Following the largely negative response to her edgy hip-hop opus, "Workin' Overtime" (1989), Diana Ross returned to safer ground for her follow-up effort. "The Force Behind the Power" (1991) offers up some catchy, memorable tunes, but the production is conservative to the point of being almost suffocatingly sterile, with blame falling at the feet of producers Peter Asher and James Anthony Carmichael.

For instance, the Asher-produced "One Shining Moment" could have "hit" written all over it, were it not for the muzak-inspired arrangement. Ross' performance and Vanese Thomas' supple melody could easily have been couched with a more soulful production. "Battlefield" might have been a solid, "Chain Reaction"-type Supremes homage, but once again, Asher's production sounds dangerously like karaoke.

On the other end of the spectrum, "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" is bombastic beyond belief, and would have benefited from a more restrained hand. Asher nearly drowns Ross in a mass of strings and background voices, but to her credit, the diva manages to give an impassioned performance despite the competing elements.

Asher finds a happy medium on only three tracks (the lovely Stevie Wonder-penned "Blame it on the Sun," the Diane Warren chestnut "Heart Don't Change My Mind," and the absolutely enchanting "If We Hold on Together"), but it's a case of too little, too late.

James Anthony Carmichael fares little better, with "Heavy Weather" and "Change of Heart" given glossy, unremarkable jazz-lite treatments. "You're Gonna Love It" is another attempt at cracking the urban market, and isn't particularly memorable (the subsequent club remixes were a marked improvement), but "Waiting in the Wings" is a definite standout--though more for Ross' beautifully layered performance and the sinuous melody line than for the still-timid production.

Stevie Wonder takes over production for the title track, and the results are decidedly fuller and funkier; unfortunately, the song itself has a distractingly clunky melody and arrangement. Repeated listening makes the whole affair much more listenable, but it takes a while to grow on you.

Ross sounds bell-clear on most of these tracks, and she doesn't coast nearly as much as she did on many of her 1980's RCA albums. However, one wonders what heights her performances might have reached, had there been a truly strong-handed producer at the controls. In the final analysis, this is a good little album (and was a massive international hit for Ross), but could have been great with more effort.

At this stage Of Dianas career, she had suffered several set backs. First of all there was the publication of Mary Wilsons startling and highly controversial account of what went on behind the scenes between Diana Ross and the other Supremes which portrayed Diana to be ruthless and manipulative. Coincidence or not, Diana has had no major hit in the U.S since around the time of that book. RED HOT RYTHM N BLUES (1987) saw her return to a style that made her famous, featuring exactly as the album suggests, red hot, solid cover versions of rythm and blues classics such as Tell Mama, There Goes My Baby and Selfish One as well as some new at the time of release material like the pumping Stranger In Paradise and lush Dirty Looks. despite that albums publicity the album and the string of singles taken from it were relativley poor sellers. The next album, WORKIN OVERTIME (1989) was ill fated from the beginning. Diana branched out into Hip Hop, an increasingly popular new trend in black music. The album was a mixed affair. Some of the tracks were incredibly funky whilst others on the album were rather weak. never he less the album was another big failure and none of the singles cracked the Top 100 charts. In 1991 she returned with this album which admitedly verged on the line of being too syrupy but is never the less a breathtakingly beautiful set and whilst the album was another doomed failure in the U.S it catapulted into the Top 10 U.K album charts and featured a handful of big selers with the most succesful being the stunningly beautiful, WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME which narrowly missed the U.K top spot, with it hanging on for weeks at No.2. YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT gets down to serious hip hop with a solid performance from Diana whilst other effective and memroable recordings come in a modern day Motown sounding track, BATTLEFIELD with its gritty, rawish lyrics and performance from Diana. Also two glorious tracks written by the truly genius Stevie Wonder, THE FORCE BEHIND THE POWER and BLAME IT ON THE SUN. The rest of the album features several beautiful recordings like WAITING IN THE WING, HEAVY WEATHER, HEART DON'T CHANGE MY MIND, YOU AND I, ONE SHINING MOMENT, IF WE HOLD ON TOGETHER and NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. On the whole a magnificent album that any true Diana Ross fan will lap up. Soulful, sophisticated and mellow. Highly recommended!

In a career as long and varied as Diana Ross has had, when an album that truly astounds and inspires comes along, it is still a revelation. After her controversial move into recording a hip hop flavored album, "The Force Behind the Power" is a collection of top level songs that are heavenly inspired. The focus of this album was to create a body of work blessed with gorgeous, sweeping music that has memorable lyrics and messages. It's predecessor, "Workin' Overtime" was plagued by being branded a hip hop album, when it was the single and a few other tracks that had elements of hip hop. It was more a dance album.

So after being lost in the concepts of it's predecessor, I approached my first exposure of this album with a degree of trepidation. That first entree' into this pop masterpiece was the song, "Change of Heart". From the writing and production team of Britten-Lyle, responsible for Tina Turner's resurgence a few years ago. The song was constructed with Motown chords especially in the chorus, but, not overwhelmed by it. Diana's vocals comes on like a cool, summer breeze. It could have been conceived as a love song. It could also be taken as an affirmation of one's love and dedication to that love. The song is layered with strong, compelling lyrics that are memorable and engaging. This was slated to be the first single and at one point, the title of the album. I listened repeatedly to this track for a couple of months. It became and addiction. And it eventually became one of my all time favorite Diana Ross songs.

In a revealing front cover interview in the Sunday magazine insert, USA Today Diana revealed that she consulted with Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. It was a conversation with Stevie that became a pivotal moment in this project's destiny. Strangely enough, though she had covered his songs on her studio albums and in concert, this would be the first time Stevie would write a song specifically for her. Stevie was unsure this was the type of song that Diana wanted to record, partly because she had previously gravitated to his love songs like "Too Shy to Say", "Ribbon in the Sky" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". But Diana was so moved by it's universal message that "The Force Behind the Power" became the overriding theme and title of the album. It magically felt like the golden thread this project needed. Filled with a lyric of love and universality, it is almost a spiritual song. The inclusion of the Andre Crouch choir as her backup only underscored that point. Diana sings this song with conviction and plays off the call and response chorus with anointed ease. Suddenly songs like "Heavy Weather" and/or "If We Hold on Together" have a unifying thread.

However, pedaling to the genesis of this project was the Top 3 duet with Al B. Sure, "No Matter What You Do" released about 6 months before the album. Diana's vocal performance was an indication to the strength of her voice throughout this project. Her vocals were strong and confident. The duet would be included in the International Edition of the album. EMI had wisely negotiated it's inclusion from Al B. Sure's label, Warner Bros. Why Motown would not do the same when the song was a hit in the U.S., remains a mystery.

Diana had begun touring this project as early as November 1990 when she performed both the title song and "When You Tell Me You Love Me" at the annual Royal Variety show commanded by the Queen of England. It was her performance of "When You Tell Me You Love Me" that would be the deciding factor on the first single. The song is a sweeping, emotional triumph for Diana produced by Peter Asher. It flew up the European charts, peaking just under the summit @ #2 on the U.K. Charts, and Top 10 in The Netherlands, France spreading to Australia and Japan. John Bettis and James Horner ("My Heart Will Go On") provide her with lyrics and music that makes it an instant Diana Ross classic. She received standing ovations for her tremendous performance of this song at every concert. It belongs right up there with "Theme from "Mahogany", "Touch Me in the Morning" and "It's My Turn".

Now the album had the song to set the charts on fire, once again for Diana.

Her conversations with Stevie Wonder also offered the inclusion of a cover of his "Blame it on the Sun" from "Talking Book". If you listen to the album with a filter addressing the avalanche of negative tomes written by the victimized Mary Wilson, Raynoma Singleton or J. Randy Taborrelli, a song like "Blame it On the Sun" takes on a completely different perspective. Nick Lowe's Hitsville inspired "Battlefield" solidifies that perspective perfectly. Since embarking on her solo career, she has from time to time paid homage to her Motown roots. No song has quite captured that sound as effectively as "Battlefield". Lyrically, it could almost be the theme song for some of the sad turn of events that some of her Motown label mates , especially poor woebegone Mary Wilson. "I live on a battlefield, surrounded by the ruin". On "Working Overtime", the video for the second single "This House" featured Diana wandering alone in an empty Hitsville studio room. It was the end result of what she sings about on "Battlefield". Like a lot of great Motown songs, Diana sings the song with a sad vibrancy against a happy Motown beat. She would include both songs in her set as she promoted "The Force Behind the Power". "Blame it on the Sun" garners a standing ovation at every performance whilst most of the audience are unaware that "Battlefield" is not a Motown golden oldie gem.

The sophistication of the album is best reflected in the ecological prose of "Heavy Weather". Recalling Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me" lyrically, Michael Sembello gives her some of her best lines since his "Mirror, Mirror". It is a haunting song with an emotional reading from Diana. The jazzy instrumental break is given more beauty by a harmonica solo, not unlike one Stevie Wonder would deliver.

The Diane Warren penned "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)" has a melancholy feel to it. Through the prism of her years at Motown, the first go round, "Heart (Don't Change My Mind) is at once a love song and at once a plea. The arrangement is very similar to Barbra Streisand's version. Where Streisand's version sounds typical of her, Ross add colors of emotion that gives the song a more arresting feel. It would become the final of 5 singles released in the U.K. that made the Top 30.

In concert, one of the more memorable songs with tons of hooks is "Waiting in the Wings". Very hummable and easy to sing a long with, it became an instant concert favorite.

It was well worth the six or so week wait for the arrival of tha CD which i bought for my wife. For many years my wife wanted a copy of just one song but just could not find it anywhere nor could anyone else she asked. I tried myself a few times putting in the song title in search engines but alas one day it came up on Amazon on a CD which my wife hadn't heard of so I bought it. The CD arrived very well packed and it also contained other tracks my wife hadn't heard of so to sum it up buying through Amazon was a great success and i'm well chuffed :-)

La Ross' "Force Behind the Power" set stalled at an underwhelming #102 in the United States and its very sleek title cut never even made a dent on any chart as it is was never released - a huge oversight on the part of her U.S. label Motown Records as for the U.S market it seemed an obvious choice for a single that could have worked reasonably well at R & B radio - and if treated to the right remixes could have become a huge anthem in the clubs.

Luckily, EMI in Europe saw the commerical viablity of such a product in its totality which would prove very well suited to the then-finer tastes of the British marker and all was not lost : the set spawned five top-forty singles on the British charts( "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" peaked at #2, "One Shining Moment" peaked at #10, "If We Hold On Together" which was also a huge smash in Japan peaked at #11, the title cut peaked somewhere in the mid-20s and finally "Heart(Don't Change My Mind" peaked somewhere in the '30s) and would eventually go on to sell in excess of 300,000 copies in that country alone - well in excess of Platinum status almost approaching double platinum as of March of 1993.

Even though its introduction and refrain evokes Terence Trent D'Arby's "Wishing Well", "Force Behind the Power" was a glorious spiritual anthem that did not suffer from the same pitfalls of her other "inspirational message odes". Its rhythmic sonic landscapes with its ebbs and flows insinuated itself into your subconscious and the message went over loud and clear without crossing the line and becoming too preachy - there have been too many message songs over the years which have suffered from bland platitudes without any real grit. Luckily, This Stevie Wonder composition did not suffer from the fate.

Now as far as her delivery of another Stevie Wonder composition: Her rendition of "Blame it on the Sun" seems more driven by the overall leanings of the album - it is sung well however it does not capture the sincerity and sonic richness of the original.

"Change of Heart" is a sleek and smooth dabble into a contemporary jazz territory and is a very promising open to at times what proves to be a somewhat bland album dragged down by some of the more mid-tempo to lower-tempo material.

Waiting in the Wings" very creatively straddles the line between countrified pop and jazz inflection, although it is not one of the standout cuts. The Michael Sembello (of "Maniac" from "Flashdance and "Mirror, Mirror" fame) delivers "Heavy Weather" which is a smooth piece as well. Ross' version of "Heart(Don't Change My Mind) is lackluster - it is not her, it is just the song. Babs did not do any better.

There are tons of highlights however - the aforementioned "Change of Heart", the title cut, as well as one of the songs that really does not fit withing the context of the entire album well the sumptuous and simply sweet dance nugget "You're Gonna Love It". The exciting "Battlefield" seemed to be a no-brainer : why that was not introduced to the overseas market is a perplexing issue given it has the same vibe of "Chain Reaction".