I'm a Rainbow | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 20, 1996 | |||
Recorded | March–July 1981 | |||
Genre | [ citation needed ] | |||
Length | 72:50 | |||
Label |
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Producer | ||||
Donna Summer chronology | ||||
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I'm a Rainbow - Recovered & Recoloured | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
I'm a Rainbow is the ninth studio album [lower-alpha 1] recorded by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. The album was recorded in 1981 and scheduled to be released on October 5 of that year[ citation needed ] but was shelved. It was not released until fifteen years later, on August 20, 1996 by Casablanca and Mercury Records. There was no promotion for the album. No singles or music videos were released. AllMusic gave the album a positive review, naming it her most personal record. [2]
In 2021, Summer's estate released a remixed version of the album, subtitled "Recovered & Recoloured". The new edition is reduced to fifteen tracks (featuring ten songs, some appearing in multiple edits), with each song remixed by contemporary producers and remixers. [3]
After making her name as the biggest selling and most important female artist of the disco era in the 1970s, Summer had signed to Geffen Records in 1980 and released the new wave-influenced album The Wanderer . I'm a Rainbow, a double album set, was set to be its follow-up (Summer had gained much success during the 1970s with double albums). Summer had recently given birth to her second child, daughter Brooklyn, when work was to start on the album. Things in the recording studio were not the same as before. Songwriter Harold Faltermeyer later recalled, "Donna had changed and was going through some things we couldn't help with. Things had changed and scheduled recording sessions were not kept. When Geffen stopped by the studio to check on progress, he was unhappy with what he had heard. There were only a few songs finished and most were in demo phase." [4]
Geffen canceled the project and insisted that Summer part company with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who had produced and co-written it, and with whom Summer had been working since the early 1970s. She was instead paired up with producer Quincy Jones and began work on her 1982 self-titled album. [5] This effectively ended Summer's working relationship with the Moroder/Bellotte team, with whom she had created ten critically acclaimed albums.
Faltermeyer was unaware that the project had been released in 1996 under the name I'm a Rainbow, saying in 2012, "The project was cancelled; I still have the tapes, we never completed the project. There was never any title." [4]
Over the years, songs from I'm a Rainbow were released on other compilations:
While dance-oriented music was a theme throughout the album, this was combined with several different musical styles, making it one of Summer's more diverse albums. Styles explored included 80s British synthpop like The Human League and Duran Duran, pop/rock, and ballads. It included a duet with Joe "Bean" Esposito, writing credits from Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey, Sylvester Levay, and Sudano as well as the usual Summer/Moroder/Bellotte team.
Bootleg copies of the album circulated among fans for years before the full album was finally released by PolyGram's Casablanca and Mercury Records labels on August 20, 1996. The original album artwork, however, could not be located, because the project was cancelled and there was no title or artwork made for the cancelled album. The tracks heard on the released album are mostly in demo phase, since the project was shelved, and Harold Faltermeyer insisted only a few tracks were actually finished.[ citation needed ] As of August 10, 2006, the album has sold 13,000 copies in the United States. [6]
Critical reception for the album was largely positive. Leo Stanley wrote in AllMusic, "Summer turns in some of her most personal, introspective lyrics and singing, which gives the album an emotional force her albums sometimes lacked. In fact, given the quality of the music, it's hard to see why this was shelved at the time because it is stronger than the majority of her official studio albums." [2]
In 2021, the album was re-edited and re-released with the subtitle "Recovered & Recoloured", including ten of the eighteen original tracks remixed by contemporary remixers and producers. The album opens with the title track, which includes a significantly different intro and the addition of a church organ, and closes with Leave Me Alone.
Several of the shelved songs were licensed to other artists:
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Believe (In You)" (duet with Joe Esposito) | 4:31 | |
2. | "True Love Survives" | 3:38 | |
3. | "You to Me" |
| 4:40 |
4. | "Sweet Emotion" |
| 3:45 |
5. | "Leave Me Alone" |
| 4:06 |
6. | "Melanie" |
| 3:40 |
7. | "Back Where You Belong" |
| 3:53 |
8. | "People Talk" |
| 4:16 |
9. | "To Turn the Stone" |
| 4:21 |
10. | "Brooklyn" |
| 4:36 |
11. | "I'm a Rainbow" | Bruce Sudano | 4:07 |
12. | "Walk On (Keep On Movin')" |
| 3:51 |
13. | "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" | 4:29 | |
14. | "A Runner with the Pack" | Bellotte | 4:08 |
15. | "Highway Runner" |
| 3:29 |
16. | "Romeo" |
| 3:19 |
17. | "End of the Week" |
| 3:39 |
18. | "I Need Time" |
| 4:24 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I'm a Rainbow" (Junior's Shiny Rainbow edit) | 4:16 |
2. | "I Believe (In You)" (Figo Sound version) | 4:48 |
3. | "Back Where You Belong" (Jean Monique remix) | 4:21 |
4. | "You to Me" (Oliver Nelson remix) | 3:39 |
5. | "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (Ladies on Mars "Buenos Aires" remix) | 5:37 |
6. | "Sweet Emotion" (Le Flex remix) | 3:46 |
7. | "Brooklyn" (Ladies on Mars "Child of Rhythm" remix) | 4:44 |
8. | "Romeo" (Ladies on Mars "Luv-NRG" remix) | 3:45 |
9. | "Highway Runner" (Ladies on Mars "Street Race" remix) | 3:12 |
10. | "Leave Me Alone" (Ladies on Mars "Independence" remix) | 4:16 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Brooklyn" (Ladies on Mars "Child of Rhythm" remix – radio edit) | 3:38 |
12. | "I Believe (In You)" (Figo Sound radio version) | 3:01 |
13. | "Highway Runner" (Ladies on Mars "Street Race" extended remix) | 6:18 |
14. | "Brooklyn" (Ladies on Mars "Child of Rhythm" extended remix) | 6:54 |
15. | "Romeo" (Ladies on Mars "Luv-NRG" extended remix) | 6:47 |
Donna Adrian Gaines, known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following.
Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, composer and record producer.
Bad Girls is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on April 25, 1979, by Casablanca Records. Originally issued as a double album, Bad Girls became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Summer's career. It was also her final studio album for Casablanca Records. In 2003, Universal Music re-issued Bad Girls as a digitally remastered and expanded deluxe edition.
Love to Love You Baby is the second studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released on August 27, 1975, and her first to be released internationally and in the United States. Her previous album Lady of the Night (1974) was released only in the Netherlands. The album was commercially successful, mainly because of the success of its title track, which reached number 2 on the US Pop charts despite some radio stations choosing not to play the song due to its sexually explicit nature.
The Wanderer is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on October 20, 1980. It marks a musical departure for Summer, being an album influenced by rock and new wave whilst previous albums all fell under the disco music category. Her inaugural release of the Geffen Records label, it became a top 20 album in the United States, with the title track reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; other singles failed to enter the top ten. However, the record was more unsuccessful on the charts than her previous album Bad Girls, which topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks.
Live and More is the first live album recorded by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, and it was her second double album, released on August 28, 1978 by Casablanca Records. The live concert featured on the first three sides of this double album was recorded in the Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California in 1978.
Lady of the Night is the debut studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released in the Netherlands on February 26, 1974, by Groovy Records. The album contains such European hits as "The Hostage" and "Lady of the Night".
Peter John Bellotte is a British songwriter and record producer most noted for his work in the 1970s with Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer.
Donna Summer is the tenth studio album by American songwriter Donna Summer, released on July 19, 1982, by Geffen Records. It featured the Top 10, Grammy-nominated "Love Is in Control " single. The album itself saw a drop in chart position from her previous album, peaking at No.20, but ultimately outsold it by remaining on the Billboard 200 for 37 weeks - nearly 20 weeks more. Its longevity was aided by follow-up singles "State of Independence" and "The Woman in Me", which charted at 41 and 33 respectively.
The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch Singles is a compilation album by Donna Summer released in 1987. Summer had become the biggest star of the disco era in the 1970s when signed to Casablanca Records. By 1987, Summer was signed to the Geffen label, and Casablanca had long since been bought out by Polygram. This album was released on Polygram's Casablanca label. It features some of her most famous songs from the disco era in their extended 12" versions, as they would often have been played in the clubs during their popularity.
The Donna Summer Anthology is a double CD compilation album by the American singer Donna Summer, released by Polygram Records in 1993. The compilation featured the majority of Summer's best known songs right from the start of her success to the then present day. Summer had originally made her name during the disco era in the 1970s and in the decade that followed had experimented with different styles. Most of the tracks on this compilation are the original album versions of the songs, which were sometimes edited down for their release as a single. Included for the first time are two remixed tracks from her then unreleased album I'm a Rainbow, which had been recorded in 1981 but was shelved by her record company. The album also featured the Giorgio Moroder-penned and produced song "Carry On"', marking the first time Summer and Moroder had worked together since 1981. Summer and Moroder, together with Pete Bellotte had written the vast majority of her 1970s disco hits. Four years later, "Carry On" would be remixed and become a big dance hit. It also won Summer a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, her first win since 1984 and her fifth win in total.
Endless Summer: Donna Summer's Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on November 8, 1994. It contains many of Summer's best known songs, from her 1970s breakthrough to the release of the album. Unlike 1993's The Donna Summer Anthology, which contains the majority of the songs in their original longer forms, Endless Summer generally includes single versions of the songs. However, the version sold in the United Kingdom uses the album version of the track "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt",, not the more club-oriented mix released as a single there.
Live And More Encore is a live album released by Donna Summer in 1999, an edited version of a televised concert of the same name. Released on Sony Music's sublabel Epic, it featured a live concert which had been filmed especially for the VH-1 channel, and also two new dance tracks, including a re-working of "Time To Say Goodbye", a semi-classical song previously made popular by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Summer's dance version of the song was entitled "I Will Go with You ". Both of the album's two studio recordings, the other being "Love Is the Healer", reached #1 on the US dance charts, with "I Will Go With You" nominated for a Grammy as Best Dance Recording.
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Bruce Charles Sudano is an American musician and songwriter noted for creating songs for artists such as Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and his wife, the Grammy Award-winning singer Donna Summer. Sudano is the founder of indie record label Purple Heart Recording Company.
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The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits three-CD compilation of recordings by American singer Donna Summer released in the Netherlands in early 2003.
Ooh, La, La is the debut and only studio album by American singer, Suzi Lane, released in 1979 through Elektra Records. The album was produced by Giorgio Moroder who was also producing Donna Summer at that time. Lane said she met Summer at the recording studio and that she was influenced by the "high-energy electronica" sound pioneered by Moroder and Summer. The title track along with the song "Harmony" reached number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The dance hit was number one for one week then remained on the chart for six months.
The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits compilation of recordings by American singer Donna Summer released in the United Kingdom in late 2016. The album was certified Silver in the UK.
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