therevolutionwillnotbe said:

Didn't Casablanca fold around that time?

PolyGram Records took over Casablanca, 20th Century Fox, Mercury, Polydor, RSO and some other US labels in the early '80s. By 1984/5, Casablanca (as an active label) was no more.

I have mixed feelings about 'I'm A Rainbow'.Some songs are good,but I really don't see why it was a 2-record set.You could take the best 10 tracks from it and make a decent album.It's interesting to wonder how it would have fared if it had been released in the fall of '81 as planned.

This is how I would released 'I'm A Rainbow'....


SIDE ONE---
I Believe (In You)
True Love Survives
Back Where You Belong
People Talk
Sweet Emotion

SIDE TWO---
Walk On (Keep On Walking)
I'm A Rainbow
Leave Me Alone
A Runner With The Pack
End Of The Week


One of the reasons that David Geffen rejected the original 18-track double album is because he felt it wasn't danceable enough.On my tracklist,I removed many of the slower tracks and concentrated more on the dance songs,making it a tighter,more focused album.If it had been released this way,these should have been the singles...

"I Believe In You"---a great dance/R&B track.

"Walk On (Keep On Walking)"---one of the strongest,catchiest songs on the album.Very pop/New Wave-flavored.In early 1982,this would have resonated with the MTV crowd.I just know it.

"Back Where You Belong"---another strong R&B-flavored track.

Here is the cd tracklist:
1. I Believe (In You) - Joe Esposito, Donna Summer
2. True Love Survives
3. You to Me
4. Sweet Emotion
5. Leave Me Alone
6. Melanie
7. Back Where You Belong
8. People Talk
9. To Turn the Stone
10. Brooklyn
11. I'm a Rainbow
12. Walk on (Keep on Movin')
13. Don't Cry for Me Argentina
14. Runner With the Pack
15. Highway Runner
16. Romeo
17. End of the Week
18. I Need Time

daPrettyman said:

"Runner With The Pack" is one of my favorites.It's a fun,stripped-down New Wave number.

therevolutionwillnotbe said:

At that time it became known as "PGD" Polygram group dist. And then Universal took over.

What i dig about "Love Is In Control" is that it builds up a great tension towards the harmonised and powerful chorus :



And the floating, Vangelis-like bridge-to-endsequence of "State Of Independece" is also a fave moment in there :



Louis Johnson blamming in there too.

Anyone heard her latest album, "Crayons", from last year i believe ?
Still have to check that one.

VinnyM27 said:

Interestingly enough,the 'Donna Summer' album is my favorite Donna album of the 80s.Out of all her 80s albums,it's the one I listen to the most."Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" was a cool departure for her.It could almost be described as "funky".I like the fast,relentless arrangement,which forces Donna to hang on for dear life.The breezy "Mystery Of Love" sounds mystical.I only wish it was more of a 'real' duet between Donna and James Ingram.His strong vocals should have been featured more on the second verse."The Woman In Me" is one of Donna's most impressive ballads.It's a sexy,captivating song and her vocals are incredible....rich and soulful."State Of Independence" is the big,important "message song" of the album and it certainly lives up to the hype.It's kinda hard to describe....it's got a Carribean,New Age,reggae feel to it,with a touch of gospel added.The whole thing works on so many levels.

Unfortunately,Side Two brings us the album's only real disappointment: the well-intentioned,but downright silly "Livin In America",an overblown song that should not have made the album.The Bruce Springsteen-written "Protection" is the album's lone rocker,and it smokes ferociously.Shame on David Geffen for not releasing it as a single.This is pure Top 10 material! One of my favorite tracks is "If It Hurts Just A Little",a sly,funky little number that sounds the most like Quincy Jones.It sounds like an outtake from his 'The Dude' album.Boasting a strong,infectious chorus,lots of R&B horns and a good beat,it's another song that should have been a single.The moody "Love Is Just A Breath Away" actually sounds like a Giorgio Moroder production.Donna's vocals are amazing on this sparse,electro-pop jam! She sings the lyrics so passionately.This album is all about diversity so fittingly,the last track is "Lush Life",a Billy Strayhorn jazz standard.Donna is no jazz singer,but she does surprisingly well on this number.It also helps that Quincy brought along some of the greatest players in the jazz field,including Herbie Hancock.

Shango said:

I have it,and it's pretty good.

Shango said:

I LOVE the 12" version of that song!!! I gotta find that version.Our local R&B station played it to death in the summer of '82.It's extremely funky and fast-paced.I love it!!

SoulAlive said:

Thanx
I remember reading that she recorded some housegrooves for that project ?
Cool slowjams on there as well ?

"I'm A Rainbow", IMO, sucked. Other than the first 3 or 4 songs, which were pretty good and just happened to be R&B, the other tracks did nothing for me so I can easily see why "Rainbow" was originally canned.

I always considered Donna R&B. When you go to buy any of her CDs in the records stores, R&B is what she is always filed under. I always preferred Donna in more of an R&B setting. My fave post-disco songs from her were "Love Is In Control", "State of Independance", "When Love Cries" and "Let There Be Peace" (incredible vocals), "Body Talk" and "Get Ethnic". Great stuff!
[Edited 3/10/09 7:47am]

This is the first time that I've heard of this accusation.

I thinks it's linked to:

The fact that she married a caucasian (and in this society), it's always seemed easier (to some people) for a black women to "blend-out" in to the arms of a white man. The white man have any nations(race) woman and both survive without being outcasts, discriminated against, or threatened.

The she never returned to the black folks market with real soulful music that discussed their life, plight, and experiences.

In the 70's, some older folks feel that diso was taken-ever and ripped-away into a "soul-less ending" into the white-dominated Pop scene.

Donna sort of rode that wave while other blacks in the disco cultural movement were long-lost and forgotten. Then, came "80's techno and Electronica" which were heavily-influenced by disco. It seemed like a rip-off clone, but she was a part of the new Euro-New Wave-Disco scene.

Linn4days said:

I don't agree with u on this at all. I don't think people saw color with Donna. There are other artists out there where people tend to be color blind (Diana Ross comes to mind).

Donna made disco and dance music. I think with her spending a lot of time overseas, that influenced her sound. The same can be said for Tina Turner. They just made soulful dance music.

Besides, a lot of people talked smack about Donna, but they secretly played their Bad Girls 8-track along with their Slave and Cameo. I have an uncle that used to do that. He used to say how much he didn't like Donna, but one day, I got in his car and saw Donna's I Remember You 8-track right next to a Maze 8-track.
[Edited 3/10/09 8:56am]

kitbradley said:

I agree.'I'm A Rainbow' isn't the great,big,lost masterpiece that it was rumored to be.Many of the tracks sound lazy and uninspired and for the first time,it seemed like producers Gorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte were on auto-pilot.The production isn't very vibrant or interesting,and the ballads are schmaltzy and draggy (with the exception of "Sweet Emotion").If this album had been released in 1981 (as an 18-track double album),it would have surely flopped.

The Q album is R&B lite. By far, his weakest production of that time. David Geffen is, was, and will forever be a big twat. He passed on "She Works Hard For The Money" as well. Another flop. Then he started throwin' shade when the record became a hit for PolyGram. I love 'Rainbow'. It's the best thing she did in the '80s. And it's a better album than 'Bad Girls', which is a chore for me to get through.
[Edited 3/10/09 15:28pm]

therevolutionwillnotbe said:

I wonder if Donna had more label offers besides Geffen at the time...

therevolutionwillnotbe said:

No,David did not pass on 'She Works Hard For The Money'.That's an album that Donna owed to Polygram.When she was released from her Casablanca contract in 1980,it was determined that she owed them one more album,which she agreed to give them in three years.'She Works Hard For The Money' is that album.

therevolutionwillnotbe said:

'I'm A Rainbow' is over-long and tedious with only a few truly outstanding songs..If it had been released in 1981,it would have been a huge flop.Keep in mind that,in 1981,Donna was no longer considered "hot" anymore.It wasn't a good idea for her to release a 2-record set at that time.Even Giorgio Moroder doesn't think much of the album."I personally don't think it was very good",he said."If I could go back now,I would not have done a double album.Of the 18 songs,I would have picked the ten best ones.I never did think that we had a hit single on that album".

daPrettyman said:

Well, its just some talk from some folks I knew in college.

Still, before that..I've heard that gays have more problems with her than "The Black Community".

It was a rumor about her saying that gays deserved HIV/A.I.D.S., but she never said that.. ("'God's' curse on gays"). I've seen a report about this controversy on ET.

YHWH is Elohim, and Yahoshua is King!
[Edited 3/10/09 16:44pm]

That ugly rumor has dogged Donna throughout the 80s.

Marrk said:

I'll take Donna Summer using the uptempo Stock Aitken Waterman/PWL/Hit Factory sound over Donna Summer using the 90 BPM tempo bound shit-hop sound any day!
[Edited 3/10/09 17:11pm]

vainandy said:

Exactly.

Donna Summer is THE undisputed queen of American & European disco. She laid down her vocals on disco AND electronic dance-pop since day 1. That's not selling out at all.

TonyVanDam said:

I agree.I had no problem with Donna working with Stock,Aitken and Waterman.It gave her a much needed hit.You have to remember that,by 1988,Donna's career was in serious trouble.Her two previous albums ('Cats Without Claws' and 'All Systems Go') were huge flops with no real hit singles.She needed a comeback and she got it by working with SAW.I think their electro-synth/pop/dance sound was perfect for Donna.The album 'Another Place And Time' is more consistent than the two previous albums.It's focused on the dancefloor.

Shango said:

'Crayons' is a good album,with songs that cover various genres.I think the best songs are "Drivin Down Brazil","Science Of Love" and "Bring Down The Reign".It's not really a dance album,but there are a few decent dance tracks,such as "I'm A Fire" and "Fame (The Game)".There are a few duds here as well."Slide Over Backwards" is truly one of her worst songs ever,and the boring ballad "Sand On My Feet" puts me to sleep.I can't say that this album is excellent and I wouldn't call it one of her best,but it's a pleasant album with some cool,catchy tunes.

SoulAlive said:

I've not regretted buying this album. Donna sounds vocally as fine as she always did. No it's not a dance album but for a return to the recording spotlight, this was a pleasant return.

Timmy84 said:

Timmy84 said:

In 1980,I'm sure that every record company was offering her a lucrative deal.1979 was her biggest year yet and she was hot property at that time.She signed with David Geffen's company,even though it was just being formed at the time.They had no history,no track record,no experience with dance-oriented artists.In retrospect,Donna probably should have went with an already established company,like Epic or Warner Bros.The 80s might have turned out entirely different for her.