In the fall of 1977,Donna Summer released her first double album,the lavishly packaged 'Once Upon A Time' album.For the most part,I love all of her albums from the 70s,but this one is a mixed bag for me.It's a concept album loosely based on "Cinderella",but much of the songwriting is sloppy and uneven.There are some wonderful songs here,but there's also alot of filler.But the biggest problem of all is Donna's singing! On the first record (Sides 1 and 2),she's barely singing....her vocals are flat and lifeless on songs like "Faster and Faster To Nowhere" and "Fairy Tale High".She sounds like she's just going through the motions,cranking out yet another album before year's end (several months earlier,she released 'I Remember Yesterday',a more focused,more enjoyable album).In the book 'Donna Summer:Her Life and Music" by Josiah Howard,the album's arranger Bob Esty has some interesting insight on the making of this album.He had just worked with Donna on "Last Dance" (recorded in the summer of 1977 but kept in the vaults for a whole year) and was called to work on the new album:

Esty entered the recording studio,looking for Donna."I kept saying "Where's Donna?" but we did the music for the entire album without her having heard a note of it",he says."I thought the whole thing was odd,but I was getting paid a flat fee,so I just went with it.When Donna returned to Munich after her tour,she listened to the music I had arranged and wrote the entire album with Pete Bellotte in just a few days".Esty was kept away from Donna's vocal sessions,but after her first night of recording,he made an early morning trip to the studio and listened to what Donna had done.

"When I heard the first track "Once Upon A Time",I thought she sounded like Billie Burke (Glinda The Good Witch) from The Wizard Of Oz",he says."On several of the other songs,she just stopped singing altogether.So I thought it was her first night of kind of fooling around in the studio.I mentioned to (engineer) Juergen Koppers that Donna had put down some nice rough vocals and he said 'Oh no,that's it'.I said "What do you mean that's it?".Esty learned that Donna had no intention of doing any extra work on those tracks.From his work with her on "Last Dance",Esty was well aware of the breadth of Donna's vocal talent and was shocked that she would be satisfied to present herself so poorly.

"In my misplaced fury,I went marching up to (producer) Giorgio Moroder's office,"Esty recalls."I said,'Giorgio,I heard Donna's vocals.You don't mean to tell me that those are the final vocals?' He said "Oh yes,those are the vocals'.I said 'But they're no good-where is her voice?' He just looked at me straight in the eye and said "That's what she wants".In retrospect,Esty attributes Donna's brisk,straightforward approach to recording vocals to her overwhelming feelings of powerlessness concerning the direction of her music."At that point in her career,she wasn't really in charge of anything,so I don't think the album mattered much to her," he says."It was just another project,just another thing to get through.When she got bored with the songs,she would just stop singing and leave the studio."Faster and Faster To Nowhere" is one of those songs-we had to mask it by adding all those backgrounds".

As I mentioned above,the album has some noteworthy moments.The haunting "Now I Need You" boasts a pulsing beat,some cool synthesizer work and a scary-sounding chorus.It's arguably the best song on the album and I like the way it segues into "Working The Midnight Shift".Both of these songs are dark and edgy.The slower numbers "A Man Like You" and the even better "Sweet Romance" are sensational....finally,we get to hear the full power of Donna's voice! "Dance Into My Life" features a clever,complex arrangement..slow verses and a fast chorus.Unfortunately,the filler tracks are irritating.The silly "If You've Got It,Flaunt It" is one of Donna's worst songs."Queen For A Day" is even worse."Happily Ever After" is a boring closer for what is supposed to be a big,dramatic concept album.As Esty pointed out,Donna's vocals on the title track are unlistenable.The first single "I Love You" is a good song that suffers from a repetitive chorus.Overall,I think the album is just okay but it's not one of her best.Out of all her 70s albums,it's the one that I listen to the least.It seems like it could have been a great album,but it falls short.If Donna had used stronger vocals and if a few tracks were replaced,it could have been a fantastic disco album.I actually prefer the live versions of these songs that appear on her 1978 'Live and More' album....she puts more power and enthusiam into the songs.

Agreed, it's probably the weakest album from her golden periods, but it does have towering highlights. When is her back catalogue being remastered?

Shapeshifter said:

They recently packaged her first three albums in a box set,but unfortunately,the CDs are not remastered at all.There are no new liner notes,photos,or anything,just a nice box



I'm waiting for 'I Remember Yesterday' and 'Live and More' to get the remastered treatment.

SoulAlive said:

They should remaster the whole lot. Donna's ripe for reappraisal, I think.

Shapeshifter said:

I agree.I'm amazed that they haven't done so already.I can think of numerous lesser artists who have already had their catalogs fully remastered.

Shapeshifter said:

what are your favorite songs from this album?

I only got one Donna Summer album thus far. My LP version of She Works Hard For The Money.
Donna looks kinda hot on the cover dressed up as a waitress

FuNkeNsteiN said:

get some of her 70s albums,they're great

SoulAlive said:

I was thinking about getting Love To Love You Baby

FuNkeNsteiN said:

That's a good choice also get 'I Remember Yesterday','Live and More' and 'Bad Girls'.

SoulAlive said:

There's a copy of the Bad Girls vinyl at a nearby flea market. That's where I found my She Works Hard For The Money

FuNkeNsteiN said:

get 'Bad Girls' asap!!

I think it's so tight and so well written. Despite it's kind of simple theme, some of the songs are so deep, like "Sweet Romance". The sound is amazing. From techno (a whole side of electronic songs), to funk ("If You Got It Flaunt It") to poppy disco ("Say Something Nice"). It's her first masterpiece, although "Four Seasons Of Love" is pretty close. I also love the vocals and the fact that she is singing like a girl. SHe could redo the vocals and give them the power we know she has. but I can't imagine this album any other way.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

If you like that, you really have to buy some of her seventies stuff. I think "She" is one of her weakest albums (if not weakest overall). Maybe an overall collection like "Gold" or (if it's in print) "Donna Summer Anthology" that samples all the albums, even some non-hits.

SoulAlive said:

And despite what people are saying, "Once Upon A TIme" is a strong album. There is a reason that despite not being a big seller not and yielding any hits, it remains in print while some others aren't.

VinnyM27 said:

I think the album would have worked better as one LP.Get rid of the filler and the whole "Cinderella" concept and you'd have a good album:

DONNA SUMMER 'SWEET ROMANCE' (release date: fall 1977)

"Now I Need You"
"Working The Midnight Shift"
"Dance Into My Life"
"Say Something Nice"
"Rumour Has It"
"I Love You"
"A Man Like You"
"Sweet Romance"

VinnyM27 said:

Back in the 70s,artists released new albums so quickly that there was no time to release a bunch of singles.Even though 'Once Upon A Time' isn't one of my favorite Donna Summer albums,I still think there were several potential singles."Now I Need You" has the same type of dark,techno feel as "I Feel Love"...I know it would have been a big hit.I also think that one of the ballads (either "A Man Like You" or "Sweet Romance") could have been a hit,introducing her to another whole audience (adult contemporary).


Two singles were released from this project ("I Love You" and "Rumour Has It") but those songs became only minor hits.

SoulAlive said:

"I Love You" is an OK song but I think nearly any other song on the album had more single potenial.