Ross [[1978)





“Wouldn’t it be fine just to believe, wouldn’t it be wonderful…if life were like a song…”

This is arguably the strangest entry into the Diana Ross Motown discography; it’s certainly a confusing album that has inspired much debate amongst fans and critics. At heart of that debate is one single question: “What is Ross?” Is this a new studio album? Is it a compilation? Was this a calculated attempt at getting sales and hits…or was it simply a time-filler between Baby It’s Me and the release of The Wiz movie and soundtrack?

The issue here is the fact that the lineup includes new songs on Side A, but Side B is a collection of previously released, remixed songs and tracks from the vaults that had been recorded for other projects. “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” for example, is included here — although it had been featured on Surrender in 1971, released as a single, and been a Top 30 hit for Ross! “Sorry Doesn’t Always Make It Right,” a country ballad released as a non-album, one-off single three years earlier, is also here…even though it would’ve made much more sense as part of her Greatest Hits album in 1976. The lovely Michael Masser ballad “To Love Again,” meanwhile, had been worked up initially as part of the Mahogany soundtrack sessions, and it would have been a natural to include on the 1976 Diana Ross album in place of some of the weaker choices on that LP.

So what’s the story? Well…I have no idea. But the seemingly random lineup does make this album an interesting and challenging listen. Most of the material here is strong ; songs like “You Were The One” and “Never Say I Don’t Love You” are standouts that are as good as any hits Diana had during the era — both, really, should have been big hits. But it’s hard to call this a “cohesive” album, especially in light of the fact that it comes on the heels of Baby It’s Me, which is probably the most seemless collection of her career. So, in the end, it feels akin to albums like 1970′s Everything Is Everything and 1976′s Diana Ross — both more uneven albums that feature dynamite songs alongside some questionable inclusions.

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1. Lovin’, Livin’ And Givin’: Originally featured as part of the film and sountrack Thank God It’s Friday [[a disco-themed movie that starred Donna Summer and introduced her Oscar-winning hit song “Last Dance”), this disco track got a synthesized-remix for the Ross album. There is no denying that the arrangement here had to be heavily influenced by Summer’s “I Feel Love,” which had hit Top 10 the year before. That song was a club sensation, and is credited as one of the first to take dance music and marry it with electronic sounds. Suddenly, “Lovin’, Livin’ and Givin’” — which was intially a much more typical disco track – got as similarly icy, repetative electonic background. While this may be a case of Motown trying to jump on someone else’s train, it works; the synthesizer track is actually quite good, and matches well with the song and with Diana’s vocal. She begins the song with a breathy, low-key reading which builds throughout the song; by the end, her voice is spirited and she gets a chance to belt out some pretty good ad-libs. Because she never really recorded another song like this one, it’s a nice addition to her recording output and remains notable; it’s strange that while Motown released the song internationally, this was never released as a single in the US. Though it does sound like the earlier Summer hit, it stands on its own and is a good song, and seems like it could have done well in clubs at the time.

2. What You Gave Me: This is another case of Diana Ross mining vintage Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson; this song had been written by the pair and was recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell for 1969′s Easy album. Though it’s an Ashford and Simpson composition, it was produced in this case by Hal Davis [[of “Love Hangover”) — and has been given a full-on disco treatment for Diana. Coming on the heels of the sleek, modern sounding “Lovin’, Livin’ and Givin’,” this song sounds quite dated; it’s disco in the typical sense of the word, meaning lots of handclaps, strings, and other assorted 1970s instrumental flourishes. Though Diana gives a nice performance, she doesn’t sound nearly as comfortable as she would the next year on The Boss [[which, coincidentally, would be written and produced by Ashford and Simpson). Though she belts a little toward the end, she never quite sounds like she’s fully pushing herself; this is often the case in her work with producer Davis, who seemed to favor more laid-back vocal work from Diana [[and is thus the opposite of her Ashford and Simspon-produced output, especially The Boss, where Diana’s voice is constantly being pushed higher and higher). This was the sole single released from the album, and only charted in the lower reaches of the R&B listings. It’s not a bad song, but it’s certainly weaker than the other two new dance songs here.

3. Never Say I Don’t Love You: This is an absolutely gorgeous ballad written and produced by Greg Wright; it’s one of the great hidden treasures of Diana’s late-70s album output. The song is almost as good as the stunning ballad work on Baby It’s Me, it’s shimmering, lush background and vocals just about matching the feel of that superior album. Diana gives a pretty, delicate reading of the lyric here; her voice quietly rides the melody, never overpowering the words but never sounding thin nor weak. The song itself is a piece of well-written pop, with a memorable lyric and chorus. It’s a mystery why this wasn’t released as a single; possible Motown wanted to focus on pushing dance songs for Diana in the wake of “Love Hangover” and her Grammy nomination for “Your Love Is So Good For Me.” Still, this song is so strong it sounds like it should have been a hit, and it’s a shame that it’s not better known in the context of Diana’s discography.

4. You Were The One: Speaking of lost hits…if ever Motown completely botched a chance to have a massive hit on Diana Ross, this was it. “You Were The One” is, quite simply, one of the best dance songs ever recorded by Diana — a classy, funky club song with the best Diana vocal performance in years. As with the previous track, this was written and produced by Greg Wright — and again, the song is a perfect fit for Miss Ross. A popping bassline is the driving heartbeat of the song — much like in “Love Hangover” — and Diana’s voice rides along the beat comfortably until two minutes in, when her voice suddenly soars to a high note on the words “…you were THE ONE…” in a thrilling, soulful moment that foreshadows her elastic vocal work on The Boss. Unlike this album’s sole single, “What You Gave Me,” this song doesn’t sound like dated disco; it is, for sure, a dance song of the 1970s…but the lush, shimmering feel of the instrumental and the background vocals is more in line with the Richard Perry production work on Baby It’s Me — and this helps the song feel much more timeless than it might otherwise. Again, this song has “smash” written all over it — it’s stronger and more memorable than “What You Gave Me” and Diana sounds much better. Someone should be kicking themselves right now for letting this hit get away!

5. Reach Out, I’ll Be There: And here’s where Ross gets…strange. This song, of course, was initially recorded back in 1971, and had been released as the second single from Surrender. It wasn’t a huge hit, but it did manage to make it to the Pop Top 30; it was slowed down and stretched out in an obvious attempt to replicate “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and while it wasn’t as successful sales-wise, it’s a beautifully done production that was among the best on Surrender [[and featured gorgeous vocal work from Diana Ross). The question is, of course, why is it here? Did Motown execs decide that since it was left off 1976′s Greatest Hits that it deserved a second life? Were they trying to capitalize off the fact that Gloria Gaynor had scored a hit with a disco version of the song in 1975? Or did someone behind-the-scenes just really like the song…perhaps Diana herself? I’d love to know the answer — but for now, all we can do is judge the song in the context of the rest of the album. This is a slightly remixed version — there are some minor changes in the instrumental track and it runs a little longer — but Diana’s vocal is the same one used on the earlier release. Therefore, it’s still a great performance; her voice is crystal clear on the relaxed opening, and soars dramatically during the song’s climax. The song is also strong enough that it doesn’t sound jarringly out of place coming after the previous four songs, especially given that “What You Gave Me” provides an Ashford and Simpson connection. For a listener unaware that this is a much older, recycled track, “Reach Out…” would seem like a strong addition to the album. For fans aware of its history, though, it does feel like an odd inclusion.