Disco de Donna Summer: “Bad Girls: Deluxe Edition [Digipak]”

Far and away Summer's sweetest season, "Bad Girls" stands as a pop and disco classic 24 years after its release. And this expanded, remastered deluxe edition brings a new dimension to the reach and range of this stunning musical document. The original album (disc one) still stands strong. From the title track, to the rock-disco funk of "Hot Stuff," to the delightful romp of "Dim All the Lights," to the country touches of "On My Honor," the cuts on this record presented Donna's voice in a wide range of contexts, hinting at the changes that would come in her music the following year. Great. Disc two is where the party really starts. Running nearly 80 minutes, the 12-inch mixes pulsate, sway and groove in a way the album cuts cannot. The "Last Dance" mix is fabulous, while "Walk Away" is more fun in its longer incarnation. "MacArthur Park Suite" is a true dance classic, racing along at a frenetic 17 minutes and showcasing one of Donna's towering vocal victories. "Bad Girls" could have been left off since it is pretty much the same as the original album version, but "Dim All The Lights" and "No More Tears" really rock. So pick this great expanded edition up. It's an even better take on the greatest dance album in pop history.

It is rare when an album finds itself to claim both artistic aclaim, and commercial appeal. For Dona Summer, Bad Girls remains her singature, blockbuster album, that not only broke the chart barriers of it's time, but set the stage for the female superstars of the 80's (not that ANY of them have ever given Donna her just props).

The made for radio tracks of sides 1 & 4 took the world by storm, and Hot Stuff made belivers even from the Disco Sucks crowd. Bad Girls took some by surprise with it's very direct lyrics about the Ladies of The Night, but it became her first song to top both the Pop and R & B charts at the same time.

These 2 tracks together with side 2 opener, Dim All The Lights remain highlights of her stage shows to this day.

Side 2 & 3 focused on Donna as a singer-songwriter, and the easy Pop Songs of side 2 flowed into the beautiful ballads of side 3, There Will Always Be A You being the stunner, and side 3 closed out with her Janis Joplin tribute, My Baby Understands.

Side 4 finds us back at the Disco, with Our Love, Sunset People and Lucky. These tracks easily transport us back to 1979, yet they remain fresh and vibrant today.

Bad Girls remains the 'brass ring" in Donna's career, every artist should be as fortunate to have one.

This was always one of the best albums of all time, where Donna's million and multi million selling singles 'Dim all the lights' (#2), 'Hot stuff' (#1), and 'Bad girls' (#1) came from.

Now, it's been reissued in a fabulous, glossy, digipak, which folds out like the original double vinyl package, with extra photos and a real in depth write up on the recording of the album, as well as other hits of Summer's.

The set comprises 2 cds, the first which features the original 15 songs, as well as the demo of 'Bad girls' (available for the first time here) produced by Donna herself, which makes for an interesting contrast to the familiar album version.

It was a step in another direction for Donna; less strings, more guitars and assertive lyrics. The styles range from dance, ballads, country tinged ('On my honour'), rock ('Hot stuff', the Janis Joplin-like 'My baby understands'), to electronica ('Our love', Lucky', and the trance inducing 'Sunset people'), a little something for everyone.

The second cd features 9 extended mixes, including the rare 'Foxes' movie soundtrack version of 'On the radio' (which is awesome), 'Mac Arthur park Suite' (with the single version of 'Heaven knows' with horns, unlike the vinyl 'Live and more' version), 'I feel love, and more.

I actually got this, despite having the 'old' 'Bad girls' cd and it is well worth it. For newcomers, this is an excellent introduction to the sound of Summer, as it was nominated for 5 Grammys (including Album of the year, best pop song, best R&B song) of which 'Hot stuff' won for best rock song, topped the Billboard hot 200, and sold millions and millions, and shows why Donna Summer was, and still is the leader of the pack.

As stellar and ground-breaking as the album "Bad Girls" was and still is, I'm floored by what a knockout the bonus disc is! Come on now, when have you ever gotten a "deluxe edition" that you think is actually worth the money? Here it is -- the extra music is worth the price of admission all by itself. It's chockablock with danceable, tappable, rock-your-shoulders music, perfect for parties, working, driving or just bringing your mood into a great state. This is irresistible music, a rare level of artistry that has that magical it-all-comes-together quality. You simply cannot be unhappy with this package -- and just try to stop playing that second disc!

This has always been known as one of the best disco albums ever made. This has been made ever more the obvious with this re-issue.

While the big hits are all great, the part that consisted of side 4 of the album is what really shines here. The electronic medley (as it is affectionately known as) is dounding more fabulous now than ever. Our Love sounds better today then in 1979! Disc 2 is also nice; a re-mastered version of the Dance Collection (it seems...) with the long Foxes version of On The Radio. Nice to hear all of these long versions again ... MacArthur Park Suite still kicks!

The re-mastering is terrific and a beautiful package with restored artwork, a neat booklet with an informative essay & interesting liner notes with Giorgio Moroder really make this stand out. Can't Get to Sleep... is another long time fave, sounding better than ever now.

If you are to get only one Summer collection, I would start here and go next to the Donna Summer Anthology. Both are your best bets on seeing Miss Summer's extrodinary talents.