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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Diana Ross' Best Album For RCA Records, February 7, 2005
In mid 1987, soul music legend Diana Ross released what would be her final studio album for RCA Records. Neither RCA or Ross were keen to renew contracts that were due to expire that year. Ross had signed to the RCA label in 1981 for a whopping $20,000,000. Most cynics assumed Ross would sink without the lavish care and attention her career automatically received at Motown Records, the label that had catapulted her into a world wide superstar. However most critics were forced to eat humble pie when her first self-produced album away from Motown (Why Do Fools Fall In Love;1981) became a double platinum seller whilst two other albums that were largely produced by Ross (Silk Electric;1982 and Swept Away;1984) went on to become Gold sellers.
After the surprisingly mediocre sales in the U.S of her explosive Eaten Alive (1985) album on which she had collaborated with the Gibb brothers of The Bee Gees and Michael Jackson, Ross decided to retreat to safer terriotry, returning to her roots of Rhythm And Blues to mark a celebration in black music for the dynamic Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (1987) album. This was accompanied by a spectacular television special of the same name that saw Ross tracing the origins of black music through to todays modern culture. It was great to see Ross really make a stand for her heritage. Ratings for the Red Hot Rhythm And Blues t.v special shot through the roof and the show went on to be nominated for an Emmy Award the following year.
The Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (1987) album featured the legendary soul divas' soaring reneditions of many old R&B favourites. It also boasted new songs courtesy of Ross herself as well as the divine soul singer Luther Vandross and lead singer of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall. The project was overly produced by Tom Dowd with Ross credited as Executive Producer.
The fantastic Dirty Looks was Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (1987) premier single. Listeners were stunned to hear Ross' sensational, sexually-charged and charismatic performance that sound quite fitting when listening to those mildly racy lyrics. Dirty Looks was certainly one of Ross' more succesfully adventurous offerings but commercially it served as a big disappointment to what was anticipated. In the U.K where she had recently topped the charts with the distinctley Supremes-like Chain Reaction, Dirty Looks didn't even crack the Top 40 where as it completely missed missed the U.S Top 100 (though did manage to climb to No.12 on the U.S R&B charts).
Ross, undoubtedly the queen of all divas', really hits her stride on the compelling Stranger In Paradise. Ross talk-sings in her trademark soft, evocative voice, enhancing her vocal style to stylishly electric effect on the tracks exalting chrous.
The great Mick Hucknall of Simply Red (who Ross is said to be a big fan of) wrote the rolling Shine. From the swinging, uptown R&B arrangements to the effective, thrashing guirtar interludes on the chrous, Shine was further complimented by an impressive, strikingly husky performance from Ross. Shine was indeed quite progressive for its time and does emerge as one of Red Hot Rhythm And Blues highlights.
Shockwaves was co-written by Ross along with Bill Wray. This fun, bouncy, happy go-lucky number vaguely recalls her Supremes sound with its contagious musical arrangements and a cooing, upbeat performance from Ross.
Again, Ross sounds almost as she's back with The Supremes on her glorious renedition of the R&B classic, Selfish One. That yearning, niaeve sound Ross possessed when she was lead singer of The Supremes, creeps right back in on her delivery. It's on numbers like Selfish One that Ross' singing sounds so effortless.
Ross' cover version of The Bobettes 1950's classic Mr. Lee was silly but fun and lifted as the singles second single. Most critics and D.J's ridiculed the track and the track dipped at a measly No.58 on the U.K charts whilst in the U.S it was just the same old story - they just simply weren't interested! Mr. Lee failed to even embrace the U.S Top 100!
Far more impressive was her stomping renedition of Etta James' Tell Mama. Diana Ross certainly has never possessed the power and volume of a singer like Etta James but what Ross has always had is that uncanny and quite extraordinary ability to make any song she sing completely her own as what Ross does possess is a great, crystal-clear, evocative and most defintely unique sound in her unusual vocal style. Ross puts in a solid, rip-roaring performance on Tell Mama which would have made Etta James proud!
Her renedition of The Drifters' There Goes My Baby is refreshing from its divine musical arrangements to Ross' exhilirating vocal delivery. Her cover of Leonard Cohens' Summertime is startlingly haunting and atmospheric. Ross' beautifully soft, exuberant vocal delivery is overflowing with charm, style and finesse and this emerges as another of the albums highlights.
Cross My Heart is another stunning and sensational ballad with Ross' shimmering vocals perfectly complimenting the sweeping orchestrations. whilst the wonderful Luther Vandross-produced number It's Hard For Me To Say has a more poignant edge. This was Ross' first real heartbreak ballad in quite sometime. The exotic, impeccably mellow musical arrangements are mesmerising.
Red Hot Rhythm And Blues then winds down with one last ballad Tell Me Again where Ross' classy vocal style coats the dazzling, tempo-shifting arrangements. Tell Me Again was lifted as an American single but this too failed to hit the Hot 100.
Though the Red Hot Rhythm And Blues television spectacular was a huge success, this album surprisingly only had lukewarm sales, literally crawling into the lower reaches of the U.K and U.S Top 75 Album Charts. Never the less Red Hot Rhythm And Blues is ESSENTIAL to any Diana Ross fan. Despite its disappointing outcome commercially, Red Hot Rhythm And Blues stands as something of an over-looked classic.
Ian Phillips
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Her best album from the 80's but not this version, March 7, 2005
Two different releases of this album are available:
1) the EMI European/Japanese release with 12 songs and «Dirty looks» clocking at 3:20. Two songs are only available on this version: «Mr. Lee» and «Tell mama».
2) the RCA US version with 10 songs and «Dirty looks» in a 4:10 different mix.
This album is really wonderful. «Dirty looks» is one of her sexiest songs, like «Love hangover» in 1976, the ballads «There goes my baby» and «Summertime» capture the magic of her fragility, «Stranger in paradise» is haunting and mysterious, «Shine» and «Shockwaves» are 100% delicious swing. The production by sound engineer Tom Dowd, who worked with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin during their Atlantic years, is flawless.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite Diana albums from the '80s, October 11, 2004
I thought that Diana Ross made a good album in 1987. I heard Dirty Looks a lot, and still love it! This song sounds like it could have been made in 1982, but it sounds good on this album. The rest of the songs, such as Stranger in Paradise, It's Hard For Me to Say, Shockwaves, and Shine are also very well done musically and vocally. Maybe this album was a little too perfect because all the songs were good, and the musicians sounded good on here with the sound. This album was easily overlooked in '87 and I am here to say that I loved all of the songs.
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