Diana Ross - Diana Ross (1970) [Remastered 2002]

The only surprise in Diana Ross forging a solo career outside the Supremes is how long she waited to do it. Her 1970 debut shrewdly capitalized on her former band's spectacular string of successes at the same time that it carved out a niche for Ross as one of modern pop's most formidable divas. That not inconsiderable task of reinvention fell to the songwriting/production team of Ashford & Simpson, who constructed a musical framework that traded freely on the sheer dynamics and dramatic potential of Ross's voice on tracks like "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" and the massive No. 1 hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Loose, light, and occasionally neo-spiritual, it's an album that's almost daringly free of Motown history and clichés, right down to its cover imagery. This digitally remastered edition features a wealth of bonus tracks that include four from the album's first (aborted) sessions with producer Bones Howe--including Laura Nyro's "Stoney End," a hit for Streisand shortly thereafter--that give an intriguing glimpse of the somewhat jazzier and even more pop-oriented album that might have been. Also included are alternate mixes of "Ain't No Mountain" and "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You," an alternate vocal take of "Now There's You" that underscores the subtleties of Ross's technique, and a showy, unreleased live version of the album's "Something on My Mind" from one of the diva's first 1970 solo performances. --Jerry McCulley