HELLY YES!

Uh-huh

"Super Bullet #1!"

Yay, of course

CALLING SoulAlive! Mayday! Mayday!. Anyway, yeah this track is bumpin'. I like the little MJ "woohoo" on the hook. I remember when it first came out, the first few times that I heard it, for some odd reason, I didn't think it was Donna. BUT someone who was trying to sound like Donna singing a track that sounded like something Michael would do. Then when I found out it was actually Donna, then I was like "Oh".

blackguitaristz said:

Donna did sound a little different in that song. I heard she and Quincy Jones had difficulty getting along because she was so used to Giorgio Moroder producing her. I think Donna said that at one time. Or was it Quincy? Either way, Donna was probably angry at Quincy and that's why at some point she sung rough in the song. I love her MJ falsetto too.

In fact, this came out before Thriller did so this tapped into the sound Quincy had with Off the Wall and The Dude, it also sounded a bit like "Stuff Like That", which makes Donna's song even more funkier for me.

AlexdeParis said:

Yep! Love it.

blackguitaristz said:

i hadn't heard this song since i was a kid until i bought her greatest hits last year...i was shocked to hear it cause me memory led me to believe this was an mj song .

Quincy HATED these sessions and working the Donna!!! He has said that many times, didn't go into too much detail, but nonetheless, was the worst for him!!!

A big yay...I love this song!

It was great to hear Donna doing a funky song that's pure R&B,as opposed to the pop stuff that she usually preferred.I like the fast,relentless arrangement of this song....it makes Donna have to hang on for dear life,lol.The background vocals (by Howard Hewitt and James Ingram) are fast and furious.Like blackguitarisz pointed out,the song is very Michael Jackson-sounding.It wouldn't have sounded out of place on 'Thriller'.
[Edited 4/25/08 0:01am]

tricky2 said:

There were a few problems during these sessions.In the summer of 1981,Donna and her old producers (Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte) went into the studio and recorded a new album titled 'I'm A Rainbow'.It was a 2-record set.When they presented the finished album to David Geffen (head of Geffen Records),he rejected the album and demanded that Donna go back into the studio with another producer.He chose Quincy Jones,which resulted in the 'Donna Summer' album,released in the summer of '82.

This partly explains why there were problems during the recording of the album.Donna was devastated that her previous project was cancelled ("It was kinda like having a miscarriage",she has said).She probably feels that she was "forced" to make an album with Quincy.The rejected album was much more personal for her,as she had co-written many of the songs.On the Quincy album,he brought in many outside songwriters,giving Donna much less creative control.As if that wasn't enough,she was pregnant during the recording sessions and didn't always feel like singing.There were many days when Quincy had to really encourage her to give her all.

Still,she was satisfied with the finished results.In an interview from several years ago,she said this album is one of her favorites.

Yay!

AS MUCH AS Q MAY HAVE HATED IT.....THE TRACK IS CRACKIN'!!!!!

I used to make these 2 related-album mixtapes and the Thriller/Donna was in my car for ages. Loved it.

A
1 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2 Mystery of Love
3 The Girl Is Mine
4 State of Independence
5 Beat It
6 Protection
7 Human Nature
8 Love Is Just a Breath Away
9 The Lady in My Life
B
1 Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)
2 Baby Be Mine
3 The Woman in Me
4 Thriller
5 Livin' in America
6 Billie Jean
7 (If It) Hurts Just a Little
8 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9 Lush Life

PANDURITO said:

In many ways,the 'Donna Summer' album was like a dress rehearsal for 'Thriller'.Quincy used many of the same production techniques for Thriller....

***Donna's album includes a big rock song ("Protection") with a guitar solo by a popular rock artist (Bruce Springsteen).

***Michael's album includes a big rock song ("Beat It") with a guitar solo by a popular rock artist (Eddie Van Halen).

***Donna's album features a song with a choir ("State Of Independence")

***Michael's album features a song with a choir,sorta ("Wanna Be Startin Something")

***"Love Is in Control" is similiar,musically,to MJ's "P.Y.T"

SoulAlive said:

Yeah, that album paved the way for Thriller. Michael must've been in the studio seeing Q and Donna going over painstakingly over the album and discovered a template that he's used since: have a few dance songs, have songs with choirs, have a rock song and just keep it at a frenetic pace, lol.

I wonder how Q feels about "Love's In Control" now. I'm glad Donna dug the album though.

Yay

YAY!!!!! A BIG yay! In fact, I love that whole Donna Summer album. It's in my top 3 favorite DS albums. It was one of the first albums I ever knew of when I was a kid way back then. I brought if off of iTunes recently and I fell in love with it all over again. That album should have been MASSIVE cause there were so many songs that could have been huge like The Mystery of Love, If It Hurts Just a Little, Protection and Livin in America. That is such a great album.

Apparently this song never existed because I was recently informed that any artist affiliated with the disco era was never heard from again.

Anyway....this track definately gets a yay from me....especially the 12 Inch.

purplecam said:

I always felt that the wrong singles were released from this album.After "Love Is In Control",the singles should have been...

"Protection"----how you gonna have a catchy,Bruce Springsteen-written track that also features him on guitar,and not release it as a single??!! This song was screaming to be released as a single.It would have been a Top 10 pop smash.

"If It Hurts Just A Little"---catchy R&B jam that would have done well on the R&B charts.

I know they chose "State Of Independence" as a single because of the all-star choir,but it wasn't a good choice.The song barely made the Top 40.

Among her Top Ten hits, one of my least favorite. I can see why she is sort of unhappy with how the album was made...Her vocals are strong but they don't blend into the track well (especially the verses).

SoulAlive, I think the obvious single and the one that invokes "Thriller" (the album) the most was "Love Is Just A Breath Away". It's very danceable but fit what the early eighties was embracing as dance pop (not disco). Your choices make sense, too, but again, something about the flow of "Protection". Who produced Bruce's records at the time? Maybe it would have sounded better if done by him (her?) rather than Quincy.

VinnyM27 said:

"Love Is Just A Breath Away" is a great song....very moody and similiar to her Giorgio Moroder-produced stuff.Not sure if it's single material,though.It's too stripped-down and minimalist for pop radio at the time,and I know that R&B radio would have ignored it completely.

"Protection" was an obvious single choice,but I think I know why it wasn't released as a single.David Geffen didn't want Donna singing rock.He was disappointed with the less-than-impressive sales of the previous album ('The Wanderer') and wanted to position Donna as an R&B singer.That's why he cancelled the rock-flavored 'I'm A Rainbow' album and brought in Quincy Jones.

SoulAlive said:

He should have given it another listen. I realize the 1996 release of "I'm A Rainbow" might have been remixed, but the album seems totally in tone with what was happening in 1981 musically. Am I wrong? Most of the songs were potential singles. Even if there were quite a few "rock" tracks, stff like "Leave Me Alone" was more commerical in sound and attitude to most of 'The Wanderer" tracks (even though I love that album).

VinnyM27 said:

I have mixed feelings about 'I'm A Rainbow'.I like a few tracks ("Sweet Emotion","Walk On (Keep On Walking)","Back Where You Belong","A Runner With The Pack") but I don't think the album would have went anywhere in 1981,especailly being a 2-record set.There was alot of "Donna Summer fatigue" at the time,and the whole disco backlash was going on.Maybe they should have taken the best tracks and trimmed it down to a great 10-song album.

Speaking of "Leave Me Alone",that was actually supposed to be the first single from the album.

SoulAlive said:

Agreed on all points.

sosgemini said:

This Quincy Jones production was the joint back in the day.

"I Got My Finger On The Trigger. Love Is In Control."

SoulAlive said:

If Geffen was not interested in Donna doing rock, that was not a good first single choice.

I have mixed feelings about the album, too. Some tracks are great ("To Turn The Stone", "Melanie", "Brooklyn", "I Believe In You") and favorites but others I waver on. Looking at your list, I assume you dislike my choice....It's one of those albums that has a myriad of songs to apply to different tastes.

VinnyM27 said:

In any case,I'm glad the album was finally released...albeit 14 years after it was recorded