The Force Behind the Power

Last updated

The Force Behind the Power
Diana Ross - The Force Behind The Power.jpg
Studio album by
Diana Ross
ReleasedSeptember 10, 1991
Genre
Length
  • 47:33
  • 56:51
Label Motown
Producer
Diana Ross chronology
Greatest Hits Live
(1989)		The Force Behind the Power
(1991)		 Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues
(1993)
Singles from The Force Behind the Power
  1. "If We Hold on Together"
    Released: November 5, 1988
  2. "No Matter What You Do (Duet w/ Al B. Sure)"
    Released: February 20, 1991
  3. "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"
    Released: August 20, 1991
  4. "You're Gonna Love It"
    Released: October 15, 1991
  5. "The Force Behind The Power"
    Released: January 15, 1992
  6. "Waiting in the Wings"
    Released: April 28, 1992 (Promo)
  7. "One Shining Moment"
    Released: July 1992
  8. "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)"
    Released: September 1992
  9. "Battlefield"
    Released: 1992 (Promo)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-dud.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly C [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
NME 5/10 [6]

The Force Behind the Power is the nineteenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on September 10, 1991, by Motown Records. [7] The album reached No. 11 on the UK Albums chart and became the biggest selling studio album of her career there, selling over half a million copies in the UK alone. [8]

Contents

Singles

The album spun off five hit singles in the UK — most successfully "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles chart (and No. 26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart), earning a BPI Silver disc for UK sales of over 200,000 copies. "One Shining Moment" and the album's Stevie Wonder-produced title track reached numbers 10 and 27 on the UK singles chart, respectively. [9] [8]

"If We Hold on Together" reached No. 11 on the UK singles chart, while a cover of Barbra Streisand's "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)" reached No. 31 on the UK singles chart. [8] [10]

"No Matter What You Do", a duet with Al B. Sure!, peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, while "You're Gonna Love It" written by Cydney Davis and Lloyd Tolbert reached No. 24 on the US Dance/Club Play chart. [11] [12]

"If We Hold on Together" was originally recorded for Don Bluth's 1988 animated adventure film The Land Before Time . It rose to prominence after it was released as a single worldwide in the latter part of 1988 (most prominently in Japan in 1990, after it was used as the theme song for the TBS drama Omoide ni Kawaru Made). [13] It reached No. 1 on the Japanese International single charts for 12 weeks making it the biggest selling record by a foreign artist; and in total, sold over 465,000 copies. [14] [15]

Commercial reception

In the UK the album certified platinum for sales exceeding 300,000 copies. [16]

Track listings

US edition

  1. "Change of Heart" (Terry Britten, Graham Lyle) – 4:02
  2. "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (John Bettis, Albert Hammond) – 4:13
  3. "Battlefield" (Paul Carrack, Nick Lowe) – 3:35
  4. "Blame It on the Sun" (Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright) – 3:55
  5. "Heavy Weather" (Michael Sembello) – 4:59
  6. "The Force Behind the Power" (Stevie Wonder) – 4:45
  7. "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)" (Robbie Buchanan, Diane Warren) – 4:19
  8. "Waiting in the Wings" (Andy Hill, Pete Sinfield) – 4:52
  9. "One Shining Moment" (Vaneese Thomas) – 4:48
  10. "You're Gonna Love It" (Cydney Davis, Lloyd Tolbert) – 5:11
  11. "If We Hold on Together" (James Horner, Will Jennings) – 4:09

International edition

  1. "Change of Heart" (Britten, Lyle) – 4:03
  2. "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Bettis, Hammond) – 4:13
  3. "Battlefield" (Carrack, Lowe) – 3:35
  4. "Blame It on the Sun" (Wonder, Wright) – 3:55
  5. "You're Gonna Love It" (Davis, Tolbert) – 5:11
  6. "Heavy Weather" (Sembello) – 4:59
  7. "The Force Behind the Power" (Wonder) – 4:42
  8. "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)" (Buchanan, Warren) – 4:19
  9. "Waiting in the Wings" (Hill, Sinfield) – 4:52
  10. "You and I" (Dormer, Goldo, Vigil) – 4:09
  11. "One Shining Moment" (Thomas) – 4:48
  12. "If We Hold on Together" (James Horner, Barry Mann, Will Jennings) – 4:13
  13. "No Matter What You Do" (duet with Al B. Sure!) (Brown, West) – 5:09

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart performance for The Force Behind the Power
Chart (1991–1992)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [17] 100
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18] 32
European Top 100 Albums ( Music & Media ) [19] 30
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [20] 43
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [21] 37
UK Albums (OCC) [22] 11
US Billboard 200 [23] 101

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [16] Platinum300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ DeKnock, Jan (November 7, 1991). "Home Entertainment: Recordings". Chicago Tribune . p. 8.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Diana Ross". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  4. ↑ Berger, Arion (November 1, 1991). "Force Behind the Power". Entertainment Weekly .
  5. ↑ Johnson, Connie (November 3, 1991). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  6. ↑ Quantick, David (August 10, 1991). "Long Play". NME . p. 30. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Diana Ross: The Force Behind the Power". 45worlds.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "Diana Ross". officialcharts.com.
  9. ↑ "Diana Ross: When You Tell Me That You Love Me (Adult Contemporary Songs)". Billboard.
  10. ↑ "Diana Ross: Heart (Don't change my mind)". secondhandsongs.com.
  11. ↑ "Diana Ross: No Matter What You Do (Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs)". billboard.com.
  12. ↑ "Diana Ross: You're Gonna Love It (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "想い出にかわるまで". TBS. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  14. ↑ "イフ・ウイ・ホールド・オン・トゥゲザー - ダイアナ・ロス". Oricon . Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  15. ↑ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon . Retrieved 2010-08-07. (subscription only)
  16. 1 2 "British album certifications – Diana Ross – The Force Behind the Power". British Phonographic Industry.
  17. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 239.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana Ross – The Force Behind the Power" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. January 11, 1992. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Diana Ross – The Force Behind the Power". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Diana Ross – The Force Behind the Power". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
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