Blue | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 20, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 1971–1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 50:16 | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Producer | Gil Askey | |||
Diana Ross chronology | ||||
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Singles from Blue | ||||
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Blue, originally titled The Blue Album, [1] is a studio album by American singer Diana Ross. Initially recorded between late 1971 and early 1972, it was released as Ross' twenty-third studio album by Motown Records on June 20, 2006. Overseen by Ross' musical director Gil Askey, [2] the jazz-flavoured album was originally conceived as a follow-up to her soundtrack to the 1972 American biographical drama film Lady Sings the Blues in which Ross starred. Berry Gordy and Motown subsequently decided to shelve the album, and Ross' next release was the more pop-oriented Touch Me in the Morning (1973) album. [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
All About Jazz | (favorable) [5] |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [6] |
Metro Weekly | (mixed) [7] |
PopMatters | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Allmusic editor Rob Theakston found that "Gil Askey's arrangements are top-notch without sounding like dinner theater knock-offs. Blue is an album every bit as bold an artistic statement as her contemporaries Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, who were recording the opuses Where I'm Coming From and What's Going On around the same time, and for Ross fans, Blue is every bit as enjoyable as her sultriest moments as the supreme Supreme." [3]
Blue was initially sold through Starbucks' US stores for the first 30 days of release, though the coffeehouse chain immediately sold out of its supply nationwide. On the charts, Blue peaked at number two on the US Billboard Top Jazz Albums, also logging a single week on the Billboard 200 at number 146. [10] Its final sales figure was slightly higher than 80,000 US copies.
All songs produced and conducted by Gil Askey. [3]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" | 3:28 | |
2. | "No More" | 3:09 | |
3. | "Let's Do It" | Cole Porter | 3:00 |
4. | "I Loves Ya Porgy" | 5:11 | |
5. | "Smile" | 2:58 | |
6. | "But Beautiful" | 2:50 | |
7. | "Had You Been Around" |
| 3:29 |
8. | "Little Girl Blue" | 4:00 | |
9. | "Can't Get Started with You" |
| 3:10 |
10. | "Love Is Here to Stay" |
| 2:13 |
11. | "You've Changed" |
| 2:54 |
12. | "My Man" |
| 3:31 |
13. | "Easy Living" | 2:54 | |
14. | "(In My) Solitude" | 2:05 | |
15. | "He's Funny That Way" | 3:02 | |
16. | "T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" | 2:22 |
Notes
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [10] | 146 |
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard) [11] | 2 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [12] | 71 |
Farewell is a 1970 live album by Diana Ross & the Supremes. The album was recorded over the course of the group's final engagement together at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, including the final night on January 14, 1970. The show marked Diana Ross' penultimate performance with fellow Supremes members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. At the conclusion of the show, new Supremes lead singer Jean Terrell was brought onstage and introduced to the audience.
Lady Sings the Blues is the soundtrack to the Billie Holiday biopic of the same name, which starred Diana Ross in her 1972 screen debut. It became Ross' fourth #1 album, though the only one as a solo artist. It was certified gold in the UK for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was the fourth best-selling R&B album and fifth best-selling Pop album of 1973 in the US.
Touch Me in the Morning is the fourth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on June 22, 1973, by Motown Records. The arrangements were by Gene Page, Tom Baird, Michael Randall, James Anthony Carmichael, Deke Richards, Gil Askey and Ross.
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Every Day is a New Day is the twenty-second studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on May 4, 1999, by Motown Records. Ross consulted a number of new collaborators to work with her on the album, including Arif Mardin, Chuckii Booker, Christopher Ward, Malik Pendleton, Ric Wake, and Daryl Simmons. Its release coincided with the broadcast of the ABC television motion picture, Double Platinum (1999), in which Ross co-starred with singer Brandy and her character performed several songs from Every Day is a New Day
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Gilbert Askey was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988.
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