Diana (album)

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Diana
Studio album by Diana Ross
Released May 22, 1980
Recorded 1979–1980
Genre R&B, soul, funk, disco
Length 34:17
Label Motown
Producer Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers
Diana Ross chronology

20 Golden Greats
(1979)		 Diana
(1980)		 To Love Again
(1981)
Singles from Diana
  1. "Upside Down"/"Friend to Friend"
    Released: June 20, 1980
  2. "I'm Coming Out"/"Give Up"
    Released: August 22, 1980
  3. "My Old Piano"/"Now That You're Gone"
    Released: September 19, 1980
  4. "Tenderness"
    Released: January 1982

Diana is a 1980 album by American R&B and soul singer Diana Ross, released by Motown. Her 11th studio album, was, and remains, the biggest-selling studio collection of Ross' career. All songs are composed, played and produced by Chic members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards

Conception

Following the U.S. success of 1979's The Boss, Ross wanted a fresher, more modern sound. Having heard production team Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic's work in the famous Manhattan disco club, Studio 54, Ross approached the two about creating a new album of material for her that stated where she felt she was in her life and career at the time.

Initially, Ross was not pleased with the album's results. Following a preview of the record to be released in the aftermath of the anti-disco backlash, Frankie Crocker, an influential New York City disc jockey warned Ross that releasing the album in its original state would even lead to the end of her career. Ross remixed the entire album, assisted by Motown engineer Russ Terrana, removing extended instrumental passages and speeding up the tracks' tempos. The new mix also put Ross' vocals front and center. The remixing of the master tapes and the re-recording of all Ross' lead vocals were performed without the knowledge or approval of Rodgers and Edwards. When they were presented with the "official" version of Diana, the producers publicly objected and, at one point, even considered removing their names from the album's list of credits. Motown and Ross persisted and the version released was Terrana's smoother, more commercial mix of the album. Rodgers and Edwards were contracted by Motown to produce a follow-up album, but, as Ross left the label, it was never created. Rodgers and Edwards sued Motown, unsuccessfully claiming that they were owed monies for creating & recording the original version of the album. In 1989, Rodgers and Ross collaborated on Workin' Overtime(#3 US R&B), released upon Ross' return to Motown. Edwards produced the 1984 single, "Telephone(#13 US R&B)", from Ross' "Swept Away" album, released the RCA record label.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau A- [2]
Smash Hits 5/10[3]

Released in May 1980, the Diana album introduced Ross to a new generation of fans worldwide. Reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Billboard Soul Albums Chart for 8 weeks, as well as yielding two top ten singles including the number-one single "Upside Down", the album would sell over six million copies in the United States and be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In the UK it went Gold and spun off three successful singles; "Upside Down" (#2), "My Old Piano" (#5) and "I'm Coming Out" (#13). A fourth single, "Tenderness", was also released in certain territories, reaching the top 40 in the Netherlands, and was later included on several greatest hits compilations. Some thirty years after its release diana remains Ross' best-selling studio album to date having sold a total of over ten million copies worldwide.

Diana was one of four albums written and produced by Edwards and Rodgers in 1980, the other three being Sister Sledge's Love Somebody Today, Sheila and B. Devotion's King of the World including European hit single "Spacer", and Chic's fourth studio album Real People.

Following the release of two more singles, the duet "Endless Love" with Lionel Richie and "It's My Turn", both worldwide hits, Ross left Motown and signed a then-record breaking $20 million recording deal with RCA Records. The first album for the label was 1981's self-produced Why Do Fools Fall in Love, which went platinum and spawned two Top 10 hits in the US. Diana was remastered and released as a double CD in 2003 containing the original unremixed versions, together with a selection of other Motown dance tracks from the same period.

Track listing

Original album

All songs written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Side A
  1. "Upside Down" – 4:04  Listen (help·info)
  2. "Tenderness" – 3:52
  3. "Friend to Friend" – 3:19
  4. "I'm Coming Out" – 5:25  Listen (help·info)
Side B
  1. "Have Fun (Again)" – 5:57
  2. "My Old Piano" – 3:55  Listen (help·info)
  3. "Now That You're Gone" – 3:59
  4. "Give Up" – 3:45

Note: The Canadian release on Quality Records places the tracks from side B on side A, and the tracks from side A on side B.

2001 (UK) / 2003 (US) Deluxe Edition

Disc one
9. "Upside Down" (Original Chic Mix) - 4:17
10. "Tenderness" (Original Chic Mix) - 5:10
11. "Friend to Friend" (Original Chic Mix) - 3:20
12. "I'm Coming Out" (Original Chic Mix) - 6:01
13. "Have Fun (Again)" (Original Chic Mix) - 7:09
14. "My Old Piano" (Original Chic Mix) - 4:52
15. "Now That You're Gone" (Original Chic Mix) - 3:40
16. "Give Up" (Original Chic Mix) - 3:59
  • Tracks 9-16 previously unreleased
Disc two
  1. "Love Hangover" (Extended Alternate Mix) (McLeod, Sawyer) - 10:25
    • Previously unreleased mix. Original version appears on 1976 album Diana Ross
  2. "Your Love Is So Good for Me" (12-Inch Version) (Peterson) - 6:36
    • Previously unreleased. Original version appears on 1977 album Baby It's Me
  3. "Top of the World" (Snow) - 3:09
  4. "Lovin', Livin' and Givin'" (Ross album remix) (Davis, Stover) - 5:12
    • From 1978 album Ross. Original version appears on 1978 original motion picture soundtrack Thank God It's Friday
  5. "What You Gave Me" (12-Inch Version) (Ashford, Simpson) - 6:08
    • Original version appears on 1978 album Ross
  6. "You Were the One" (Patterson, Wright) - 4:04
    • From 1978 album Ross
  7. "The Diana Ross & the Supremes Medley of Hits" (12-inch Mix) (Dozier, Holland, Holland) - 9:59
    • Originally released as 12" single in 1977. Re-released as 12" and edited 7" single in 1980 and 1981.
  8. "No One Gets the Prize/The Boss" (12-Inch Re-Edit) (Ashford, Simpson) - 9:41
    • Original versions appear on 1979 album The Boss
  9. "I Ain't Been Licked" (12-inch Mix) (Ashford, Simpson) - 5:18
    • Original version appears on 1979 album The Boss
  10. "Fire Don't Burn" (David, Holland, Holland) - 3:26
    • Previously unreleased recording, recorded 1975-1977. Proposed for inclusion on cancelled 1981 album Revelations
  11. "We Can Never Light That Old Flame Again" (Alternate Mix) (David, Holland, Holland) - 4:38
    • First released version was a non-album single in 1982, and was remixed by Berry Gordy and James Anthony Carmichael. The original mix featured here first appeared on a Diana Ross budget cassette in 1990.
  12. "You Build Me Up to Tear Me Down" (Holland, Holland, Miller) - 5:42
    • Previously unreleased recording, recorded 1975-1977. Mixed in 1978 for possible inclusion on album Ross
  13. "Sweet Summertime Livin'" (Stover) - 4:25
    • Previously unreleased recording, recorded 1975-1977. Mixed in 1978 for possible inclusion on album Ross. Remixed in 1981 and proposed for inclusion on cancelled album Revelations

Personnel

Production

  • Bernard Edwards - producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
  • Nile Rodgers - producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
  • Bob Clearmountain - engineer proposed side A; tracks 1-4
  • Bill Scheniman - engineer proposed side B; tracks 1-4
  • James Farber - engineer
  • Neil Dorfsman - engineer
  • Ralph Osborn - engineer
  • Abdoulaye Soumare - assistant engineer
  • Jeff Hendrickson - assistant engineer
  • Lucy Laurie - assistant engineer
  • Peter Robbins - assistant engineer
  • Dennis King - mastering
  • All songs originally recorded at Power Station in New York. Lead vocal re-recordings: Electric Lady, New York; Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Studios, Hollywood, California.
  • All songs originally mixed at: Power Station, New York. Remixed by Russ Terrana and Diana Ross at Artisan Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California.
  • Mastered at Atlantic Studios, N.Y.

See also

  • List of number-one R&B albums of 1980 (U.S.)

References

  1. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. diana > review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "diana > review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-06-01. 
  3. ↑ Hillier, Bev. "Albums". Smash Hits (June 26 – July 9 1980): 31. 
  • Easlea, Daryl (2004). Everybody Dance: Chic and the Politics of Disco. London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1-900924-56-0
  • Chin, Brian (2003). Diana (Deluxe Edition) [Liner notes]. New York: Motown/Universal.
  • Wangler, Petra. (May 5, 2000). Interview with Aretha Franklin. Musikbyrån. SVT Sweden.

External links

Diana Ross
Studio albums
Compilations
Live albums
Soundtrack albums
Other albums
Singles
(US/UK Top Ten singles)
Films
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Chic
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