Live at Caesars Palace explained

Live at Caesars Palace
Type:Live album
Artist:Diana Ross
Cover:Live+At+Caesar.gif
Released:May 1974
Recorded:February 1973
Venue:Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Length:46:13
Label:Motown
Producer:Berry Gordy (exec.)
Prev Title:Last Time I Saw Him
Prev Year:1973
Next Title:Diana Ross
Next Year:1976

Live at Caesars Palace is a live album by the American singer Diana Ross, released in 1974.[1] It was recorded during a 1973 performance at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace.[2] It was the first of two live albums Ross recorded for Motown. It reached No. 64 in the USA (#15 R&B).[3]

Critical reception

AllMusic wrote that "the staged conversations, often awkward monologues, and rough pacing were balanced by some excellent performances, and the album was produced well enough to keep her voice at the core of the sound."

Track listing

Side A:

  1. "Overture" - 0:49
  2. "Don't Rain on My Parade" [from ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]]] (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill) - 2:21
  3. "Big Mable Murphy" (Dallas Frazier) - 3:02
  4. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 6:57
  5. "The Supremes Medley: Stop! In the Name of Love / My World Is Empty Without You / Baby Love /I Hear a Symphony" (Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland) - 5:19
  6. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 4:57

Side B:

  1. "Corner of the Sky" [from ''[[Pippin (musical)|Pippin]]] (Stephen Schwartz) - 4:04
  2. "Bein' Green" (Joe Raposo) - 2:49
  3. "I Loves You, Porgy" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) - 1:37
  4. "Lady Sings the Blues Medley: Lady Sings the Blues / God Bless the Child / Good Morning Heartache / 'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do"" (Billie Holiday, Ervin Drake, Porter Grainger, Arthur Herzog Jr., Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham) - 7:24
  5. "The Lady Is a Tramp" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:29
  6. "My Man" (Channing Pollack) - 4:25

Personnel

Technical

The Devastating Affair

The Devastating Affair
Background:group_or_band
Genre:R&B, soul
Years Active:1970-1975
Associated Acts:Diana Ross
Past Members:Andrew Porter
Greg Wright
Harold Johnson
Karin Patterson
Olivia Foster

The Devastating Affair, consisting of Andrew Porter, Greg Wright, Harold Johnson, Karin Patterson, and Olivia Foster, were an American quintet of soul vocalists signed to MoWest that evolved into a Motown travelling opening and backing vocalist act for Diana Ross.

Heralded as the first in a "new generation of hugely promising soul acts" from the Los Angeles-headquartered Motown subsidiary label MoWest Records, Motown launched their MoWest imprint with their debut single "I Want To Be Humble", a crossover-soul record that has become a sought-after collector's item.[4] Both albums the group recorded (the first, Devastating Affair Mountain (1972) on MoWest, and then a second album, titled The Devastating Affair (1973) on Motown) were unfortunately shelved. [5] The group performed backing vocals on Ross & Marvin Gaye's hit single "You're a Special Part of Me" from the 1973 album Diana & Marvin, after the 3 male members of the group co-wrote the single and submitted the demo for inclusion, as well as Ross's 1970 album Everything Is Everything.

During their tenure as a group, three singles were released: "I Want To Be Humble/My Place" (1971 - MoWest), "That's How It Was (Right From The Start)" (1973 - MoWest), and "You Don't Know (How Hard It Is To Make It)" (1974 - Motown). [5] [6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Diana Ross | Biography & History. AllMusic.
  2. Book: Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Diana Ross: An Unauthorized Biography. June 13, 2007. Kensington Books. 9780806528496 . Google Books.
  3. Diana Ross. Billboard.
  4. Web site: Soul Sauce. Ed. Ochs. March 11, 1972. Billboard Magazine.
  5. Book: Betts, Graham. Motown Encyclopedia. June 2, 2014. AC Publishing. 9781311441546 . Google Books.
  6. Web site: Mowest, mo' problems: the glorious failure of Motown's Californian outpost. Graeme. Thomson. June 30, 2011. The Guardian.
  7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian)

    . David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 259.