Cats Without Claws, and The Wanderer were actually the last two albums I tracked down from Donna Summer. While I knew some tracks on the latter, today's Retro Spin is all new territory for me.
Problems with Geffen started to grow, when the label forced her to part ways with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and subsequently shelved her completed 1981 album, I'm A Rainbow. Contentions between her and David Geffen only personally widened when she was paired with Quincy Jones for what would become her 1982 self-titled release. Despite its success, Summer noted she didn't feel like she was singing her own songs at times.
All throughout this time, she continued to battle with her previous label, Casablanca, and their parent company, Polygram, resulting in a total loss of legal fees in the amount of eighty-one million dollars since 1980. Frustrated, she fired her legal team, and negotiated her own contract release, which included turning over the tracks produced by Michael Omartian, which would become the album, She Works Hard For The Money. Polygram would turn the tracks over to their affiliate, Mercury Records, who would ultimately release the album.
The title track would become her biggest hit (and album) since 1979, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. As I've said before, it was also with her opening the 1984 Grammy's with it that I was introduced to her. Man, those were the days.
Returning to the studio with Omartian, the two began work on the tracks that would become Cats Without Claws. Though momentum had grown for the artist since her previous album, Cats didn't fare as well upon its release, peaking at number forty on the Billboard Hot 200. Though the album produced three singles, Summer's requested, Oh Billy Please, was declined for release by Geffen, further straining the artist's relationship with her label.
That's rough. It seems Donna couldn't catch a break with the various labels she worked with. It's a wonder she didn't just give up.
This is 80's synth pop through and through. A product of the times if you will, all backed by the powerful vocals of Donna Summer. It's enjoyable with all its peppy upbeat tracks.
Is it a perfect album? No, not by far. It has its ups and downs, unfortunately, most of them being more so down. However, there were a couple standout tracks for me, and those included, Supernatural Love, and Oh Billy, Please.
What I will say, is that for as many albums as she has, I'm really hoping that She Works Hard For The Money isn't her peak. Don't get me wrong, that's a great song, but it's not one I want to hear all the time. What I want to find is that one song from her that essentially is so amazing that it gets stuck in my head, necessitating hearing it over and over again. With two more albums in her 80's discography, there's still a chance that's going to happen.
Wanting to capitalize further on the artist, Polygram would put together a compilation, which featured seven disco hits from her Casablanca years, as well as three from the Mercury released She Works Hard For The Money for 1985's The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits (released under their Mercury label). They followed this up in 1987 with The Dance Collection: A Compilation Of Twelve Inch Singles (released under their Casablanca label).
Throughout these two years, Summer would be in and out of the studio, working with multiple producers to complete 1987's All Systems Go. The album would fail in sales certifications and not chart in the USA. Further, the artist's stature would drop significantly around the world. But that's a story for when tomorrow meets us.
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