swept away
Swept Away
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List Price: $26.98
Our Price: $26.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 4988006828650
Format: Import
Label: Toshiba EMI Japan
Manufacturer: Toshiba EMI Japan
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Toshiba EMI Japan
Release Date: 2005-03-07
Studio: Toshiba EMI Japan
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Editorial Reviews:
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Reissue of Diana's classic 1984 album. Swept Away went gold on the strength of Missing You and the Julio Iglesias duet All of You, but it nevertheless was one of her best efforts, thanks to restrained production and a solid set of songs highlighted by Touch By Touch, Rescue Me, Swept Away and Forever Young. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide. EMI. 2005.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: I was swept away...
Comment: Diana Ross may have had bigger hit albums ("Diana", "Why do fools fall in love", her eponymous debut, to name a few) but this has always been my favourite album of hers.
In 1984, Diana was very much in her experimental phrase (which began with "Why do fools fall in love"), trying everything from reggae to rock. "Swept away" was her fourth studio album for RCA and featured production by various people; Lionel Richie, Daryl Hall, Bernard Edwards, and Ms Ross herself. There was pop, rock, dance and her trademark ballads.
Opening is "Missing you", a lush piano ballad (with a nice spoken bridge) written and produced by Lionel Richie and recorded in memory of former Motown label mate Marvin Gaye who had died earlier in the year. This has been her last US top 10 hit to date (#10). Next up, the lite Caribbean soul of "Touch by touch" (with demolishing drum beats), a remake of the Fontella Bass hit "Rescue me" (not drastically reworked), the tender horn sprinkled "It's your move", and the stomping dance/rock title track "Swept away" (with a spoken intro, a blistering guitar solo, and aggressive vocals from Diana), written and produced by Daryl Hall, this is one of my favourites, and #19 in the US.
Bernard Edwards (from Chic) produced the next track, the wonderful "Telephone" with echoing vocals, which starts off with a phone being dialled, followed by deep plodding beats, a sparse, scratchy bass line, and the famous Chic guitar sounds. Fabulous! Next up, synthesizer pop á la Donna Summer's "I feel love", "Nobody makes me crazy like you do"; a bleak, haunting beauty with loads of electronic flourishes.
"All of you" is another lush ballad, this time a duet with Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias. This was another #19 hit. "We are the children of the world" (with a children's chorus) is hi energy rock/pop (and the weakest track on the album), and closing is a tender reading of Bob Dylan's "Forever young".
The album artwork was stunning too. Diana had just turned 40 but looked eons younger in the beautiful Francesco Scavullo photos, the original vinyl case folded open like her "Diana" album, and she was also aping the "Diana" pose. The album hit the top 40 and was certified gold.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Still the Boss
Comment: Swept Away stands the test of time. Great songs, including the wonderful ballad 'All of You'. So glad this LP was put on a CD.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: REISSUED, BUT NOT REMASTERED
Comment: I have the original RCA release of this CD (long out of print but I bought a used one on ebay a few years ago).
As soon as I saw that it was being re-issued, I thought finally a remasterd version would sound so much better. While EMI may have done a little bit of digital remastering I doubt they used the original master tapes because this reissue only sounds slightly better than the old RCA version. The sound level is still very low, the highs are harsh and the bass is very weak.
Even the CD itself still has a date on it of 1984, and the CD is still made the way they were in the early days - no silkscreen top coat, just plain laquer (CD's are more susceptable to scratching this way).
The song Swept Away is one of my favorites by Ross and of that style of dance music from the early 80's. I guess I'll just have to wait to see if EMI or RCA or someone else will ever remaster from the original tapes this CD or at least the album version of Swept Away.
Customer Rating:
Summary: diana sweeps you away
Comment: this is another DIANA ROSS rca product and one of her best along with the RED HOT AND BLUES CD.on this outing DIANA leaves most of the producing to other people which in this case makes a better album.Not only does this lp feature classic Ross hits such as MISSING YOU,SWEPT AWAY, and the r@b hitTELEPHONE but the album eases along with some great lp cuts and strong vocals by ross such as NOBODY DRIVES ME CRAZY LIKE YOU,ITS YOUR MOVE,FOREVER YOUNG and the uk hit TOUCH BY TOUCH.only one down fall is the inclusion of WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD,instead of the lost track FIGHT FOR IT.This track would have made the lp more urban.Ross also does a good job on a cover RESCUE ME,and after hearing it you forget who originally sang it.The CHILDREN OF THE WORLD is a bit weak and rather schmaltzy.Diana has never been either.9 out 10 tracks are ross classics.one of her best.check out RED HOT AND BLUE cd.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 1984 studio album
Comment: Diana Ross' recording career had hit the rocks in 1983 with the dismal sales of what is still easily her worst ever studio project, Ross (1983). Prior to Ross (1983) Ross had recorded the dreary, mish-mash Silk Electric (1982) which though successful commercially (becoming a Gold seller) contained none of the fire and soulful edge that had made so many of her Motown records so magical.
That changed in 1984 when Ross returned with what was at the time her best album yet for RCA Records. The project, titled Swept Away (1984),was perharps more successful in that Ross didn't try so hard to escape and shake off the style that had made her famous as she blatantly did on the experimental albums Silk Electric (1982) and Ross (1983). There were indeed some diverse experiments on Ross' part on Swept Away but no musical style was over-done and over-all Ross carries the whole Swept Away album off with ease, style and finesse.
Swept Aways' first single would be one of her all-time great ballads Missing You. That year, tragedy struck when the genius soul superstar Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his estranged father following a heated argument between the two. Written by the great Lionel Richie, Missing You was a moving and powerful tribute to the late legend who Ross had recorded a succesful and now classic album of love duets with in 1973 (see separate review for the Diana And Marvin album). Ross' emotions are evidently stirred up as she sings those strongly emotive lyrics and she sounds stunning as the track builds up to its dazzling crescendo.
Missing You flew straight into the U.S Top 10 charts and perharps was so successful in that it reflected her glorious Motown past. Missing You is indeed a classic Diana Ross ballad though oddly enough the song completely bombed in the U.K despite several re-promotions and a moving video that featured footage of Ross on stage with Marvin Gaye as well as other footage of the late Florence Ballad (founder of The Supremes who was fired from the group in 1967 and tragically died a penniless alcoholic in 1976 at the age of 32), Paul Williams of The Temptations (who shot himself in the head after having been distraught over poor finances and ill health) and a still of Ross' mother Ernestine who had died that year of cancer. Ross' performance on Missing You really gets to you and this was quite possibly her greatest recording for RCA Records.
The exotic, Caribean feel on the fun, bouncy Touch By Touch, features a vibrant, refreshing and even a little angelic (she was 39 at the time of recording this project) performance from Ross. This atmospheric, happy go-lucky number was lifted as a single where it surprisingly struggled into the lower reaches of the U.K Top 50 (but enjoyed some success in some parts of Europe).
Ross delivers a riveting vocal performance on her impeccable updating of the old Fontella bass classic Rescue Me. More routine and familiar were the smooth, lush arrangements on the yearning ballad It's Your Move which Ross still carries off with a lot of spark therefore deeming it compelling.
One of the more diverting experiments came with the stormy, atmospheric title track, Swept Away. This powerful number is complimented by a firm, razor-sharp performance from Ross who seamlessly surfboards along the tidal wave of musical arrangements that contains echoey, crashing sound effects at the exalting bridge of the song. Swept Away quickly raced into the American Top 20 charts, stopping at No.19.
Bernard Edwards, one half of the famous 70's disco group Chic, and who had co-produced the riotously funky masterpiece diana (1980) album (a landmark in Ross' career) wrote Telephone for the Swept Away project which was belatedly released as an American single in 1985 (though got nowhere!). This soft-funk number, complete with swirling, atmospheric arrangements and a highly effective breathy, seamless performance from Ross, had the potential to have been a reasonably sized hit had it been promoted far better than it actually ever was.
Ross takes a hesitant step into the growing electro-pop market on the startling Nobody Makes Me Crazy Like You Do. This was an interesting, if not entirley succesful experiment that hit the times well (though inevitably sounds dated now years later).
Ross' duets with the likes of Marvin Gaye and Lionel Richie had proved phenomenal and her gorgeous duet with Latin singer Julio Igelias was no exception. The mesmerising All Of You featured two charismatic and divinely sensual performances from Ross and Igslias who sound perfectly compatable when captured together on record. Rumours circulated around at the time that Ross and Igelias were romantically involved but this was nothing but fabrication on the medias' part. Ross and Igelias enjoyed a close friendship at a point and following the loss of her mother a distraught Ross took herself and her three children to stay with Igelias at his home at Christmas in 1984. Their timeless duet All Of You was another U.S Top 20 smash hit whilst faltering within the lower reaches of the U.K Top 50.
The almost ghastly We Are The Children Of The World is the albums only real throw-away track but one of the ultimate highlights is Ross' soaring renedition of Bob Dylans Forever Young. Ross enhances her delicate voice to startling effect on Forever Young delivering a mesmerising, crystal-clear and strong performance.
Swept Away was largely produced by Ross herself with some other contributions from Daryl Hall on that startling title track and Arthur Baker. Swept Away (1984) quickly restored her selling power in the U.S after the low sales for Ross (1983). Swept Away was rapidly certified Gold by the RIAA. In the U.K the album climbed to a moderate No.40 which wasn't bad considering the project hadn't yielded any major hit.
Overall Swept Away is a pleasing effort from the great soul diva and an essential album for Ross fans.
(However what is slightly laughable was the albums black and white cover featuring Ross wearing heavy, gothic-like make-up and sporting a toilet-brush spiked hairdo which was described by one critic for People magazine as Ross looking like "one of those West German postpunkers who do their hair with crazy glue". It was certainly a far cry from that glamorous, elegant lady we all bow down to on stage. It was in the ealy 80's that Ross remarkably went through various manifestations of her own dress sense.)
Ian Phillips
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