Customer Rating:  
Summary: Diana Ross's Third Album For RCA Records - And The Worst!
Comment: Following on from the dreary, mish-mash affair of the Gold-selling Silk Electric (1982) album, soul diva Diana Ross returned to the recording studios with producers Gary Katz and Ray Parker Jnr for her third studio project for RCA/Capitol Records. What resulted was easily her worst album for the label (and infact her entire career!).
Ross (1983) opens with, at the most, mediocre, That's How You Start Over, written by Michael McDonald, Ed Stanford and produced by Gary Katz. That's How You Start Over begins with a wonderful piano interlude that leads you to believe the track is going to pump out into a jamming, soulful affair. Alas, it turns out to be a major diappointment. The mid tempo flow features Ross' appealing enough vocals that also somehow lacks the soulful edge that ignited even the most mediocre song she recorded at Motown. That's How You Start Over lands somewhere between Pop-Disco-Jazz but fails to spark.
Ross goes in for the more electronic, atmospheric vibe on the so-so Love Will Make You Right, written by Donald fagen and produced by Gary Katz. The crashing, swirling sound effects on the tracks dreamy chrous gives the track some fire but it comes off flawed and lacking in some way - ponderous in a way.
The warm, exotic You Do It features the diva delivering her more breathy, seamless vocal style even though You Do It, written by Rafe Van Hoy, Deborah Allen, Eddie Struzick and produced by Gary Katz, is nothing particularly memroable even though being a pleasant alternative.
The minor highlight of Ross (1983) is served with the startling, atmospheric Pieces Of Ice, an odd yet interesting compostion with strange, meaningless lyrics from Marc Jordan and John Capek. It's curious as to what makes this track work, especially as some of the lyrics don't even make SENSE, but Ross' slightly chilly yet exuberant and compelling delivery may have something to do with it. Pieces Of Ice was lifted as a single and crawled on to the U.K/U.S Top 50 charts. It also became the only single from Ross'83 to actually hit the Top 50 charts.
Returning to the more traditional Diana Ross sound is evident on the gloriously upbeat Lets Go Up where Ross really hits her stride on the sweeping verses and feel-good chrous. Written by Franne Gold and Peter Ives and produced yet again by Gary Katz, Lets Go Up is distinctly dated to the 1980's but still proves irrisistable. Lets Go Up found its way to being lifted as a single though got as far as No.77 on the U.S BillBoard Hot 100.
Love Or Lonliness, written, produced, engineered and arranged by Ray Parker Jnr is a nice, smooth ballad with a hint of country music blended into the overly Pop arrangements and a fine, easy-going performance from Ross.
Ross jams on Up Front, a diverse, adventurous experiment that somehow comes off not sounding fully formed despite the electric, sassy performance from Ross. Ross' own track, Girls which she produced herself and co wrote with Bill Wray and Marc Jordan, serves as another major disappointment. Girls rolls along failing to ignite especially on the tracks dreary chrous. Nice try but a failed experiment.
Ross (1983) to a keen Diana Ross fan like myself is disppointing even though this was adventurous and ambitious on Ross' part. Some have declared this album to be something of an over-looked masterpiece which I beg to differ with but then it's all purely a matter of opinion.
Sales were generally low for the Ross (1983) album where it literally scraped into the lower reaches of the U.K/U.S Top 75 Album Charts.
However what is most startling is that striking red front cover with Ross looking divine as always as though she were some sort of heavenly goddess - despite her hair looking slightly like a fright wig and her eyes half shut as though she's stoned!
Ian Phillips
Customer Rating:
Summary: Magic
Comment: This record was excellent at the time and it remains excellent more than twenty years after. An inimitable amosphere, an impalpable mystery surrounds the whole album. One of the best records Ross released and without question the most unexpected. It's a pity that it is so short and that the last song lacks any interest. But the picture on the cover is breathtaking.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ross (1983) is Diana-mite!
Comment: Ross, originally released in 1983 by RCA Records captures the diva Diana Ross at her best! This was Miss Ross' third album for RCA, after her departure from Motown 3 years earlier. The album contains two singles, "Pieces of Ice", which barely made the top 30, and "Let's Go Up". Although this was Diana's least successful and most overlooked album she released during her RCA era, it is said to be one of her best by most fans. The entire album is excellent! Not to mention the dance track "That's How You Start Over". This 2005 EMI Japan reissue of Ross (1983) contains all 8 tracks from the original album, with original artwork inserts and lyrics, both in English and Japanese. I give the original album 5 stars, although I give the 2005 CD reissue 4 stars, as the sound quality could be a little better, especially since Japanese CD's are known for their outstanding sound quality, but it's still good! Essential listening for any Ross fan!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ross not so hot
Comment: As with most later Ross LPs its really hard to find one complete. However for hardcore fans like myself when you miss an entire LP then you miss one or two gems that you would have missed if youhad not purchaed that album!! On this set the second track--"Love will make it right" is a song not to be missed!!! Upfront should have been a hit but it is hidden in this flop album. So it is worth a listen for the few hits.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ross 83
Comment: this is one of DIANA ROSS rca lps and is a rare cd find as it is being released here for the first time since the 80s.i have mixed feelings about this cd as i really like side 1 but side 2 is so disapointing.for someone who is trying to establish herself as a solo ,it is funny that ms.ROSS still retreats to her SUPREMES days with side 2.not that that going back to the supremes is a bad thing .if you want to do a couple of great songs as a flasback... such as her later rca hit CHAIN REACTION then you have to find good songs.but there are no great songs here.just ripoff motown songs such as UPFRONT.side 1 is new and clever and in a way a new way to hear Ross and she is strong vocally but side 2 is just a let down .you would think that MS.ROSS would have known better.you would expect more from an artist of her calibre.but this is part of her problem .she is often incomplete or uneven with her lps/cds.she has often not followed a hit lp with another and then she losses momentum.to bad she didnt put this lp together with her SILK ELECTRIC lp.all these songs together would have been one great lp,minus side 2 of ROSS .also ross does not produce herself well.she seems not to push herself vocally.if you listen to other producers ,they are able to push her vocally and the results are usually stunning such as hits like AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH,TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING,THE BOSS,SWEPT AWAY,TAKE ME HIGHER,CHAIN REACTION.WHEN ROSS produces herself she comes out rather laid back vocally,disapointing.this sums up side 2 for me.
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