Donna Summer - Crayons
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Free Music Notes for Crayons
Free Music Review: Donna's no stranger to musical versatility.
Hit: 5 Stars
Where's the smidgen of "Once Upon A Time", "MacArthur Park", "Love to Love You Baby", and "Last Dance" in this album? Perhaps nowhere, but I am NOT complaining. This is yet another evidence that Donna's musical talent, principally her voice, is a chimera--just like a box of crayons and their spectrum of colors! Listening to the album for the first time and getting treated to a broad repertoire of musical styles--with one, perhaps two, danceable tracks, and one definitive ballad--whisked me back to an era that marked the height of The Diva's productivity and proving her mettle for adapting her voice to the musical form. The fact that she co-wrote all of the songs also proved her musical creativity, and attending to other priorities must have been the reason for not treating her fans to a full-length album for 17 years. No matter the collaborative effort it must have taken to produce this collection of songs, she seemed to have returned to the limelight seamlessly. After all, Donna is the diva of all divas, and the queen may be back but was never really away! You go girl!
Footnote: Could it be that she was referring to "Driving Down Brazil" in her VH-1 concert in 1999? "Stamp Your Feet" is the perfect wake-up, pick-me-up song. "The Queen Is Back" starts out with an intro reminiscent of her song "Tokyo" from "She Works Hard for the Money" album (1983), while her reggae voice in "Crayons" sounds familiar from "Unconditional Love" and "I'm Free", the latter from "Cats Without Claws" (1984). Funky, soul-lish "Science of Love" can come straight out of her Quincy Jones collaboration back in 1982 with "Donna Summer". Yet even the funkier "Slide Over Backwards" harks back to her raspy voice from "My Baby Understands" in "Bad Girls" (1979) and her Rod Stewart imitation in her live "Dim All The Lights" from "Live & More Encore" (1999). There is indeed something for everyone's taste in "Crayons", and the miscellaneous flavors we get from Donna's musical skills testify to her extraordinary versatility.
Free Music Review: A Rainbow of Crayons
Hit: 5 Stars
YES, we have a NEW Donna Summer album !
IF you were expecting a 70's style Disco opus, keep reading, for what Donna delivers here is a 21st century creation, that in many ways uses her landmark Bad Girls album as it's template. Perhaps some never listened to the Bad Girls album from end to end, but that release containes everything from Disco, to Pop, to Rock,
to Country, not to mention an ode to one of her idols Janis Joplin.
On Crayons, once again Donna takes us on a musical tour de force with a sound talyor made for todays (all over the map) music scene. A key factor here is that while many of the tracks don't scream dance material right off the bat, most will hit the clubs via remixes, there that multi-layered.
The anthem, Stamp Your Feet, and I'm A Fire are the most dance/disco focused songs here, and as proof, I'm A Fire hit number 1 on the Billboard Dance charts, Stamp will be around for a very long time, and is already showing up at pride rallies galore. Donna's affinity to rock (she strated in a rock band, remember) hasn't been a focus of her albums in a long time, but here two of the tracks rock on, Fame (The Game) and Science of Love. Slide Over Backwards is probaly the albums greatest "out of the box" song, yet it's country twang is no stranger to Donna's repitore.
Pop is represented here with tracks like, Drivin Down Brazil (after the street in Miami, NOT the country), and Sand In My Feet. A funkier side of Pop meets R & B is found with Mr Music (I call it the i-pod song), and The Queen Is Back (listen for references to On The Radio and Love to Love You) and the tribue to Bob Marley, the title track, which features his son Ziggy.
For those of you who have been reading my reviews all along, you know that Donna's ballads are my all time favorite, and here we have one of the finest, Be Myself Again. Simple, timeless, beautiful.
The title Crayons, fits this CD to a T !!
Ken
Free Music Review: Old voice in new music technology standards
Hit: 5 Stars
"Crayons" is a collection of Donna's new recordings which we have waited for a quite long time. It is a set of various flavours and styles of music, from slow-ballad as "Sand on my feet", electro-blues "Slide over backwards", bossa-nova sound of "Drivin' down Brasil" to dance-hits as "Stamp your feet" and I'm a fire". Variety of music approaches within this album is maybe announcing different music styles which Donna will face in her near future projects: it would be great if we could hear Donna's new project entirely done in electro-bossa-nova style, cooperating with Brazilian contemporary music stars, or electro-blues-y album arranged by some DJs. However, "Crayons" is puting Donna's beautiful and astonishing voice in new music technological industry background and standards, previously introduced by Madonna. Therefore, many people comment that "new Donna Summer" is resembling to Madonna's music. I would say that Donna Summer made us always expecting her to be original and intrigant, she used to be the Queen who introduces shocking and revolutionary sound in music (Love to love you baby, I feel love, Hot stuff, MacArthur Park, Last Dance, Enough is enough, She works hard for the money...). Unfortunatelly, "Crayons" does not contain any original or substantially new approach in (disco/dance) music, but just gives us a sign that "Disco Diva" is totally awake (after long sleep) and ready to return to her faitfull audience! "Crayons" could be understood as Donna's transitional step towards her new phase in music, as her investigation or experiment of her voice fitting in new sound technology standards. She already starded this investigation with "I got your love" and it seems she is prepared for new challenges. However, "I feel love" still sounds much more fresh, intrigant and "new" than many of new tunes. "Crayons" is brilliantly produced CD with magnificent voice of Donna Summer placed in contemporary music technology background standards.Free Music Review: Back is beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
What a blast it was to hear on the radio an interview with, who turned out to be, Donna Summer. I wondered what was bringing her to the airwaves and then, she announced a new album and the track "Stamp your feet" flooded my car. Something struck a cord for me in that song. Maybe it was that her music faded for me over 17 years ago, at a time when AIDS hit, it was like the spirit of the disco era that she represented died along with thousands of men. This song "Stamp" was like a jolt of energy, an anthem declaring "we are survivors". And not just that but also: "we're better than ever." So, excited and energized, I pre-ordered "Crayons" on Amazon and waited by the mailbox. "Crayons was written as a collections of singles" Donna says and, indeed, I'm imagining each track could be a hit. Had I not heard her interview I might have thought her album a bit szichophrenic. But I've fully accepted each song as a different color, a different stroke of the artists brush, creating unique and wonderful listening pleasures. There are many reviews on the web today speaking well of this album: how suprising and refreshing that it's not a "cover" album of songs we already know, and so many other glowing perspectives. I will try and add to those other reviews and say that the album is amazing. Donnas voice is rich, full-bodied like a chocolatey cup of familiar cocoa. It's comfort food from the dance past, mixed with many suprises. What a treat! Ziggy Marley, adds to the mix another familiar flavor in a track that creates a new, yet knowing note. It's an instant classic album. It's a gift from an artist with such a colorful past, of both highs and lows, (who's isnt?) it's hard not to relate to the panorama of rich emotions portrayed. On a technical note, the production quality is unbelievable, worthy of turning up the dial, WAY up! Enjoy!Free Music Review: this is a great album - really really really:)
Hit: 5 Stars
If you like challenging and creative pop music, go ahead and take a chance on this beautifully textured and surprisingly up to date CD.
You do not have to be a diehard fan to appreciate this CD.
This is one of those CD's where the tunes are so catchy, and the songs so diverse that you pick the ones you like best on a given day, and then pick some more the next. There is a lot to love on this CD if you love hearing a great vocalist run the tables with her voice. Like most people, the highest praise I can give a CD is when I keep the motor running in my car ( at $3.99 a gallon and ticking in Atlanta people!!) to hear the rest of a song , and then hit replay, etc etc ...I have been doing that a lot with Crayons!!
Songs I liked best-- the more rockish Fame ...also Science of Love should be on top 40 radio( Hot Stuff, My Baby Understands and the whole Wanderer album are what sent me over the top forevermore with Donna Summer fyi). Stamp Your Feet has stadium anthem written all over it, and deserves to be one. The one I hit rewind on in my car A LOT is Be Myself Again-what a gorgeous vocal !!
Slide Over Backwards makes you do a double take and just grows on you with each listen with a blues and Macy Gray vibe. The Queen is Back, Bringing Down the rain....on and on go I! There is a lot of creativity and diversity going on here .
Bottom line,the voice of Donna Summer can do so much- and holds all these colors and palates together into one really wonderful portrait of an artist ( sorry , no more crayola talk!!)
Thanks to her for this wonderful valentine of a CD. I think it is one that will be played over and over again by a lot of people- not all of them dance fans!!
Go for it:)