***TAKE ME HIGHER 30th ANNIVERSARY***

[Ollie9]

Thirty years on and still considered to be one of Diana’s finest solo albums having stood the test of time well.
Was “Take Me Higher’ the right choice for lead single, and what other tracks should have been included?.

[mindful1]

I thought that We Were Still in Love best live performance of hers [[along with The Man I love and Didn't We)

[PeaceNHarmony]

A great, great lp. And in concert 'Take Me Higher' still gets Diana audiences joyfully, practically leaping in the air.

[sup_fan]

no the title track really wasn't the best single, in terms of trying to tap into the pop market. she needed something more contemporary and less "motivational speaker" in lyric. from a dance chart/club perspective, TMH is a hot track and was fine there.

for a more traditional pop hit and lead single, I think "Don't Stop" would have worked. or I Will Survive. Maybe "Keep It Right There" I also think the international release had a hot track with Swing It. puzzling why that was left off the US version

[sup_fan]

also the song I Thought That We Were Still In Love is absolutely stunning. one of her finest recordings and ballads EVER. from any decade or album. I don't think it would be a single but man - it would have been one people would have hit the "Back" button on their cd player and played it again.

Overall the album is definitely strong. personally I prefer the sound and all of Everyday. i just like that dance beat better than the mid 90s or early 90s. but no doubt that TMH is a high quality release and most certainly deserved a better reception in the US than it got.

[Boogiedown]

no the title track really wasn't the best single, in terms of trying to tap into the pop market. she needed something more contemporary and less "motivational speaker" in lyric. from a dance chart/club perspective, TMH is a hot track and was fine there.

Yes your royal highness was an ongoing theme in disco/dance music lyrics. You got high and danced your ass off until you were exhausted or the sun came up.



like Ross sings , the higher the better ....

[sup_fan]

Yes your royal highness was an ongoing theme in disco/dance music lyrics. You got high and danced your ass off until you were exhausted or the sun came up.



like Ross sings , the higher the better ....

lol well you can be certain Miss Ross had NO intent on singing about the benefits of being high lol.

[thommg]

There was a fantastic mix of Take Me Higher that was released on a promo cassette. It was the best version I heard. Now, I can't find it anywhere, and I can't find the cassette to see what mix it was! Love this album, though.

Diana had a history of sprinkling some stunning ballads on her albums. All The Befores, Summertime, I Thought That We Were Still In Love, More and More... Usually very understated and filled with emotion.

[RanRan79]

The title cut IMO was a couple years too late if she was looking for a radio hit. By 95, radio had really moved on from a lot of the club music that was so popular for the first few years of the 90s. "Higher" is a great song. The track is fire, the lyrics are good, and Diana sounds great. If she had released this in 91 or 92 or even 93, she might have stood a chance.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I must say for the 4,364,000th time that ultimately the 90s should have seen her move into a whole other lane, similar to the one Natalie Cole was in at the time. It's so frustrating for me as a fan because in the 80s she seemed to try to lean away from anything too "urban" even though that was likely her best chance for hits, as evidenced by most of her big hits in the 80s being the songs that did lean in an R&B direction. Then when she did decide to focus on this direction, it just seemed all wrong considering the competition.

[Ollie9]

no the title track really wasn't the best single, in terms of trying to tap into the pop market. she needed something more contemporary and less "motivational speaker" in lyric. from a dance chart/club perspective, TMH is a hot track and was fine there.

for a more traditional pop hit and lead single, I think "Don't Stop" would have worked. or I Will Survive. Maybe "Keep It Right There" I also think the international release had a hot track with Swing It. puzzling why that was left off the US version

I loved the title track and thought it at least a top twenty pop hit. In hindsight i agree that it might not have been contemporary enough for 1995 and that “Don’t Stop” might have proved the better choice.
Though a good song, choosing “Gone” as the follow up single was a massive mistake being a song Diana appeared to struggle with when performing live.
The fact that “I Will Survive” was never released as a single in the USA was a travesty, especially after becoming a sizeable hit in the UK.
The strongest ballad for me is “Let Somebody Know” which was of course left off the UK version in favour of “Swing It”.

[sup_fan]

I loved the title track and thought it at least a top twenty pop hit. In hindsight i agree that it might not have been contemporary enough for 1995 and that “Don’t Stop” might have proved the better choice.
Though a good song, choosing “Gone” as the follow up single was a massive mistake being a song Diana appeared to struggle with when performing live.
The fact that “I Will Survive” was never released as a single in the USA was a travesty, especially after becoming a sizeable hit in the UK.
The strongest ballad for me is “Let Somebody Know” which was of course left off the UK version in favour of “Swing It”.

didn't Gloria Gaynor do a remixed version of around 95 or so? I had a techno remix of Gaynor singing that was being played in the clubs too. plus in 1994 Priscilla Queen of the Desert was released and the soundtrack included the original too.

wonder if these reasons gave motown cold feet about releasing it officially in the US as a single

Of course Diana's version of the song was used in the movie In And Out. although it's a different mix. one that is more 70s/disco in sound. and in Randy's book it mentions that there was a studio version that was more disco sounding.

[reese]

didn't Gloria Gaynor do a remixed version of around 95 or so? I had a techno remix of Gaynor singing that was being played in the clubs too. plus in 1994 Priscilla Queen of the Desert was released and the soundtrack included the original too.

wonder if these reasons gave motown cold feet about releasing it officially in the US as a single

Of course Diana's version of the song was used in the movie In And Out. although it's a different mix. one that is more 70s/disco in sound. and in Randy's book it mentions that there was a studio version that was more disco sounding.

Chantay Savage had a remake of I WILL SURVIVE released in 1996. Some thought that might have contributed to Motown not releasing Diana's.

[daviddh]

great album, in my top 5
theres was going to be an expanded edition but then...maybe one day.

[daviddh]

some nice out takes, Too Many Nights was my favorite. cant believe it wasnt on this album,
soul Kiss was nice as well
when i heard Gone was the follow up i was really disappointed but not surprised

[Ollie9]

some nice out takes, Too Many Nights was my favorite. cant believe it wasnt on this album,
soul Kiss was nice as well
when i heard Gone was the follow up i was really disappointed but not surprised

”Gone” i seem to remember was singled out for additional praise by the critics in much the same way “Upfront’ was for ross 83. It remains a very pretty song that lacked the vitality for it to have caused much of a stir on the pop charts, reaching #36 in the UK. I would say the same of “Voice Of The Heart”.
My choice for singles would have been “Don’t Stop”, “I Will Survive” and possibly “Let Somebody Know”, for the UK where her ballads have always performed well.

[reese]

”Gone” i seem to remember was singled out for additional praise by the critics in much the same way “Upfront’ was for ross 83. It remains a very pretty song that lacked the vitality for it to have caused much of a stir on the pop charts, reaching #36 in the UK. I would say the same of “Voice Of The Heart”.
My choice for singles would have been “Don’t Stop”, “I Will Survive” and possibly “Let Somebody Know”, for the UK where her ballads have always performed well.

I really like GONE but don't think it was a good choice for the second single. If it was to be a single, I would have released it as one of the later ones.

For the second single, I would have gone with IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA LOVE ME RIGHT, then VOICE OF THE HEART, and then I WILL SURVIVE.

[Ollie9]

I really like GONE but don't think it was a good choice for the second single. If it was to be a single, I would have released it as one of the later ones.

For the second single, I would have gone with IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA LOVE ME RIGHT, then VOICE OF THE HEART, and then I WILL SURVIVE.

It has always seemed rather odd that Motown insisted on removing the rap section from “Don’t Stop” for the USA release as i think it really contributes to the feel of the song.
I much prefer the alternate versions of “Never Loved A Man” and “Thought That We Were Still In Love” that were released on cassette only, with “Never Loved A Man” containing a lot more oomph.
Plenty of material here for an expanded version methinks.

[reese]

It has always seemed rather odd that Motown insisted on removing the rap section from “Don’t Stop” for the USA release as i think it really contributes to the feel of the song.
I much prefer the alternate versions of “Never Loved A Man” and “Thought That We Were Still In Love” that were released on cassette only, with “Never Loved A Man” containing a lot more oomph.
Plenty of material here for an expanded version methinks.

Motown did some edits on VOICE OF THE HEART as well. I remember an interview with its producer, Nick Martinelli, where he spoke about it.

Yes, an expanded edition of TMH would be great. It was probably the best album of her return-to-Motown era.

[sup_fan]

It has always seemed rather odd that Motown insisted on removing the rap section from “Don’t Stop” for the USA release as i think it really contributes to the feel of the song.
I much prefer the alternate versions of “Never Loved A Man” and “Thought That We Were Still In Love” that were released on cassette only, with “Never Loved A Man” containing a lot more oomph.
Plenty of material here for an expanded version methinks.

interesting! i think i had heard about the alt version of NLAM but forgot about it. it's a great song and so I might dig around on youtube and see if it's out there.

a while back i found almost all of the 90s singles, US and International. most were on cd so i loaded them into my music library. then made a playlist of "Force Behind The Power Sessions" and pulled all of the content into 1 place. nice to sort of hear the entirety of a project, the remixes, alt versions, single edits, etc.

[TheMotownManiac]

no the title track really wasn't the best single, in terms of trying to tap into the pop market. she needed something more contemporary and less "motivational speaker" in lyric. from a dance chart/club perspective, TMH is a hot track and was fine there.

for a more traditional pop hit and lead single, I think "Don't Stop" would have worked. or I Will Survive. Maybe "Keep It Right There" I also think the international release had a hot track with Swing It. puzzling why that was left off the US version

I agree with you, I like take me higher, but not as a lead off single.. Motown wanted if you’re not gonna love me right, but Miss Ross was adamant against it> I think it was the right choice, although it is not my favorite I agree with you about don’t stop and keep it right there, however, I much prefer the original mixes that you can get on the EMI version and not the jumbled that messes that Motown put out. I like the EMI voice of the heart much better as well. And I love swing it, but Motown felt she was too old to have a line that referred to herself as a roni and wouldn’t put it on the album. That was a great album

[TheMotownManiac]

also the song I Thought That We Were Still In Love is absolutely stunning. one of her finest recordings and ballads EVER. from any decade or album. I don't think it would be a single but man - it would have been one people would have hit the "Back" button on their cd player and played it again.

Overall the album is definitely strong. personally I prefer the sound and all of Everyday. i just like that dance beat better than the mid 90s or early 90s. but no doubt that TMH is a high quality release and most certainly deserved a better reception in the US than it got.

I miss her doing that song. She would sit down on the stairs and sync voice of the heart, and then just be quiet for a minute and “breathe “she would usually tell the audience that she has to get into a different place for the next song and it’s not necessarily where she likes to be. But when she got in it and really nailed it, it gave you goosebumps. And it was always the same at the end of the song: dead silence, and then a thunderous standing ovation. The biggest hit of the night and she took it out of the show as soon as possible because she didn’t like seeing it…… It brought her down. Sometimes when she would do it, she had this look on her face that I’ve never seen before or since, but I can’t describe it, but I’m guessing it wouldn’t be described as happy

[sup_fan]

I agree with you, I like take me higher, but not as a lead off single.. Motown wanted if you’re not gonna love me right, but Miss Ross was adamant against it> I think it was the right choice, although it is not my favorite I agree with you about don’t stop and keep it right there, however, I much prefer the original mixes that you can get on the EMI version and not the jumbled that messes that Motown put out. I like the EMI voice of the heart much better as well. And I love swing it, but Motown felt she was too old to have a line that referred to herself as a roni and wouldn’t put it on the album. That was a great album

wow this many variations between the EMI and US releases. are the versions you mention the album version or was it singles?

[sup_fan]

I miss her doing that song. She would sit down on the stairs and sync voice of the heart, and then just be quiet for a minute and “breathe “she would usually tell the audience that she has to get into a different place for the next song and it’s not necessarily where she likes to be. But when she got in it and really nailed it, it gave you goosebumps. And it was always the same at the end of the song: dead silence, and then a thunderous standing ovation. The biggest hit of the night and she took it out of the show as soon as possible because she didn’t like seeing it…… It brought her down. Sometimes when she would do it, she had this look on her face that I’ve never seen before or since, but I can’t describe it, but I’m guessing it wouldn’t be described as happy

i wonder if it was too close to home for her. if the problems in her marriage with Arne were already surfacing and so the lyrical content was simply too personal. i'll have to see if there are any clips of her doing this on youtube. i know some of her 90s concerts are there but i was thinking it was mostly from the WO and Force eras.

the segment sounds simply marvelous. I can only imagine how powerful it was in person! i have goosebumps just here typing this!

[Ollie9]

Motown did some edits on VOICE OF THE HEART as well. I remember an interview with its producer, Nick Martinelli, where he spoke about it.

Yes, an expanded edition of TMH would be great. It was probably the best album of her return-to-Motown era.

I seem to remember “Voice Of The Heart” being released in the UK as a double A side, with Diana perfiorming the song live on a couple of prime time tv shoes. It’s a lovely song, but i never thought it powerful enough to have made much impression on the pop charts.
I think there is a parallel between the Take Me Higher album and Baby It’s Me” in that while both are excellent albums, they are not necessarily crammed full of potential hit singles.

[reese]

I seem to remember “Voice Of The Heart” being released in the UK as a double A side, with Diana perfiorming the song live on a couple of prime time tv shoes. It’s a lovely song, but i never thought it powerful enough to have made much impression on the pop charts.
I think there is a parallel between the Take Me Higher album and Baby It’s Me” in that while both are excellent albums, they are not necessarily crammed full of potential hit singles.

It was released in the US as a double A-side as well, with IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA LOVE ME RIGHT but only the latter charted.

She did a really nice performance of it on SOUL TRAIN'S 25TH ANIVERSARY HALL OF FAME special, even running to hug Whitney at the end.

[PeaceNHarmony]

It was released in the US as a double A-side as well, with IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA LOVE ME RIGHT but only the latter charted.

She did a really nice performance of it on SOUL TRAIN'S 25TH ANIVERSARY HALL OF FAME special, even running to hug Whitney at the end.

The TMH tv performances were FIRE!

[JohnnyB]

It has always seemed rather odd that Motown insisted on removing the rap section from “Don’t Stop” for the USA release as i think it really contributes to the feel of the song.
I much prefer the alternate versions of “Never Loved A Man” and “Thought That We Were Still In Love” that were released on cassette only, with “Never Loved A Man” containing a lot more oomph.
Plenty of material here for an expanded version methinks.

I’ve heard there was an alternate, more uptempo version of I Never Loved A Man Before, but I’ve not been able to locate it. Does anyone have access to this alternate?

[Ollie9]

I’ve heard there was an alternate, more uptempo version of I Never Loved A Man Before, but I’ve not been able to locate it. Does anyone have access to this alternate?

The alternate versions were included on the single cassette version of “Gone” which unfortunately i mislaid years ago. “Never Loved A Man” is faster with a lot more bounce, while ”Thought That We Were Still In Love” has an almost classical intro. I consider both versions better than the ones used, particularly “Never Loved A Man”.
I think the album would have benefited from one more dance track to replace one of the ballads.

[Spreadinglove21]

I think the album is just pleasant and OK and compared to other albums in the R and B/pop vein coming out in the mid 90s it does not compare to things like My Life by Mary J. Blige or CrazySexyCool by TLC. It's fine but nothing special in my opinion. Songs are certainly stronger than the "new" songs on the box set, her previous project.

Of her Return to Motown albums and projects I rate Force Behind the Power and Stolen Moments as the highlights--two of the best things she's ever done.

[Boogiedown]

lol well you can be certain Miss Ross had NO intent on singing about the benefits of being high lol.

Oh of course not. [She also had no idea what I'M COMING OUT was alluding to when she sang it.]

[Circa 1824]

Diana’s career was a mess without Berry. She seemed to have no proper direction, artistry, nor purpose.

Her days in the sun were behind her. An Elvis style comeback was impossible due to her wreckless management style and insane decision making. No song, good or great, was going to be successful. She sang Take Me Higher, but lived “how low can it go.” She is lucky those years are forgotten by most.

[sup_fan]

I think the album is just pleasant and OK and compared to other albums in the R and B/pop vein coming out in the mid 90s it does not compare to things like My Life by Mary J. Blige or CrazySexyCool by TLC. It's fine but nothing special in my opinion. Songs are certainly stronger than the "new" songs on the box set, her previous project.

Of her Return to Motown albums and projects I rate Force Behind the Power and Stolen Moments as the highlights--two of the best things she's ever done.

i agree that her material just never really come out strong for the pop market.

I think on WO, there are a few glimmers of hope. Preston Glass wrote 3 of the songs - Bottom Line, Take the Bitter and Goin through the motions. those 3 are hands down the strongest songs on the album and frankly relatively strong songs on their own. had the album been built around them and had Bottom Line been the lead single, it's possible IMO the project could have been much more successful

i find Force and Take Me to be strong AC albums but not pop. they're nowhere near edgy enough or hard enough.

Stolen Moments is truly stunning. an excellent live album and jazz concept. kudos!

the Forever box set and the Extended album but really fell short. basically just dreck

Everyday is IMO the strongest of her Motown II era. and given the breakthrough Cher had with Believe, i think Diana could have had something too. not as massive and career changing as Cher had but i think she could have maybe issued Carry On as a single and made it a hit. then follow up with solid remix of Until We Meet Again.

[Ollie9]

i agree that her material just never really come out strong for the pop market.

I think on WO, there are a few glimmers of hope. Preston Glass wrote 3 of the songs - Bottom Line, Take the Bitter and Goin through the motions. those 3 are hands down the strongest songs on the album and frankly relatively strong songs on their own. had the album been built around them and had Bottom Line been the lead single, it's possible IMO the project could have been much more successful

i find Force and Take Me to be strong AC albums but not pop. they're nowhere near edgy enough or hard enough.

Stolen Moments is truly stunning. an excellent live album and jazz concept. kudos!

the Forever box set and the Extended album but really fell short. basically just dreck

Everyday is IMO the strongest of her Motown II era. and given the breakthrough Cher had with Believe, i think Diana could have had something too. not as massive and career changing as Cher had but i think she could have maybe issued Carry On as a single and made it a hit. then follow up with solid remix of Until We Meet Again.

WO just needed that first hit single to send it on its way. As you mention, there are some really catchy numbers on it that were completely overlooked at the time. At least the production and vocals contained some of that edgy drive so often lacking in Diana’s albums where she had control.
The Take Me Higher set was generally well received by the critics, though it did garner some criticism for being to smooth and over produced.
Everyday had bags of potential, scoring a top ten UK pop hit with “Not Over You Yet”. I agree that “Carry On” and “Until We Meet Again had hit potential, just not sure that would have extended to the USA.

[sup_fan]

WO just needed that first hit single to send it on its way. As you mention, there are some really catchy numbers on it that were completely overlooked at the time. At least the production and vocals contained some of that edgy drive so often lacking in Diana’s albums where she had control.
The Take Me Higher set was generally well received by the critics, though it did garner some criticism for being to smooth and over produced.
Everyday had bags of potential, scoring a top ten UK pop hit with “Not Over You Yet”. I agree that “Carry On” and “Until We Meet Again had hit potential, just not sure that would have extended to the USA.

i'll fully admit that i'm not a fan at all of the hip hop/new jack etc music from 89, 90, 91. just never liked it - period. so the whole WO project is not one i'm a big fan of. and Diana had certainly had uneven albums before this and the albums did decent enough [[Last Time, Ross 78, SE, etc). but i think in this case there were a couple of things hampering the success

1. age. diana was 44, 45 or so when this was released. and that's a relic when it comes to the US pop market.
2. public image. at the time i don't think diva had the same connotation it does today and her public image of being a diva and bitch made people less interested in supporting her
3. poor lead single. totally agree the wrong choice
4. lack of variety. it's fine if she wanted to dabble into this genre of music. but to balance the album she needed some different tracks
5. poor productions and songs. the remaining tracks are not that great. too much focus on the beat and not enough on melody and lyrics which is Diana's strong point. she can SELL lyrics but there needs to be decent lyrics lol. plus too much high singing and she sounded strained
6. cover art. hideous picture and styling.

[Ollie9]

i'll fully admit that i'm not a fan at all of the hip hop/new jack etc music from 89, 90, 91. just never liked it - period. so the whole WO project is not one i'm a big fan of. and Diana had certainly had uneven albums before this and the albums did decent enough [[Last Time, Ross 78, SE, etc). but i think in this case there were a couple of things hampering the success

1. age. diana was 44, 45 or so when this was released. and that's a relic when it comes to the US pop market.
2. public image. at the time i don't think diva had the same connotation it does today and her public image of being a diva and bitch made people less interested in supporting her
3. poor lead single. totally agree the wrong choice
4. lack of variety. it's fine if she wanted to dabble into this genre of music. but to balance the album she needed some different tracks
5. poor productions and songs. the remaining tracks are not that great. too much focus on the beat and not enough on melody and lyrics which is Diana's strong point. she can SELL lyrics but there needs to be decent lyrics lol. plus too much high singing and she sounded strained
6. cover art. hideous picture and styling.

Agree that she was simply too old for this type of music to be taken seriously. It’s a real shame as many of the songs and performances are very good and still sound fresh today.
Another point is it didn’t correspond with the sophisticated image the public held of Diana making the cover art appear false and fabricated.
The one thing that stands out for me it that Diana sounds fully engaged on all the songs with not a pedestrian, phone-in performance in sight,

[florence]

I seem to remember “Voice Of The Heart” being released in the UK as a double A side, with Diana perfiorming the song live on a couple of prime time tv shoes. It’s a lovely song, but i never thought it powerful enough to have made much impression on the pop charts.
I think there is a parallel between the Take Me Higher album and Baby It’s Me” in that while both are excellent albums, they are not necessarily crammed full of potential hit singles.

Do you know what the other "A" side was Ollie?

I'm flabberghasted that I could have missed this.

On checking her discography I can't find it listed as the B side on any of her UK singles in the 90s.

Could she have been singing it as promo for the Voice Of Love album?

[smallworld]

From Discogs, it looks like Voice of the Heart was only a b-side in the UK - to I Will Survive.

I'm surprised to read that the EMI disc has different mixes to the Motown. I thought there were just shorter edits between the two discs.

I can't find a trace of the Gone cassette mentioned above. Was this a commercial release? Were the tracks unlisted on the sleeve?

[Ollie9]

Do you know what the other "A" side was Ollie?

I'm flabberghasted that I could have missed this.

On checking her discography I can't find it listed as the B side on any of her UK singles in the 90s.

Could she have been singing it as promo for the Voice Of Love album?

It was the B side to “I Will Survive” flo. I hope I’m not getting mixed up with it being a double A side in the USA, but she was seen promoting the song on UK tv at the time.

[Ollie9]

I can't find a trace of the Gone cassette mentioned above. Was this a commercial release? Were the tracks unlisted on the sleeve?

It was definitely a commercial release with all tracks listed being the only reason i bought it on cassette. I remember buying it at the HMV record store in London.

[sup_fan]

Agree that she was simply too old for this type of music to be taken seriously. It’s a real shame as many of the songs and performances are very good and still sound fresh today.
Another point is it didn’t correspond with the sophisticated image the public held of Diana making the cover art appear false and fabricated.
The one thing that stands out for me it that Diana sounds fully engaged on all the songs with not a pedestrian, phone-in performance in sight,

previously in her career, she really had been a bit of a chameleon. the initial solo years, then Lady, then TMITM, then Love Hangover, Mahogany, The Boss, diana 80.

but then by the 80s she'd pretty much stuck to 1 image. the grand diva, with the mane of hair, sequins and bugle beads for days. had she really been changing things up in the 80s, then maybe the pivot to hip hop look and all for WO might have come across a bit better?

[sup_fan]

The one thing that stands out for me it that Diana sounds fully engaged on all the songs with not a pedestrian, phone-in performance in sight,

true! the lazy approach of the 80s definitely was gone by the time she did WO. frankly i think she was really much more engaged with her music starting with Red Hot Rhythm And Blues. while not a masterpiece, she is at least committed to the music. and of course she wasn't producing a lot of it lol

and then pretty much all of her 90s material has been engaged and not lazy vocals.

[jack020]

[jack020]

[jack020]

[jack020]

[Boogiedown]

true! the lazy approach of the 80s definitely was gone by the time she did WO. frankly i think she was really much more engaged with her music starting with Red Hot Rhythm And Blues. while not a masterpiece, she is at least committed to the music. and of course she wasn't producing a lot of it lol

and then pretty much all of her 90s material has been engaged and not lazy vocals.

Could it be that we want to credit Diana Ross too much as being a musically invested person? She mostly stuck her finger in the air to see which way the wind was blowing and recorded accordingly.

I don't think she cared one iota that she was presenting something as meaningful as Billie Holiday's story to the world or how accurate she was being. This was her vehicle to stardom.
... As is all the music.

There was never a songbook of personal favorites. Apparently FOOLS FALLING IN LOVE was about it.

[sup_fan]

Could it be that we want to credit Diana Ross too much as being a musically invested person? She mostly stuck her finger in the air to see which way the wind was blowing and recorded accordingly.

I don't think she cared one iota that she was presenting something as meaningful as Billie Holiday's story to the world or how accurate she was being. This was her vehicle to stardom.
... As is all the music.

There was never a songbook of personal favorites. Apparently FOOLS FALLING IN LOVE was about it.

yes and no

for much of her early solo career, she definitely just recorded what was placed in front of her. but i think there was enough collaboration between her and Gordy that there was alignment most of the time on what was right and all. true, she would on occasion be forced to work with a producer or do a specific song. but i think in general she was thinking this was the right type of stuff to do

as for Lady, the story goes that she hardly knew anything about her until Berry started making her go get some records and listen. this was a few years prior to the movie. then she got pretty immersed into the idea of singing this material. then when it went public that she would be doing this role and the world went bonkers about how wrong she was, she wanted out. berry wouldn't let her and forced her to stick it out. and I think in the end she grew to truly love the music. the fact that it was always such a significant part of her shows, that she did Stolen Moments, shows that this music was important to her

then there was the story about the development of the big extravaganza of An Evening With Diana Ross, which was around 75 or 76. she worked with Joe Layton who was a famous director doing some of Barbra's early shows, did Sound Of Music on broadway. this was a for real director! and they came up with the structure of the show. it was a 2 Act show, with an intermission in the middle. and each act was in 2 parts. Act 1 starts with a typical exciting intro and some recent hits, while part 2 is The Girls, focusing on females that were influential on her life - her girls, the women of color that had preceded her. then Act 2 is motown/supremes and then the One Giant Step which used Chorus Line to parallel her journey into solo stardom and movies. From all accounts Berry wasn't particularly involved in the show design and so she would have been selecting the content.

[Boogiedown]

yes and no

for much of her early solo career, she definitely just recorded what was placed in front of her. but i think there was enough collaboration between her and Gordy that there was alignment most of the time on what was right and all. true, she would on occasion be forced to work with a producer or do a specific song. but i think in general she was thinking this was the right type of stuff to do

as for Lady, the story goes that she hardly knew anything about her until Berry started making her go get some records and listen. this was a few years prior to the movie. then she got pretty immersed into the idea of singing this material. then when it went public that she would be doing this role and the world went bonkers about how wrong she was, she wanted out. berry wouldn't let her and forced her to stick it out. and I think in the end she grew to truly love the music. the fact that it was always such a significant part of her shows, that she did Stolen Moments, shows that this music was important to her
I think its the presenting an image that Billie's music is important to her that is important to her. It adds a value, a credence, to her pop show. But are there visuals of Billie Holiday on the screen for instance as she sings? [maybe there are?] Any particular effort at providing an homage? [and I'll point out Billie Holiday's name appears no where on Diana's #1 album of her music] What is STOLEN MOMENTS? Sounds nefarious!
then there was the story about the development of the big extravaganza of An Evening With Diana Ross, which was around 75 or 76. she worked with Joe Layton who was a famous director doing some of Barbra's early shows, did Sound Of Music on broadway. this was a for real director! and they came up with the structure of the show. it was a 2 Act show, with an intermission in the middle. and each act was in 2 parts. Act 1 starts with a typical exciting intro and some recent hits, while part 2 is The Girls, focusing on females that were influential on her life - her girls, the women of color that had preceded her. then Act 2 is motown/supremes and then the One Giant Step which used Chorus Line to parallel her journey into solo stardom and movies. From all accounts Berry wasn't particularly involved in the show design and so she would have been selecting the content. This strikes me as conceiving an extravaganza for the sake of conceiving an extravaganza.

BTW I'm not faulting Miss Ross for this, I think its true for 90 percent of singers.... The music is a means, a means to fame & stardom.

[Boogiedown]

OK so I read on wiki about STOLEN MOMENTS ......'bizarre!' choice for the title.

Is this a confession that the Billie Holiday persona was robbed by her??

[sup_fan]

OK so I read on wiki about STOLEN MOMENTS ......'bizarre!' choice for the title.

Is this a confession that the Billie Holiday persona was robbed by her??

isn't it supposed to be something about how a musical experience is a brief and fleeting thing? and the spontaneity of jazz means a live concert is truly a 1x thing?