Customer Reviews

Touch Me in the Morning

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack (1972) totally shrugged off her style and usual sound with The Supremes, the Touch Me In The Morning (1973) album steered even further away, completley abandoning her previous combination of R&B/Pop. The mood is mellow, deep and soulful throughout.
The title track Touch Me In The Morning is a masterpiece itself and is one of Dianas' most mememroable and timeless classics. The rhythm builds to the exciting chrous which Diana tackles with style and finesse. After a sluggish start on the U.S charts, Touch Me In The Morning eventually catapulted into pole position, whilst gliding into the U.K Top 10. Another timeless ballad, All Of My Life became a Top 10 success in the U.K deservedly. This soul classic contains a fantastic, stirring vocal performance from its star whilst the mood quickly turns chilly on the yearning, We Need You. Of equally strong musical merit was the effective Leave A Little Room, where Diana glides through the verses and is joined by a gospel-influenced choir on the tracks chrous. Diana surprisingly makes her version of The Carpenters, I Won't Last a Day Without You, her own but its the latter half of the album that displays a lot of true artistic flair. Perharps holding onto Lady Sings The Blues in some way, Diana delivers two Jazz/Blues numbers that are both startlingly atmospheric. Her performance is almost dreamy on Little Girl Blue whilst the mood goes deeper and more sombre on the haunting My Baby (My Own). Her striking vocal delivery virtually turns into a subdued howl at the climax of this track. She then delivers a magnificent, stylish and sophisticated reading of John Lennons' famous classic, Imagine, and then finally the albums winds down to its climax with the startling medley Brown Baby/Save The Children. Both these number are chilly and hauntingly atmospheric and both display Dianas' versatile vocal expertise.

The Touch Me in The Morning album is a fantastic, unique affair all round and was one of her most artistic efforts. And the bonus was it proved to be another massive commercial success where it rapidly jumped into the U.K and U.S Top 10 Album Charts, becoming one of her biggest sellers of that era. A Classic!

Every artist has a defining moment in their career. For Diana Ross, there have been several moments of brilliance and 1973's "Touch Me in the Morning" was one of them.

Historically, the timing for the release of the album was of significant importance. Diana had stunned the world with her Oscar nominated and Golden Globe Award winning performance in "Lady Sings the Blues". It was time to return to the studios and the result was a collection of beautiful, timeless classics that have stood the test of time.

The album opens with that ever popular Ross ballad, "Touch Me in the Morning" which has to rank as one of the finest pop/R&B singles of the modern pop era. Diana demonstrated previously undiscovered nuances in her delivery, and displayed a talent for ballads that was fresh and exciting. Furthermore, Diana's voice was incredibly smooth, supple and dreamy. It all makes for pleasant listening.

There are no dance cuts here, just classy ballads. My personal favourites are "Leave A Little Room", "Little Girl Blue", and "My Baby, My Own". The "Brown Baby/Save the Children" medley is awesome. "Save the Children" is quite an intense experience, with Diana singing with passion and conviction. Both tracks were produced by Ms Ross.

This classy album should be part of the collection of any Ross fan. This was Diana at her best.

this is one of dianas best lps from 1973.it includes the title cut that was a #1 pop hit and helped push this lp to #5 on the pop charts here in the us.the lp gently moves from classic pop with the tilte track to smooth r@b to jazz as the cd glides along with one great performance after another from ross.i think this lp could have done without the cover of the Carpenters songs and perhaps included some of the unreleased tracks Ross recorded for her unreleased standards lp from that time period.perhaps one day we will get a deluxe treatment for this cd.this is without a doubt one of her best ...even with the carpenters cover.a lovely performance by ross.should have also included the extended version of the tilte cut as well.

Diana Ross won acclaim for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings The Blues, but she and Motown knew a
return to her signature sound should be fast in coming, so shortly after the Lady.... soundtrack was winding down on the charts, Touch Me In The Morning was released.

The tile track is the epitome of a Diana Ross ballad, and it landed her another Pop/R & B crossover hit.
With the commitment of her mentor, Berry Gordy, Diana gained more confidence as a vocalist, and this release contains some of her finest work from a cover of the Carpenter's, I Won't Last A Day Without You, to a moving take on the John Lennon masterpiece Imagine.

Her Jazz/Blues stylings from LSTB were not lost either, and the medley of Brown Baby and Save The Children
lent her more vocal credability.

Diana displayed a powerful level of emotion on this album and All Of My Life is another prime example.

Why a rating of 4 stars, as opposed to 5?. Simply put, that although the dramatic ballad is Diana's forte,
a uptempo track, or two, delivered with the same passion as the rest of this release would have taken it to the next level.

Ken

Where the Lady Sings The Blues Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1972) totally shrugged off any Supremes-type number, showcasing Diana Ross's versatile talents, the Touch Me In The Morning (1973) project steered even further away, completely abandoning her previous commercial R&B/Soul/Pop sound. The mood is mellow and soulful throughout, emerging as one of her all-time great albums of the 1970's.

The magnificent title track, Touch Me In The Morning is an absolute cracking masterpiece and is one of Diana's most memroable and timeless classics. A young composer, Michael Masser was drafted in by Motown. His first assignment was to come up with a no.1 hit for Motown's leading lady - Diana Ross. Michael Masser immediately came up with Touch Me In The Morning with Diana Ross in mind. Touch Me In The Morning would also be aided by the compositional and lyrical finesse of Ron Miller. Basically Berry Gordy wanted a No.1 hit waiting in the wings for his leading star just in the event of a needed re-bound if the Lady Sings The Blues movie bombed. Of course we all know Lady Sings The Blues was indeed an enduring success and earned her a much deserved oscar nomination for her powerful and riviting portrayal as the tortured Jazz singer Billie Holiday. Hot on its trail came Touch Me in The Morning. After an extremely sluggish start where it literally hovered for weeks on end down the lower reaches of the Hot 100 it slowly but surely climbed up the charts and eventually zoomed into pole position, remaining there for weeks on end. The formula is vastly similar to Ain't No Mountain High Enough where the rhythm steadily builds to its exalting chrous which Diana tackles with utter style and finesse sounding gutsy and soulful. One of Diana Ross's best classics!
Incidentally Michael Masser described the recording sessions for the Touch Me In The Morning single an emotionally draining experience. He claimed that Diana was very emotional during the sessions, crying a lot when she couldn't hit the notes required for the song and Diana even believed the song was beyond her vocal abilities. After countless takes, Diana finally got that desired vocal performance mastered to perfection.

Another timeless ballad was the remarkably powerful, All Of My Life where Dianas exubearant delivery ignites this breathtakingly beautiful ballad to startling effect. All Of My Life was lifted as a single in the U.K and became a Top 10 hit.

The mood turns somewhat chilly on the atmospheric, We Need You where Diana delivers a fantastic and stirring vocal performance. We Need you was written by Deke Richards whose most famous work for Diana Ross was the U.K chart-topping, I'm Still Waiting in 1971.

Also of great musical merit was the pleasant, mid-tempo Leave A Little Room where Diana glides through the verses and is joined by a gospel choir on the chrous which merley adds to its dramatic effect.

Diana surprisingly makes her version of The Carpenters, I Won't Last A Day Without You her own but it's the latter half of the album that displays a lot of true artistic flair. Perharps holding onto Lady Sings The Blues in some way, Diana delivers two Jazz/Blues numbers that are both stunningly atmospheric. Her performance on Little Girl Blue is dreamy and rich whilst the mood deepens and steadily more sombre on the haunting, My Baby (My Own). Her striking, lower throat register performance virtually turns into a subdued howl at the climax of this track.

Diana then delivers a magnificent and sophisticated reading of the John Lennon classic Imagine which she sings with such passion in her voice.

The Touch Me In The Morning (1973)album's climax is a startling and compelling medley (a)Brown Baby (b)Save The Children. More than anything, this medley showcased her versatile vocal style and her overall diversity as a recording artist. The Medley is both touching and hauntingly atmospheric rounding the project off beautifully.

The Touch Me In The Morning (1973) set was a fantastic affair all round and was one of her most artistic and diverse efforts off the 1970's. The bonus was it proved to be another yet massive commercial success where it speedily jumped into the U.K and U.S Top 10 Album charts becoming one of her biggest sellers in that era.

Ian Phillips

August 2006

30 years later--better late than never, especially for such a big Diana Ross fan! On a lark, I decided to order this and, boy, have I been surprised! Of course I knew "Touch Me In The Morning" in the 70s--who didn't. And this recording was the logical follow-up to LADY SINGS THE BLUES. The remainder of the songs on the album are of little interest, even her cover of "Imagine" isn't all that remarkable (though "Medley" sound like a preparation for her duets with Marvin Gaye). But her VOICE on this album is incredibly velvety and sensual and it's rare to hear her sing in such a way. Who stopped it/her? I'm sure she could have found better songs to suit such a warm (and warming) register. "Touche Me In The Morning" is an album that deserves more attention, much more than the recent comeback of "diana". A delightful discovery! Do so yourself!

Touch Me in the Morning gives us wonderful songs from the record album of the same name by the legendary Diana Ross. Diana's skill is incredible; she makes everything she sings memorable and meaningful using her finely tuned voice as an instrument. The quality of the sound on this CD is excellent and I like the artwork.

"Touch Me in the Morning" starts the track set with Diana singing her heart out; the piano arrangement is so elegant and this ballad is unforgettable. I have always loved this song and in Diana's capable hands it's a true and total masterpiece. Diana's excellent diction enhances her performance even more; and she handles the tempo and key changes like the pro she was and always will be! I love it. In addition, "All of My Life" is a lush ballad of love that Diana delivers with grace and panache; the background chorus harmonizes well--not that Diana needed backup; but they do sound pretty good anyway.

"We Need You" has another heavenly arrangement; Diana makes this shine brighter than silver and gold as she delivers this to perfection--and beyond! "We Need You" also has Diana front and center--right where she belongs! Listen for Diana to do great justice to "Leave a Little Room;" this is yet another lush ballad that's truly easy on the ear as Diana sings this beautifully. "Leave a Little Room" is a highlight of this album; and the drums and percussion make it even better.

"I Won't Last a Day Without You" has a fine early 70's flavor to it that reminds me of those years; Diana sings this like a true songbird and the percussion works wonders for the number. The background singers also make this very special. "Little Girl Blue" gets a most sensitive treatment from Diana Ross; she never lets go of a superfluous note and I'm very impressed. I also like the melancholy ache of "My Baby (My Baby My Own)."

Diana does a sublime cover of John Lennon's "Imagine;" the piano works well for this number and it all holds its own very well. John would certainly have approved! The album ends strong with Diana Ross performing a medley of "Brown Baby" and "Save the Children." What a performance!

Diana Ross will remain a legend for countless years into the future; and I highly recommend this for her fans. It's also a good starter CD for newcomers just discovering Diana's talent.

Touch me in the morning and all of my life = all time classics.
we need you and leave a little room are just beautiful.
Great cover of i won't last a day without you and john lennons imagine

This cd is a true revelation and for some reason not up there with the best of Diana's work which is where it deserves to be. After LADY SINGS THE BLUES Diana proceeded forward with this release. Diana Ross has had many milestones through her long career and many defining moments. With the Supremes she grew to have a very unique, emotive identifiable voice. As she began her solo career AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH ruled and showed her as a very strong solo presence. But the theatrics of this song has sometimes kept poeople from seeing all the different styles of song Ms. Ross can sing.

This collection is a simple, pure set of ballads where Diana simply uses her vocal gifts emotionally to great result. No theatrics. No Diva songs. Instead, raw and emotive Diana. TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING is the title and the huge single. But her vocal interpretations throughout ring true. ALL OF MY LIFE, LEAVE A LITTLE ROOM and LITTLE GIRL BLUE are beautiful and excellent examples of the talent that is Diana Ross. She also takes IMAGINE and truly makes it her own while the ending medley is a tour de force for her.

This cd does not have the great remastering or bonus tracks of the Hip-O releases but it still sounds great. This album may have been quietly swept under the carpet by many Diana fans. I really wasn't aware of it. But it is a must. The songs and vocal performance are all timeless and it is a necessary addition for any Diana Ross collection.

I am so grateful to have found this amazing album on CD! For years I have searched everywhere for this amazing piece of Diana's work. I grew up listening to this on Vinyl..it was my mom's. I have not heard it in over 30 years..until now. My favorites are All Of My Life & We Need You.
I am SO EXCITED TO OWN THIS NOW!!!
Andre