******
- Verified Buyer
Diana Ross was a constant hitmaker on pop radio for 20+ years. This is an impressive statistic, and it puts her in the big leagues of female vocalists. I bought this collection because my cassette of "Eaten Alive" went bad, which meant that I no longer had a copy of "Chain Reaction", and I just couldn't live with that. As usually happens when I buy "best of" sets, I love this one much more than I expected to. Many tracks I was very familiar with, but some I hardly remembered at all, so they seem new. That was one big plus to getting the collection. And another plus was hearing Diana sailing smoothly through the genres of 70's and 80's pop: the classic disco of "Love Hangover"; the exuberant post-disco pop of "Upside Down", "I'm Coming Out" and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love"; the 80's pop/rock of "Mirror Mirror", "Work That Body", "Pieces Of Ice", "Swept Away" and "Eaten Alive", most of these featuring searing rock guitar licks; and the polished adult contemporary sound of "All Of You", "Missing You" and "Chain Reaction".There are a couple of departures from the norm, well worth mentioning. This version of "Love Hangover" is the longest (7:47) and most complete that I have heard. Also, "Endless Love" is sung solo by Diana, but the arrangement is practically identical to that of the duet with Lionel Richie. It lacks the dramatic tension that a duet provides, but Diana's emotional vocal is beautiful and moving nonetheless. And in its place we are given another duet, "All Of You", with Julio Iglesias. I will also say that I could have done without "Muscles", which I don't like, and I wish they had substituted "It's My Turn", which I like very much. But that is a minor issue. All in all, the selections are good, the sound of the CD is excellent, and, to use a cliché, it just rocks!
