Lucky takes you out for a ride
I forgot to say anything about this a week ago, but this month is the 25th anniversary of the release of one of my all-time favorite albums:
Bad Girls by Donna Summer
Yeah, I know–I’m just a regular old annihilator of stereotypes, huh? Well, before you get too smirky and derisive, just remember that the last few weeks have seen a movie in which Brad Pitt stars as Achilles in an adaptation from Homer become a giant box-office hit in America, so how about having the Standards discussion with a neighbor on your own side of the Pacific, huh? Anyway, I’m not going to get all soi-disant rock critic here, but I will say I adore Bad Girls from beginning to end (yes, including Side 3) and hope that Summer, despite being a born-again Christian, recognizes it as a real accomplishment herself.
What kind of dilettante are you? That 2003 edition wangdoodle has a bunch of remixes and other singles–including “I Feel Love,” which was originally on I Remember Yesterday–added on; a nice idea, I guess, but the real album stops at “Sunset People.” By all means, go back to “Sister Christian” if you can’t handle quality.
Sunset People. Loved it. Especially since I attended Hollywood High School and worked on Sunset Blvd.
(I loved Donna Summer, too, but you might have guessed that.)
In honor of your faith in this album, I have now listened to the *entire* Bad Girls: Deluxe Edition. I must say, what an achievement.
For me, I mean.
While I agree that ‘I Feel Love’ and ‘Hot Stuff’ are classic, I remain unconvinced about the merits of ‘Sunset People’. Unless of course it is intended as a counterpoint to further highlight the brilliance of other songs on the album. Oh Donna, you wicked genius!