phenomenal! I like this song. On the dance floor this song rocks! There are remixed versions of this song to prove my point.
    yeah i think that would have really helped it. diana had had some decent hits off of Swept Away but let's face it, none were MEGA hits. something like Mountain, Upside Down, Love Hangover. something that totally took the pop music world by storm and became a sensation. given her age, her declining sales and popularity, i think something mega was needed.

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    Without Gordy, she was and is a shadow of her once awesome self.

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    You can have the finest cut of steak, but if you don’t have the best chef, it tastes like hamburger.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    Without Gordy, she was and is a shadow of her once awesome self.
    Gordy had little to do with “The Boss” And “diana”, so i really don’t think that the case.
    Had she been releasing the quality of albums in the 80’s that she did in the 90’s, i certainly think the hits would have been bigger and more frequent.

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    I always gave the supremes success to HDH, with some guidance from BG.
    But I also think he was losing his touch ...

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    yeah i think that would have really helped it. diana had had some decent hits off of Swept Away but let's face it, none were MEGA hits. something like Mountain, Upside Down, Love Hangover. something that totally took the pop music world by storm and became a sensation. given her age, her declining sales and popularity, i think something mega was needed.
    I think the single "Eaten Alive" was her attempt to do something mega, but didn't turn out that way. In some respects it was her "Bad Weather".

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    Quote Originally Posted by daviddh View Post
    I always gave the supremes success to HDH, with some guidance from BG.
    But I also think he was losing his touch ...
    Motown in the 80s was a shadow of its old self. They had some hits but not what they were in the 60s. But if Berry had been involved in Diana's career in the 80s, maybe some mistakes would have been avoided. Maybe.

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    i think how BG didnt like Love child Originally, then he wrote No Matter What Sign.flop.
    then he didnt like Stoned Love or Aint no Mountain but, both became million sellers, then he wanted Dooobe Doo be Doo or whatever released and thought it would be huge,it wasnt.
    dont get me started on Last Time I Saw Him album or why Blue was shelved

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    Y'all crack me up. Y'all know I love the EA album.

    On the subject of Tina Turner, Typical Male is one of my favorite songs of hers! Need to get that Foreign Affair 4-disc that was re-released last year

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    Quote Originally Posted by JLoveLamar View Post
    Y'all crack me up. Y'all know I love the EA album.

    On the subject of Tina Turner, Typical Male is one of my favorite songs of hers! Need to get that Foreign Affair 4-disc that was re-released last year
    I am surprised to see Tina's post-"Private Dancer" recordings discussed alongside Ross' RCA years. I think "Break Every Rule" and "Foreign Affair" are excellent albums. Good songs and great production. The same is not true of Ross at RCA, which we have dissected at DRATS ad nauseam. In fact, there is no other artist of Ross' commercial stature -- that I can think of -- who experienced such a precipitous decline in artistic quality for SUCCESSIVE albums. All down to the dangerous degree of artistic freedom she apparently enjoyed during the 1980s.

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    The Eaten Alive album is one of my top 5 albums of Diana Ross. I actually love this album.
    it’s classic Diana Ross. IMO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Guy View Post
    I am surprised to see Tina's post-"Private Dancer" recordings discussed alongside Ross' RCA years. I think "Break Every Rule" and "Foreign Affair" are excellent albums. Good songs and great production. The same is not true of Ross at RCA, which we have dissected at DRATS ad nauseam. In fact, there is no other artist of Ross' commercial stature -- that I can think of -- who experienced such a precipitous decline in artistic quality for SUCCESSIVE albums. All down to the dangerous degree of artistic freedom she apparently enjoyed during the 1980s.
    I agree Guy. The decline in artistic quality was not only alarming, but changed the way her music was perceived. It was was no longer being taken seriously by the music media at large and often held up an object of ridicule.
    By the time she got her act together America was bored, and sin of sins she was no longer young.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I agree Guy. The decline in artistic quality was not only alarming, but changed the way her music was perceived. It was was no longer being taken seriously by the music media at large and often held up an object of ridicule.
    By the time she got her act together America was bored, and sin of sins she was no longer young.
    she got her act together ? ….

    She was never the same after leaving Gordy and his company. Ross has no ability to read the tea leaves and successfully do what the public wants. She is horribly misguided. She became a stale oldies act 25-years prematurely.
    Last edited by Circa 1824; 01-02-2022 at 04:59 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    she got her act together ? ….

    She was never the same after leaving Gordy and his company. Ross has no ability to read the tea leaves and successfully do what the public wants. She is horribly misguided. She became a stale oldies act 25-years prematurely.
    You may be viewing Diana’s tenure at Motown through rose tinted glasses. The Wiz was a dreadful movie and a flop of epic proportions. “Ross 78” a shoddy collection of odds and ends not worthy of an artist of Diana’s stature. Diana herself was the force behind the hugely popular “The Boss” And “diana” albums, not Gordy.
    The 90’s proved a return to form with decent albums and a run of hit singles throughout Europe at least. There was also her mega successful concerts with the two tenors.
    I agree in that her solo live shows desperately needed a revamp, and became oh so predictable and rather stale. “I will, you will, we will” lol.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    You may be viewing Diana’s tenure at Motown through rose tinted glasses. The Wiz was a dreadful movie and a flop of epic proportions. “Ross 78” a shoddy collection of odds and ends not worthy of an artist of Diana’s stature. Diana herself was the force behind the hugely popular “The Boss” And “diana” albums, not Gordy.
    The 90’s proved a return to form with decent albums and a run of hit singles throughout Europe at least. There was also her mega successful concerts with the two tenors.
    I agree in that her solo live shows desperately needed a revamp, and became oh so predictable and rather stale. “I will, you will, we will” lol.
    i don't know that i totally agree with this assessment either. and that's have the fun lol. her career is SO long and so many points of interest to dissect

    it was not Diana that arranged the pairing with A&S [[either at the beginning of her career or with The Boss) nor did she arrange the work with Niles and Rodgers. motown handled the selection of the producers. What she did do was partner with Valerie and Nick on the content for The Boss in terms of discussing her feelings, ideas, wants, etc. It is also possible they reviewed a handful of songs - talking about the sound and tone, possible lyrics and content. it was probably pretty well know that the album would have 8 songs on it. that was pretty standard by 79. so that probably eliminated a lot of the "bonus tracks" we would have today. And A&S could have adjusted lyrics or material to better fit their discussions with her too.

    And then sort of similar with the Chic team although my guess is that she had a little less involvement. sure they discussed things - like her wanting a simpler song her little girls could sing along with.

    But in both cases, these were still the overall product of excellent production teams and in the label helping arrange these partnerships

    at RCA, there were times she partnered with great producers - Perry on All of You [[and he at least helped clean up some of the mess of So Close for the single version), Ritchie, jackson, daryl hall. If she had turned over production control more often to others instead of doing it herself, the RCA would have at least resulted in better quality material, if not better sales and charts

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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i don't know that i totally agree with this assessment either. and that's have the fun lol. her career is SO long and so many points of interest to dissect

    it was not Diana that arranged the pairing with A&S [[either at the beginning of her career or with The Boss) nor did she arrange the work with Niles and Rodgers. motown handled the selection of the producers. What she did do was partner with Valerie and Nick on the content for The Boss in terms of discussing her feelings, ideas, wants, etc. It is also possible they reviewed a handful of songs - talking about the sound and tone, possible lyrics and content. it was probably pretty well know that the album would have 8 songs on it. that was pretty standard by 79. so that probably eliminated a lot of the "bonus tracks" we would have today. And A&S could have adjusted lyrics or material to better fit their discussions with her too.

    And then sort of similar with the Chic team although my guess is that she had a little less involvement. sure they discussed things - like her wanting a simpler song her little girls could sing along with.

    But in both cases, these were still the overall product of excellent production teams and in the label helping arrange these partnerships

    at RCA, there were times she partnered with great producers - Perry on All of You [[and he at least helped clean up some of the mess of So Close for the single version), Ritchie, jackson, daryl hall. If she had turned over production control more often to others instead of doing it herself, the RCA would have at least resulted in better quality material, if not better sales and charts
    I thought the story went that Diana had taken her children to see Chic in concert. Being impressed with their sound, she had later approached Nile and Bernard with regards to writing and producing her next album.
    Do we honestly know for sure who was responsible for pairing Diana with A&S again for “The Boss” set. It was certainly her first album where Gordy is not credited in anyway, so that probably discounts him.
    Regarding RHR&B, it is at least well produced and marked a return to a more traditional Diana Ross sound.

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    isn't gordy still listed as Executive Producer for The Boss? clearly that was mostly just a title rather than actually partnering with the team on the content. and maybe that was the link for bringing them back into the motown studios. sort of like the Hollands with the Supremes.

    diana was hot as hell with her 76 album and Hangover. the problem is motown bungled any solid follow up. One Love is probably the next best dance track on the album but it pales compared to LH.

    then in 77 she went on and did BIM. this is a glorious album but out of place, timing-wise. it was released in fall of 77 just prior to Saturday Night Fever and the total explosion of DISCO across the US. the content on BIM is too pop and lightweight to compete with the heavy dance songs like Stayin Alive and the others. had it been a year earlier or a couple years later, i think it would have been huge.

    and in 78 she did Ross with some disco tunes but none truly massive ones, along the lines of LH.

    So by 79, she was no longer really hot in the discos. back to back lp disappointments plus the Wiz debacle. i could see people in the motown offices saying "WTF - we need a surefire hit on DR." Michael Masser was all about lush ballads so he wasn't the answer. so who else had had massive hits with DR? A&S. plus they'd had a lot of recent successes themselves.

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