Posted on: July 9, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Diana Ross hand-picked the majority (in fact, all but one) of the tracks on “I Love You”, covering what ey thinks are the best examples of love expressed in song. There is one original track on this disc, and that is “Remember”. “Remember” is a slow track, and the instrumentation sounds a little off. It is as if Ross is trying to go forth with a very fifties sounding set of vocals, but the instrumentation is from a much more current time. This break between styles is off-putting at times, but Ross has the entirety of the album to compel listeners.

“More Today Than Yesterday” is a softly-stated song, but the instrumentation seems to be at a length from the actual vocals. This means that while Ross’s vocals are strong, the instrumentation remains apathetic and quite throughout the entirety of the track. The island rhythm sound that backs up “I Want You” suffers from that same fault; it is never Ross’s vocals that should be called into question on “I Love You”, but the instrumentation that does not properly highlight Ross’s vocals should be.

The one thing that the instrumentation can be compared to would have to be the gospel singers that do not have enough money to get a set of session musicians, and has to use backing beats from the song archives. While this problem is helped slightly during “I Love You (That’s All That Really Matters)”, Ross needs to put the thumbscrews on eir backing band to right the ship. “What About Love” is a track that succeeds because e of the reduced role of the instruments on the track. Ion this song, Ross goes back to the days of the blues, choosing to only go the journey with a piano. This allows the track to succeed based more on Ross’s merits, and the piano line does not stray much from what should be present on this track. Ross has had a storied career in music, and individuals that are new to Ross should attempt to find a greatest hits collection or something along those lines. The disc may be a good, romantic purchase along with roses and chocolate on an anniversary or Valentine’s day, but the varying quality of the disc makes it hard to believe that the CD will be in a lover’s player for any length of time. For the Diana Ross completists, for sure.

Top Tracks: Take My Breath Away, This Magic Moment

Rating: 4.5/10

[JMcQ]

Diana Ross – I Love You / 2007 Manhattan / 15 Tracks / http://www.dianaross.com / http://www.manhattanrecords.com / Reviewed 16 February 2007

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