SONG DISCUSSION: “The Answer’s Always Love” (2021)

“What if we could find a way to laugh, love, and pray?”

One of the big surprises for Diana Ross fans upon the release of Thank You in 2021 was the appearance of the name Siedah Garrett in the album credits. We knew Ms. Ross was working with a bevy of up-and-coming talents on the new studio album, but we hadn’t necessarily heard that the singer was recording a song written by the Grammy-winning Garrett. The two artists share a unique connection, of course; both will forever be linked to the legacy of Michael Jackson. Ms. Ross helped launch Michael Jackson’s career and remained a friend and something of a mentor to the superstar through his career; meanwhile, Garrett wrote Jackson’s huge hit “Man in the Mirror” and duetted with him on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” both from the blockbuster Bad album. Thus, it’s actually kind of shocking that Ross and Garrett have apparently never met; according to Garrett in a December 2021 Rolling Stone interview, “I feel like I know [Ross] because of how Michael talked about her all the time, and Michael’s relationship with her. I might even get to meet her. That is just going to be awesome.”

The song in question is titled “The Answer’s Always Love,” and it immediately became a fan favorite from Thank You. With a message focused on universal love and world peace, it feels tailor-made for Ms. Ross — after all, this is the woman who launched her solo career imploring people to “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand).” Interestingly, it wasn’t written specifically with Ross in mind. According to Siedah Garrett in that Rolling Stone interview, “I wrote a song many years ago that was very touching to me and very heartfelt. If I wasn’t going to sing the song on a record of my own, I really wanted a serious artist, a major artist with a maturity and an understanding of the lyrics. I thought about Celine Dion. I thought about Barbra Streisand. I thought about artists of that caliber, and I wouldn’t let it go until someone like that was interested in it. I knew I just had to wait.” 

Garrett goes on to say that her husband sent “The Answer’s Always Love” to Ms. Ross and her team, which is how the song ended up on the new album. So, clearly, the wait paid off…and it’s hard to imagine any other singer being a better fit for the song. From the repetition of the phrase, “You say I’m just a dreamer,” to the acoustic guitar and soft bed of strings, the song sounds like it could be a lost cut from Diana’s Touch Me In The Morning LP, directly recalling that album’s soft-pop tone and lyrical themes. It certainly helps that the singer’s voice sounds remarkably untouched since the early 1970s, as the clarity and roundness of her tone are nothing short of astonishing. And yet, this is a vocal performance that really benefits from the singer’s experience and wisdom; she gives the lyrics a relaxed, knowing reading, coming off as gentle but authoritative in her insistence that, “This world would be a perfect place to love, if only we could.” The song’s bridge, which leads to a climactic key change, gives the singer a chance to display some real power and to stretch toward the top end of her range, which she handles nicely.

If there’s any drawback to “The Answer’s Always Love” (which was produced by Troy Miller) it’s that the song is sandwiched between some really fresh, modern cuts on Thank You, which only heightens the track’s vintage feel. Recordings like “Thank You” and “I Still Believe” may reference some of the singer’s best work from the 1970s and 1980s, but they also carry her sound forward. “The Answer’s Always Love” doesn’t do that — it doesn’t break any new ground in the singer’s career — and coming directly after the wistful contemporary soul of “In Your Heart” and the snappy pop-jazz of “Just in Case,” listeners may feel a flatness here. That said, just as many will find comfort in its well-worn sound. At the end of the day, every new song doesn’t need to display a sonic progression. For fans who like their Diana Ross on a ballad with strings, “The Answer’s Always Love” will do the trick. In a way, it’s a full-circle moment, returning Ms. Ross to the folk-soul that launched her solo career.

Here’s hoping that Ms. Ross and Ms. Garrett not only meet in person, but also have the chance to work together again. Who knows what further magic this gifted writer and equally gifted interpreter of lyrics could create together?