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Diana Ross - I Love You
- “I Love You,” by Diana Ross is a collection of tunes hand-picked by the diva herself. Ross is also the executive producer of the album, which portrays her lilting choral rhythm.
“Remember,” is a subdued track with metrical piano play from Quinn Johnson, backing up Ross as she asks listeners to reminisce about times gone by. One can envision Ross reliving her past as she utters lines like, “Remember is a place from long ago. Remember filled with everything you know. Remember when you’re sad and feeling down. Remember turn around. Remember life is just a memory. Remember, close your eyes and you can see.” It’s a song to listen to as you are rifling through an old photo album looking back on your own history.
“More Today Than Yesterday,” picks up the pace a bit and Ross gets under the lyrics and gives off her sexy vibe alongside the lively saxophone play from Brandon Fields, Albert Wing and David Andrew Mann. The drum work from Robin Dimaggio and Keith Carlock gives some edge to the song, but not in an overpowering sense. Ross expounds about a love she has just discovered and how she didn’t see it coming with lines like, “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.”
On “Lovely Day,” Ross is accompanied by a bulk of varied instruments in an uncommon measure. It has synthesizer work from Andrew Dorsette, which gives the listener a feeling that this song is going in a different direction than the previous tracks. It also has dazzling saxophone play from Fields, Wing and Mann, drums from Dimaggio and Carlock and finally guitar from Bob Mann. The song has a silky bend to it and Ross’s polished voice emanates how a day is made even sweeter through love, with lyrics like, “When I wake up in the morning love, and the sunlight hurts my eyes. Somethin’ without warning love weighs heavy on my mind. Then I look at you and the world is alright with me. Just one look at you and I know it’s gonna be a lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, a lovely day.”
Ross then attempts to put her stamp on the classic Berlin song, “Take My Breath Away.” Unfortunately, the saxophone play that opens the song is too upbeat for a ballad that many remember as achingly sensual at its inception. Ross just cannot recreate the raw unbridled emotion that Terri Nunn uses to make the song a smash. Ross delivers a half-baked, rather emotionless version and for fans of the original, Ross clearly doesn’t do the song justice.
On “You Are So Beautiful,” Ross slowly sings searing romanticism alongside proficient piano play from Johnson and bass work from Larry Klein and Will Lee. The timbre in her vocals changes and her voice breaks as she articulates lyrics such as, “You are so beautiful to me. You are so beautiful to me, can’t you see? You’re everything I hope for. You’re everything I need. You are so beautiful to me.”
For the most part, “I Love You,” by Diana Ross has soft, sentimental tracks that maintain the integrity of the originals, but there are some instances where Ross falls in her efforts to reinvent some of these standards with her own brand of character.
Reviewer: Sari N. Kent
new
Reviewer's Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
Added: 26-Jan-2007
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