Eaten Alive is the sixteenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on September 24, 1985, by RCA Records in the United States, with EMI Records distributing elsewhere. It was Ross' fifth of six albums released by the label during the decade. Primarily written and produced by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, with co-writing from his brothers Andy, Maurice, and Robin, the album also includes a contribution from Ross' friend Michael Jackson who co-wrote and performed (uncredited) on the title track.
| Eaten Alive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 24, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:25 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Diana Ross chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Eaten Alive | ||||
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Eaten Alive was deemed a commercial failure in the US, where it peaked at No. 45 on the US Billboard 200 and sold around 300,000 copies, spending 20 weeks on the chart. It fared better internationally, entering the top 10 in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland, whilst reaching number 11 in Australia and the UK. It also made the top 20 in Germany, Italy, Austria and Japan.
Eaten Alive produced the singles "Eaten Alive", "Chain Reaction", and "Experience", the most successful of these being "Chain Reaction", which topped the charts in both the UK[1] and Australia. In his biography of Ross, J. Randy Taraborrelli attributed the album's poor performance in the US to the release of the title track as its first single, rather than one of the other two songs. He noted that "Eaten Alive" was "like nothing else on the record", and with its "incomprehensible" lyrics, "set an unfair tone for the album with record buyers".[2]
Background
editEaten Alive was primarily conceived by Bee Gees singer 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 Andy, Maurice, and Robin, though some were written by all members of the Bee Gees.[3] According to Robin, "Chain Reaction" was written last to provide the album with an obvious single, and was intended to sound like a Motown song Ross might have recorded with The Supremes (although when first played to her, she rejected it for that reason).[4]
The album was remastered and re-released on September 29, 2014, by Funky Town Grooves, with bonus material on a second CD.[5] This reissue was licensed from RCA, which owns rights to the album in the U.S. and Canada and is available in these countries (plus, through imports from Solid Records, also in Japan, even when actually Warner Music Group owns rights here).[6]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ron Wynn gave the album three stars out of five and wrote that "Diana Ross got a lot of mileage from this album, although it didn't duplicate the success she'd enjoyed with Swept Away. The title track was a Top Ten R&B hit, thanks in part to Michael Jackson's presence on background vocals, and another single also made the charts. Ross wasn't the powerhouse she was in the 1970s, but she was still doing well enough to keep making records."[3]
The Eaten Alive Demos
editThe Eaten Alive Demos as sung by Barry Gibb were made available as downloads on iTunes in October 2006. The album contained most of the songs except for the title track and "Chain Reaction".[7] In the spring of 2009, when iTunes changed into DRM-free downloads with higher bit-rates, all of the Barry Gibb demos were no longer available. In August 2011 all of the Barry Gibb demos reappeared on iTunes shortly after the opening of the download store on his official website where many of the same tracks were available. Another demo of the title track by Michael Jackson is known to have been recorded, but, to this date, has not yet surfaced.
Track listing
editOriginal release
editAll tracks written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb and produced by Gibb-Galuten-Richardson, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eaten Alive" |
| 3:54 | |
| 2. | "Oh Teacher" | 3:40 | ||
| 3. | "Experience" |
| 4:57 | |
| 4. | "Chain Reaction" | 3:49 | ||
| 5. | "More and More" |
| 3:06 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "I'm Watching You" | 3:51 | |
| 7. | "Love on the Line" | 4:21 | |
| 8. | "(I Love) Being in Love with You" | 4:33 | |
| 9. | "Crime of Passion" | 3:34 | |
| 10. | "Don't Give Up on Each Other" |
| 3:45 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Eaten Alive" (Extended Re-Mix) |
|
| 5:52 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eaten Alive" (Single Mix) | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Eaten Alive" (Single Mix Instrumental) | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Eaten Alive" (Hot Extended Dance Mix) | 5:53 |
| 4. | "Eaten Alive" (Hot Extended Dance Mix Instrumental) | 5:52 |
| 5. | "Experience" (Single Version) | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Experience" (Instrumental) | 4:50 |
| 7. | "Experience" (Special Dance Mix) | 5:46 |
| 8. | "Chain Reaction" (Special Single Mix) | 4:21 |
| 9. | "Chain Reaction" (Special Dance Mix) | 6:55 |
Notes
- ^[a] signifies a co-producer
Personnel
editCredits are adapted from the Eaten Alive liner notes.[8]
Performers
- Diana Ross – lead vocals
- John Barnes – keyboards
- George Bitzer – keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic piano
- Albhy Galuten – synthesizers, arrangements
- James Newton Howard – keyboards, synthesizers
- Greg Phillinganes – keyboards
- Larry Williams – keyboards
- Don Felder – guitars
- Barry Gibb – guitars, backing vocals, arrangements
- George Terry – guitars
- Nathan East – bass
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Paul Leim – drums
- Michael Fisher – percussion
- Kim Hutchcroft – saxophones
- Tom Scott – saxophone
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. (credited as Bill Reichenbach) – trombone
- Gary Grant – trumpet
- Jerry Hey – trumpet
- Michael Jackson – backing vocals on "Eaten Alive"
- Bruce Albertine – backing vocals
- Myrna Matthews – backing vocals
- Marti McCall – backing vocals
Production
- Producers – Albhy Galuten, Barry Gibb and Karl Richardson.
- Co-Producer on Track 1 – Michael Jackson
- Engineers – Jack Joseph Puig and Karl Richardson
- Assistant Engineers – Larry Ferguson, Dan Garcia, Scott Glasel and Julie Last.
- Recorded at Bill Schnee Studio (Hollywood, CA) and Middle Ear Studio (Miami, FL).
- Mixing – Humberto Gatica (Tracks 1 & 3); Elliot Scheiner (Tracks 2, 7 & 9); Jack Joseph Puig (Tracks 4, 5, 6 & 10); Karl Richardson (Track 8).
- Mixed at Middle Ear Studio; Lion Share Recording and Studio 55 (Los Angeles, CA).
- Re-mixing on Track 11 – François Kevorkian and Ron St. Germain
- Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
- Art Direction and Design – Ria Lewerke
- Artwork – Diana Ross Enterprises, Inc.
- Photography – Moshe Brakha
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
References
edit- ^ The Virgin book of British Hit Singles. Vol. 2. London: Virgin Books. 2010. pp. 17, 403. ISBN 978-0753522455.
- ^ Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2007). Diana Ross: An Unauthorized Biography. New York: Citadel Press. pp. 515–516. ISBN 978-0806528496.
- ^ a b c Wynn, Ron (August 23, 1985). "AllMusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
- ^ Rachel, Daniel (2013). Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters. London: Picador. p. 36. ISBN 978-1447226758.
- ^ "Eaten Alive 2 CD Deluxe Edition". FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ^ "Diana Ross - Eaten Alive (2014, CD)". Discogs.com. Discogs contributors. 12 November 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "Gibb Songs 2006 - Selected record releases". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ Eaten Alive (CD booklet). Diana Ross. RCA Records. 1985.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 259. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Diana Ross – Eaten Alive" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "RPM - Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. November 2, 1985. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana Ross – Eaten Alive" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Diana Ross". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 219. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. October 28, 1985. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Diana Ross – Eaten Alive" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 978-1094705002.
- ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. October 26, 1985. p. 72. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Diana Ross – Eaten Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Diana Ross – Eaten Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Diana Ross – Eaten Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
External links
edit- Eaten Alive at Discogs (list of releases)