Take Me Higher

Take Me Higher is the twenty-first studio album by American singer Diana Ross. It was released by Motown Records on September 5, 1995 in the United States. Ross' first regular release in your years, following The Force Behind the Power (1991) and the holiday album A Very Special Season (1994), the album features production from urban producers such as Narada Michael Walden, Mike Mani, Louis Biancaniello, Jon-John and the Babyface protégés, The Boom Brothers.

Take Me Higher
Studio album by Diana Ross
Released	September 5, 1995
Genre	R&B[1] dance[1]
Length	50:50
Label	Motown
Producer	Louis Biancaniello The Boom Brothers Jon-John Mike Mani Nick Martinelli Monty Seward Narada Michael Walden
Diana Ross chronology
A Very Special Season (1994) Take Me Higher (1995) Voice of Love (1996)
Singles from Take Me Higher
"Take Me Higher" Released: August 5, 1995 "Gone"/"Swing It" Released: November 14, 1995 "Voice of the Heart"/"If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right" Released: February 20, 1996 "I Will Survive" Released: April 14, 1996

The album peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart and entered the top forty in Austria and Scottland as well as on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Take Me Higher yielded several singles, including the UK hits "Take Me Higher", "Gone" and Ross' dance cover of Gloria Gaynor's disco anthem "I Will Survive" (1978). Photographer Ruven Afanador shot the album cover and the fashion forward video shoot which Ross used for promotional purposes. He also shot the video compilation for the single, "Don't Stop".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

In a retrospective review for Allmusic, editor William Ruhlmann wrote that "combining the work of four separate producers who mostly tried to fit Ross into contemporary dance trends, the album did feature a club bit in the title song, while the ballad "Gone" made the Top 40 in the UK. But Ross herself seemed to have spent more time posing for the many fashion shots in the booklet than singing tbe pedestrian songs."[1] Vibe critic Elysa Gardner found that Take Me Higher was "mired in excess. There are too many collaborators, too much synthetic production and heavy-handed sentiment [...] the only palpable vision is a firm eye on the middle of the road."[1]

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, Take Me Higher debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Ross' first top ten album since Diana Ross (1976).[2] Elsewhere, it entered the top forty in Austria and Scottland, reaching number 40 and number 37, respectively.[3][4] In the United States, Take Me Higher underperformed,[1] peaking at 114 on the US Billboard 200 and number 38 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, while selling a little over 100,000 copies.[5]

Singles

Title track and lead single "Take Me Higher" became a hit on the dance charts, reaching number four on the UK Dance Singles, while topping the US Dance Club Songs.[2][6] Follow-up "Gone" became Ross' fourth top 40 entry in the UK,[2] while "If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right" reached number 67 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[6] "Voice of the Heart" peaked at number 28 on the US Adult Contemporary,[6] with "I Will Survive," Ross' cover of the Gloria Gaynor song, reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] Her version got an extra boost from being played at a key scene in Frank Oz's American comedy film, In & Out (1997). Ross also performed it during a "Take Me Higher" megamix at her acclaimed Super Bowl XXX Half-Time show as she was whisked away in a helicopter.

Track listing

US edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Me Higher"	Sally Jo Dakota Nikita Germaine Narada Michael Walden	Walden Mike Mani^[a]	4:18
2.	"If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right"	Monty Seward	The Boom Bros. Seward^[b]	4:41
3.	"Voice of the Heart"	John Bettis Bruce Roberts Julia Turner-Stanley	Nick Martinelli	4:218
4.	"Let Somebody Know"	Bunny Hull Brenda Russell		4:55
5.	"Keep It Right There"	Babyface Jon-John Robinson Chris Liscomb	Jon-John	4:50
6.	"Don't Stop"	Anthony Bryant Chuck Boom	The Boom Bros.	3:48
7.	"Gone"	Robinson	Jon-John	5:15
8.	"Only Love Can Conquer All"	Dakota Preston Glass Walden	Walden Louis Biancaniello^[a]	4:10
9.	"I Never Loved a Man Before"	Gerry Goffin Tom Snow	Martinelli	4:55
10.	"I Thought That We Were Still in Love"	Tom Snow Liz Vidal	Martinelli	4:52
11.	"I Will Survive"	Dino Fekaris Freddie Perren	Walden Biancaniello^[a]	4:48

International edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Me Higher"	Dakota Germaine Walden	Walden Mani^[a]	4:18
2.	"If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right"	Seward	The Boom Bros. Seward^[b]	4:41
3.	"I Never Loved a Man Before"	Goffin Snow	Martinelli	4:55
4.	"Swing It"	Babyface Robinson Liscomb	Jon-John	4:14
5.	"Keep It Right There"	Babyface Robinson Liscomb	Jon-John	4:50
6.	"Don't Stop"	Bryant Boom	The Boom Bros.	3:48
7.	"Gone"	Robinson	Jon-John	5:15
8.	"I Thought That We Were Still in Love"	Snow Vidal	Martinelli	4:52
9.	"Voice of the Heart"	Bettis Roberts Turner-Stanley	Martinelli	4:218
10.	"Only Love Can Conquer All"	Dakota Glass Walden	Walden Biancaniello^[a]	4:10
11.	"I Will Survive"	Fekaris Perren	Walden Biancaniello^[a]	4:48

Japan bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"If We Hold On Together"	James Horner Will Jennings	Peter Asher	4:09

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an associate producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an co-producer

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	40
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[3]	48
Scottish Albums (OCC)[4]	37
UK Albums (OCC)[2]	10
US Billboard 200[6]	114
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8]	38

References

1. "Take Me Higher". AllMusic. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
2. "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
3. "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana Ross – Take Me Higher" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
4. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
5. "THE SUPREMES, DIANA ROSS, STEVIE WONDER and RAY CHARLES.....USA album sales". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
6. "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Diana Ross – Take Me Higher" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
8. "Diana Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2017.