diana (album)

Untitled

diana is a 1980 album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on the Motown label. The album was, and remains, the biggest-selling studio collection of the singer's career.

Conception

In late-1979, Diana Ross was at a major crossroads in her career. After the end of her movie career following the critically panned Motown production of The Wiz, with most reviewers directing their criticism directly at Ross, her music career was also at an ebb. Save for the clubs who were playing her old hits with the Supremes, pop and R&B radio paid little attention to Ross' solo recordings. Following the moderate U.S. success of 1979's The Boss, Ross wanted a fresher, more modern sound. Production team Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic had recently written a whole album's worth of material with Aretha Franklin in mind. Franklin had however declined the offer and all the songs, including "Upside Down", were subsequently passed on to Ross.

What proved to be a grueling recording process with the singer was made even longer when Ross abandoned the sessions after producers Edwards and Rodgers in no uncertain terms informed her she was singing flat. Despite repeated conflicts between the producers and the singer during the recording sessions, the album was against all odds completed. Reportedly, Ross was however anything but pleased with the results. Following an advance preview of the record, to be released in the aftermath of the so called anti-disco backlash, an influential New York City disc jockey warned Ross it would even be the end of her career.

When the master tapes were submitted to Motown, a nervous Ross consequently had resident Motown engineer Russ Terrana remix the entire album, toning down the funkier elements of Chic's playing, removing extended instrumental passages - and most noticeably, speeding up the tracks to give the singer's voice a brighter, more youthful sound. The remixing of the master tapes and the re-recording of Ross' lead vocals was done without the knowledge or approval of Rodgers and Edwards (in 2003, Motown issued a deluxe two CD version of diana and included the original "Chic mix" of the album as well as several bonus tracks). When asked to produce Ross' next album Rodgers and Edwards politely declined. Rodgers and Ross were however to collaborate on album Workin' Overtime in 1989 and Edwards did produce one song for her in 1984 ("Telephone").

Reception

Released in May 1980, the diana album introduced Ross to a new generation of fans. Reaching number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and #1 on the Billboard Soul Albums Chart, 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 US alone and be certified platinum within months. It remains Ross' best-selling studio album. diana was one of four albums written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile 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.

The success of diana managed to resurrect Ross' music career. Following the release of two more singles, the duet "Endless Love" with Lionel Richie and "It's My Turn", Ross left Motown, signed a then-record breaking $20 million deal with RCA Records. The first album for the label was 1981's self-produced Why Do Fools Fall in Love. 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

All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Side A

1. "Upside Down" – 4:05 (Original mix: - 4:15)
2. "Tenderness" – 3:52 (Original mix: - 5:07)
3. "Friend to Friend" – 3:19 (Original mix: - 3:18)
4. "I'm Coming Out" – 5:25 (Original mix: - 6:00)

Side B

1. "Have Fun (Again)" – 5:57 (Original mix: - 7:08)
2. "My Old Piano" – 3:55 (Original mix: - 4:51)
3. "Now That You're Gone" – 3:59 (Original mix: - 3:39)
4. "Give Up" – 3:45 (Original mix: - 3:59)

Personnel

• Alfa Anderson - vocals
• Fonzi Thornton - vocals
• Luci Martin - vocals
• Michelle Cobbs - vocals
• Bernard Edwards - bass guitar
• Nile Rodgers - guitar
• Tony Thompson - drums
• Andy Schwartz - keyboards
• Raymond Jones - keyboards
• Eddie Daniels - saxophone
• Meco Monardo - trombone
• Bob Milliken - trumpet
• Valerie Haywood (The Chic Strings) - strings
• Cheryl Hong (The Chic Strings) - strings
• Karen Milne (The Chic Strings) - strings
• Gene Orloff - conductor

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.

References

• 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.