"SURRENDER" Missing

Am I the ONLY ONE who noticed that her 1971 hit single "SURRENDER" is NOT included - it is listed - in this Box Set? I was highly disappointed and disgusted, as "Surrender" was one of the main reasons I purchased this set. It is NOWHERE on any of the discs - another track 'plays' in its place - WHY?

One Of The Greatest Female R & B Vocalists Ever Gets Her Due

I've been a fan of Diana Ross pretty much all my life, from her days in The Supremes to her very successful solo career. So imagine my surprise and delight when I found that the 1993 boxed set "Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs" was still in print. When I saw it, I knew I had to buy it. Four discs of pure Diana spanning 30 years of music.



Disc 1 is from her early days in The Supremes. This disc has pretty much every big hit they ever had, including "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Stop! In The Name Of Love", " I Hear A Symphony", "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Someday We'll Be Together" as well as lesser known tracks like "In And Out Of Love", "Nothing But Heartaches", "Forever Came Today" and "I'm Livin' In Shame". Also included is a rare cover of Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" featuring Ross's breathtaking vocal work.



Disc 2 is my least favorite. The best reason to listen to this disc is for the great hit singles like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Love Hangover", to name a few. Other than that, a pretty weak disc.



Disc 3 starts off with a personal favorite, 1979's "The Boss". This song has everything you could possibly want in a great dance song: swirling violins, a pumping bass, a great beat and Ross's beautiful vocals. I would've personally liked if they had included the seven - minute version, but it's still a great song. The work from 1980's "diana" is the strongest on this disc from any album of this period (1979 - 86). "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out" remain great anthems to this day at any party. "It's My Turn" is one of my all time favorites, with Diana giving one of her strongest performances ever. "Endless Love" may be schmalty to some, but to me it's an endearing and enduring love song that has certainly stood the test of times. I'm glad that the producers included my favorite Diana song of all time, her 1982 cover of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". The rest of this disc isn't as great as the first half, but they are still very good songs (esp. "Muscles" and "Missing You").



Disc 4 starts off with five throwaway live tracks, so I'll start off with track six. "Workin' Overtime" is a great hip hop number that shows even a veteran like Diana can go up against the likes of Run DMC and M.C. Hammer. "This House" is a nice ballad and in my opinion could be a big hit today. Then comes four tracks from my favorite recent Diana album, 1991's "Force Behind The Power". First comes the Stevie Wonder - penned title track, which is another great hip hop number. Then comes the lush "When You Tell Me That You Love Me". With an impassioned vocal by Diana and a killer guitar solo, this is one of my favorites. Next, I am glad I can say that my favorite song from the 1990s' by Diana is on this collection. "One Shining Moment" is a somber, soothing love song with sparse instrumentation and a beautiful Diana vocal. "Waiting In The Wings" is a jazzy hip hop number with a strong beat. "Where Did We Go Wrong" is a 1930s' - style number strongly influenced by Billy Holiday.



When this collection was released in 1993, Diana recorded five new songs for this disc. The first song is "Back To The Future", a strong fusion of hip hop and rock that I truly think could've been a huge hit. "Let's Make Every Moment Count" is a mellow love song. I like it. The next song is "Your Love". This is one the warmest, most tender songs I've ever heard. It's gorgeous and is my favorite of the new tracks. "It's A Wonderful Life" is an upbeat and bouncy number whose only annoying part are the vocals on the intro. Closing out the set is "The Best Years Of My Life". A fitting closer.



This is a great collection of Diana's best. Every fan should have this set.

The Queen Gets Her Boxed Set

If any female artist deserves their own 4 - cd boxed set, it's the incomparable Miss Diana Ross. In her 46 - year career, she has led the most successful girl group of all time, had 6 number one hits and a total of 13 Top Ten hits o her own, and has made numerous personal accomplishments. 1994's boxed set "Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs" captures the highlights of her career up to that point. Frankly, it doesn't need to be updated because:



-it would make it more expensive than it already is

and

-frankly, most of her stuff after 1994 wasn't that great, so it's not that important.



Disc 1 covers her career with The Supremes. In addition to classics like "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "I Hear A Symphony" and "The Happening" (as well the other 8 number one hits they had), you get rarities like "In And Out Of Love", "Forever Came Today" and the lush cover of "You Send Me". A great disc.



Disc 2 I haven't really listened to yet, mostly because I didn't like a lot of her 1970s' stuff. However, the big hit singles here ("Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Touch Me In The Morning", "Do You Know Where You're Going To" and "Love Hangover") still sound great.



Disc 3 begins in fine form with my all time favorite disco/dance song, "The Boss". Personally I prefer the 7 - minute long version, but it's still great. Next comes the two big hits from 1980's "Diana" album. First is "Upside Down". This song is a great dance number, as is "I'm Coming Out". "It's My Turn" is my second favorite Diana song of all time (her cover of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is my favorite), a great anthem of overcoming adversity and coming into your own. After "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", everything else is good but not great (though Diana's vocal performance on "Missing You" is absolutely

breathtaking).



Disc 4 starts off with some uninteresting live cuts not worth mentioning. So I'm gonna go straight to track six. "Workin' Overtime" is a great hip-hop number with strong keyboard work. "This House" is a great R & B ballad that I think could be a big hit today. Then comes my favorite batch of songs on this disc, 4 selections from the 1991 album "Force Behind The Power". First is the funky Stevie Wonder - penned title track. Great song. Next comes the most popular song from that album, the gorgeous ballad "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", which has a great vocal by Diana. "One Shining Moment" is a lush ballad with romantic keyboard, a nice drum beat, good lyrics and an amazing vocal by Diana. My favorite of the batch. Next comes "Waiting In The Wings". This has a great beat and Diana gives a breathy and breathtaking vocal. "Where Did We Go Wrong" is a nice jazz number.



Of the new songs on this album, the best are the gorgeous "Let's Make Every Moment Count", "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Back To The Future". Like disc 2, the others I haven't really listened to yet, so I can't give my opinion on them.



This is an amazing boxed set that you do not want to pass up. Pick it up as soon as you can. You will not be sorry when you hear the amazing voice of Ms. Diana Ross.