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Donna Summer consolidates her R&B fan base

WAYNE ALLAN DICKSON | Glasgow, Lanarkshire United Kingdom | 08/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have read all of the customer reviews of this album and wonder if people have even listened to it. So many of them seem bitter about the fact that it broke up the team of Summer/Moroder/Bellotte and delayed the release of the 1981 (as yet incomplete) album 'I'm A Rainbow' for fifteen years. It is a great shame that such a wonderful album as rainbow was never properly completed and released when it was recorded, but Summer was already an artist in her own right and was never going to be reliant on that original team to deliver her hits. More importantly, her music defied category. People will tell you she is more Pop than R&B and yet she has amassed 27 Top 40 R&B hits against 20 on the Pop chart. When I Feel Love became her second Top 40 single on the Hot 100, it became her seventh on the Soul chart. Like Dionne Warwick before her and Whitney Houston after her, she crossed over and back again. So to team her up with the greatest Jazz, Pop and Soul producer of all time was always going to be a stroke of genius. Well documented circumstances may have prevented it from being perfect but what we have here is not far from it.1) LOVE IS IN CONTROL (FINGER ON THE TRIGGER):
The lead single and now a classic. Quincy speeds up his trademark sound to evoke earlier Summer hits and creates one of her best in the process. (Pop #10, R&B #4, UK #18)2) MYSTERY OF LOVE :
One of the standouts with James Ingram joining Donna on the second verse with a harmony vocal. This was a prime candidate for single release but James Ingram wanted a duet credit which was not agreed to so single release was cancelled.3) THE WOMAN IN ME :
From the writers of the Pointer Sisters' Slow Hand comes a fair ballad that although well sung, was perhaps an ambitious choice for single release. (Pop #33, R&B #30, UK #62)4) STATE OF INDEPENDENCE :
A true masterpiece by anyone's standard. Quincy Jones has often cited this recording which features an all-star choir as a warm up for We Are The World. US radio programmers found this new world anthem a little confusing, but in the UK it's slow burning sales meant that the 12" single version was not deleted until 1990 when it was reissued as the first single from The Best Of Donna Summer. (Pop #41, R&B #31, UK #14 - 1990 reissue #45 - 1996 remix #13)5) LIVIN' IN AMERICA :
A patriotic singalong to Life in 1982 USA. It should be naff and embarrassing, well it is a little but it's also fantastic! Should have been a single.6) PROTECTION :
Bruce Springsteen was about to give Donna his song Cover Me for this album but decided on this rock track which they originally recorded as a duet. If anything, this one is a little under-produced but the performances are first-rate.7) (IF IT) HURTS JUST A LITTLE :
Classic funky Quincy Jones here with Donna reminding us why her black audience remains her most loyal.8) LOVE IS JUST A BREATH AWAY :
Atmospheric synth-pop that picks up where Moroder and Bellotte left off. Laura Branigan would have killed for this.9) LUSH LIFE :
This is quite simply one of the best readings of a jazz standard I have ever heard. Donna says that this is the most difficult track she has ever recorded but the production and performance here is unparalleled. Just before the song begins to fade you'd swear that Donna Summer had turned into the alto-sax accompanying her and back again. Spine-chilling.This album is a classic Quincy Jones album. It's a classic pop and soul album. Believe me when I tell you that it's one of THE classic Donna Summer albums."

"THIS ONE I LIKED A LOT..."

L. Kelsey | Riverside, CA. United States | 10/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"even though it seems others didn't like this album. It's definitely all over the place, but because Donna is such a talent, she helps bring it all together. There is a little something for everybody. "Love is in Control" is an example of the R&B of the day. "Protection" allows her to "rock on," with a little help from the BOSS. "If It Hurts Just a Little" is a little funky and "Love is Just a Breath Away," a little disco. To me the song that lets Donna show off her gorgeous voice is "Lush Life," a classic jazz standard. Yes, this album has Quincy Jones written all over it but come on, that's not such a bad thing. I guess sometimes two very creative and strong willed people have a hard time getting it together. Like I said though, I LIKED THIS ALBUM A LOT and I feel it's one of Donna's better efforts during the '80's. If anything, it was a chance for her to show off her voice. And believe me, that's a GOOD THING!"

The Soul of Summer

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 02/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Regardless of the flak this album received, this, along with 'Bad girls', are my all time favourite Donna Summer albums. It showcases her vocals in a way never heard before then, deep, rich and powerful, to a diverse array of songs.



Produced by Quincy Jones, it was recorded while Donna was pregnant with her third Daughter Amanda Grace, when she says she was low on creativity. This shows in the fact that only 2 of the 9 tracks are co penned by her.



This album was an attempt to move into the R&B direction which Donna had never really done before. It wasn't such a huge commercial success (number 20 on the hot 200 and certified gold); it however incorporated R&B, Rock, euro pop and Jazz to great effect. Every track was perfect.



The opening cut and lead off single 'Love is in control (finger on the trigger)' was a top 10 hit on the hot 100, as well as making the top 20 in places like the UK and Germany. With blaring horns, a funky rhythm, a little rap, and a danceable beat, it has Donna's vocals racing along to the beat. Nominated for a Grammy for best R&B song.



'Mystery of love', a gentle R&B dance number with a great piano intro, James Ingram providing backing howls, and a break before the final chorus, is another dazzling number.



'The woman in me', a beautiful synthesizer laced ballad with sexy vocals and a mesmerising male backing chorus made it to number 33 on the hot 100.



'State of independence' is the magnum opus of the album. A delightful lilting Caribbean laced number with an awesome anthemic chorus and chanting provided by Michael Jackson, Kenny Loggins, Brenda Russel, Lionel Richie, Dionne Warwick, and Christopher Cross among others. Thematically, it is a song about universal love, peace, and unity. This song was cited by Quincy Jones as being the precursor to 'We are the world'. It only made it to 41 on the hot 100.



'Livin' in America' is a cheerful declaration of life in the USA, living the American dream, complete with a children's chorus at the end. Sung in a lower register to a sparse, deep synthesizer bass, with lashings of vocoder and blaring horn, it was co penned by Donna.



'Protection' was written for Donna by Bruce Springsteen. It is a galloping number, with Donnas vocals recorded to self harmonize, which gives the song a girl group feel. Great wailing guitar and a racing beat combine to make this one of her best rock songs. It also garnered her third Grammy nomination for best rock song by a female (to date) of her career.



'If it hurts just a little' is a gentle slice of synthesized R&B with excellent male backing vocals. This song was sampled a couple of years ago by a European group called Cassius to give them a European hit.



'Love is just a breath away' is the only song that really sounds like Donna of old. A synthesizer driven number that starts off on a hesitant beat before galloping to an accompaniment of tweeting and swirling electronics, it has Donna singing in towering forlorn vocals about a love that is far away. You can feel the longing in her voice above the strumming synthesizers. This was the second song co penned by Donna.



'Lush life' in my opinion is the best ever version of this song. Every other version sounds the same, only with different singers. Written in 1948 by Billy Strayhorn, it is a lush torch number. Donna states that this was one of the most difficult songs she's ever had to sing, with Quincy urging her to sing it over and over till she got it right. Giving it a unique feel are excellent subtle synthesizers, lush strings, horns, and Donna's vocals powering away through every note, especially towards the end where her voice and the sax blend into one long powerful blast. In fact, she duets with the sax in the tracks closing minute.



The cover photography by David Alexander is very colourful with Donna's hair thrown over her face, and a rainbow background. Beautiful!



This album is an essential item for every music lover."