Diana Ross - Diana (1980)

Following the US success of her 1979 album 'The Boss', Diana Ross wanted a fresher, more modern sound, and having heard Nile Rodgers' work in the famous Manhattan disco club Studio 54, she approached him about creating a new album of material that stated where she felt she was in her life and career at the period. Rodgers has said that the majority of the songs were crafted after direct conversations with Ross, who had reportedly said to Rodgers and Bernard Edwards that she wanted to turn her career 'upside down' and wanted to 'have fun again', and as a result of that, Rodgers and Edwards wrote the songs 'Upside Down' and 'Have Fun (Again)'. After running into several drag queens in a club dressed as Ross, Rodgers wrote 'I'm Coming Out', and it was only 'My Old Piano' which came from their normal songwriting processes. Initially Ross was not pleased with the album's results, and following a preview of the record, influential New York City disc jockey Frankie Crocker warned Ross that releasing an album like that in the aftermath of the anti-disco backlash could be the end of her career, and the song 'I'm Coming Out' might lead fans to think that she was gay. Ross remixed the entire album, assisted by Motown engineer Russ Terrana, removing extended instrumental passages and speeding up the song's tempos. Her lead vocals were also re-recorded and remixed so that they were more up-front and not overshadowed by the music. These remixes were done without the knowledge or approval of Rodgers and Edwards, and when they were presented with the 'official' version of the album, they publicly objected, even considering having their names removed from the list of credits. Motown and Ross persisted, and the more commercial version was eventually released to some success, and so in some ways Motown's decision was vindicated, with it remaining her best-selling album to date. Rodgers and Edwards were contracted by Motown to produce a follow-up album, but as Ross left the label it never happened. Rodgers and Edwards then sued Motown, claiming that they were owed monies for creating and recording the original version of the album, but they lost the case, and the original 'Chic mix' remained unheard for many years, until it was finally added to the 2003 re-issue of the album, and then given it's own release in 2017. Both of these are now starting to get hard to find online, so for anyone who has the original album and doesn't wan't to shell out again, here's what it would have sounded like if Rogers and Edwards had stuck to their guns and insisted that it was released as they'd recorded it. 

Track listing

01 Upside Down
02 Tenderness
03 Friend to Friend
04 I'm Coming Out
05 Have Fun (Again)
06 My Old Piano
07 Now That You're Gone
08 Give Up

All songs written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers

Suggested by 'The Greatest Albums You'll Never Hear' by Bruno MacDonald