Customer Reviews

Ross

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ross, originally released in 1983 by RCA Records captures the diva Diana Ross at her best! This was Miss Ross' third album for RCA, after her departure from Motown 3 years earlier. The album contains two singles, "Pieces of Ice", which barely made the top 30, and "Let's Go Up". Although this was Diana's least successful and most overlooked album she released during her RCA era, it is said to be one of her best by most fans. The entire album is excellent! Not to mention the dance track "That's How You Start Over". This 2005 EMI Japan reissue of Ross (1983) contains all 8 tracks from the original album, with original artwork inserts and lyrics, both in English and Japanese. I give the original album 5 stars, although I give the 2005 CD reissue 4 stars, as the sound quality could be a little better, especially since Japanese CD's are known for their outstanding sound quality, but it's still good! Essential listening for any Ross fan!

This record was excellent at the time and it remains excellent more than twenty years after. An inimitable amosphere, an impalpable mystery surrounds the whole album. One of the best records Ross released and without question the most unexpected. It's a pity that it is so short and that the last song lacks any interest. But the picture on the cover is breathtaking.

This album has only 8 songs but every one of them is well made, and Diana Ross was in perfect fine form on every track. When you think of how successful Upside Down was - this album has several tracks equally as great. Whatever reason this LP did not shoot thru the roof, I don't know. But I would not be without it. I bought it new on Vinyl and am glad to find the Japanese version of it on CD. The quality is great.

Dear BBR,

I am loving your re-release of The Pointer Sisters' "So Excited!" album. If you are considering reissuing Diana Ross' RCA catalogue, here are my suggestions as bonus tracks on a "Ross" edition.

1. Pieces Of Ice - 7"
2. Pieces of Ice - 12"
3. Up Front - US 12"
4. Up Front - UK 12" remix
5. Up Front - UK 7" remix
6. Sleep With Me Tonight - if this actually exists! Same song cut by Neil Diamond in '82 and by Patti LaBelle in '86

This should have been one of Diana's most massive selling albums of the 80s. Fueled by the near 1 million attendees to her global television special, "Live from Central Park: One for All" from New York City. Despite this great marketing platform, the wrong choice in first singles and the controversial reaction from her fan base relegates it to just the opposite.

Produced primarily by Gary Katz (Steely Dan) with a couple of tracks produced by Ray Parker Jr. and Diana herself, I think it ranks as one of her best RCA albums.

The first single, "Pieces of Ice" was complimented by her most extravagant music video to date. It got some airplay on MTV but the timing was off coming too late in its run on Top 40 radio. With lyrics like "Nights are long, entropic.....", it was hardly a no brainer for pop/r&b radio.

The much better and upbeat, "Let's Go Up" would have been ideal for a summer smash and she gave a great performance of it on her "Central Park" television special.

Opening with the gospel-flavored song of empowerment, "That's How You Start Over", Ross resurrects her less obvious connection to the church. "Love Will Make it Right" is an atmospheric song that wouldn't be out of place on a Steely Dan album or Donald Fagen album. "You Do It" goes down easy as another great summer, lemonade and sunshine, song.

Ray Parker Jr. actually gives her two of the most interesting songs with "Upfront" and "Love or Loneliness", this predates her marriage to Arne Naess and had lyrics that spoke to an independent woman in a city like New York trying to make her way in the realm of love and relationships.

The centerpiece of the album is undoubtedly the stirring, "Let's Go Up". It is contemporary without being trendy....has enough of that Motown sound to make it signature Ross. Had this lead the way, I feel confident that the fate of this album would have been quite different. (Though I will confess that through the years, more people than I would have thought, mentions "Pieces of Ice" as a favorite)
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"Girls" written and produced by Diana sounds unfinished. As most of her self-penned songs, it has a funky rhythm track but lyrics that leave you cold.
It fortunately comes at the end of the album so it is very easy to call the album complete with "Love or Loneliness". Removing that song would mean the album would clock in just under 30 minutes but "The Boss" her critically acclaimed, platinum album came in under 40 minutes.

Not to be confused with the even more underrated 1978 Diana Ross album of the same name, this 1983 album had only one minor hit, but still uses the elements of her late 70s/early 80s disco and dance material to great effect. It opens with the rollicking and infectious "That's How You Start Over," and is also great for the breezy "Let's Go Up." One other track of note is the number 15 hit "Pieces Of Ice," an interesting and unusual departure from her usual formula.

Prior to buying this CD as an effort to complete my Diana Ross collection, I only knew three things about this album; that it had flopped, that it was terrible, that it was forgotten. Well, never believe all the bad hype. I love it. There is hardly a bad track on here. The tunes are all great and upbeat and I don't know why it is so underrated.

Following on from the dreary, mish-mash affair of the Gold-selling Silk Electric (1982) album, soul diva Diana Ross returned to the recording studios with producers Gary Katz and Ray Parker Jnr for her third studio project for RCA/Capitol Records. What resulted was easily her worst album for the label (and infact her entire career!).

Ross (1983) opens with, at the most, mediocre, That's How You Start Over, written by Michael McDonald, Ed Stanford and produced by Gary Katz. That's How You Start Over begins with a wonderful piano interlude that leads you to believe the track is going to pump out into a jamming, soulful affair. Alas, it turns out to be a major diappointment. The mid tempo flow features Ross' appealing enough vocals that also somehow lacks the soulful edge that ignited even the most mediocre song she recorded at Motown. That's How You Start Over lands somewhere between Pop-Disco-Jazz but fails to spark.

Ross goes in for the more electronic, atmospheric vibe on the so-so Love Will Make You Right, written by Donald fagen and produced by Gary Katz. The crashing, swirling sound effects on the tracks dreamy chrous gives the track some fire but it comes off flawed and lacking in some way - ponderous in a way.

The warm, exotic You Do It features the diva delivering her more breathy, seamless vocal style even though You Do It, written by Rafe Van Hoy, Deborah Allen, Eddie Struzick and produced by Gary Katz, is nothing particularly memroable even though being a pleasant alternative.

The minor highlight of Ross (1983) is served with the startling, atmospheric Pieces Of Ice, an odd yet interesting compostion with strange, meaningless lyrics from Marc Jordan and John Capek. It's curious as to what makes this track work, especially as some of the lyrics don't even make SENSE, but Ross' slightly chilly yet exuberant and compelling delivery may have something to do with it. Pieces Of Ice was lifted as a single and crawled on to the U.K/U.S Top 50 charts. It also became the only single from Ross'83 to actually hit the Top 50 charts.

Returning to the more traditional Diana Ross sound is evident on the gloriously upbeat Lets Go Up where Ross really hits her stride on the sweeping verses and feel-good chrous. Written by Franne Gold and Peter Ives and produced yet again by Gary Katz, Lets Go Up is distinctly dated to the 1980's but still proves irrisistable. Lets Go Up found its way to being lifted as a single though got as far as No.77 on the U.S BillBoard Hot 100.

Love Or Lonliness, written, produced, engineered and arranged by Ray Parker Jnr is a nice, smooth ballad with a hint of country music blended into the overly Pop arrangements and a fine, easy-going performance from Ross.

Ross jams on Up Front, a diverse, adventurous experiment that somehow comes off not sounding fully formed despite the electric, sassy performance from Ross. Ross' own track, Girls which she produced herself and co wrote with Bill Wray and Marc Jordan, serves as another major disappointment. Girls rolls along failing to ignite especially on the tracks dreary chrous. Nice try but a failed experiment.

Ross (1983) to a keen Diana Ross fan like myself is disppointing even though this was adventurous and ambitious on Ross' part. Some have declared this album to be something of an over-looked masterpiece which I beg to differ with but then it's all purely a matter of opinion.

Sales were generally low for the Ross (1983) album where it literally scraped into the lower reaches of the U.K/U.S Top 75 Album Charts.


However what is most startling is that striking red front cover with Ross looking divine as always as though she were some sort of heavenly goddess - despite her hair looking slightly like a fright wig and her eyes half shut as though she's stoned!


Ian Phillips

"Ross" is a pretty good album. Love the cover photo as well. Even though the lyrics don't make sense, I love the 80's synth-pop song Pieces of Ice - I don't know why it didn't chart better since it had the sound that was popular at the time and a erie but fun video to go with it. Up Front is also a great rock song that should have charted better (maybe if they had done a video it would have gotten more attention). Love Will Make It Right is a breezy song that you want to listen to in the spring or summer and will definitely put you in a carefree, good mood.

this is one of DIANA ROSS rca lps and is a rare cd find as it is being released here for the first time since the 80s.i have mixed feelings about this cd as i really like side 1 but side 2 is so disapointing.for someone who is trying to establish herself as a solo ,it is funny that ms.ROSS still retreats to her SUPREMES days with side 2.not that that going back to the supremes is a bad thing .if you want to do a couple of great songs as a flasback... such as her later rca hit CHAIN REACTION then you have to find good songs.but there are no great songs here.just ripoff motown songs such as UPFRONT.side 1 is new and clever and in a way a new way to hear Ross and she is strong vocally but side 2 is just a let down .you would think that MS.ROSS would have known better.you would expect more from an artist of her calibre.but this is part of her problem .she is often incomplete or uneven with her lps/cds.she has often not followed a hit lp with another and then she losses momentum.to bad she didnt put this lp together with her SILK ELECTRIC lp.all these songs together would have been one great lp,minus side 2 of ROSS .also ross does not produce herself well.she seems not to push herself vocally.if you listen to other producers ,they are able to push her vocally and the results are usually stunning such as hits like AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH,TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING,THE BOSS,SWEPT AWAY,TAKE ME HIGHER,CHAIN REACTION.WHEN ROSS produces herself she comes out rather laid back vocally,disapointing.this sums up side 2 for me.