- Audio CD (4 Aug 2003)
- Number of Discs: 2
- Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
- Label: Commercial Marketing
- ASIN: B00009U5J5
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 132,770 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Review
The album with which Donna Summer made her boldest stab for the cross-over market, Bad Girls gets a wondrous dust down in Universal's Deluxe series. Boasting no fewer than four hit singles, it marked the end of the first phase of Summer's career when released in May 1979. Conventional rock had long viewed the double album as its greatest prize; now the disco diva who was first heard groaning in 1976, was to claim it back again from the Peter Framptons of this world, with this, her third twin set in a row.
Working with several different writing teams, overseen by long-term producer Giorgio Moroder, Bad Girls was Summer's first entirely American album. It's a huge 15-track work encompassing rock, soul, showbiz and electronica. The opening pairing of "Hot Stuff" (forever now associated with that signing-on line) and "Bad Girls" prepares you for the fact that this is a very special record.
The Moroder-controlled trilogy of "Our Love", "Lucky" and "Sunset People" -complete with its bizarre, unsettling time shifts -is where, beyond the key singles, the real beauty of the album remains: a music steeped in melancholy. Sharing an extremely similar feel to his then recently completed No.1 In Heaven with Sparks, these tracks are perfect advertisements for the lush sensuality of Moroder's arrangements, humanising machines in a manner that only Kraftwerk or, later Underworld, could attempt.
You can, at times, understand why the rock establishment hated this. Some of Bad Girls has a Seaside Special feel to it, demonstrating Summer's musical theatre upbringing; no matter how you strive to be kind, tracks such as "Love Will Always Find You" are simply weak vaudeville pastiches.
The second disc - apart from the 17m 35s' worth of the "MacArthur Park Suite", frankly too much cake (rain-sodden or not) for this listener to bear - proves why Summer is routinely cited as being the discerning disco goddess. The 8:15 original of ''I Feel Love'' proves to be the rightful high-water mark of her collaboration with Moroder. "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)'', her duet with Barbara Streisand and her first production without Moroder, is still possibly the gayest record of all-time.
Summer's voice is the revelation of this repackage; rich and emotive yet so long reduced only to the wails and whirrs of her big hits, it helped set the blueprint for the enormous diva vocals of Italian house. This is borne out further by the previously unreleased demo of "Bad Girls", which locates it totally as an R&B tune.
Bad Girls was the end of Donna Summer's heyday. Disco began to suck and she soon left Casablanca and Moroder. Where she will finally rest within the pop canon may be anyone's guess, but Bad Girls is a fantastic reminder of when she was the Britney, Christina, Mary J and Missy of her day all rolled into one. --Daryl Easlea
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remastered Masterpiece!,,
By Frankie B (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bad Girls (Audio CD)
Everyone has heard this album at one point or another. What's special about this collection is that it is remastered and the sound is IMPECCABLE! This album could easily have been released yesterday;it sounds so very current!! The digipack is designed to imitate the original LP album fold out and the 12" versions on the second disc are also first time remastered. Truly an awesome collection of Donna's hits. There is no other that can match the honest, emotive, soulful voice that is Donna Summer. For those who have complained that this set does not include anything unreleased other than the fabulous demo version of Bad Girls, read the foreword beautifully written by Brian Chin. Giorgio Moroder says that when he and Donna recorded back then, it was not common practice for them to do a demo first. They laid down the tracks and Donna did the vocals usually all at the same time and the songs were done. This is the reason why there is very little unreleased music from that time period with Giorgio. It would be wise for Universal to release additional Deluxe versions of Donna's albums where there is plenty of unreleased material from the 80's. I look forward to seeing She Works Hard For The Money in Deluxe form to include all of the unreleased songs from that decade. Anyone at Universal listening? There are plenty of fans very willing to discuss and have discussed what would make a fabulous deluxe set. 'Nuff said!
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Second Look at a Classic Album.,
By Burjiz (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bad Girls (Audio CD)
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if you do fix it, make sure it's an improvement over the original. And the reissue of Donna Summer's smashing "Bad Girls" CD is definitely an improvement over an already verified classic. It was the disco album that proved that there's more to the genre than beats and glossy production; beneath the simmering grooves of each track lies substance, heart, and soul. The classic singles "Hot Stuff," the title track, and "Dim All the Lights" are as commanding as anything by her rock and roll counterparts, and have aged beautifully in the two-plus decades since their release. "Bad Girls" was truly among the first filler-free disco albums and it stands as her definitive masterpiece. But even better is the second disc, which is a collection of some of her full length 12-inch mixes of her earlier singles. It's this second CD that makes the deluxe edition of "Bad Girls" all the more unmissable. Looking back at these mixes, it's pretty easy to conclude that Summer was really ahead of her time. The definite highlight is the complete, 17 minute "McArthur Park Suite," which sounds even better when remastered. Other highlights (well, EVERY song on this disc is a highlight) are the Hi-NRG groove of "I Feel Love," her signature "Last Dance," and the 11 minute version of her duet with Barbra Streisand "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)." This release also has a nice glossy booklet with photos and lyrics to each song. Summer may have earned her title Queen of Disco, but to limit her to that role would be unfair. "Bad Girls" ranks up there with the best albums of all time, and it's definitely worth picking up.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Remastered Bad Girls,
By Ms. M. Potter "milkchocgirl" (england) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Bad Girls (Audio CD)
Bad Girls was without doubt a classic Disco album. It was superior to most of the other Disco albums by other artists around 1979. However the only really good thing about this re issue over the previous CD issue is the remastering. The Remastered sound is much better than either the original release or the first CD issue and has never sounded better. Why they bothered to create a deluxe edition is beyond me. What a waste of time. They should have kept to the original album format and re mastered it. You do get the original album on disc one, but they have added a demo of the title track Bad Girls that doesnt even feel like it belongs there. the arrangement on this earlier version is obviously nothing like the production on the actual album. It is interesting to hear this demo but it should have been kept for a seperate compilation. Disc two is just another previously released CD album re mastered and altered. This was the Dance Collection which had compiled the 12"singles. However this time they have removed the brilliant 12" With your love (originally the b side of the 12" version of Last Dance) and replaced it with the 12" version of Bad Girls. Whats wrong with that? I hear you say. Well its true there was a 12" release in 1979 for the track Bad Girls but it was only different from the 7" version in so much as it was the complete album version. (the 7" had been edited down from the album version) So in otherwords the album version and the 12" version are exactly the same! And they have simply repeated the same track twice on this release! Track 2 of disc one is exactly the same mix as track 5 of disc 2 the 12" singles. If they were going to do that why didnt they do the same thing with the 12" release of Sunset People from 1980 that was also the same mix as the album mix? Becuase it would have been a con thats why. Just like this 12" version of Bad Girls is a con. However This compilation does include the correct full 12" version of On the Radio for the first time. (its not the long version from the album On the Radio as it suggest on the track listing, its the longer original 12" mix) So to conclude its a great album. Great re mastering. Bad compilation.
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