Donna Summer has had mixed fortunes over the years, mainly thanks to some alleged homophobic comments Summer was supposed to have made during the mid-1980s when AIDS was first being properly recognised.
However, the music has to be priority and this is a good collection of songs. The main styles are disco and pop. Here's a track-listing.
1. Love To Love You Baby (Single Version) 2. Could It Be Magic (Single Version) 3. I Feel Love (Edit) 4. Theme From The Deep (Down Deep Inside) 5. Love's Unkind 6. I Love You (Single Version) 7. Last Dance (Single Version) 8. MacArthur Park (Single Version) 9. Heaven Knows 10. Rumour Has It 11. Hot Stuff (Single Version) 12. Bad Girls (Edited Single Version) 13. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) 14. On The Radio 15. Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) 16. State Of Independence (Single Version) 17. She Works Hard For The Money (Edited Single Version) 18. Dinner With Gershwin 19. This Time I Know It's For Real
There are also imports and collector's editions available featuring more re-mixes. The internet is the best place to look for that. This CD was £9.99 from Amazon when I checked it out for someone.
I have to admit that for a "Very Best Of" collection, I wasn't altogether familiar with a lot of these songs. My personal favourites are "Love's Unkind", "Dinner With Gershwin" and "This Time I Know It's For Real".
"No More Tears" with Barbara Streisand is a disco classic while "Hot Stuff" is STILL reaping the rewards of being on the soundtrack of "The Full Monty" from 1997. Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Dionne Warwick and others, provide backing vocals on "State Of Independence". The cover of "Could It Be Magic" seems pointless.
Donna's Stock, Aitken and Waterman period is often looked down on her by long term fans and the press viewed it as a bit of a come down as well but I enjoyed "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt" and "Loves About To Change (My Heart)". It's a shame they are missing from this CD. Donna herself didn't want "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt" to be released on single and she refused to appear in the video. This could be why only one SAW produced song appears.
The CD cover shows Donna singing into a microphone, probably at a live show.
I would recommend this - it's good for a party! I do think some of the other collections available such as "The Best Of Donna Summer" from 1990 are better though. Maybe I'm just showing my age. Older people may prefer this new album as it has less emphasis on her 1980s material.
At the very least, hearing the original "Love's Unkind" and "On The Radio" may help you forget the awful Sophie Lawrence and Martine McCutcheon versions of these songs and Donna Summer has a superb voice.
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