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!