Customer Reviews

Touch Me in the Morning: Expanded Edition

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Nothing from the mountain of information that has been written about Diana Ross and her fabled recording career over the past five decades comes close to being as revelatory in nature as the Hip-O Select expanded edition of her classic 1973 recording, Touch Me in the Morning.
Disc One remains mostly true to the original vinyl release with bonus alternative versions of four of the album cuts as well as charming studio spoken banter featuring Diana stating she feels a cold coming on.
Disc Two, the unreleased album, To The Baby could be considered Ms. Ross' fully conceived concept album which never saw the light of day, but now almost 39 years later, we can appreciate her artistry and strong sense of vision of who she was. While her label mates, Stevie Wonder was coming of age with his Where I'm Coming From, Marvin Gaye was being haunted by his introspective What's Going On, and the Four Tops were delving into Still Waters Run Deep, Diana was sharing her unabashed joy of motherhood.
Perhaps Berry Gordy had other considerations besides the potential commercial success of this venture, keeping To The Baby in the can, but time proved him wrong in initially fighting both Stevie and Marvin from releasing their masterpieces. The Ewan MacCall classic song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was hugely popularized by Roberta Flack, but Ross' version is haunting in it's own right. Got To be There, a Jackson 5 hit is pure delight given the full breathy Ross trademark treatment.
T-Boy Ross, whose composition, I Want You, became a classic recording associated with Marvin Gaye, was brilliantly covered by his sister, Diana on her I Love You compact disc. Here, T-Boy' finally gets to have his sublime To The Baby posthumously see the light of day, surely a bitter sweet moment for Diana.
To the ears of this reviewer, the medley of Imagine/Save The Children works slightly better than the the Ross produced stand alone version of Imagine, and the Brown Baby/ Save The Children version that appeared on the original Touch Me In the Morning release.
To round off this beautifully packaged Hip-O Select set featuring rare photos of a radiant and very pregnant Ross, is the engaging Smokey Robinson written, produced and near duet, Kewpie Doll. Limited to only 7,000 copies, this collector's set will sell out quickly and an attempt to secure a copy will reward the listener many times over. Ross at her best and highly recommended!

Touch Me In the Morning: Expanded Edition - Diana Ross (Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal)
By 1973, Diana Ross seemed to be light years away from her tenure as a founding member of The Supremes. She had already hit two pinnacles garnering her first #1 solo single in "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and even more impressive, a #1 album and movie with "Lady Sings the Blues". Her movie debut would earn a Best Actress nomination and Golden Globe. She lost the Oscar to Liza Minelli. All the excitement generated from her cinematic debut would also cause her contemporary music career to take somewhat of a backseat. It is not like she stopped recording. In fact, she had been quite prolific in the recording studio with no less than 3 projects including "Everything is Everything", "Surrender" and the unreleased, "To the Baby" albums. Gordy had decided it was time to return to the top of the charts w/another radio friendly smash.
Michael Masser, a new songwriter/producer, was commissioned to create that smash. The result was "Touch Me in the Morning". FM radio was becoming more and more pervasive. FM radio would break the rigid formula of its counterpart. Its freeform nature, at that time, would give equal time to the full 6:06 minute version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", rotated next to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" or Ten Years After's "Love Like a Man". It would be the last days of the relevance of AM radio. Berry Gordy had mastered the demands and boundaries of that format. Famously Gordy commented that "a single would not be released until its sound was calibrated through a transistor radio", as well as, a state of the art sound system.
So let's step back in time for a second and remember when albums had a Side 1/Side 2. To my ears, "Touch Me in the Morning" Side 1 was geared towards AM radio. The songs were more Adult contemporary and the sound was compressed and safe, just like that format in general. Michael Masser wrote a rather complicated song about the end of a love affair. As a producer, he had Diana layer vocals on top of vocals. (Reportedly, this drove Ross crazy and she grew to resent those sessions). The lyrics were a lot more sophisticated than what one may have initially thought. In fact, a lyric like "mornings were blue and gold, we use to feel each other living" would only grow in significance. Diana would experiment with various live arrangements of the song through the years.
Songs like "I Won't Last a Day Without You" written by Paul Williams (The Carpenters) and Michael Randall ("Leave a Little Room", "All of My Life") had that sunny AM radio sound that would be antecedent to the "soccer mom" phenomenon of the millennium era. The kind of copyrights that eventually found its way onto Johnny Mathis, Helen Reddy albums. It would also demonstrate the dichotomy that Diana and Berry wrestled with in deciding what direction her solo career should take. (A noted British music critic reflected on how Gordy fashioned Diana's next makeover from a more soulful, edgy Diva (see "Love Child", "I'm Livin' in Shame") to a more cabaret-ish songstress (Streisand, Dionne Warwick). "Lady Sings the Blues" captured both sides beautifully. However, high-end supper club bookings were still coveted compared to arenas. Supper club bookings catered to an older audience. Therefore, her set list would be more MOR (middle of the road).
Side Two would be slightly more adventurous. It would open up with a gorgeous, acoustic rendition of Rodgers-Hart's "Little Girl Blue". (Diana recorded no less than 4 different arrangements of this song from The Supremes ("Sing Rodgers and Hart", "Lost and Found: Let the Music Play") and more recently as a solo artist ("Stolen Moments"). She tackles a fairly straightforward version of John Lennon's "Imagine". There is a decidedly more urbane feel to "My Baby My Own" with its wonderful, mournful adlibs. These songs sound ready made for the burgeoning FM radio format. The album closes out with a beautiful medley of "Brown Baby"/"Save the Children", the latter from Marvin's iconic "What's Going On" album from a couple of years prior. Diana had begun to stretch her creativity once again by producing "Imagine" and "Save the Children". While her production skills were fairly safe, it offered promise of what may possibly come. (In fact, when it was announced that Diana and Marvin would record together.......possibilities seemed endless, from writing and producing collaborations. Alas, it would never be fully realized).
The alternate mixes on this "Expanded Edition" are particularly impressive. The set includes alternate mixes on half of this album's songs. The two extra versions of "Touch Me in the Morning" are quite listenable. Mix 1 has a fuller orchestration, Mix 2 is even more majestic and symphonic with a long, elegant opening that leads into some of Diana's most potent singing. Still, in reflection, the version that was first released was probably more commercial and radio-friendly. "All of My Life" ,1973 mix, is a tad more soulful with strong violins and a soulful guitar/sax ending. It would become a Top Ten hit in the U.K. And Deke Richards' "We Need You" is decidedly more soulful as well ending with a heartfelt plea.
This has always been one of my favorite Diana Ross albums. The soft focused photo cover captures Diana seemingly floating in clouds like an angel listening to harps and orchestral strings.. The album flows delicately like the sound of birds chirping on a spring morning.
Disc 2:
To The Baby" - Diana Ross (Motown/Universal/Hip-O Select)
As the saying goes, a lot has been said and written about Diana Ross. One thing that is hard to deny is her incredible work ethic. In the early 70s, her prolific output continued at a breathtaking pace. She seemed to effortlessly juggle a new solo career, movie debut, new marriage and the birth of her first baby. "To The Baby" was designed to be a tribute to her children. The first, Rhonda Suzanne Gordy-Silberstein was born in August of 1971. Diana would declare in countless interviews that she wanted a large family.
The title song "To The Baby" was co-written by Diana's brother, Arthur Ross, affectionately known as "T-Boy". There have been rumors of this album's existence circulating for decades. Just as amazing as the title song demonstrates T-Boy's expertise as a songwriter (he also co-wrote Marvin Gaye's "I Want You"), it is amazing that this wondrous album has finally seen the light of day. Original songs like the title song, "Part of You" and "Kewpie Doll" are sequenced in with more than credible versions of hit songs of that time, like "Got to Be There", "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and ""Imagine".
"Part of You" opens up the album. It is a soft, melodic song with flourishes of Motown and sprinkles of sunny lullabies. Diana sings it with ease. Strings swirl and accentuate the delicate signature of Diana's vocals. "A Wonderful Guest" follows a similar musical turn, part lovely lullaby and part Motown in the finest of that label's distinctive musicianship. Once again, Diana's vocals are wrapped in beautiful violins. It is a reminder of that unique vocal quality that belongs only to her. Some singers possess full-bodied, soul instruments, whereas, I likened Diana's voice to fine delicate crystal. It rings and shimmers and makes for a beautiful tapestry of sounds.
Diana confidently takes on covers by Roberta Flack in "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". In a spoken word intro, she makes clear that this version is not about a deep, abiding love. It is about that magical moment when a parent looks into the eyes of their new borne for the very first time. Michael's sometimes forgotten first solo single, "Got to Be There" is no longer filled with the heart-fluttering romance of teen love. Instead, it becomes a declaration, an affirmation of what will forever be the relationship between mother and child. It is no less memorable. Apparently Lena Horne recorded one of the first versions of "Brown Baby". I have been unable to find much information about it. In this version on "To The Baby", it stands alone as its own track. It is soulful, filled with great adlibs dubbed throughout. (Rhonda Suzanne would graduate from Brown University with a degree in African American studies. The song takes on an even more profound meaning with this knowledge.). In what some may consider her bravest move, Diana does a respectable cover of John Lennon's "Imagine". "Imagine" would become one of the first songs she produced on herself.
But in returning to the title track, one feels a wide range of emotions. On one hand, I remember buying T-Boy's only solo album on Motown. Diana resurrected "I Want You" on her last studio outing, "I Love You". In interviews and on that album's DVD, she reminds her fans of T-Boy's writing talents. T-Boy, unfortunately, was barbarously annihilated about a decade ago. The promise of a young talent unfulfilled.
"To Be Baby" is included as a bonus disc on the just released, "Touch Me in the Morning: Expanded Edition". Hip-O Select, the catalog division of Motown/Universal released it to the fans in December 2009. Many of Diana's fans have expressed enthusiasm for this great find from the vaults. The album is strong enough on its own that one can only wonder why Motown decided to shelf it for over 3 decades.
"Kewpie Doll" written and produced by Smokey closes out this very special release. It makes one wonder why Diana and Smokey have not worked together more often. It was Smokey that first brought Diana and The Supremes to Berry Gordy's attention a half century ago in 1961. She inducted him into the NAACP Hall of Fame. He recently bestowed the coveted Kennedy Center Honors to Diana. They remain close. The internet has been a buzzed with "Kewpie Doll" as a fan favorite.
If that were not enough, the Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal team includes the rare "When We Grow Up", Diana's contribution to Marla Thomas' celebrated "Free to Be, You and Me".

For the past seven years, Diana Ross fans have been treated to superb deluxe reissues of a number of her Motown albums. In 2003, a deluxe edition of her mega-successful Chic-produced album "diana" was released, including the previously unreleased original versions by Chic, which were remixed by Ross herself and her engineer, Russ Terrana. In 2006, "Blue," Ross' shelved follow-up to her successful Lady Sings the Blues soundtrack finally saw the light of day. And in recent years, fans have enjoyed excellent reissues of "Surrender," "Everything is Everything" and "Last Time I Saw Him."

Now it's time for Ross' 1973 album "Touch Me in the Morning" to get the deluxe treatment. I'll be honest, I have been a long-time fan of Ross', but never picked up this album, which was very successful in 1973. The original CD pressing has been hard to find, but I was hoping for an updated, remastered copy; I'm glad I waited. Ross' pristine vocals and the gorgeous, lush music shine in this remastered, 2-disc collection - the sound is impeccable. The original album bridges pop, R&B, jazz and even hints of folk and psychedelia. The bonus cuts for the first CD includes two alternate versions of "Touch Me in the Morning." Usually having alternative versions of one song would be overkill, but these alternative versions each have variety so they don't sound redundant; I especially love the last version, which features a long instrumental opening. It's easy to forget the wonderful music track on the "Touch Me" single because of Ross' vocal performance.

The second CD features Ross' unreleased "To the Baby" album, which was dedicated to her daughter, Rhonda. It's a beautiful album, and, as the case with "Blue," it's hard to understand why it was shelved. Berry Gordy wanted Ross to follow-up her Oscar nomination for "Lady Sings the Blues" with a number-one pop smash, and in the end, he achieved that, but at the expense of the release of "To the Baby," which is a shame because it is one of Ross' most cohesive albums. Ross really connects to these songs about a mother's love for a child. This formula of a female singer singing to her child was employed by future singers, including Celine Dion on her 2004 album "Miracle" (which, by the way, featured a cover of Roberta Flacks "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," also covered on "To the Baby"). Some of To the Baby's songs have been previously released, including "Young Mothers" a superb song which was featured on Ross' 1983 double-disc Anthology. "To the Baby" may have been missing that pop smash Gordy was looking for, but it once again demonstrates Ross' versatility as a vocalist and interpreter.

But, thankfully, now in 2010, we have "To the Baby" in addition to "Touch Me in the Morning." Thanks to these reissues of Ross' Motown catalogue, Ross' work is being re-evaluated and Ross herself is getting her due. Ross is often unfairly categorized as simply a diva, and the bad press of the past years makes people forget what a dynamic and versatile singer she is. These reissues remind music listeners that Ross could sing pop, R&B, jazz, country, disco and so much more.

Special kudos to Hip-o Select who continue to raise the bar in producing reissues. For many years, I thought Rhino could never be topped in terms of producing reissues, but I think it's safe to say that Hip-o Select has surpassed them. It seems no expense was spared in producing this reissue, from the gorgeous packaging and photos to the liner notes; even the CDs themselves are elegantly decorated.

This is a must-have reissue.

Hip-O Select has been doing an amazing job bringing us Diana's solo career album by album with great packaging, in depth liner notes, bonus tracks that are not filler and superb digital remastering. The latest TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING - EXPANDED EDITION is certainly the best by far. The liner notes are actually a booklet with amazing information and beautiful, rare pictures. This was Diana Ross's first release after the LADY SINGS THE BLUES film and soundtrack. Diana is one of those rare artists who has had a huge critically acclaimed career and never won a Grammy. Up to LADY SINGS THE BLUES her solo career consisted of releases with very tight r&b tracks with some pop mixed in. Most tracks certainly showed her vocal range and versatility.

After LADY SINGS THE BLUES I think her career took a turn that definitely missed out on the chance of showing her true gifts as an artist. BLUE was meant to be released in tangent with the soundtrack and actually shows Diana to even better artistry. She was also taking a truly creative part in her career and put together the personal, cohesively themed project TO THE BABY. Berry Gordy wanted the Oscar for Diana and even more success so he put both those projects on hold and put together the album TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING which was the most comercial, pop release Diana had done thus far. He wanted hits and radio friendly material. So sad that he had such control over her and her career. BLUE and TO THE BABY both could have shown such greater dimension in her talent.

Not to say that the album was not good. TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING was nominated for a Grammy and tracks ALL OF MY LIFE, WE NEED YOU and LEAVE A LITTLE ROOM all have that special Diana touch and are intimate, emotional songs. It is interesting to hear the alternate versions on many of the tracks especially two more of TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING. They are all so different and show how important decisions are in making an album. The biggest gift here is to finally have TO THE BABY complete with two tracks from the seessions that were found years later. The mastering is impeccable and the entire cd is sung with true emotion by Ms. Ross. it is so special and sensitive. Some of the tracks were used on TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING. I found the medley Diana put together of IMAGINE/SAVE THE CHILDREN better than the Gordy version BROWN BABY/SAVE THE CHILDREN. We see a true intimate Diana Ross here. Even with all her great recordings to have a full cd of such raw emotion is such a gift. Had it been released I truly believe the music industry would have taken a more serious look at Diana Ross and her talent. But for her fans now, this expanded edition is a huge gift. It's musical history.

"Kewpie Doll," as I remember, originally was titled "Teddy Bear" and was to have become part of an album Smokey was producing for Diana. The album had a one-word title but darned if I can remember it right now (I'm thinking "Satisfaction" but I don't think that's it). The single from that album was to have been "Whatever Makes You Happy." "To The Baby" was to have been titled at one point "The Baby Album." What I'm impressed with here is the enormous amount of music Diana was recording with no letdown in quality and compromises with creativity. She has always been quite the workhorse, but on her it's always looked easy. It's also impressive how quickly after departing the Supremes she evolved into a different artist, with a depth of understanding, subtlety and craft no one would have suspected from her Supremes recordings, which whatever the songs were never went very deep. I found it so interesting that Berry Gordy chose to succeed her in the Supremes a singer of great depth, feeling and nuance, Jean Terrell. When Jean sang the Diana-led hits she couldn't resist from noodling around with them and improvising with them. Diana never played with them ever, and still doesn't. But she certainly quickly headed down a road far removed from her Supremes days.

This cd is excellent. It contains the unrealesed "for the baby" album and also includes alternative versions of 'leave a little room', 'we need you', 'all of my life' and a two other versions of 'touch me in the morning'. This is by far the best re-release (with extras) of a diana ross album. It also contains an insert booklet with information about the recording sessions and some personal notes of the album's producer. The sound quality is also very clear. Look out for alternate versions (at least lead vocals by diana) on 'turn around' (slightly different from the one on 'last time i saw him' cd) and also an enhanced (sound quality) of 'young mothers'. The 'for the baby' disc on the album also contains other unreleased songs of diana ross such as 'kewpie doll', a part duet (if you can call it that)with Smokey Robinson.

A great follow up to Lady Sings the Blues, second cd has great material.

'Touch Me In The Morning' is a magical album from start to finish. On "My Baby (My Baby My Own)" she is giving us some Anita Baker - before Anita arrived! Soulful yes indeed.

I also get lost in "I Won't Last A Day Without You". She is so tender and in such pure voice on that track. She manages to convey the same verisimilitude and wistfulness as Karen Carpenter...without making you want to slit your wrists at the end. There's hope and a cozy joy in Diana's performance that is magical to me.

Any true fan simply must experience 'To The Baby'. TMITM is remastered and sounds impeccable, of course, but disc 2 containing the full, original 'To The Baby' album is revelatory. If you were blown away by 'Blue', 'To The Baby' will quickly find its way into your heart as a cherished work of art by the incomparable Diana Ross.

I believe that if 'To The Baby' had been released in 1972, it would have gone a long way towards a perception of Ross as an artist of depth. It was clearly a very personal project to her, and one that also had a clear socio-cultural point of view, much like Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On'. I think "Young Mothers" would have been a perfect single choice, though the album is so great, it really stands on its own merits even without a single,

'Baby' is very similar to Marvin's 'What's Going On' in that is ponders things not normally touched upon in popular music. It clearly was a deeply personal work for Ross. It is an album about the joy and wonder of motherhood, an ode to the divine feminine essence.

"Part of You, Part of Me" is really beautiful. As a woman, it resonates spiritually with me, as does "A Wonderful Guest".

But Diana delved even one step further and into Civil Rights, with songs like "Brown Baby" and the original medley of "Imagine/Save The Children", which I actually like more than the "Brown Baby/Save The Children" medley. She ponders what the future will hold for her own children, as a woman who grew up during tremendous social changes in America, from segregation to integration, then later as an entertainer who helped tremendously in creating positive public images for African-Americans.

"Young Mothers" was a perfect protest/lovefest song against the Vietnam war, and I dare say it would do our world good if that song suddenly received millions of spins on the radio today.

"Touch Me in the Morning: Expanded Edition" contains the aforementioned title and "To the Baby," so there are two CDs.

The first CD, "Touch Me in the Morning: Expanded Edition," has, in general. a gentle (and sometimes a "quiet") quality to it, especially the track "My Baby (My Baby My Own)". Probably many readers of this review have listened to Ms. Ross' version of "Imagine," which is softer than John Lennon's original song. The medley "Brown Baby/Save The Children" has a nice and delicate Diana Ross touch.

Besides the original 9 songs, this CD has 5 additional songs, including two interesting versions of "Touch Me in the Morning".

The second CD, "To The Baby," is an unreleased album. As the title suggests, the lyrics are generally light and sweet. This CD represents the tender and maternal Diana Ross. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is graceful, gracious, and in the beginning has almost a lullaby feel to it and is dedicated to her baby daughter. It's a very nice bonus album that I am grateful to have.

I recommend this expanded version to fans and anyone else who likes Diana Ross. The second CD really is the hidden gem, a gift, especially for mothers, and parents in general.

This is my favorite Diana Ross album and to have it on CD is great. But to have the Expanded Edition with the Alternate take and mixes is even better.