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We waited eons for this? New Diana album is colossal disappointment

Saccharine sentiments sink largely self-penned effort from diva supreme

Published

3 years ago

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Diana Ross’s new project ‘Thank You,’ while hopeful and optimistic, is too musically weak to catch fire after the one-two punch of its opening cuts. (Image courtesy Decca)

Diana Ross’s solo albums are almost always inconsistent.

This isn’t unusual among R&B/pop divas; start wading past the hits and the same could be said for the album tracks of Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, et. al.

The few times she’s made a start-to-finish solid effort, like 1991’s “The Force Behind the Power,” 1995’s “Take Me Higher” or even 1985’s “Eaten Alive,” which works even with its campy title cut, they’ve never been huge sellers or featured any of her trademark hits.

However — and it pains me to say this — you have to go all the way back to 1983’s “Ross” to find an album as bad as her new release “Thank You” (★½ out of four), her first album in 15 years and her first of new material in 22 years. Pre-COVID, she was highly active with touring (and played the D.C. region many times), but her studio work had ground to a total halt.

A few things trickled out from the vault, like 2006’s delightful jazz album “Blue” (recorded in the early ’70s), but there was nothing new. And while it was always great to see her on stage — she looks fabulous at 77 (although you’d never know it from the vintage photo used on the “Thank You” cover) — her show varied little from year to year and her vocals were occasionally pitchy.

So while it’s great to finally have something new from the Motown legend — a studio workhorse all through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s — this extremely uneven new album is a musical Hallmark turd that never met a feel-good lyrical cliche too saccharine or an easy listening musical bed too insipid.

It’s hard to place too much of the blame on Troy Miller (a veteran of Amy Winehouse’s band), who produced the bulk of the tracks here, as Ross’s fingerprints are all over it — she’s billed as executive producer and, in a career first, she co-wrote nine of the 13 cuts. Though she took a few songwriting credits here and there over the years (she co-wrote four songs on her 1982 album “Silk Electric”), on most of her albums, her songwriting contributions are zero. And although two of those — the bouncy title cut and second single “If the World Just Danced” — are unequivocally the project’s best tracks, Joni Mitchell she is not.

Here’s the good news — she sounds amazing. There’s a lustrous quality to her vocal work here, her range is truly impressive and the pitch never wavers. Some scoff, but I have always felt Ross is a great pop singer with considerable range and impressive interpretive abilities in a wide gulf of genres. She was never a Whitney or Celine, but she could coo (“Baby Love”), yearn (“Cryin’ My Heart Out for You”), burn (“Muscles”) and growl (“Swept Away”) as well as anyone. This album’s “Time to Call,” though weak, gives her a chance to unfurl several melismas in her highest register and she kills it.

Stylistically, while varied, the album as a whole is numbingly mellow. Three cuts (the solid “If the World Just Danced,” retro shuffle “I Still Believe” and horn-laden abomination “Tomorrow”) are dance tracks and almost all the rest could legitimately be dubbed easy listening. There’s cascading string work, decent (if hardly impressive) production and stylistic variation, but the flame dies out after the first two songs and, with such banal lyrics and painfully unimaginative melodies, never comes close to reigniting despite Ross’s conviction. It’s like seeing a truly good actress in a turkey of a play knowing she co-wrote it. You’re rooting for her, but you’ve spent most of the outing wincing.

One might argue saccharine and Ross have gone hand in hand back to the days of “Reach Out and Touch” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — true — but it’s taken to a new low here. Of course, nobody expected Deepak Chopra-caliber insight, but with clunkers like “what is isn’t/what isn’t is” (on the Ross co-penned “All is Well”), “I’ll be the pillow where your head will lay,” (on daughter Rhonda’s “Count on Me”) or “the first time I saw your face …” (on mother’s ode “Beautiful Love”) — ripping off a lyric that blatantly should be illegal — this album’s scaffolding is so weak, one positively groans at the amateurishness of the songcraft. This is the chorus of “Count on Me”: “count on me/count on me/count on me/count on me.”

Siedah Garrett, a respected songwriter who might have momentarily elevated the proceedings, delivers one of the album’s worst cuts with the nauseatingly treacly “The Answer’s Always Love.”
I could go on, but you get the idea.

One might also argue, hey, couldn’t we use a little positivity today? Cut Miss Ross some slack and just be glad she’s back. True perhaps, but with material this weak and the thought of what this album could have been in more daring, imaginative hands, it’s downright frustrating.

With little chance of making any kind of dent on U.S. (or U.K. for that matter) pop radio and in her late 70s, I’d hoped Miss Ross, with no fucks left to give, might have done something brash and daring, but this is called playing it safe folks and sadly it’s a yawnfest.

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Music & Concerts

Kylie brings ‘Tension’ tour to D.C.

Performance on Tuesday at Capital One Arena

Published

2 weeks ago

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April 5, 2025

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Kylie Minogue visits D.C. on Tuesday.

Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.

The show features songs spanning her long career, from 1987 debut single, “The Loco-Motion,” to “Padam, Padam” from her album, “Tension.”

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Music & Concerts

Busy season for live music in D.C.

Erivo, Kylie, Sivan, and more headed our way this spring

Published

1 month ago

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March 14, 2025

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Cynthia Erivo plays WorldPride in D.C. on June 7. (Photo courtesy of World Pride)

One sure sign of spring’s arrival is the fresh wave of live music coming to Washington. With more than 10 venues and a diverse lineup of artists, the city offers no shortage of live performances for the new season.

In addition to this impressive list, don’t forget the many artists coming to town for WorldPride, May 17-June 8. In addition to headliner Cynthia Erivo performing on Saturday, June 7 at the two-day street festival and concert, many other performers will be in town. Jennifer Lopez, Troye Sivan, and RuPaul are among the featured performers at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds, June 6-7. Visit WorldPrideDC.org for a list of other performers.

MARCH

Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Mary J. Blige will take the stage at Capital One Arena on March 26 for her For My Fans tour. Two days later, on March 28, J Balvin will also perform at Capital One Arena for his Back to the Rayo tour.

The Lincoln Theatre will host the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington for three performances—one on March 15 and two on March 16.

If dance parties are more your vibe, you’re in luck. DC9 is hosting a series of themed dance parties this month, starting with Poker Face: 2000s + Dance Party on March 14, the ever-popular Peach Pit ’90s dance party on March 15, H.O.T.S.: A Sapphic Dance Party on March 22, and RageRiot!—a burlesque and drag revue featuring a lineup of local drag kings, queens, and everything in between on March 29.

APRIL

Kylie Minogue brings her ‘Tension Tour’ to D.C. in April.

Australian queen of pop Kylie Minogue will bring her Tension tour to Capital One Arena on April 8, with British dance artist Romy as her special guest.

Indie singer-songwriter mxmtoon will stop in D.C. for their Liminal Space tour on April 4 at the 9:30 club, followed by indie rock band Gossip on April 5. The 9:30 club will also host two dance parties in April: Gimme Gimme Disco – a dance party inspired by ABBA on April 11 and Broadway Rave on April 18.

The Atlantis will feature Brooklyn-based indie rock band Pom Pom Squad on April 2.

Comedy duo Two Dykes and a Mic will bring their Going Hog Wild tour to the Howard Theatre on April 19.

DC9 has two dance parties lined up this month: Bimbo Night on April 4, hosted by Baltimore’s “premier red-tattooed Filipina diva” Beth Amphetamine, and Aqua Girls: A QTBIPOC Dance Party on April 5, celebrating “queer transcendence through music, movement, and community.”

The Anthem will welcome a lineup of big names in April, starting with Alessia Cara on April 8. Lucy Dacus will take the stage on April 18 and 19 for her Forever Is a Feeling tour, while funky pop artist Remi Wolf will headline on April 27, joined by special guests Dana and Alden.

MAY

Indie-pop artist Miya Folick will bring her Erotica Veronica tour to The Atlantis on May 1, followed by multi-genre musician SASAMI on May 2. Pop artist Snow Wife will close out the month at The Atlantis on May 31 as part of an official WorldPride 2025 event.

Queer rock band Lambrini Girls will perform at the Howard Theatre on May 4, while rock trio L.A. Witch will take the stage at DC9 on May 12.

Union Stage will feature Rachel Platten on May 3 for her Set Me Free tour, followed by Femme Fatale: A Queer Dance Party later that night.

The popular DJ festival Project Glow will return to RFK Stadium grounds on May 31 and June 1.

JUNE

Pride month kicks off with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Trixie Mattel, who will perform at Echostage on June 3 as part of a series of official WorldPride 2025 events.

Queer icons Grace Jones & Janelle Monáe will take over The Anthem on June 5 for a WorldPride 2025 event performance.

Perfume Genius will bring his signature sound to the 9:30 club on June 7 as part of WorldPride 2025 festivities. Later in the month, Blondshell will hit the 9:30 club for her If You Asked for a Tour on June 24.

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Music & Concerts

Pride concert to take place at Strathmore after Kennedy Center rescinds invitation

International Pride Orchestra ‘heartbroken’ event ‘would no longer be welcome’ at DC venue

Published

2 months ago

on

February 27, 2025

By

The Kennedy Center (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The International Pride Orchestra has announced its Pride concert will take place at the Strathmore Music Center on June 5 after the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts disinvited the group.

Since President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center during his first month in office, LGBTQ events and performances have been banned with community allies withdrawing in solidarity. 

The Kennedy Center has cancelled “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” a May 21 concert that was to feature the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. The International Pride Orchestra on Monday said its concert will now take place at the Strathmore.

“We were heartbroken when we learned that our concert would no longer be welcome at the Kennedy Center,” said International Pride Orchestra Founding Artistic Director Michael Roest in a statement released by the orchestra’s media page. “The Kennedy Center has long been a symbol of artistic excellence, inclusivity, and freedom of expression. However, we are profoundly grateful to the Strathmore Music Center for opening their doors to us. Their willingness to host our Pride Celebration Concert ensures that our message of love, pride, and resilience will be heard on the doorstep of the nation’s capital.”

The Pride concert is among the events that have faced uncertainty since the Trump-Vance administration took office on Jan. 20. Many, however, are fighting back and looking for ways to push back against the bans and cancellations.

“We aim to create a powerful and positive representation of the queer community through music,” said Roest. “We want to show the world who we are, celebrate our queer identities, and amplify the work of organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.”

WorldPride is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.

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