Donna Summer - Crayons
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CD Details
Artist: Donna SummerEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-05-20
Music Label: Burgundy S
Soundtracks:
- Stamp Your Feet
- Mr. Music
- Crayons featuring Ziggy Marley
- The Queen is Back
- Fame(The Game)
- Sand On My Feet
- Drivin' Down Brazil
- I'm A Fire
- Slide Over Backwards
- Science of Love
- Be Myself Again
- Bring Down The Reign
Music reviews of Crayons
Music Review: Graduating to "Empress" with a musical coloring book
Rating: 4 Stars
Let's give credit where credit is due: Donna Summer is 59 years old and a grandmother, and she's come out of retirement to create an album of new songs (not covers) for the first time in 17 years, since 1991's "Mistaken Identity" (look for the later "Christmas Spirit" for an outstanding five-star Christmas "cover" album) - even though she's dealing with vocal issues she didn't have in younger years. With an illustrious career spanning four decades, Donna Summer didn't have to do anything at all - and between her albums, her artwork, and the other kinds of "royalties" that being a Queen in music brings, I don't think having to pay bills is an issue for her. So let's start with a heartfelt "thank you" for a new album, and an assurance that you, Donna, were never forgotten by your long-term fans.
While Donna Summer still has an outstanding voice that is better than much of what is out there nowadays - and put to good to excellent use on this album - age has brought its limitations. Anyone looking at YouTube clips can see she's lost some of that outstanding mid-to-high range of long notes she used to hit - note in her tour how she drops her voice down rather than go higher in certain points in "MacArthur Park," and she never attempts that wild long, high note one can hear on the studio version of "Last Dance." Long-term fans such as myself have the background to compare the studio and earlier versions, and know what's still here vs. what's missing. And Donna's not alone - Barbra Streisand, in her recent tour, was wobbly on range transitions, though still excelling in the upper register. Same thing with Marilyn McCoo of the Fifth Dimension, losing some of her trademark high range notes. Yet Donna, at a recent performance at Mohegan Sun on the Crayons tour, showed she still can hit her top-range end-note, briefly, on "I Will Go With You," so not all is lost. The Queen is back, indeed.
"Crayons" is an attempt to attract new and young fans who buy music, to please old fans, to add to an artistic repertoire ongoing since 1974, and to show record companies that older artists still have what it takes, and deserve not to be put to pasture before their prime - and must be considered in that context. That's a lot of agendas to fill, and this album meets the challenges successfully enough that, perhaps, a second album of original material (with some of the great songs that were on her website, but missing from this album) might come in a year or two, which would be the real achievement. The fact that "Crayons" debuted on Billboard in America at #17 is a testament to this artist's durability, and sends a loud message that smart record executives will hopefully notice.
So, yes, some of the songs are designed to have more of an appeal to Brittany Spears-age fans than die-hard Donna Summer fans. The clever conceit of "Crayons" is its view of each song as a different "crayon," or colored flavor, within an album box - a mix of songs that showcase the different shades of Donna Summer. It's probably her most clever "concept" since the outstanding 1977 "Once Upon A Time" and excellent 1980 follow-up "Bad Girls," and some of the individual songs sounds NOTHING like anything she's ever released before - which is to her credit as an artist.
The palette ranges from a Tina Turner-esque "Slide Over Backwards," to a samba-infused "Driving Down Brazil," to the reggae fun of "Crayons," which she clearly is enjoying singing on the album and on tour. It is rare for an artist to show this kind of vastly diverse vocal and musical range on one album - despite quibbles other reviews will have about this song or that one. If you have no idea who Donna Summer is and are thinking about buying an album, this is a good one to buy to get an understanding of her range - and you can find earlier albums that offer more interesting songs and vocal range (such as "State of Independence," where Donna Summer has Bruce Springsteen as a back-up singer and guitarist on the outstanding rock "Protection," or the incredibly beautiful "Friends Unknown" ballad starting side 2 of "Mistaken Identity," her last full album of original material).
Fame, the "Queen of Disco" tag, and the compromises one makes to become a star work their way into this album, in "The Queen is Back," "Fame (the game," and others. On my first pass through the album, I had it playing while drying dishes - but when "Be Myself Again" came on, I stopped everything, and nearly dropped a plate. It is so dark, so different from everything that came before it, so moving, and so good that it literally stops you in your tracks - one of the best Donna Summer songs EVER, and one of the best songs you will hear this year by any artist. Long-term fans, and some new ones, will wish every song on the album were that show-stopping. They're not. But many are good, and I've found that many will grow on you with time: the hallmark of a good album.
Amazon says to aim for 75 to 300 words. Yet it's longer reviews that really give insights that can help people decide whether or not to make a purchase. Perhaps this will convince some people on the fence to make the purchase. If "Crayons" can get into the top 10, that could lead to a second new album - so go out and buy it, and support one of the more outstanding female artists in the music industry.
Some gay and gay-friendly individuals here have posted complaints about an "It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" comment she supposedly made once that lost her some of her gay fan base. These fans neglect to mention, or may not be aware, that Donna held a follow-up press conference shortly afterward to deny the accusation, and there is a video clip floating around of her at a podium over this, clearly visually upset, in fact almost about to break down in tears. I believe she DID make the remark (I believe I have the Florida newspaper article written by a concertgoer who attended the concert when the remark was supposedly made) - but more as an in-concert banter "joke" that not only was not funny but horribly backfired, and made shortly after becoming "born again." We're all older and hopefully more mature nowadays, I've forgiven her for the faux pax, and encourage others to do so, as well. "Enough is Enough" already, and one notable misstep doesn't warrant a lifetime punishment - to her as an artist, or to yourself for self-deprivation of excellent music.
As for the current tour, Donna is joined by dancers in different costumes, from an amusing "royal guard" trio with arms-length trumpets for "The Queen is Back," to dancers dressed in different color shades for "Crayons." She wears a nice billowing summery dress when singing the beautiful "Sand on My Feet," but the red hot pants worn in "Be Myself Again" - that make her look like she weighs 300 pounds, all below the hips - have GOT to go. And Donna made one major mistake - she should have gotten Crayola involved as a corporate sponsor!
While "Crayons" is not a five-star album in my more critical eyes, I give it four stars as "very good," and grant Donna her stated wish in some recent TV interviews - a new title, "Empress of Diversity," to replace her previous title of "Queen of Disco."
So buy the album, support the artist, and long live "The Empress!"
Description of Crayons
The Queen is Back! Legendary singer songwriter Donna Summer is back with her first studio album in 17 years. In the thirty plus years that Donna Summer has been making music she has never confined her artistry to just one genre. Although Donna is, and will always be, "The Queen Of Disco" to many fans, her hits have spanned multiple musical genres from Rock to R&B to Inspirational and of course, Dance.
Summer helped to define the 70's pop music generation and Crayons has all the characteristics that made Donna an icon. Containing a potent mix of the up-tempo tunes and ballads, the new album showcases incredible new material that is written by Donna (who wrote or co-wrote the majority of her hits of the 70's and 80's). Working with Donna were renowned writers and producers including: Greg Kurstin (Lilly Allen, Pink), Danielle Brisebois (Natasha Bedingfield, New Radicals), JR Rotem (Sean Kingston, Rihanna), Evan Bogart (co-writer of Rihanna's smash "SOS" and the son of legendary record executive, Casablanca Records founder and Donna's mentor, Neil Bogart), and Lester Mendez (Shakira, Santana).
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