Article For more than 30 years, rumors have circulated of a never-issued Diana Ross album of jazz standards recorded around the time of her triumphant star turn in Lady Sings The Blues. Recently, these archival recordings were discovered in the Motown vault. The resulting album, Blue (Motown/UMe), marks the long-overdue debut of what David Ritz, esteemed author and writer of the album’s liner notes, calls “some of the most emotionally satisfying music Ross has ever made.”
Recorded in late 1971 and early 1972, the album that is now being released as Blue was originally envisioned as a companion to the No. 1 soundtrack LP to Lady Sings The Blues, a box office hit that earned a Best Actress Oscar® nomination for Ross. Blue was produced, arranged and conducted by Gil Askey, who did the same for the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack and who had conducted Supremes shows in the past and would conduct Ross’ solo shows in the future. Blue includes all twelve of the original tracks – all of which are previously unreleased, plus four bonus cuts from the recording sessions which took place in late 1971 and early 1972.
But perhaps because the tracks were considered too jazzy, a result of Ross delving so deeply into her film portrayal of Billie Holiday, a decision was made to return Ross to pop music. In 1973, she did just that and “Touch Me In The Morning” shot to #1. Blue never saw the light of day.
Blue premieres Ross’s renditions of Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It,” the Gershwins’ “I Loves Ya Porgy,” and Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen’s “But Beautiful” as well as “What A Diff’rence A Day Makes,” “No More,” “Had You Been Around,” “Can’t Get Started With You.” (“Had You Been Around,” the album’s lone Motown original, is performed by Michelle Allar in Lady Sings The Blues.) Also debuting are bonus tracks “Easy Living,” “He’s Funny That Way” and Duke Ellington’s “Solitude.” Each of these tracks had been recorded during the soundtrack sessions but was left out of the film and off the soundtrack album.
Blue’s “You’ve Changed,” “My Man (Mon Homme),” the Gershwins’ “Love Is Here To Stay” and the fourth bonus track, “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” were heard in alternate versions on the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack album. Rodgers & Hart’s “Little Girl Blue” and Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” would later appear in alternate versions on 1973’s Touch Me In The Morning and 1976’s Diana Ross, respectively.
The release of Blue completes, finally, an important chapter in the career of one of the most popular singers in the history of popular music.
Blue will be widely available at traditional music retail beginning on June 20, 2006.
------------------
Bill
Yamaha PSR2000
Previous Topic
Index