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Pure
Gold
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- LOVE TO LOVE
YOU BABY: Meant as a demo, it turned out to have an enormous
impact on Donna's career (and pop culture as well). After years
of mixed feelings about it, Donna seems to have finally realized
it's just a great love song. In fact, she's singing it in concerts
again.
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- COULD IT BE
MAGIC: Barry Manilow never sounded so hip. Donna adored this
song. And it shows.
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- TRY ME, I
KNOW WE CAN MAKE IT: Probably the cutest melody ever written
by the Summer/Moroder/Bellotte team. It also features a spectacular
high note ("all the time...").
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- SPRING AFFAIR:
Some thought it was reminiscent of Diana Ross' first disco hit
(LOVE HANGOVER) but that song was heavily inspired by LOVE TO
LOVE YOU BABY, so... Who was copying who?
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- I FEEL LOVE:
The future of music in 1977. The future of music today. Mysteriously
timeless.
I LOVE YOU: Donna talks about declarations of love in a way that's
gentle, straightforward and filled with passion. An effortless
yet amazing vocal performance.
LAST DANCE: Donna was recording the song in the middle of the
night. At 3 o' clock in the morning she was finished and quickly
went in her car and drove up and down the street in L.A., in
the mountains. With the convertible top of her Mercedes down
she kept singing "Last dance, last chance..." to herself,
to the sky. At 5:30 in the morning she went to Paul Jabara's
house. He heard the music and jumped out of the bed, asking what
was happening, half asleep. Donna played him the finished tape
and they got excited, jumped like kids, hugged and sang together.
A masterpiece was born.
MAC ARTHUR PARK: When legendary composer Jimmy Webb learned that
Giorgio Moroder and Donna were cutting a disco version of his
song, he thought they didn't stand a chance to create a hit.
He was wrong. Donna's version of MAC ARTHUR PARK is Webb's only
number one song.
HOT STUFF: Another case of mutual inspiration. HOT STUFF was
modeled after the tempo of Rod Stewart's DA YA THINK I'M SEXY,
which was the first of a number of disco/dance oriented hits
for the British rocker. Donna won a Grammy in the Best Rock Vocal
Performance category - the first black artist in history to do
so.
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- BAD GIRLS:
Donna's record company didn't think it was a right song for her.
Written in 1977 and released only in 1979, it became Donna's
best selling single (in the U.S.).
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- DIM ALL THE LIGHTS: a sex(y) proposal written from a manly perspective, Donna originally wanted to give the song to Rod Stewart, then decided to keep it for herself. Wise decision. DIM ALL THE LIGHTS got a gold certification, a Number 2 on the charts and the record for the Top Ten single containing the longest held note ("let it fill you up").
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- NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH):
Donna was feeling tired and recovering from a cold while recording
this. One can only imagine what would've happened had she been
in top vocal form, like Streisand was.
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- SHE WORKS
HARD FOR THE MONEY: Donna's tribute to the ordinary working women
deserved to win a Grammy as Record of the year - especially for
the song's message.
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- UNCONDITIONAL
LOVE: After STATE OF INDEPENDENCE, another beautiful spiritual
song lit by the tropical Sun. Donna's voice shines like pure
gold.
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- THERE GOES
MY BABY: A great lesson in song covering. Donna takes the Drifters'
classic and makes it her own, making it sound like a brand-new
song.
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- THIS TIME
I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL: Donna, Peter Waterman & co. wrote it
the first day they worked together for the ANOTHER PLACE AND
TIME album. It was the first song they wrote. They chose to release...
the first take.
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- YOU'RE SO
BEAUTIFUL: The quest for new Donna Summer material is such that
it became a hit in clubs long before being officially released.
Donna's style sounds as fresh and contemporary as ever.
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©
2005 Sebastiano Lionti
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