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First of all, this particular Diana Ross album is the one I've been waiting for in the continuing and beyond excellent series of expanded re-issues overseen by Andrew and Harry and issued by Hip-O Select. The bar has been raised higher for all future expanded cd reissues with the meticulous research into every detail and quality of excellence in sound and packaging that Hip-O Select provides consumers with, every time out. CD collecting made fun, again.
For me, THIS 'Diana Ross 1976' album was about her best- ever, though the expanded 'Surrender' (buy it!) and expanded 'Diana Ross' 70 (buy it!) were great. 'Diana Ross 1976' belongs in the home of every fan of Diana Ross. This cd is housed in a gorgeous looking fold out digipack. The alternate takes are interesting to hear, and usually are quite excellent and show that Diana Ross really wasn't capable of a 'bad take' in the studio. She'd try a few approaches, get her phrasing and 'timing' perfect, and usually, Motown made very good choices in which 'take' was used on an album, but she always delivered. That's Diana Ross to me, and that's Andrew and Harry in the work they do. They preserve her legacy with each of their releases- Andrew and Harry always deliver and I gladly buy every product they work on, and I am never disappointed.
The 2 men are so overdue for Grammy wins for 'best reissue', 'best liner notes' 'best historical reissue'-- for their spot on excellence and great attention to detail. Every cd Andrew and Harry put their brainpower and heart into is a must-have and fans will never be sorry for the purchases.
This time out, on 'Diana Ross 1976' the track that especially stands out for me is an alternate version of 'To Love Again', used for a later album. For the first time, we hear the song with a beautiful French spoken introduction by Diana that totally transforms the song, already gorgeous to begin with, into an multi-national ode of lost love, a reserve for hope 'to love again,' and the song also concludes with her perfect, lovely spoken French words. I don't know what she's saying, i'd need a translator, but it is gorgeous. I also appreciate the alternate takes of 'I Thought It Took A Little Time' and the single mixes of the songs as they were heard on radio. The booklet is stunning, filled with informative session notations and a very good overview of where Diana was at that particular moment in time-which is the style Andrew and Harry choose for every release. NICE photos, and just a beautifully presented package.
Oh- the price is a bargain! Let's not be cheap, wink. It's DIANA ROSS, brought to you by the 2 biggest champions of her recording career and talent. Buy it, and buy an extra. The expanded 40th anniversary release of 'Where Did Our Love Go' is now selling for hundreds of dollars, when it can be found, since it has been out of print for some time, and some kvetched about the original $40 price-tag. I don't need to make money on eBay when things go out of print, but if you must, think of it as an investment. The expanded 'Last Time I Saw Him' release with a full cd of unreleased material sold out within a year.
This 'Diana Ross 1976' release, and all of the releases, are the most thorough and beautiful tributes to the incomparable skill of Diana Ross as a recording artist that could be asked for. "Someday''- everyone will get it. The Hip-O releases are so intricate in the way her talent as a world class recording artist is presented, people may 'get it' sooner than later. Andrew and Harry and Hip-O definitely DO give her the due credit and provide a beautiful listening experience for her fans, uncover lost treasures, and make it all gorgeous to look at. Can't wait for whatever comes next- maybe 'Baby It's Me' and 'Ross' together and charge whatever they want for it!
If possible, it would be awesome if Hip-O Select would offer for sale limited lithograph prints or posters of 'Surrender', 'Let The Music Play:DRATS'- loved that cover photo a lot, the current 'Diana Ross 76,' 'Last Time I Saw Him'. I notice the Hip-O website has prints or books on some of the artists, but no Diana or Supremes- but thankfully, we have these magnificent releases. A must-have for any Diana Ross fan or for those interested in one of Motown's best selling albums of the 1970s.
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