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Cats Without Claws | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 11, 1984 | |||
Recorded | October 1983–June 1984 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 44:36 | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Producer | Michael Omartian | |||
Donna Summer chronology | ||||
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Singles from Cats Without Claws | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | B [2] |
Cats Without Claws is the twelfth studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released on September 11, 1984. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, though her previous album had been released on another label. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboard 's album chart, failing to attain the success of its predecessor which peaked at No. 9.
Her previous studio album, She Works Hard for the Money (1983), had been her most successful since the disco era, and as a result, its producer Michael Omartian was asked to produce the next studio album as well. Again the majority of tracks were written by Summer and Omartian, though a couple of other writers were credited including Summer's husband Bruce Sudano. As with the previous studio album, Cats Without Claws was pop and dance oriented but included soulful ballads. The album also contained a cover version of "There Goes My Baby", originally made popular by the Drifters, which became the first single. Although Summer requested "Oh Billy Please" as the first single, again Geffen and his executives rejected her request. A gospel song written by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire entitled "Forgive Me" would win Summer a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance. [3] [4]
Cats Without Claws produced three singles: "There Goes My Baby", "Supernatural Love" (also released as a 12" Single) and "Eyes", "There Goes My Baby" reached No. 21 on the pop chart. Further 12" dance remixes included "Eyes" and "I'm Free".
Cats Without Claws peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent only 17 weeks on the chart. The album failed to attain the success of its predecessor, She Works Hard for the Money , which peaked at number 9. In the UK, it reached a peak of number 69 on the UK Albums Chart, and was commercially unsuccessful.
As of 2022, the only available physical version of the album is vinyl, since all the original CD releases have now gone out of print. It is possible a 40th Anniversary Edition might be released on its 40th Birthday in 2024.
All tracks are written by Michael Omartian and Donna Summer, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Supernatural Love" |
| 3:33 |
2. | "It's Not the Way" | 4:22 | |
3. | "There Goes My Baby" |
| 4:05 |
4. | "Suzanna" | 4:29 | |
5. | "Cats Without Claws" | 4:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Oh Billy Please" | 4:55 | |
7. | "Eyes" | 4:45 | |
8. | "Maybe It's Over" | Summer | 4:43 |
9. | "I'm Free" |
| 4:29 |
10. | "Forgive Me" |
| 4:30 |
Total length: | 44:36 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Face the Music" |
| 4:14 |
12. | "Eyes" (Jellybean 7" Remix Edit [6] ) | 3:46 | |
13. | "Supernatural Love" (Extended Dance Remix) |
| 6:12 |
14. | "Eyes" (Extended Mix) | 6:58 | |
15. | "I'm Free" (Extended Mix) |
| 6:18 |
Credits are adapted from the Cats Without Claws liner notes. [7]
Musicians
Production and artwork
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [8] | 91 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [9] | 19 |
European Albums ( Music & Media ) [10] | 22 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] | 39 |
Italian Albums ( Musica e dischi ) [12] | 25 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [13] | 33 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [14] | 15 |
Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [15] | 12 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [16] | 10 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] | 13 |
UK Albums (OCC) [18] | 69 |
US Billboard 200 [19] | 40 |
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | "There Goes My Baby" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
"Supernatural Love" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 75 |
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