Diana Ross - Eaten Alive (1985) - Lp

Eaten Alive is a 1985 album by Diana Ross. It includes her international hit single "Chain Reaction", which topped the charts in the U.K. and Australia.
Diana Ross and Barry Gibb were teaming up for an album had to have been greeted with excitement by fans and those in the music industry.
Primarily written and produced by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.
And on top of those two major music stars teaming up, no less a superstar than Michael Jackson was also involved, co-writing and co-producing the first single. Jackson

The album was primarily conceived by Barry Gibb, who had co-written and co-produced successful albums for Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, and Kenny Rogers earlier that decade.

Most of the tracks were co-written by Gibb and at least one of his other siblings, though some were written by all members of the Bee Gees. The album includes the UK and Australia #1 hit "Chain Reaction", along with the Top 10 R&B title track - written and co-produced with Michael Jackson. "Experience" was also released as a single, reaching #47 on the UK Singles Chart.

Eaten Alive is a really good album…but not necessarily a great Diana Ross album. Had Barry Gibb recorded all the songs and released it himself, it probably could’ve been a smash. Unfortunately, Diana Ross working hard to sound like Barry Gibb isn’t quite as successful.

There are those who say this is Diana’s best RCA album, and they blame a lack of proper single choice, promotion, and negative publicity surrounding Ross are blamed for the album’s lackluster performance.

Those factors are all probably true, but I’d also say another factor is that Diana Ross just doesn’t really sound like Diana Ross here.
The issue, I think, is Diana’s incredible talent for mimicry. Listen to her discography and watch her TV specials; there are some striking examples of Miss Ross imitating another artists to startling effect.

Here, she goes so far adapting her style to Gibb’s that her voice at times becomes high, thin, and raspy (not that Gibb has a weak voice; however, Diana Ross trying to match his high falsetto makes hers sound that way), and the rich, soulful tone of recent hits like “Missing You” and “Swept Away” is sadly absent.

Gibb’s demos for the album have since been released, and it’s clear that Diana stayed very close to his guide vocals in some instances, rather than singing the cuts in her own unique style.

Thus, although Eaten Alive is indeed a cohesive set with some strong tunes, it’s not the vocal showcase that it could have been.


Side A
A1.  Eaten Alive  (3:50)
A2.  Oh Teacher  (3:37)
A3.  Experience  (4:54)
A4.  Chain Reaction  (3:47)
A5.  More and More  (3:05)

Side B
B1.  I’m Watching You  (3:50)
B2.  Love on the Line  (4:19)
B3.  (I Love) Being In Love With You  (4:31)
B4.  Crime of Passion  (3:31)
B5.  Don’t Give Up On Each Other  (3:45)

Credits

• Art Direction, Design – Ria Lewerke
• Backing Vocals – Barry Gibb, Marti McCall, Michael Jackson (tracks: A1), Myrna Matthews
• Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig, Karl Richardson
• Engineer [Assistant] – Dan Garcia, Julie Last, Larry Ferguson, Scott Glasel
• Mastered By – George Marino
• Mixed By – Elliot Scheiner (tracks: A2, B2, B4), Humberto Gatica (tracks: A1, A3), Jack Joseph Puig (tracks: A5, A4, B1, B5), Karl Richardson (tracks: B3)
• Photography By – Moshe Brakha
• Producer – Albhy Galuten, Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson, Michael Jackson (tracks: A1) 

Notes

Release:  24 September, 1985
Genre:  Synth-pop, Funk, Soul
Label:  Capitol Records
Catalog#  1A 064-240408-1
Price:  € 10.00

Vinyl: Goed
Cover: Goed

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