Swept Away (Diana Ross album)

Swept Away
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1984 (1984-09-13)
Recorded1984
StudioUnique Recording Studios (New York City)[1]
Genre
Length43:38
LabelRCA
Producer
Diana Ross chronology
Ross
(1983)
Swept Away
(1984)
Eaten Alive
(1985)
Singles from Swept Away
  1. "All of You"
    Released: June 12, 1984
  2. "Swept Away"
    Released: August 14, 1984
  3. "Touch by Touch"
    Released: September 1984 (non-US)
  4. "Missing You"
    Released: November 13, 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Swept Away is the fifteenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on September 13, 1984, by RCA Records in North America and by Capitol Records in Europe. It was Ross' fourth of six albums released by the label during the decade.

Overview

This album yielded several hit singles, the most successful of which, "Missing You", became Ross' final top ten hit to date on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 10. It was produced by Lionel Richie and was a tribute to late soul singer Marvin Gaye, Ross and Richie's former Motown Records label-mate. Other singles included the Daryl Hall and Arthur Baker-produced "Swept Away" and the Julio Iglesias duet, "All of You". All three of these singles were accompanied by popular music videos.

The album also included the European single "Touch by Touch" which reached the top 10 in Austria, Belgium and Norway and also charting inside the top 20 in Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands. The US single "Telephone" – produced by Bernard Edwards of Chic – was directed at R&B radio and scored a No. 13 hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Edwards' Chic partner Nile Rodgers played guitar on the new wave song "It's Your Move".

The album included cover versions of Fontella Bass' 1960s R&B hit "Rescue Me" and the Bob Dylan song "Forever Young", which she performed as the finale to her 1987 ABC TV special, Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues.

Swept Away was certified gold by the end of 1984. It peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Pop albums chart, also reaching No. 40 in the UK. The album also made the top ten in Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. The highest chart position worldwide was in Norway, where the album reached No. 7 on the album chart.

Re-release in 2014

The album was remastered and re-released as an "Expanded Edition" on September 2, 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, with bonus material on a second CD.[3]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Missing You"Lionel Richie4:05
2."Touch by Touch"4:11
3."Rescue Me"
  • Raynard Miner
  • Carl Smith
2:41
4."It's Your Move"
3:34
5."Swept Away"
5:23
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Telephone"
4:10
2."Nobody Makes Me Crazy (Like You Do)"4:20
3."All of You" (featuring Julio Iglesias)4:02
4."We Are the Children of the World"
  • Mary Anne Kelly
  • Peppy Castro
4:24
5."Forever Young"Bob Dylan4:49
Total length:43:38
2014 "Expanded Edition" CD2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Swept Away" (12" Long Version)
  • Diana Ross
  • Daryl Hall
  • Sara Allen
7:38
2."Swept Away" (12" Instrumental)
  • Ross
  • Hall
  • Allen
7:20
3."Swept Away" (7" Single Mix)
  • Ross
  • Hall
  • Allen
4:04
4."Touch by Touch" (12" Single Mix)
  • Arthur Barrow
  • Joe Esposito
  • Richie Zito
5:31
5."Touch by Touch" (12" Instrumental)
  • Barrow
  • Esposito
  • Zito
4:04
6."Touch by Touch" (Alternate Single Mix)
  • Barrow
  • Esposito
  • Zito
3:55
7."Telephone" (Edited Version)
  • Bernard Edwards
  • Denail Miller
3:48
8."Missing You" (7" Single Mix)Lionel Richie4:16
9."Fight for It (Touch By Touch B-Side)" (7" Single Version)
  • Ross
  • Bill Wray
  • Peppy Castro
  • Ray Chew
4:10
Notes
  1. ^ Spoken word intro written by Diana Ross.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Swept Away liner notes.[4]

Production

  • Producers – James Anthony Carmichael and Lionel Richie (Track 1); Diana Ross (Tracks 2–4, 7, 9 & 10); Arthur Baker and Daryl Hall (Track 5); Bernard Edwards (Track 6); Ramón Arcusa and Richard Perry (Track 8).
  • Co-Producer on Track 8 – Albert Hammond
  • Engineer – Larry Alexander
  • Assistant Engineer – Dave Greenberg
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Contractor – Sephra Herman
  • Art Director – Ria Lewerke
  • Design – Sue Reilly
  • Photography – Francisco Scavullo

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 78
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 10
European Albums (Music & Media)[9] 18
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 22
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[12] 22
Japan (Oricon)[13] 32
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 40
US Billboard 200[17] 26
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[18] 7

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

  • Floral Shoppe, of which track "リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュ" came into prominence as a vaporwave song that sampled Ross' "It's Your Move" extensively.

References

  1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/UniqueRecordingStudios/photos/a.649655181769411/649657191769210/?type=3&theater[user-generated source]
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ "Swept Away (2 CD Deluxe Edition)". FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  4. ^ Swept Away (CD booklet). Diana Ross. RCA Records. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Epstein, Dmitry M. (December 2015). "Interview with John Robinson". Let It Rock. DMME.net. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Diana Ross – Swept Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8660". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana Ross – Swept Away" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. October 8, 1984. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  12. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us. ISBN 978-1094705002.
  13. ^ "Bad" (in Japanese). Oricon. Ranking.oricon.co.jp. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  14. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Diana Ross – Swept Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  15. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Diana Ross – Swept Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  16. ^ "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  17. ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  18. ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Diana Ross – Swept Away". Music Canada.
  20. ^ "American album certifications – Diana Ross – Swept Away". Recording Industry Association of America.