RJOrion said:

the beautiful Donna Summer was a much better singer than she gets credit for, historically..

Comser said:

I love her 80s albums much more than most.

I think her 1987 album All Systems Go is so underrated.I love the mellow,quiet storm tracks on that album ("Fascination" and "Thinkin' About My Baby").Those songs are a nice surprise.When Donna was given the chance to venture out and try different sounds,the results were often very interesting.

PANDURITO said:

or, in English:

I have just received my box

congrats let us know what you think

Comser said:

I'm only up to Live & More from 1978

This live album is incredible,isn't it? This is the album that turned me into a Donna Summer fan.The live versions of songs like "Try Me,I Know We Can Make It","Spring Affair" and "Rumour Has It" are better than the original studio versions,imo.As if that's not enough,there is also the jazzy "My Man Medley",the stunning remake of "The Way We Were"........and then you have the amazing "MacArthur Park Suite"!!!! WOW!

I'm an essential worker...so I don't get to be stuck in the house...a shame as I was just on a week long vacation last week...Donna's box arrived yesterday...but today I got another early surprise...Sister Sledge Thinking Of You: The Atco/Cotillion Recordings 1973-1985 6CD collection!!

I had to order a copy,which arrives next week.

Comser said:

each cd album has an inner sleeve (just like the old records) with all the credits listed on them (BG & OUAT even have the lyrics to the songs like the lp sleeves did back in the day)...the double albums each have two discs kinda like the old days...except you don't have to flip the record over

I have mixed feelings about this.We know that these double albums could easily fit on one disc,so it seems like a waste of space They did this with the I'm A Rainbow double album in the 2014 box set of her 80s albums.

Galzas said:

I had to order a copy,which arrives next week.

SoulAlive said:

RJOrion said:

her daughter Brooklyn Sudano, has a nice little acting career going

Donna's youngest daughter, Amanda Sudano, is half of the musical duo Johnnyswim. They've released several albums and EPs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUfucHLCYlI

Donna's granddaughter, Vienna Dohler (Mimi's daughter), is quite the singer/songwriter too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt5wG9pWl3Q

The music gene is strong in that family.

[Edited 4/2/20 15:56pm]

kitbradley said:

RJOrion said:

RJOrion said:

kitbradley said:

Summer fared far better than most black female singers coming out of the 70's into the early 80s. The disco backlash knocked the majority of black femaile singers off of the Pop charts and Pop radio and relegated them to R&B only outlets. Donna was one of the few who still managed a successful crossover career for several years in the 80s.

to be honest, i didnt realize how long her career actually spanned...for some reason to me, it just seemed like her time in the spotlight was brief...i think maybe because she rarely gets mentioned with the other legacy artists, like Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Aretha, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Anita Baker, Madonna, etc...she deserves to be mentioned with that group...beauty, hit records, great voice, great stage presence, movies, international stardom...she did it all...with class [Edited 4/2/20 16:15pm]

She deserves all that, she's a legend, her music is great and her legacy is just remarkable.

I got mine today! I'm so impressed with the packaging and the sound is pretty awesome! It's nice to hear clear versions of the songs that I had on vinyl. If the Prince estate could do something like this (it would be so much more in content and price, but I know I'd buy it) I'm sure many of us fans would die happy!

kitbradley said:

RJOrion said:

the beautiful Donna Summer was a much better singer than she gets credit for, historically... she was on the top of the world for a few years there in the 70s... she came and went so suddenly

Summer fared far better than most black female singers coming out of the 70's into the early 80s. The disco backlash knocked the majority of black femaile singers off of the Pop charts and Pop radio and relegated them to R&B only outlets. Donna was one of the few who still managed a successful crossover career for several years in the 80s.

Summer suffered a marked drop in airplay (on mainstream pop radio), after she moved from Casablanca to Geffen. The DJ's (the rockers) wouldn't play aritsts associated with Disco. She had 8 consecutive top 5 singles at the end of the 70s, to close her run at Casablanca Records. Her career was much more subdudded with Geffen, she managed 3 top 10 hits from (and one of them the biggest SWHFTM), was handled by Polygram (under the Mercury Label). The difference with her, was the change in music. The Wanderer was ranked the #2 Rock album of 1980, behind The River by Rolling Stone Magazine; but she still couldn't get airplay on Rock radio stations. Geffen Records, didn't promote or put alot of effort into the established superstars the label managed to sign.

slyjackson said:

RJOrion said:

kitbradley said: to be honest, i didnt realize how long her career actually spanned...for some reason to me, it just seemed like her time in the spotlight was brief...i think maybe because she rarely gets mentioned with the other legacy artists, like Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Aretha, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Anita Baker, Madonna, etc...she deserves to be mentioned with that group...beauty, hit records, great voice, great stage presence, movies, international stardom...she did it all...with class [Edited 4/2/20 16:15pm]

She deserves all that, she's a legend, her music is great and her legacy is just remarkable.

The reality is Summer was pop music's first female mega star. She sold millions worldwide, and crossed into multple genres (only artist nominated for a Grammy in 5 different genres at least 3 times each, and only to win a Grammy in 4 differnt genres). She was the first female and black artist to bring 3 albums to the top of the Billboard 200 back to back. That fact gets lost, because most mention that she had 3 double albums, consecutively. They were multi-platinum double albums. She scored 9 consecutive top 5 singles between August 78 - October 80, all selling a million copies or better. That record wasn't broken until the digital era. She was the first female artist to repeat having the #1 single and # 1 album on the Billboard charts simultaneously, 3 times in 8 months. The first to have 2 singles in the top 3. The first to have 2 #1 singles in the top 5 and top 3 on the Hot 100. The first female to sit on top of 3 major Billboard charts simultaneously. She sold 20 million plus albums, had 10 gold, 2 platinum and the first gold maxi-single in the US market at the end of the 70s. Gold being 1 million, Platinum being 2 million. (certification levels dropped in 1989 to .5 million and 1 million respectively). Houston sold 15 million albums and had 1 gold single in the 1980s. Madonna sold 20 million plus album and had 4 gold singles in the US Market, in the 1980s. Summer was the first black female to be placed in heavy rotation on MTV in 1983, with She Works Hard for the Money, and first to be nominated. Any of the women who came before Summer didn't sell records like she did, and after she came through, established superstars like Striesand and Ross had the most commerically successful period of their careers. She kicked the door down for artist to build careers on dance music. In the R & B circles or black Ross, Summer & Turner are not lauded like they should be. Personally speaking I'd say Summer has the best voice of all the women you mentioned.

Tontoman22 said:

Summer suffered a marked drop in airplay (on mainstream pop radio), after she moved from Casablanca to Geffen.

In retrospect,it was probably a mistake for her to sign with Geffen.It was a new label,she was the first artist signed and so the label had no experience with someone like Donna.She should have went to an established label like Arista.We all know that Clive Davis has the magic touch when it comes to female artists.No doubt,he would have paired her with a producer like Narada Michael Walden,keeping the hits coming.

Tontoman22 said:

Summer suffered a marked drop in airplay (on mainstream pop radio), after she moved from Casablanca to Geffen.

In retrospect,it was probably a mistake for her to sign with Geffen.It was a new label,she was the first artist signed and so the label had no experience with someone like Donna.She should have went to an established label like Arista.We all know that Clive Davis has the magic touch when it comes to female artists.No doubt,he would have paired her with a producer like Narada Michael Walden,keeping the hits coming.

SoulAlive said:

Tontoman22 said:

Summer suffered a marked drop in airplay (on mainstream pop radio), after she moved from Casablanca to Geffen.

In retrospect,it was probably a mistake for her to sign with Geffen.It was a new label,she was the first artist signed and so the label had no experience with someone like Donna.She should have went to an established label like Arista.We all know that Clive Davis has the magic touch when it comes to female artists.No doubt,he would have paired her with a producer like Narada Michael Walden,keeping the hits coming.

Not so sure about that..Clive Davis. Clive tried for years to have his "Diana", a huge pop star. First with Shirley Brown (Woman to Woman), then Phyllis Hyman, and then Dionne. It was then, he realize he needed a new artist and not an established R & B artist. Also Donna was an artist that was used to creating with her producers, not just showing up to sing. Donna's friend Bruce Roberts thought Geffen would be a good choice, he already had the Elertca label. You are correct about his new label not really having the experience needed for established superstars. They really didn't promote or pay attention to the established artists they signed, with the expection of Cher (who was Geffen's beard).

Tontoman22 said:

SoulAlive said:

In retrospect,it was probably a mistake for her to sign with Geffen.It was a new label,she was the first artist signed and so the label had no experience with someone like Donna.She should have went to an established label like Arista.We all know that Clive Davis has the magic touch when it comes to female artists.No doubt,he would have paired her with a producer like Narada Michael Walden,keeping the hits coming.

Not so sure about that..Clive Davis. Clive tried for years to have his "Diana", a huge pop star. First with Shirley Brown (Woman to Woman), then Phyllis Hyman, and then Dionne. It was then, he realize he needed a new artist and not an established R & B artist. Also Donna was an artist that was used to creating with her producers, not just showing up to sing. Donna's friend Bruce Roberts thought Geffen would be a good choice, he already had the Elertca label. You are correct about his new label not really having the experience needed for established superstars. They really didn't promote or pay attention to the established artists they signed, with the expection of Cher (who was Geffen's beard).

yeah,you're right.And plus,in 1980,Clive signed Aretha to his label.Resurrecting HER career was one of his big goals.Can't have too many big divas on the same label

I read the entire essay inside the book and it is absolutely fantastic.The writer is clearly a huge fan who has followed Donna throughout her entire career.It is very,very well-written and informative!

So many great songs in her career, and no more space in my Spotify account. I already reached the limit.

SoulAlive said:

Tontoman22 said:

Not so sure about that..Clive Davis. Clive tried for years to have his "Diana", a huge pop star. First with Shirley Brown (Woman to Woman), then Phyllis Hyman, and then Dionne. It was then, he realize he needed a new artist and not an established R & B artist. Also Donna was an artist that was used to creating with her producers, not just showing up to sing. Donna's friend Bruce Roberts thought Geffen would be a good choice, he already had the Elertca label. You are correct about his new label not really having the experience needed for established superstars. They really didn't promote or pay attention to the established artists they signed, with the expection of Cher (who was Geffen's beard).

yeah,you're right.And plus,in 1980,Clive signed Aretha to his label.Resurrecting HER career was one of his big goals.Can't have too many big divas on the same label

Took Clive aobut 5-6 years to resurrect Aretha (get her a big selling album). Her appearence in the Blues Brother's movie help create new interest with another generation.