! This Is Diana Ross Week On American Idol !

[remicks]

*****

Marky .... if you're refering to Hula's .....you may have encountered the GREAT legendary dj Rick Lopez .... and yes that would very much be like him to be playing the B-52's in 1979 .....as great as he was at spinning disco ...so easy I think it bored him at times ..... it was he who broke my disco heart by pronouncing that disco was old news and tried to convert me to playing the "new wave" sounds of Blondie ...The Police .... etc. .....


......... and yes I'm sure Rick would've talked about you while we sunned on Queen Surf Beach (that's its real name ! ) the following afternoon ....


btw Rick later dj'd some at The Troc .....


******

[markydefad]

Miss Ross handled herself most admirably as "mentor"; she is maternal, strange as that may seem given her rep--just a couple gaffes..

"You must "PRONUNCIATE" the words (said twice to Gina); you can "pronounce"--but shoulda been "enunciate"; sorry, Miss Ross..

"I"m Gonna Make You Love Me" was a song I did with Marvin Gaye" (uh, it was the Temptations, particularly Eddie Kendricks)

3 best performers:
1) Lakisha--"God Bless The Child" from "Lady Sings The Blues"--didn't overdo it as she might have--pure class
2) Melinda- "Home" from "The Wiz"--not my fave song--wish she'd rocked out on something uptempo--but always better than most everyone else.
3) Jordin--"If We Hold On Together"--treacly inspirational tune (Simon said "gooey") that Miss Ross favored in the Nineties--very good performance

The rest were all flawed--in descending order-
4) Stephanie--mistake to try and do "Love Hangover" in the abbreviated time (2-3 minutes?) they have...what about "Touch Me In the Morning" or "I'm Coming Out" or "Do You Know Where You're Going To?"
5) Phil --"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"....competent, I guess.
6) Gina--"Love Child"--ok, flubbed lyrics a bit.
7) Chris Sligh--added a contemp arrangement to "Endless Love"--judges hated it--I thought it was kinda interesting--but what do I know?
8. Haley--"Missing You"--lyrics flubbed--but Simon actually said something nice about "stage presence"!!!
9) Blake Lewis --"You Keep Me Hangin' On"--he annoys me
10) Chris Richardson--"The Boss"--he yodeled it. Yikes!! Forgot some lyrics also.
11) Brandon--"You Can't Hurry Love"--boring and FORGOT the words
12) Sanjaya--'Ain't No Mountain High Enough"-- set him free, why doncha babes?...I feel sorry for him now.

tonight Miss Ross performs. Will she wear ANOTHER BLACK DRESS??? Will she perform another "MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY"???? (seems to be her song of choice for the TV shows)..ah well, she got some nice props--even though the 2 Chris's supposedly slagged her songs on the EW website (Chris Sligh said "she only has 7 or 8 notes in her songs" (so he couldn't pick one that showed off his wide range, I guess?) & Chris Richardson said they were all chick songs--and he's such a man, he had to yodel 'The Boss"!!!

[nrgbeat]

I liked Phil version "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me".

Melinda and La Kisha didn't impress me as much this week. I thought they could have picked better more familiar songs. Didn't know either one of them.

Chris R, Haley or Sanjaya can go home this week.

[markydefad]

Miss Ross didn't wear BLACK (as she has for the past 5 TV appearances) --vibrant ORANGE was the gown color on my TV--maybe RED on yours; (they backlit her opening "DIVA FABULOUS" pose and it looked like you could see through the dress--yeah, the bod was rockin' for 61 or 62)--but --she did, as I predicted, sing 'More Today Than Yesterday" as she has on the past 5 TV appearances....why, I can't fathom. This is from her somewhat lame new cd, a catchy 1969 [oops--I thought it was later] pop trifle from a Sacramento group called Spiral Starecase. I liked this song on the radio back in the day--but Miss Ross, I don't think this is gonna get radio play in 2007. Why not give another song a chance?...she's done this on Letterman/ Regis & Kelly/ GMA/The Actor's Studio show on Bravo, ad nauseum.

Now did they (for time reasons) ask her to truncate the opening lines of the song...or did she just "forget them"??? I knew she was not singing the opening lines when she started with...

[afterthought: I just re-watched it on You Tube and she actually starts with the second line..."With each day..."]....I read on some blog by someone who said they knew-- that they did rearrange it to shorten it for time reasons and that Diana was very nervous for some reason....

[Every day's a new day in love with you]
With each day comes a new way of loving you
Every time I kiss your lips my mind starts to wander
And if all my dreams come true
I'll be spending time with you

because the song starts like this....

I don't remember what day it was
I didn't notice what time it was
All I know is that I fell in love with you
And if all my dreams come true
I'll be spending time with you

then go to the "Everyday's a new day in love with you"

Oh Miss Ross....why did ya screw it up????

As a "mentor" she seemed warm and encouraging--not as spot-on brilliant as Barry Manilow, for example, was--he is an arranger/writer/producer, afterall, and he really gave the kidz great pointers on how to phrase and approach the material. Miss Ross was more of a glam mom/cheerleader--although she did seem to see the weaknesses and strengths of the contestants.

As for her performance...it was certainly not her best. What can I say? I saw her live a couple years ago at the Pantages in Hollywood and she sounded terrific...but on all these TV shows, she's sounded weak. I thought she was off the sauce and ready to kick ass again...so maybe the sauce made her sing better??? I'm just askin'....

I feel sad for Diana. I wanted AI to be a nice comeback showcase for her (it usually sees the artist getting a big spike in cd sales after their appearance)...But, according to the message boards I've read, she's being dissed royally for her performance. And then the oldtimers, like me, say "kidz give her some respect--that was some career she's had."

[keefelc]

Mark, are they really dissing Miss Ross??? I too thought she looked and sounded better she has in a LONG time. Plus, I was happy to see the hair was not as big as usual!!!

It was interesting to see what a hard time most of the kids had singing her material. Could it be that Miss Ross is truly talented??? I mean didn't last night's show jump in excitement the minute Diana appeared on stage? She sure showed them the definition of an entertainer.

I too just knew she was going to sing "More Today Than Yesterday" - I always loved this song so I didn't mind. But you know the show probably had her shorten the song because they could have some more commercials!!

It will be interesting to see if her appearance on the show will improve the sales of her CD. I'm sure it generated interest in seeing her on her current tour!

[markydefad]

So Keefe, you really thought she was good last night???

When she was hawking her remake of "I Will Survive" on Letterman & Leno back in the late Nineties...she sang the second verse of that song first ( definitely on Leno) and then sang it again when she got to the second verse. She never missed a note or a word--but it was wrong!!! She made the song very repetitve--the same thing over and over. I thought that was because of the drinking...now, I wonder. You don't ususally see big stars screw up lyrics of songs they've recorded--maybe it happens in live performance--but rarely on TV....maybe she needs to start lip-syncing again like on Ed Sullivan...

I'm so bummed.

[markydefad]

some sample comments re Miss Ross from the EW website...

jj Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 12:30 PM EDT
Diana, There is a whale wailing in Los Angeles.

Liza Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 3:49 PM EDT
Diana Ross was awful last night.I don't know who called her "the best entertainer of the last century". I'm sure they wanted to take those words back after that performance


someday Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 12:21 PM EDT
I suggest y'all check out Diana on Youtube- her performances on David Letterman and Inside the Actors Studio were just a few weeks ago, and she sounded MUCH better. Yeah, she had a bad night, but, uh, she wasn't auditioning.And the reason she sang that song is because its off her new album, which is EXCELLENT...


Faith Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 12:24 PM EDT
I think Miss Ross proved the old saying "Those who can't teach" to be somewhat of a compliment.Her performance last night was certainly lacking in vocal strength (which she has never really had to begin with) but her advice to the contestants and her spot-on commentary about each of their strengths and weaknesses shows that she knows what she's talking about.


Beebers Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 1:55 PM EDT
Diana Ross took the noun "pronunciation" and turned it into the nonexistent verb "pronunciate."

seattlegirl Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 2:04 PM EDT
Am I the only one that thought Diana Ross's singing was really mediocre..even a bit "pitchy".?? Idol singers were better than her!

Does it matter Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 2:34 PM EDT
I don't think, what's her name, oh yeah, Diana Ross should have made through the Hollywood Round.

MPHouston Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 2:37 PM EDT
I loves me some Diana Ross, but sistah you don't never, ever, never, never, ever need to give a performance like that fine mess you performed last night....but I still love you for the diva that you are.


deedee Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 2:59 PM EDT
Pronunciate is an actual word. However, Ms. Ross should have used enunciate

morely Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 3:14 PM EDT
Good thing Diana Ross wasn't in the Tuesday lineup - she would have been the one to get axed. Is it possible for a contestant recall, say Leslie Hunt, for some fresh artistry?

Redhead Queen Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 3:51 PM EDT
Leave Diana Ross alone. The outfit, hair, and the diva stance in 5-in heels easily validates her being the entertainer of the past century.

[discokicks]

Ms. Ross looked great but I'm afraid that's about all the compliments I can give for her performance. I've always liked the Spiral Staircase's hit More Today Than Yesterday...one of those breezy, feel-good late 60s pop hits that I have on an old K-tel album.

But why, oh why, didn't someone suggest to Diana to re-do it as a slow, sultry jazz number...something similar to the style of Cassandra Wilson or Patricia Barber! The smooth jazz, cocktail lounge style is very popular these days amongst those who buy cds.

[markydefad]

I think this song ["More Today than Yesterday"] makes her sound screechy/strident..I've watched some videos of her singing this on You Tube and she has sounded better on some TV shows than others...but the chorus is in her higher range and it gets kinda strident in live performance...and it just repeats and repeats and repeats as a chorus til you finally cut it off...

ah well...some of the blogs say 3 of her cds have already shot up the charts...don't have the stats...but the current one "I Love You" was around 1200 yesterday and apparently got a big jump as well as 2 Greatest Hits collections....

Some folks on message boards have stated that none of the LEGENDS who've performed on AI (Barry Manilow/ Rod Stewart, etc.) have sounded very good in that setting. (is it the room???)..I think the results show could be an hour at this point if ya want to squeeze everything in...the loser didn't even get a chance to redeem himself from his previous night's weak "You Can't Hurry Love" before it was over ...

[markydefad]

Originally Posted by discokicks

But why, oh why, didn't someone suggest to Diana to re-do it as a slow, sultry jazz number...something similar to the style of Cassandra Wilson or Patricia Barber! The smooth jazz, cocktail lounge style is very popular these days amongst those who buy cds.

DK,
This was also my thought for a career makeover...hook up with Tommy LiPuma who works with Diana Krall and do some tasteful jazzy stuff...some standards/ Bacharach/David/Sergio Mendes type material...tasteful arrangements in a softer setting that would compliment her voice...Peter Asher (produced Linda Ronstadt & James Taylor, etc and was half of Peter & Gordon) produced about half of the tunes on "I Love You" and jazz vocalist Steve Tyrell did the others...but I was amazed at how bland and flat the arrangements were....Jeff says it sounds like it was "done on the cheap"...lostsa synthesizers....but a small jazz combo would have been perfect for her...it just seems misguided ....she needs a STONG MENTOR--paging Berry Gordy--to say "NO" to her...otherwise whe goes astray from what she does best...am I obsessing too much???

[discokicks]

Originally Posted by markydefad

DK,
This was also my thought for a career makeover...hook up with Tommy LiPuma who works with Diana Krall and do some tasteful jazzy stuff...some standards/ Bacharach/David/Sergio Mendes type material...tasteful arrangements in a softer setting that would compliment her voice.

I'm really surprised that this isn't the direction she went...take her back to her Lady Sings The Blues days.

Have you got Gladys Knight's recent cd with her take on the standards? Produced by Tommy Lipuma too! It's a bit hit and miss for me actually....I guess because I've heard some of these songs so many times. For example, she does This Bitter Earth but for me, Miki Howard's version is best... surpassed by none other than the queen herself: Dinah Washington!

[markydefad]

DK,

Now that's funny cuz Keefe raved about getting an "advanced promo" copy of the Gladys Knight cd...but I've never gotten around to buying it. I didn't know that Tommy LiPuma produced it!!! [checked this on AMG was actually Phil Ramone who produced it--he's good too; used to do all the Paul Simon/ Billy Joel stuff; update: Keefe says they BOTH produced tracks on it. never mind.)

It's funny you mention that Mikki Howard cd cuz that's one of my faves too; I used to play it all the time; just looked it up on AMG--titled "Femme Fatale"--it had very nice verisons of "Good Morning Heartache" & "Hope that We Can Be Together Soon" also. Gotta pull that one out again.....Miss Mikki is an example of the late Eighties divas (Regina Belle is another) who started out strongly and then because of the rotten hip-hop dominance of urban radio --had to record substandard fare and lost their way and/or my interest; I see from AMG that I don't have her last 3 releases...her 1996 "Live" one was the last I bothered to buy...

[markydefad]

just checked out AMG's review of Miss Ross's "I LOVE YOU"

If nothing else, read the last 2 lines.....................








Artist
Diana Ross
Album
I Love You
Rating

Release Date
Jan 16, 2007
Label
EMI
Genre
Styles


Moods
Themes

• Comfort
• Slow Dance
• In Love
• Romantic Evening

In what might be the least inspired album of her career, iconic diva Diana Ross sleepwalks through a mishmash of seemingly randomly chosen love songs, all covers save for one new composition, adding nothing to them and forcing one to wonder just why she bothered. It's been standard music industry practice for years for artists to record (or for their labels to release compilations of) romantic tunes in time for Valentine's Day, and the January 2007 arrival of this set couldn't have been better timed as it also coincided with the release of the film version of Dreamgirls, based on the career of the Supremes. But Ross doesn't seize the moment: she puts little emotion or enthusiasm into her recitations here, and seems to have little familiarity with, or understanding of, the songs she and producers Peter Asher and Steve Tyrell have chosen for the album. Her vocals are largely nondescript and at times barely hint at the qualities that made her such a distinctive force for decades, and the arrangements and production are whitewashed and lacking in originality. The material is all over the place, including songs from the '50s to those of more recent vintage, from the Platters' "Only You" through Berlin's "Take My Breath Away," and from fellow Motown great Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" to the ubiquitous (and, at this point, plain annoying) "You Are So Beautiful." Ross takes Jackie Wilson's "To Be Loved" and bleeds the soul from it, and she drains the magic from the Drifters' classic "This Magic Moment." Harry Nilsson's "Remember" not only opens the album but closes it in a brief reprise version, but Ross seems unsure what to do with it either time. The Beatles' "I Will" might be an excellent cover choice in more sympathetic hands, but Ross sounds uncomfortable with its simplicity and quietness, while her reading of Burt Bacharach-Hal David's sultry masterpiece "The Look of Love" is embarrassingly lifeless, especially if compared with Dusty Springfield's definitive '60s version. Whoever came up with the idea of Ross covering the Spiral Starecase's 1969 hit "More Today Than Yesterday" at least gets a few points for digging a bit deeper into the covers well, but Ross puts no fire into the up-tempo/upbeat song. Interestingly, the one new track here (other than a piece from the current Broadway production of The Color Purple), the Fred White-penned ballad "I Love You (That's All That Really Matters)," makes the most of Ross' vocal capabilities and range, begging the question of why she didn't just record an album of new material custom-fitted to her talents. Had the singer on this album been an unknown trying out for American Idol with these performances, no doubt Simon Cowell would have found her appalling. This has to be chalked up as an anomaly and a mistake, because an artist as singular as Diana Ross doesn't just forget who she is and what she does best


by Jeff Tamarkin

[keefelc]

About half of Gladys Knight's "Before Me" CD was produced by LiPuma and the other half by Phil Ramone. I like the album mostly because Gladys returned to singing decent material, unlike her dreadful "At Last" album where her kids tried to modernize her sound. ICK!!!

However, from a few live cuts I've seen, Gladys sings the material on "Before Me" better live on stage. Check her out on Chris Botti's latest DVD singing "Lover Man"!

As for Miss Ross on AI, I think I like her performance because she seemed refreshed and over the top again! I mean look at the outfit alone! The last couple of years, she was starting to show her age. Last night, I thought she looked trim and energetic again.

Miki Howards's latest "Pillow Talk" is decent, but definitely low budget. However, it's comprised of an interesting choice of classics.

1. I Can't Stand The Rain
2. Do That To Me One More Time
3. Go Away Little Boy
4. Pillow Talk
5. This Masquerade
6. Inseparable
7. Lowdown
8. Misty Blue
9. Just Don't Want To Be Lonely
10. Which Way Is Up

[discokicks]

Originally Posted by keefelc

About half of Gladys Knight's "Before Me" CD was produced by LiPuma and the other half by Phil Ramone. I like the album mostly because Gladys returned to singing decent material, unlike her dreadful "At Last" album where her kids tried to modernize her sound. ICK!!!

Keefe....I felt the same way when I first listened to the At Last album but give it a few more listens if you haven't. The standout cut for me is her gorgeous cover of Please Help Me I'm Falling (oh my my my....just perfect!) but also Love Hurts, Just Take Me and especially I Said You Lied (hah....I loves me those hurtin' songs). I love this album and I hate hiphop with a passion!

Originally Posted by keefelc

Miki Howards's latest "Pillow Talk" is decent, but definitely low budget. However, it's comprised of an interesting choice of classics.

1. I Can't Stand The Rain
2. Do That To Me One More Time
3. Go Away Little Boy
4. Pillow Talk
5. This Masquerade
6. Inseparable
7. Lowdown
8. Misty Blue
9. Just Don't Want To Be Lonely
10. Which Way Is Up

This looks really interesting!