The vinyl looks truly stunning I think. Quite heavy too.
Diana Ross
- Thread starter idratherjack
- Start date
Voyage is on an entirely different level, for me anyway.
Fair enough-just have to both Ms Ross AND ABBA back all the same!
It's the "cAaAaAaAaAaaAaLLLLl" for me. Excruciating to these ears.
She sounds great on the album generally.
Great bop, an instant earworm/favourite for me.
Have to say that the last shot in the All is Well music video of miss Ross smiling is stunning!
She does look great, can't deny that! Song itself is growing on me too, pleased to report!
I cannot understand why the title track was the lead single instead of If the World Just Danced. The latter is great; the former left me a) wondering when it would end and b) taken aback at how bad it was.
The Answer's Always Love is really pretty. (Siedah Garrett, ever reliable!) It's very reminiscent of Let Love Lead the Way.
The Answer's Always Love is really pretty. (Siedah Garrett, ever reliable!) It's very reminiscent of Let Love Lead the Way.
I LOVE Thank You. Classic Ms Ross for me.
Some of the lyrics are toe-curling. I heard nurses and community leaders getting mentioned in one song. I cringed.
Diana sounds great. They chose the right two lead songs I think.
Yes, the first two singles, are perhaps still the two best songs I'd say.
He/Him/His
She really does looks radiant.
It's a frustrating listen, not least because someone of Diana's legacy deserves the best and the majority of what we have here is not the best of anyone involved, but because there's a few standout's that evidence she's still a force to be reckoned with and her vocals have aged wonderfully, like a fine wine. The title track is a superb pastiche of her glory days, All Is Well and I Still Believe are successful new incarnations of the Ross formula and the jewel in the crown is the stirring drama of Beautiful Love - her delivery on this one so utterly connected and emotionally charged it casts the rest to its shade. Let's Do It shows real promise, but does seem to be four minutes of a drum n' bass-lite attempt at being 'edgy' in search of a killer hook.
So much of the rest falls short of both living up to her legacy or being music of the moment. I've seen reviews calling her out on insipid lyrics, but anyone by now thinking Ms Ross may have decided she wants to tackle nuclear disarmament, homelessness or an impending zombie apocalypse is barking up the wrong wig. The usual themes of love being the answer, gratitude to 'powers from above' and the need to come together as one are all present and correct - so far, so on brand it hurts. I've never expected Diana to be plundering social / emotional depths and have no issue with what's on offer here (with a few especially syrupy exceptions perhaps).
I don't hold with the criticism that it's ballad heavy either. The term ballad is used to cover an immensely broad range of musical styles and Ross is an artist who can effortlessly weave her way through a set of songs that could broadly be categorised as 'ballads' yet that sound entirely different and have their own distinct identities, something I think that is attempted on Thank You but she doesn't quite pull it off this time.
The set is unhelpfully weighted with uninspired, pedestrian offerings that have been done many times before and better, often by Ross herself. The 'bops' are basically Lionel Richie's post-millennial re-treads of All Night Long - calculated, safe and mildly detached masquerading as uninhibited euphoria. Sadly, by the time we reach the chorus of If The World Just Danced, it already sounds dated and the lethargy of familiarity sets in rather than the wild abandon she's encouraging.
It's an album that'll do her no harm - it'll no doubt be lapped up by many of her fans and be yet another Ross long-player that failed to achieve cross-over appeal, while gifting her with a few tracks that may sound better live on the upcoming tour (I Still Believe, Come Together) and a few modern tracks (Thank You, Beautiful Love) good enough to breathe new life into the next hits collection.
So much of the rest falls short of both living up to her legacy or being music of the moment. I've seen reviews calling her out on insipid lyrics, but anyone by now thinking Ms Ross may have decided she wants to tackle nuclear disarmament, homelessness or an impending zombie apocalypse is barking up the wrong wig. The usual themes of love being the answer, gratitude to 'powers from above' and the need to come together as one are all present and correct - so far, so on brand it hurts. I've never expected Diana to be plundering social / emotional depths and have no issue with what's on offer here (with a few especially syrupy exceptions perhaps).
I don't hold with the criticism that it's ballad heavy either. The term ballad is used to cover an immensely broad range of musical styles and Ross is an artist who can effortlessly weave her way through a set of songs that could broadly be categorised as 'ballads' yet that sound entirely different and have their own distinct identities, something I think that is attempted on Thank You but she doesn't quite pull it off this time.
The set is unhelpfully weighted with uninspired, pedestrian offerings that have been done many times before and better, often by Ross herself. The 'bops' are basically Lionel Richie's post-millennial re-treads of All Night Long - calculated, safe and mildly detached masquerading as uninhibited euphoria. Sadly, by the time we reach the chorus of If The World Just Danced, it already sounds dated and the lethargy of familiarity sets in rather than the wild abandon she's encouraging.
It's an album that'll do her no harm - it'll no doubt be lapped up by many of her fans and be yet another Ross long-player that failed to achieve cross-over appeal, while gifting her with a few tracks that may sound better live on the upcoming tour (I Still Believe, Come Together) and a few modern tracks (Thank You, Beautiful Love) good enough to breathe new life into the next hits collection.
I hope you enjoy it. I played it twice, straight through, and found that I immediately appreciated all the tracks more for doing so. I'd deliberately not overplayed the singles so that I could enjoy them in context of the album as a whole instead.