Love to Love You, Donna Summer Albums

donna had great singles, but bad albums. the only album of hers i felt was necessary to own is the "4 seasons of love" one, everything else is 12"s....

I went for Once Upon A Time, her Exile on Main Street. But soooo much goodness here.

And just remember:

"Don't you believe that your dreams all come true (clap clap)
the fairy tale world inside can bring it to you (clap clap)
you just have to wish, and you'll take off and fly

On a fairy (clap clap) tale high (clap clap), fairy (clap clap) tale high (clap clap)
fairy (clap clap) tale high (clap clap), fairy (clap clap) tale high (clap clap)"

Yeah right.

Great poll, Soto!

Inspired by hearing "This Time I Know It's For Real" on the radio an hour ago. The best S-A-W song ever?

Oh probably. And one of Summer's best. "Walk a tightrope way up high/Write your name across the sky" reads banal on paper. But under SAW's wall of dink and with their greatest singer, they could get me to believe that sky is purple. For real.

Had to go with I Remember Yesterday, not only for "I Feel Love" but also "Love's Unkind" and the corny and loveable title track.

Unpopular opinion: her Quincy Jones album is actually preferable to a number of her Moroder albums, at least as an album.

Had to go with I Remember Yesterday, not only for "I Feel Love" but also "Love's Unkind" and the corny and loveable title track.

and "Take Me"!

I don't own the Q-produced album and probably should. Anyone want to post a longer defense? (I think Marcello said somewhere that he preferred it to Thriller).

I think that I probably said that as well. In retrospect, it plays very much like the blueprint for Thriller, so much so you can nearly match them song for song.

I never realized how much I love "This Time I Know Et Al" until just now. Blasted Moroder prejudice kept me from embracing it when I first went through the Donna craze.

"Finger On The Trigger" & "Wanna Be Startin Something" -- hooky calls to dance floor, post-disco because they're too fast for that

"Mystery Of Love" & "Baby Be Mine" -- back to disco, overorchestrated and lush, probably dated-sounding then, very much in the Patrice Rushen style

"State of Independence" & "Thriller" -- self-consciously epic in intent, overwrought Side A capper; weirdly it's the Donna song that, in its infinite capacity for reveling in its own world beat attitude, seems to have informed the rest of Jackson's career

"Protection" & "Beat It" -- rock, though Donna's actually sounds a little bit more authentic, if not as good

"Lush Life" & "The Lady In My Life" -- the vinyl equivalent of a bonus track, since I bet they got skipped pretty often; they're both underrated, and though I wouldn't take Donna's version over Johnny Hartman, it's surprisingly convincing

The rest are either generic or don't really have a partner ("The Woman In Me" is sensual in a way Jackson would never try).

I've warmed to "State of Independence," but it still shows an infinite capacity for reveling in its own New Age platitudes; there's a chord change in the last minute and a half strong enough to suggest that she and the song almost transcend this.

Christgau:

Turkeys this humongous will soon go the way of the dodo, and for the same excellent reason--they defy all aerodynamic principles. Misshapen and useless despite a not-bad hit single and a not-bad Springsteen song, it's an object lesson in record-biz malfeasance from the Horatio Alger lies of "Livin' in America" to the lumpish desecration of "Lush Life," and Summer thanks God so often it's surprising she couldn't talk Him into joining Dyan Cannon, Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, and Peggy Lipton Jones in the All Star Choir that chants this Inspirational Verse from Jon Anderson and Vangelis: "Shablamidi, shablamida/Shablamidi/Shablamidi, shablamida." C

I can't actually argue against any of that. It's sort of one of those "albums that get a pass because I grew up with it."

That said, it could still be not that great and stand shoulder with some of Summer's stronger LPs.

What no On the Radio? Grrr.

Interesting fact: "State of Independence" is Eno's favorite DS song.

I agree with you in that I more tolerate than like "State of Independence" until the last minute. It's not really a key change, but rather those waves of augmented synth chords. Dippy but effective.

On the Radio would be cheating ... but then so would Live And More if anyone actually voted for it.

But On the Radio is not just a greatest hits record, it's BLAH BLAH BLAH never mind.

Donna probably should have recorded this.

Seems you aren't the only one who warmed to "State of Independence," Alfred.

Endless Summer [Mercury, 1994]
You want meaning, I've got a nice Nick Drake CD I could sell you. This here is emotional sensation, the staple of contemporary bigpop. Her belated one-disc best-of does include the permanent excrescence "MacArthur Park" as well as a Vangelis hymn that has actually aged rather well. So you can blame the hit parade on her if you want. She'll be proud, and vocally, she'll still love to love you mister--or sister, or kid, whatever, she's utterly ecumenical (although at low points she's been known to poke nervous fun at the gay men who made her a star). When she's not simply stupendous, she simulates passion with a velvety finish. A

"Bad Girls" obv.

There are a lot of her 70s albums that I haven't been able to track down though. Particularly "Once Upon a Time" is probably great, if not as great as "Bad Girls".

I love the concept feel of Once Upon A Time, especially the first few tracks.

I'm with Geir--please shoot me now! (One of these days I'll have to check out the rest of her '70s albums.)

ON THE RADIO: Greatest Hits Volume 1 + 2!

"Once Upon A Time" because it has "Working The Midnight Shift" ... sooo good!

yes the b-side of 'once upon a time' is unstoppable, too bad the other three sides are so bad. i voted 'love trilogy'.

I like/love every Casablanca (and earlier) album in varying degrees. Seems to me that her forte wasn't albums OR singles but album sides. Bad Girls[ is the obvious first candidate, but lately I've been enamoured of Four Seasons of Love - a more consistently enjoyable concept album than Once Upon a Time, even tho the concept doesn't extend past the song titles.

Naturally, I know next to nothing about her post-Wanderer albums.

Why "naturally?" Another Place and Time is godhead.

I don't own it :(

Hey hookers! Did y'all know that the great Michael Freedberg reviewed some of Summer's early albums on Allmusic? Here's his take on One Upon A Time...:

Donna Summer and her liberators have created one audience and redefined another, and this record's four sides of dream worlds without end sometimes manipulate each audience. The candy-girl music of "Fairy Tale High," "Queen for a Day," and "If You Got It Flaunt It" explicitly recognizes her newly created gay audience, a daring acknowledgement coming from a mainstream pop star. As for her redefined audience of naïve young things who live in the suburbs and dream of romance, adventure, and sex while they search for identity, Summer works her music into a true-to-life Cinderella story staged as four acts of impatient pulse, delirious space noise, wish-upon-a-star voice monologues, and motion.

Space noise. I love it! What else has he reviewed on Allmusic?

I don't own it :(

Wait. Didn't you praise "This Time I Know It's For Real?" You're only familiar with the single? Oh then you'll adore the album! "I Don't Want To Get Hurt!" And the closer "Love's About To Change My Heart!" Here's how the latter looks typed out:

"Love's about to change my (several orchestral duh duh duhs) (pause) (then a thousand echoed Donnas sing a cappella) Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrrarrrrarrrrarrrarrrrarrrt!" (then DISCO til end!!!). I'm seriously getting the chills while I type.

I can YSI if you'd like.

Oh, I know the singles thanks to Gold – "I Don't Want To Get Hurt" is the best Pet Shop Boys song never written.

yes the b-side of 'once upon a time' is unstoppable, too bad the other three sides are so bad.

I admit the woman has side three (b-side???) problems. But side three of Once Upon A Time... sinks in after a couple of listens. Plus its general lethargy is necessary for the weighted down feel of the enterprise as a whole.

And side one is unimpeachably great. It can't all be space noise, ya know.

How come more bitches aren't voting in this poll???????

You can send OUAT, Kevin!

Why "naturally?" Another Place and Time is godhead.

"Naturally" because I'm a cranky old drone who loves to create imaginary and arbitrary boundaries (i.e. '70s vs 80s, Casablanca vs. Geffen, etc.) to justify my own loss of interest in my onetime favourite performers' continuing body of work. (It's not them: it's ME!)

I want a YSI of 12" mixes NOW!

I have always thought "Four Seasons of Love" had the most artistic merit.

I remember when I first heard "Spring Affair", whew!

I also love the Maddy Prior "Year" album, although this is obviously where she stole the idea from. ;-)

Yeah, but Maddy Prior didn't have a surname that was already a season...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I really sort of hate Bad Girls as an album.

I'm a Rainbow is underrated! "People Talk" is probably my favorite song. So atmospheric...great fretless bassline.

new song: http://myplay.com/videos/donna-summer/stamp-your-feet

video suggests that there was no promo budget whatsoever; song will provide fodder for many eurohouse samples

Ugh. It's so . . . generic and unmemorable. And it does look cheaply-produced. How in the world isn't Donna Summer -- even at this late stage of her career -- not given more of a promotional push?

The delux edition of Bad Girls is v. good. Among all the obv. great singles are some good album tracks, e.g., Journey To The Center Of Your Heart. If it only had the mind-blowingly good and edgy (even today) Love To Love You Baby on the album, it would be a damn-near perfect disco album (well, aside from some of the schmaltzy songs).

How in the world isn't is Donna Summer -- even at this late stage of her career -- not given more of a promotional push?

Fixed. Damn typos.

as it turns out, the entire Donna Summer album came from Girlie Action in today's mail

Her eponymously titled record is peak 80s sessioneer electropop and wonderful. The enormous Minimoog basslines, LM-1 grooves programmed by Steve Porcaro, the Greg Philliganes comping, tasty Michael Sembello guitar licks, Rod Temperton vocoder intrusions, and sumptuous James Ingram vocal arrangements make almost every song work, something that can’t be said for any of the Moroder albums barring perhaps A Love Trilogy.

For an artist with such a iconically defined sound world, the Q Treatment shouldn’t work for her but it does. “Love Is In Control (Finger on the Trigger)” is an almost perfect opener – more or less immediately establishing how well Summer can own whatever treatment is put in front of her, whether it’s facile EW&F-style soul pop (it doesn’t hurt that Ingram’s vocal arrangement on the chorus is outstandingly simpatico) or carrying pseudo neoclassical disco duets worthy of Ashford and Simpson like “Mystery of Love” (alas, not the Julee Cruise tune). All of which is to say this sounds like the Donna Summer we know doing very un-Donna Summer-like things very successfully.

And this is not even including “State of Independence,” a remarkable thing by any metric whose world beat pretensions, faux Aboriginal chants and dippy New Age mysticism has indeed aged like fine Bedouin hasheesh. Jon and Vangelis’ structure here, virtually through composed in three parts, with the B section not appearing until two minutes in and its epic climax delivered by the We Are the World Tabernacle, is a force of nature – a sly nod to the MacArthur Park suite in terms of both tone and scope but also as jarringly unprecedented as Moroder’s treatment of Sparks’ “The Number One Song in Heaven.”

There’s a lot here to digest, much of which seems facile at first but isn’t or shouldn’t work but does—not least of which is the dream-like epilogue of “Lush Life”—but suffice it to say that I love this record.

also as jarringly unprecedented as Moroder’s treatment of Sparks’ “The Number One Song in Heaven.”

Her eponymously titled record is peak 80s sessioneer electropop and wonderful.

OTM. Still think "State of Independence" doesn't work.

My favorite albums.

Much prefer A Love Trilogy, which seems kind of forgotten after Love to Love You Baby, to Once Upon a Time, which bores me outside of the mechanistic second side. Trilogy’s “Try Me, I Know We Can Make It” never falters over 18 minutes. And while the Manilow track drags side two down a bit, “Wasted” is a great performance and “Come With Me” is one her sneaky best Munich Machine cuts.

I love "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It”

Good list. I haven't heard The Wanderer for some reason.

I think my top five would be,

Once Upon A Time
A Love Trilogy
Bad Girls
Donna Summer
I Remember Yesterday

The Wanderer is such weird album.

Four Seasons of Love is thematically perfect and with just four really lovely tunes and no filler how can you lose

I Remember Yesterday starts with "I Remember Yesterday" and ends with "I Feel Love"...imagine listening to that when it came out...the range

I always forget that my older sister, in between Bowie/Roxy and punk rock went through a disco/clubbing phase and had at least two Donna Summer albums, the one I remember most is A Love Trilogy.

I don't think that journey from glam to disco to punk was that uncommon - in the UK anyway.

I Remember Yesterday starts with "I Remember Yesterday" and ends with "I Feel Love"...imagine listening to that when it came out...the range

OTM. Plus Love's Unkind. I like the whole album tbh.

(xp) I suspect Roxy splitting up and Bryan Ferry growing a moustache gave impetus to punk rock in the UK.

Interesting comment though. I think there are even artists who transitioned from glam to disco in the UK (not as many in the US). I’m thinking of people like Zenda Jacks, once compared to Suzi Quatro but who later joined Silver Convention as a disco singer. I feel as if there are others like her.

Come With Me” is one her sneaky best Munich Machine cuts.

Particularly love this track but A Love Trilogy as a whole is great.