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Diana Ross (1970 album)

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Robert ChristgauC+ [2]

Diana Ross (later reissued as Ain't No Mountain High Enough) was the debut solo album for Diana Ross. It reached #19 in the USA (#1 R&B) and sold over 500,000 copies.

The album was the ultimate test to see if the former Supremes frontwoman could make it as a solo act. With the help of the songwriting-producing team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Ross turned out a successful album. Ross did extensive work with other producers before settling with Ashford & Simpson, including Johnny Bristol, producer of her final single with The Supremes, "Someday We'll Be Together". Bristol here produces "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You"; the rest of the LP is fully written and produced by Ashford & Simpson.

Ross' first solo single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", sold over 500,000 copies in the USA, was something of a disappointment when it charted at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its follow-up, a cover of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", peaked at (#1) number one on the Hot 100, selling approximately 1,245,000 copies in the USA only and garnering a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. As a result of the single's success, Diana Ross was reissued as Ain't No Mountain High Enough, and another Ross solo LP (her 1976 LP featuring "Love Hangover") would be issued as an eponymous release.

Critics have since lauded Diana Ross as featuring some of the singer's best work ever, with others naming it arguably the best full-length album Ross released in her career.[3]

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, except for "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You", written by Johnny Bristol/Harvey Fuqua/Sylvia Moy and produced by Bristol.

Side A

  1. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" – 3:02
  2. "Now That There's You" – 3:27
  3. "You're All I Need to Get By" (originally recorded by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell) – 3:24
  4. "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" (originally recorded by The Velvelettes) – 3:06
  5. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (originally recorded by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell) – 6:18

Side B

  1. "Something on My Mind" – 2:24 (originally recorded by Syreeta Wright)
  2. "I Wouldn't Change the Man He Is" (originally recorded by Blinky)  – 3:15
  3. "Keep an Eye" (originally recorded by Diana Ross & The Supremes) – 3:12
  4. "Where There Was Darkness" – 3:12
  5. "Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow" – 3:12
  6. "Dark Side of the World" (originally recorded by The Velvelettes) – 3:08

Expanded edition bonus tracks

  2. "Something on My Mind" [live] (Ashford, Simpson) – 2:37
  3. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" [alternate mix] (Ashford, Simpson) – 6:06
  4. "Now That There's You" [alternate vocal version] (Ashford, Simpson) – 3:08
  5. "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" [alternate mix] (Bristol, Rose, Fuqua) – 3:13
  6. "Time and Love" (Laura Nyro) – 4:08
  7. "Stoney End" (Nyro) – 3:39
  8. "The Interim" (Cheryl Ernst-Wells)  – 4:49
  9. "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes" (Dorothea Joyce) – 4:02

Personnel

Singles history

  • "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" b/w "Dark Side of the World" (Motown 1165, April 1970)
  • "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" b/w "Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow" (Motown 1169, July 16, 1970)

Chart history

Album

Name Chart (1970) Peak
position
Diana Ross U.S. Billboard 200 19
U.S. Billboard R&B Albums Chart 1
UK Albums Chart 14

Singles

Name Chart (1970) Peak
position
"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 20
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 7
UK Singles Chart 33
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 1
UK Singles Chart 6

See also

References

  1. ^ Wynn, Ron. Diana Ross > review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Diana Ross > review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  3. ^ Allmusic.com review: "...arguably her finest solo work at Motown and perhaps her best ever...". "Diana Ross [1970 album]". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2 May 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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