Lost Diana Ross album ("Sings Songs From The Wiz") to be released digitally Nov. 27, 2015

"Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz" was an album originally conceived by Berry Gordy to piggyback off Miss Ross' third feature film. When the movie tanked, Motown cancelled its release. The interesting thing here is Diana will be performing songs from the show that her character, Dorothy, does not. It will be available on I-Tunes Nov. 27th. More info can be found here....

http://www.eurweb.com/2015/11/lost-...-to-be-released-on-november-27-eur-exclusive/

 

I really wish Universal could hook up with Funky Town Grooves or someone else release these physically. Not sure what the difficulty is here.

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015...o-version-of-ease-on-down-the-road-exclusive/

 

Would buy a physical release of this in a heartbeat. I'm not interested in buying downloads. Too bad, because this looks promising. I guess it's my loss!

 

I don't know how the music would hold up, but this film version of The Wiz holds the distinction of being the first film I ever walked out during because it was so bad. (I think I can still count on one hand the number of times I left a theater because a film was horrible, and it's been nearly four decades since The Wiz came out.)

 

Word is, that if these sell well enough, the physical copies will be released.

Al in all, I look forward to this!

 

Never got physical releases of Baby's It Me or Funny Girl Expanded so not holding my breath. My only hope is that Japan maybe will release it done the road as they re-release catalog titles every few years or so. That's how we finally got a re-release of BIM and Ross 1(1978) last year.

 

I'm continually shocked at how much material Motown invested in, only to let it sit in the vaults. Pleased that we're seeing so much of it finally see the light of day, but still surprised when something hits the streets that I knew nothing about. While I'd prefer a CD release, I'll be happy with the digital-only release.

Will we ever see the release of the full Diana Ross & The Supremes Sing Disney Classics album? While the majority of the songs from that album have been released through various compilations, there are still some rumored tracks still in the vaults. We're still a few years shy of its 50th anniversary, so I guess there's still hope...

 

I'd be happy with "Supremes a Go Go" getting the Expanded treatment given to "More Hits", "Where Did Our Love Go" etc. for its 50th anniversary in 2016.

 

I sure wish there would be a CD/vinyl release. Maybe Motown will do a complete Diana Ross on vinyl box (like the one they are currently doing for Marvin Gaye), to include the unreleased albums (like this one, "Blue" and "To The Baby")!

 

A Go Go DE has been in the can for a few years now. Not sure if we will ever see it. Again they should license it to someone that will do this stuff. Not sure why they are holding on to this stuff if they are never going to do anything with it.

 

I agree it's a shame that these are not being released in physical format. The Hip-O-Select reissues are some of my absolute favourite reissues, not just in terms of the music but also the packaging and liner notes.

The Wiz is not a great movie but over the years, I've grown to like it a bit more. I think Diana sings the songs very well even if she was miscast.

 

Ever since Hip-O-Select ceased to exist a couple of years ago, we have been missing out on numerous possibilities of great physical product. Now we are stuck with digital downloads which I want no part of.

I'm very disappointed with Universal Music.

 

You're absolutely right. This is one case where the live TV remake can only be better, because the original was so horrible.

Nearly three hours of Diana Ross moping relentlessly, and usually singing songs about it. (Seriously, the songs in that movie NEVER GO AWAY. THEY SING ABOUT EVERYTHING.) The only good thing to come out of that movie was "You Can't Win" - and half of the song isn't even in the damn movie. (The full 7-minute version is one of my favorite MJ songs.)

 

I've been listening to this "new" Diana album on TIDAL this weekend and it's better than I expected. Not a great album by any means, but her vocals are very strong and at least half of the songs are solid outside of the context of the movie.

 

The 1978 movie was not the "original." "The Wiz" was originally a Broadway show in 1974 that won seven Tony Awards in 1975 including "Best Musical." A very young Stephanie Mills played "Dorothy." If only a video of that production had been made....

As far as the movie goes, I agree it is not that good. The only part I ever replay is the last half hour from "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" till the closing credits, which I truly enjoy.

 

There is going to be another "special" (subjectively, of course) Motown digital release tomorrow - Friday, Dec 4th that was alluded to by Andy Skurow who was part of the team that worked on the release of "Sings Songs From The Wiz", but no real clue to the title, except perhaps that it might be Christmas related.

 

There was an album released with Broadway cast as well. I picked up a vinyl copy earlier this year.
Ted Ross & Mabel King were the only two to reprise their roles in the film version.

 

The difficulty could include several things such as Funky Town Grooves may not be doing that well financially. The past few months they have been offering titles at 50% off. That kind of discount does not sound like their titles are selling as desired. Currently, they have a big selection of titles at 50% off.

Adele aside, like it or not, CDs do not sell like they did 10-20 years ago. The demand for a release like "Sings Songs From The Wiz" is not there for a physical release. The album is available in CD resolution on some sites and may become available in Hi Res. Diana's "Baby It's Me" deluxe is now available in 96/24 and it sounds great!

I would love a physical release, even on vinyl. However, I am not going to miss out on enjoying a release like this just because it is not available on CD or vinyl.

Many of those who cry "I will not buy this as a download" will become very familiar with this album by simply by listening to it on a free Spotify account and YouTube...all non-physical.

 

That's what I have been doing is listening to it on Spotify. I don't feel the huge desire to get it since it's out there online for free. Spotify is a racket but whatever. That's what the record companies get if you can't give the option of doing a physical release.