Donna Summer Album: “20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: T”

I suppose that if you have every other Donna Summer hits collection -- like some of the other reviewers here -- then this collection seems pointless. However, if you're like me and don't have anything else by this artist, the collection -- though yes, not totally inclusive -- is fine. It's been a long time since I've heard "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff" and probably my favorite, "On The Radio". I remember listening to these songs in my pre-teen years, and this collection is cheaper than most of its type. So, if you want some of the essential hits, this should whet your appetite.

Although this compilation contains some of Donna Summer's greatest hits, it does not compare well with other collections like the Donna Summer Anthology with 34 tracks or Endless Summer with 18 tracks or On The Radio with 16 tracks.

Having said that, this Millennium Collection does have her biggest chart hits from the early sensual track Love To Love You Baby, through the electro-disco trance masterpiece I Feel Love, her majestic version of MacArthur Park, her rock-disco hits from 1979 Hot Stuff and Bad Girls, the duet with Streisand and later stuff from the 1980s like Love Is In Control and She Works Hard For The Money.

It showcases her early work with Giorgio Moroder and the later pop direction and includes both sizzling dance tracks and a ballad or two. For a more complete look at this amazing singer, I recommend one of the aforementioned compilations or her classic album Bad Girls which is a timeless masterpiece.

Donna Summer herself can hardly be blamed for yet another greatest hits compilation - this is entirely down to the record company who owns her back catalogue. If there was anything she could do to stop it, I am sure she would. Like every other hard-core fan, I am waiting patiently for the new album. I wouldn't splash out for this and I bet Donna wouldn't either. Save your money and buy Josiah Howard's Donna Summer biography instead!!!

Please, give Donna a break! She does not have control of these 'greatest hits' that pop out every other year. The fact that the cover is recycled is the giveaway on how this CD came to be. As she expresed on her recent VH1 concert, the extended DVD version superior to the one seen on TV, she can't get all her songs to make it to the album because she is not the one who decides that. If we see the same songs again and again is because the record industry is trying to make bucks at her expense on the hits she does not own the right to.

I'm sure if it was up to her she would be making a CD a year, all with new songs. So, please don't attack her for things she has no control of like these 'greatest hits' we see so often using her name and recycled pictures on the cover.

And, Donna, if you are reading, please do for all your fans a Jazz/Blues album with old songs. Your powerful voice is more incredible on ballads than on dance songs.

I have been a frequent critic of the great 20th Century Masters rip-off foisted on the record-buying public, but here's what I liked about this set. One, I paid less than ten bucks for this collection. Two, it had all the Casablanca/Mercury hits I was looking for with the exception of "Heaven Knows," (a sacrifice I was willing to make at the expense of being a tightwad). The only other Top 10 singles missing are 1980's "The Wanderer" on Geffen and 1989's "This Time I know It's for Real" on Atlantic. I already had ON THE RADIO on vinyl, but wanted an economic upgrade to CD that didn't have all the cross-fades between songs. So for someone like me that enjoys disco as a guilty pleasure, this was a satisfying fix. RECOMMENDED