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  1. #51
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    in the US the release schedule was:

    The Boss [[single)
    released 5/22/79
    entered the Billboard charts on 7/14/79
    peaked on the Billboard charts on 10/6/79
    was on the charts for 16 weeks
    80-71-61-57-45-40-36-32-28-35-22-21-19-19-44-92

    It's My House
    released 10/20/79
    did not chart on the Billboard Top 100 pop singles

    The Boss [[album)
    released 5/23/79
    entered the Billboard charts on 6/16/79
    peaked on the Billboard charts on 9/29/79
    was on the charts for 36 weeks
    120-88-44-39-36-33-30-25-23-21-19-16-15-15-15-14-14-22-21-37-59-77-87-113-123-133-133-131-150-164-174-174-186-199-196-198

    So the single was on the charts longer than other releases like Reach out and touch [[9 weeks), Mountain [[13 weeks), Remember me [[10 weeks), Last Time i saw him [[14 weeks). And a few of her big hits were on the charts only slightly longer Mahogany [[17 weeks), Love Hangover [[18 weeks), I'm coming out [[17 weeks)

    The album charted longer than Diana Ross 1970 [[28 weeks), Touch Me in the Morning [[28 weeks), Diana Ross 1976 [[32 weeks), Greatest Hits US version [[22 weeks)

  2. #52
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    In the end, The Boss and It's My House are considered landmark moments in her career. They may not have ruled the charts at time of release but they made enough of an impression to permeate the culture.

  3. #53
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    i agree. The Boss has definitely maintained itself in the overall public regarding DR. not to the level of Mountain or Upside Down but still people know it. IMH is probably a bit less so but it's still recognized and associated with her. she was still using it in her show for years.

    both songs are like My World. MWIEWY didn't go to #1 and didn't sell or chart like a YCHL or Baby Love or other #1 hits. but it had endured.

    IMH maybe fits better as a live version or as an album track, as opposed to a single. as part of the album, it adds a vibe and feeling. you put the album on while you're doing housework and just groove along with things. and live you can jam to it, the lack of form and structure of the song can be a benefit here. allowing the musicians to groove out, people to dance about and just creating a magnificent mood and feeling.

    as a single, it needs to be able to stand on it's own for 2:45. no context of the album, no live musicians jamming out. who knows what'll come before it or what'll be played after. and so in that environment, i can understand why it didn't work

  4. #54
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    :


    1. "The Boss"
      Released: May 22, 1979
    2. "No One Gets The Prize[2][3][4]"
      Released: September 21, 1979
    3. "It's My House"
      Released: October 20, 1979


    The September release is perhaps the 12 inch.

  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    :


    1. "The Boss"
      Released: May 22, 1979
    2. "No One Gets The Prize[2][3][4]"
      Released: September 21, 1979
    3. "It's My House"
      Released: October 20, 1979


    The September release is perhaps the 12 inch.
    In the US, a medley of NO ONE GETS THE PRIZE and THE BOSS was released as the flipside to a promo-only 12 inch of IT'S MY HOUSE.

    The same medley was also released as the flipside to the 12-inch of DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES' MEDLEY OF HITS.

  6. #56
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    Good stuff Reese.
    ITS MY HOUSE was the LP version not a club tailored remix.

    most curious.
    now I’m seeing it’s a bit longer.
    and now I’m listening to it very nice break and center of song build up.

    much better than I’ve given it credit for .
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 08-03-2022 at 11:15 AM.

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Good stuff Reese.
    ITS MY HOUSE was the LP version not a club tailored remix.

    most curious.
    now I’m seeing it’s a bit longer.
    and now I’m listening to it very nice break and center of song build up.

    much better than I’ve given it credit for .
    The promo version of IT'S MY HOUSE is a remix that was never released commercially until 1999, when it was included as a bonus track on THE BOSS expanded edition cd.

  8. #58
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    here's the full release schedule

    US

    5/22/79 The Boss b/w I'm in the World 7"
    5/23/79 The Boss lp
    5/79 The Boss b/w Lovin', Livin', Givin' 12"
    10/20/79 It's My House b/w Sparkle 7"
    2/80 Medley of hits b/w No One Gets the Prize 12"

    International
    6/79 The Boss b/w I'm in the World 7"
    6/79 The Boss lp
    7/79 The Boss b/w Lovin', Livin', Givin' 12"
    9/79 No one gets the prize b/w Never say I Don't love you 7"
    11/79 It's my house b/w Sparkle 7"
    11/79 It's my house b/w No one gets the prize/The Boss 12"

    note - the international 12" release of the Sups medley used Love Hangover as the flipside


    expanded content releases
    *CD re-release of The Boss in 1999 with album plus 12" The Boss and 12" It's My House
    *CD re-release of diana 1980 contained 12" I Ain't Been Licked and 12" combo No One Gets the Prize/The Boss
    *CD release of Diana Anthology contained 12" No One Gets the Prize


    Once in the morning is the only dance track to not have a 12" release. there are no extended/12" versions of the 3 ballad All for one, Sparkle, I'm in the world
    Last edited by sup_fan; 08-03-2022 at 01:19 PM.

  9. #59
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    As with Baby It’s Me it’s a great album, but nothing necessarily screams hit in the fashion of a “Love Hangover” or “I’m Coming Out”.

  10. #60
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    To me personally, “The Boss” is the quintessential Diana Ross song. The first time I remember hearing it was when an abridged version of the HBO Standing Room Only concert was broadcast on Dutch television in 1981 and I’ve loved it ever since. It is such a joyful and uplifting song and her vocals are amazing. Interestingly, “The Boss” didn’t even chart in the Netherlands, while the version by The Braxtons did in 1997.

  11. #61
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    see i think the title track The Boss does scream hit. it's such an infectious tune, there's the catchy "on and off!" and it's joyous. driving in your car, you can easily sing along with it. the single version didn't cut out anything to ruin the song

    also the idea of infusing disco with gospel was something rather new. you had the electronic influences of Donna Summer, the bass-heavy sounds layered with falsettos for the Bee Gees, a zillion one-hit wonders popping up. the sound and style of The Boss could easily fit in with a choir on Sunday morning [[even if the lyric isn't exactly religious lol). so it wasn't just rehashing prior sounds.

    IMO either the public was already waning on disco or motown's promotional department lost focus on the song.

  12. #62
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    "Once in the Morning" should have followed "The Boss". "The Boss" album is as fresh as ever. Oh my...

  13. #63
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    i'd vote for No One as single 2. it has more story to the lyrics, more melody. Once In AM is a great, hot dance track but i don't know if it would be as strong as a single

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    see i think the title track The Boss does scream hit. it's such an infectious tune, there's the catchy "on and off!" and it's joyous. driving in your car, you can easily sing along with it. the single version didn't cut out anything to ruin the song .
    I agree.

    The first time I heard the THE BOSS on the radio, I really felt that Diana had a major hit on her hands. Not long after, one of my local djs played NO ONE GETS THE PRIZE as well. There was something special about it both and I felt they were much better than the songs on her previous album, ROSS '78. Personally, I was pissed that I had to wait for a month for my next allowance before I could buy the album.

  15. #65
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    It’s kind of redundant whether folks felt “The Boss” screamed hit or not. The fact remains it only did moderately well in the USA and flopped elsewhere.
    USA 19
    UK 40
    CAN 48
    It certainly could never be accused of setting the global charts alight. The song received masses of airplay here in the UK as i’m sure it must have in the USA.
    It really is a very pleasant little number, just not dynamic enough to go the extra mile.

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    i'd vote for No One as single 2. it has more story to the lyrics, more melody. Once In AM is a great, hot dance track but i don't know if it would be as strong as a single
    Besides she already did her yearning in the morning angle and that’s about enough of that young lady !

  17. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    see i think the title track The Boss does scream hit. it's such an infectious tune, there's the catchy "on and off!" and it's joyous. driving in your car, you can easily sing along with it. the single version didn't cut out anything to ruin the song

    also the idea of infusing disco with gospel was something rather new. you had the electronic influences of Donna Summer, the bass-heavy sounds layered with falsettos for the Bee Gees, a zillion one-hit wonders popping up. the sound and style of The Boss could easily fit in with a choir on Sunday morning [[even if the lyric isn't exactly religious lol). so it wasn't just rehashing prior sounds.

    IMO either the public was already waning on disco or motown's promotional department lost focus on the song.
    If the public was waning on disco then the follow ups UPSIDE DOWN and OUT OF THE CLOSET should have been doomed.
    id be curios to look at the Hot 100 when BOSS was peaking on it … date ??
    what was the amount of disco competition on it at the time ?

    THE BOSS is masterful full throttle orchestral disco strings horns etc. with no synth/ electronics that I hear. ? Motown did very little of that , for Diana the only one I believe is LIVING LOVIN ETC.
    Also could make quite a list of gospel infused disco, one of the first that comes to mind is MIGHTY HIGH by The Mighty Clouds Of Joy which topped the earliest charts.
    id say what the Boss had especially going for it was a creative storyline . Understandably a lot of disco songs were about disco and dancing And you can only carry that so far especially on the radio.
    I can’t fault THE BOSS in any way , hence it’s #1 positioning on the disco chart which it was designed for. It’s a perfect execution of exuberance.

    Perhaps they were still worried of pigeonholing Diana in that genre and weren’t seeking to limit her as a disco queen, hence no push.

  18. #68
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    I've been looking at old trade magazines, and The Boss, the album, was played massively in clubs. All the cuts! It was just huge. It dominated the dance charts like no other at the time.

  19. #69
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    I've been looking at old trade magazines, and The Boss, the album, was played massively in clubs. All the cuts! It was just huge. It dominated the dance charts like no other at the time.
    100% true. I was there. And think, Ross never did another album with A&S. Mind boggling…….

  20. #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    100% true. I was there. And think, Ross never did another album with A&S. Mind boggling…….
    Diana was chasing big pop hits, and The Boss” didn’t deliver in that regard. I’m sure a couple of top ten singles would have ensured another outing.

  21. #71
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    Well, at least "The Boss" as an album showed that Ross was still relevant and paved the way to "diana." I was too young back then, but my older friends tell me that they thought Diana's career was over when "Ross" 78 was released, but were pleasantly surprised by "The Boss." In that sense, even if it didn't hit as high on the charts than it should/could have, "The Boss" was some sense of "come back", at least in the club scene. And then "diana" came out!

  22. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Diana was chasing big pop hits, and The Boss” didn’t deliver in that regard. I’m sure a couple of top ten singles would have ensured another outing.
    It was at the top of the dance charts for weeks. The entire world was dancing to it and screaming along with Ross during the yelping part of The Boss. Ross was riding high! She was as hot as a pistol.

    Yeah, it didn’t hit radio, but that was BG’s fault, not A&S.

  23. #73
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    So i pulled up the July 28, 1979 issue of billboard to see what else was riding the charts

    Bad Girls was #1
    Ring My Bell, Good Times, Hot Stuff, makin it, Gold, I want you to want me, shine a little love, when you're in love w a beautiful woman, main event/fight completed the Top 10

    meanwhile The Boss had just entered a few weeks prior and was up at 61

    I wonder if the high gloss and gospel sound of The Boss was out of step with the heavier "rock" style of Disco you had with Donna Summer and the sleek urban-cool of Chic.

  24. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    So i pulled up the July 28, 1979 issue of billboard to see what else was riding the charts

    Bad Girls was #1
    Ring My Bell, Good Times, Hot Stuff, makin it, Gold, I want you to want me, shine a little love, when you're in love w a beautiful woman, main event/fight completed the Top 10

    meanwhile The Boss had just entered a few weeks prior and was up at 61

    I wonder if the high gloss and gospel sound of The Boss was out of step with the heavier "rock" style of Disco you had with Donna Summer and the sleek urban-cool of Chic.
    You could well be right sup. The only review of the album I can remember was from music mag Black Echoes who described the production as being as smooth as a suchard egg. Perhaps as on the production on BIM, it was just a little to glossy for the time.

  25. #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    It was at the top of the dance charts for weeks. The entire world was dancing to it and screaming along with Ross during the yelping part of The Boss. Ross was riding high! She was as hot as a pistol.
    Not in the UK we weren’t. We were bopping to Chics “Good Times” And Ami Stewart’s ”Light My Fire” amongst others.

  26. #76
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    some other top hits of the year include

    If you think i'm sexy
    heart of glass
    my sharona
    we are family
    don't bring me down
    i want you to want me
    reunited
    i will survive
    don't stop till you get enough
    video killed the radio star
    good times
    no more tears
    september
    roxanne
    message in a bottle
    ain't no stopping us now
    got to be real
    he's the greatest dancer

  27. #77
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jaap View Post
    Well, at least "The Boss" as an album showed that Ross was still relevant and paved the way to "diana." I was too young back then, but my older friends tell me that they thought Diana's career was over when "Ross" 78 was released, but were pleasantly surprised by "The Boss." In that sense, even if it didn't hit as high on the charts than it should/could have, "The Boss" was some sense of "come back", at least in the club scene. And then "diana" came out!
    Did many people seriously think her career was over in 1978 at time of Ross 78 album release? I know Wiz was a set back and box office disappointment and Baby It's Me and its singles didn't set charts on fire, but really, career over? Slump or dip, sure, but over?!

  28. #78
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    "The Boss" was a killer cut. I can understand why it was chosen as the first single, but I do believe "Prize" was the better song. "The Boss" caught on with the public, but I do think it lacks something that a "Bad Girls" or "Ring My Bell" had which is why it ultimately didn't score as big. "Prize"'s intro immediately grabs. The track is hot and Diana is on fire vocally. As Sup points out, "The Boss" is fun, but I think it had a better chance of going top 10 if it had followed "Prize".

    As usual Motown screwed things up. "Prize" wasn't even an official single. "House" was released with too much time between singles. I like "It's My House". Of the songs on the album "House" is the one I actually heard on the radio for years growing up. People loved it. I was shocked to learn that it wasn't a big hit because radio stations were playing it like it had been. For whatever reason pop radio didn't get behind it. I'm guessing it wasn't pop enough. I think it works as a final single, but more life could have been squeezed out of the album. "Once In the Morning" could've been the third single. I think it had hit potential. Then after "Once", comes "House". "Sparkle" has elements that I think could've made it a good single, but it needed an almost complete re-working to be a viable candidate.

    In the end, "The Boss", and I guess even "It's My House", just don't rate as high as a lot of the other disco cuts of the time, especially when compared alongside what Donna Summer was releasing at the time. However, as a whole album, I think The Boss lp blows Donna's Bad Girls album out of the water, song for song, and holds up much better today.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    "The Boss" was a killer cut. I can understand why it was chosen as the first single, but I do believe "Prize" was the better song. "The Boss" caught on with the public, but I do think it lacks something that a "Bad Girls" or "Ring My Bell" had which is why it ultimately didn't score as big. "Prize"'s intro immediately grabs. The track is hot and Diana is on fire vocally. As Sup points out, "The Boss" is fun, but I think it had a better chance of going top 10 if it had followed "Prize".

    As usual Motown screwed things up. "Prize" wasn't even an official single. "House" was released with too much time between singles. I like "It's My House". Of the songs on the album "House" is the one I actually heard on the radio for years growing up. People loved it. I was shocked to learn that it wasn't a big hit because radio stations were playing it like it had been. For whatever reason pop radio didn't get behind it. I'm guessing it wasn't pop enough. I think it works as a final single, but more life could have been squeezed out of the album. "Once In the Morning" could've been the third single. I think it had hit potential. Then after "Once", comes "House". "Sparkle" has elements that I think could've made it a good single, but it needed an almost complete re-working to be a viable candidate.

    In the end, "The Boss", and I guess even "It's My House", just don't rate as high as a lot of the other disco cuts of the time, especially when compared alongside what Donna Summer was releasing at the time. However, as a whole album, I think The Boss lp blows Donna's Bad Girls album out of the water, song for song, and holds up much better today.
    “No One Gets The Prize” crept to a staggering #59 when released as a single in the UK. I agree in that it should have been released as the the first single in the USA.
    The fact it’s such a great album makes it all the more annoying that dance hits aside, it never produced a sizeable hit. A top ten single might have got the ball rolling.
    I adore “Sparkle”, but it’s not single material. “All For One” being imo a far more commercial ballad and seemingly a song Diana really liked.
    ”Once In The Morning” would have been a huge dance hit, not sure it has enough for the pop charts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spreadinglove21 View Post
    Did many people seriously think her career was over in 1978 at time of Ross 78 album release? I know Wiz was a set back and box office disappointment and Baby It's Me and its singles didn't set charts on fire, but really, career over? Slump or dip, sure, but over?!
    "Over" is indeed a bit dramatic [[though that's what they did say), and of course it was said in retrospect. But then again, Ross was not as big a star in the Netherlands as she was in the US and the UK during the 1970s. "Diana Ross [[1976)" is the only album that charted in the 1970s, and only 3 top 20 songs: "You Are Everything," "Theme From Mahogany" and the #1 "A Brand New Day." It was in the early 1980s that she really became a superstar here.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jaap View Post
    "Over" is indeed a bit dramatic [[though that's what they did say), and of course it was said in retrospect. But then again, Ross was not as big a star in the Netherlands as she was in the US and the UK during the 1970s. "Diana Ross [[1976)" is the only album that charted in the 1970s, and only 3 top 20 songs: "You Are Everything," "Theme From Mahogany" and the #1 "A Brand New Day." It was in the early 1980s that she really became a superstar here.
    I remember most of my peers thinking of Diana as sort of "old-fashioned". I brought the AN EVENING WITH DIANA ROSS album to music class and the teacher put the needle down on THE LADY IS A TRAMP. Why did she do that? The kids were screaming "That's jazz!" I had to move the needle to LOVE HANGOVER to settle things down.

    But when she came out with THE BOSS, with a hot record and a hot new youthful look, things changed. And of course, after "diana" came out, she was really popular again.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I remember most of my peers thinking of Diana as sort of "old-fashioned". I brought the AN EVENING WITH DIANA ROSS album to music class and the teacher put the needle down on THE LADY IS A TRAMP. Why did she do that? The kids were screaming "That's jazz!" I had to move the needle to LOVE HANGOVER to settle things down.

    But when she came out with THE BOSS, with a hot record and a hot new youthful look, things changed. And of course, after "diana" came out, she was really popular again.
    Your Music classes sounded a lot more fun then mine. We were to busy playing the recorder or learning how to play the clarinet lol.

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    ….But then if avoiding being boxed into the disco genre was a concern, A&S should have been consulted to be sure to include something releasable as a single that was not a thumper. Instead what resulted was just the opposite.
    I’ve always suspected FOUND A CURE was also offered to Diana, but including that really would have made it a disco project.
    Instead they piggybacked off the BOSS release for their own #1 disco tune. Most clever of them as the DJs loved the seamless ability to mix the two.
    Both tunes benefitted by their similarity in clubs, but I suppose it could also be argued that FOUND A CURE hampered THE BOSS’ progression as some radio programmers likely chose it over Diana not wanting two rather similar songs in their roster.
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 08-05-2022 at 01:16 PM.

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    Also it seems an odd coincidence that Ashford and Simpson came out with their own project so soon on the heels of Diana’s .
    I’ve wondered about whether they didn’t interrupt their own project to go in and work with Diana. Perhaps they let her choose from material they had in the works for themselves. One that they had come up with for Diana though might have been FOUND A CURE playing off the clever LOVE HANGOVER line of not needing one. Diana may have said no to it , but liked instead THE PRIZE, which they handed her. To me THE PRIZE sounds like an intended A+S song with Diana substituting/participating.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Also it seems an odd coincidence that Ashford and Simpson came out with their own project so soon on the heels of Diana’s .
    I’ve wondered about whether they didn’t interrupt their own project to go in and work with Diana. Perhaps they let her choose from material they had in the works for themselves. One that they had come up with for Diana though might have been FOUND A CURE playing off the clever LOVE HANGOVER line of not needing one. Diana may have said no to it , but liked instead THE PRIZE, which they handed her. To me THE PRIZE sounds like an intended A+S song with Diana substituting/participating.
    I don't think its that odd. Many artists were putting out an album a year back then. Ashford and Simpson were a hot production team during those years in addition to doing their own albums. So projects were bound to overlap at times. Besides Diana's album, during this period, they also produced two albums for Gladys Knight and the Pips, as well as albums by Ullanda and Ray Simpson, plus tracks for Stephanie Mills and Teddy Pendergrass.

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    I guess the odd part is that they’d put out a single so similar to Diana’s right on top of it .
    another scenario would be they worked in her project in tandem with their own as they could juggle the studio time .

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    It was mentioned above they were surprised A&S never worked with Diana after this, perhaps that’s a part of the explanation. Maybe she didn’t like their immediate competition with her with similar product of their own.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    It was mentioned above they were surprised A&S never worked with Diana after this, perhaps that’s a part of the explanation. Maybe she didn’t like their immediate competition with her with similar product of their own.
    i agree that it's odd she never paired with them again and it's a true shame. someone else speculated that in the 80s, perhaps she was more determined to focus on the pop charts and that A&S might be too r&b?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    It was mentioned above they were surprised A&S never worked with Diana after this, perhaps that’s a part of the explanation. Maybe she didn’t like their immediate competition with her with similar product of their own.
    Supposedly, when she was preparing the Central Park concert [[s) for release as a live album, Ashford and Simpson were going to produce some studio sides for it as well. I don't know how true that is. I think I read it in one of the fan club newsletters.

    That said, although I love the three albums that Diana did with them, I don't know how good a fourth might have been. I love A&S but found their albums after leaving Warner Bros. to be not so great.

  40. #90
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    Agreed and
    SOLID AS A ROCK makes me cringe every time it finds me.

  41. #91
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    I prefer every track on Diana’s The Boss” to anything on the A&S “Stay Free” album.

  42. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I prefer every track on Diana’s The Boss” to anything on the A&S “Stay Free” album.
    STAY FREE is my least favorite of the WB albums. But they bounced back well with A MUSICAL AFFAIR.

  43. #93
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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    STAY FREE is my least favorite of the WB albums. But they bounced back well with A MUSICAL AFFAIR.
    “A Musical Affair” is a better album, but for me not nearly as solid as “The Boss”.
    Perhaps i’m biased, but Diana is one of a few singers that can take an average song and make it into something quite special.

  44. #94
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    “A Musical Affair” is a better album, but for me not nearly as solid as “The Boss”.
    Perhaps i’m biased, but Diana is one of a few singers that can take an average song and make it into something quite special.

    I think that's right, although that finally caught up with her in the eighties.

    This song sounds kind of contrived lyrically , sometimes you can tell when a songwriter is just exercising his trade, but it's got a good energy, maybe were it performed by Diana ....


  45. #95
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    "I Ain't Been Licked" would have been the best single after "The Boss". It has underground sound which was upcoming at the time. It has a rock edge to it. "It's My House" is a great tune as John Mayer also joyfully performed it on "The Andy Cohen Show".

  46. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    I think that's right, although that finally caught up with her in the eighties.

    This song sounds kind of contrived lyrically , sometimes you can tell when a songwriter is just exercising his trade, but it's got a good energy, maybe were it performed by Diana ....

    It’s not that dissimilar to “Once In The Morning”. I think Diana’s voice would have given the song more uplift and energy. Like the entire album, not terribly memorable.

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