Customer Reviews

Silk Electric

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

 

 

Diana Ross continued to make Hits even after leaving Motown in 1980, in a different approach. This RCA record showcases Ms. Ross' ability to sing a wide range of songs, from rock "Fool For Your Love" to the haunting ballad "In Your Arms." The Album Kicks Off with "Muscles" a smash hit written for Ms Ross by Michael Jackson. The song is slick, bold and sexy with M. Jackson singing the back vocals. Ms. Ross & Michael Jackson Reunited later on for "EATEN ALIVE" (RCA). "So close" will remind you of Diana's Supreme years, the early days. A Doo-Wop song that will sure please her fans, performed in the tradition of "Why do fools fall in Love?" "Still In Love" the second most great ballad on the album. This Lady sure knows how to sing a good Love Song. "Fool For Your Love" finds Diana in a daring Rock attempt and she succeeds with it. "Who" a superb track that you will want to repeat constantly. Catchy and funky with a taste of disco. The same applies with "Love Lies" and "Anywhere You Run To". The highlight on this album is the song "In Your Arms". Diana is breathtaking and the orchestrations are beautifully arranged. The album went gold when it was first released and the cover (by Andy Warhol) remains one of her most eye catchy record covers. I hope the label re-masters this, along with some of her other RCA albums, (SWEPT AWAY), (ROSS) (RED HOT RHYTHM & BLUES), (EATEN ALIVE) ETC. If you are interested in Diana Ross' RCA years, purchase "GREATEST HITS. THE RCA YEARS."

Silk Electric.
Ross' second RCA album after "Why Do Fools Fall In Love".
Like its predecessor "Silk Electric" includes an eclectic number of songs ranging from doo-wop "So Close" to a bold rock attempt "Fool for your love". The album opens with a song titled "Muscles" written by Michael Jackson for Miss Ross. The track is breathtaking and quite sexy which had great success across the globe and was praised by many critics. Some tracks are great while others just don't seem to belong in this album. Ross sounds harsh in the rock-ish "Fool for your love" while the best track on the album is a soft Ballad "In Your Arms". Ross also co-wrote "I Am Me" a funky- reggae-like song that is catchy. The album also includes a pseudo-disco track "Who" and other pop/rock tracks like "Love Lies" and the stunning "Still In Love". Recommended for Loyal Fans. The Album cover was designed by Andy Warhol, the album was certified GOLD.

If you should describe in One word, Silk Electric, it should be "ECLECTIC", for the use of so many different music styles, you can go from Doo Wop to Disco, To Rock to 80's R&B. The first track "Muscles" produced by Michael Jackson and written by him, whassup with that? asking all the song for a muscle man with oil in his body?, well for Diana it work well, the song became a top 10 and a Grammy Nomination, it's a slow song praising the body of a well build man, not a song for everyone to sing along, the end of the worthy song of the album eneds here, "So Close" the second single that capture the Doo Woop style of the 50's, of course in the early 80's this song sound so bad it only cracked the top 40 in the pop charts and prompted "Silk Electric" to the bottom of oblivion, being the second and last single to hit the charts, "Still In Love" a filler ballad, "Fool For Your Love" this song sounds great though, it's very similar to Blondie's "Call Me"!, so if you like that song you will loved this one, of course it's a strange aproach of music for miss Ross but it just worked out fine, "Turn Me Over" it's an interlude, that in a funny way told you to turn over the LP, and hear the other side, not neccesary any more in the CD's, "Who" was the disco track, this song fits really well in the first RCA release of Diana "Why Do Fools Fall In LOve", the song it's one of the best tracks(at least this one!), because it's careless, and talks about love, and it's upbeat and easy to dance with, "In Your Arms", well this song is or is not the same as "Hold Me" by Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston, of course is produced by the same Michael Masser, but they sound to much a like and the chorus line I think is the same!, "Hold Me In Yours Arms tonight, this moment is for us to treasure"?, judge for yourself, not a great tune, "I Am Me" is an easy track and it's close to join the filler group of songs!, but, somehow it's just works to the end. "Love Lies" sound a little old, but for my taste is and melancolic ballad that saves Silk Electric to almost becoming a total boring album. "Anywhere You Run To" it's another song that fits nicely although it's sound old too, but manages to keep it with the "Silk Electric" mood, in the end In my own point of view, "Silk Electric" was one of the few album that Diana Ross failed to keep up as a classic, for any Diana fan this album should be a must have, but for a casual listener, the Greatedt Hits RCA Years, will fit you great. The Cover Art of the Album made by Andy Warhol make you think this one was going to be funky like "Mirror Mirror", but don't let it fool you.

Although this 1982 album went gold it is certainly by no means one of her best albums. It was quite apparent that after leaving Motown records in 1981 that Diana was trying to create a new, fresh sound to her work. WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE (1981) was an above average album but barley contained any significant change in styles whilst on here there seems to be more ambition behind it but at the same time is sadly rather lacklustre. the album receives three stars simply because of the small handful of good tracks on it. By no means is this a bad one just a little on the bland side.

The album begins with the outrageous and compelling track, MUSCLES which secured Diana another huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. The track was written by Michael Jackson who was seemingly trying to convey a womans fantasy (or perharps his own?). despite the success of the single, it seems to be one of Dianas most overlooked recordings with it barley featuring on any recent compilation. never the less, the track is something of a masterpiece and was a clear sign of Diana comfortably moving with the ever changing times of the 1980s. SO CLOSE returns to a traditional Diana Ross sound and is a fair track at that even if on the verge of being too ponderous towards the climax of the song which perharps deems a little too ineffective for it to become nothing more than a minor hit which was all that became of this track. STILL IN LOVE is overly melodramatic yet this recording does hold some fire, mainly due to Dianas heartfelt performance on it. However FOOL FOR YOUR LOVE is slightly disastorous and in no way does this show case Dianas undoubted vocal abilities. She sounds slightly lost amidst the music and although this was a rather brave attempt for Diana to try and crack the heavy rock scene, the track is rather a forgetable mess. TURN ME OVER is not even a real song and its place on this album seems pointless. WHO and LOVE LIES are rather dreamy, ponderous, light rock numbers that are again quite forgetable but she does a fair job on IN YOUR ARMS although again the track verges on being too syrupy, yet Dianas performance is faultless. ANYWHERE YOU RUN TO has some potential but lacks any real fire or immediacy to make it little more than an average track. I AM ME is a track Diana wrote back in the early sixties with Janie Bradford and this song has to be one of the best songs on the album with a catchy reggae twinge to it. on the whole the album is just a little above average. WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE (1981) is preferable though but as said the album does hold a few delights. Andy Warhol designed the album cover which was amongst her most eye catching covers. Recommended to big Diana Ross fans (if you're a completist that is).

What I find odd with Silk Electric (1982) being certified Gold is the fact that it was one of the worse studio albums in Diana Ross' career. Its strange as albums like the electric Eaten Alive (1985) and the sensational and divine Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (1987) on RCA were relativley poor sellers. Whilst not being quite as bland and dull as the dreary affair of her next album, Ross (1983) theres very little to recommend it (contrary to my last review on this site I wrote some time time ago). The music is completley white-washed, the soulful feel of her previous output was totally drained and the finished result overall is a rather dreamy and unexciting set of songs geared more toward the Rock market than that of her usual style. Though the albums landmark, Muscles went Top 10 in the U.S and glided into the U.K Top 15, the song is a little indistinguishable for Diana Ross. After all this was a lady that had given us Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Touch Me In The Morning, Love Hangover, The Boss, Upside Down and I'm Coming Out. Dianas performance is a little mushy where as you can easily detect Michael Jacksons distinctive backing vocal gelled neatly into the production. So Close steers into 1950's sounding doo-wop which is washed over to give it a more contemporary feel. So Close has some merits but is lost in an over-long, rather ponderous production. Still In Love could be described as a great Diana Ross ballad and she most certainly projects a lot of emotion and genuine feeling but is somehow lacking that extra special something. Diana does her best to ignite the stormy Rock song Fool Dor Your Love which uncomfortably verges on the lines of turning into out and out Heavy Metal but her vocal pwerformance is drowned out by the over-production. Who careers along at a sluggish pace and though has merits it is yet again lost in an over-long production and not enough punch and force in the musical arrangements. Love Lies does little to liven things up where as the sickly sweet tone of In Your Arms is almost ghastly. There is some fire in Anywhere You Run To even though the song sounds dated (like the rest of the album). One track that just manages to swim out of the pool of mediocrity is the striking Reggae/R&B arrangements of I Am Me which Diana had co-written with Janie Bradford way back in 1961. The song has verve backed with a dynamic performance from Diana and is overly nicely orchestrated. But other than that Silk Electric serves as a disappointment (to myself at least). I've been a big fan of Diana Ross for years now but Silk Electric (1982), Ross (1983) and Last Time I Saw Him (1974) are the three studio albums of Dianas solo career that I baly play. I bought Silk Electric when I was just 9 years old back in 1989 and it still has never grown on me. Its purley a matter of opinion of course as I have indeed heard many good comments on this album from fans of the great Soul Diva so its best you judge for yourself but as a big Diana Ross fan, i'd say this was one of her studio albums that fails to make its mark in the way most of her other albums do. Bland and unmemroable.