One Woman-Ultimate Collection (CD)

THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION is as all-encompassing as a single disc can be in cataloging a three-decade career (so far) that could be filed under any of a dozen or so branches of pop and R&B. (For the complete story, see the four-disc set FOREVER DIANA: MUSICAL MEMOIR.) A sort of Motown blend of Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross started out as a singer of amazing torch songs with the most sensual of all girl groups, the Supremes, and eventually became bigger than her name. Since then, she has been as willing to sing the most sentimental of ballads as to take on a new dance beat. And Ross has handled every move with class; she rarely sounds like a pop star stooping to latch onto a trendy new sound, but rather like a seasoned balladeer reaching for a new melody.

THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION starts with five Supremes classics, and then moves on to a solo career that included such disparate hits as the gorgeous MOR ballad "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?)" and the sublime disco treat "Upside Down." It also includes Frankie Knuckles' thoroughly '90s dance remix of the Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together" (from 1994's DIANA EXTENDED: THE REMIXES), a song that brings both her career and this generous disc full circle.