| Keep the Fire Burnin' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 20, 1994 [1] | |||
| Length | 77:02 | |||
| Label | Columbia, Chaos | |||
| Producer | Dan Hartman (tracks 1-3, 7-11) Jimmy Iovine, Hartman (tracks 4-6) | |||
| Dan Hartman chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Keep the Fire Burnin' | ||||
| ||||
Keep the Fire Burnin' is a compilation album by American musician and singer-songwriter Dan Hartman, which was released posthumously on December 20, 1994 by Columbia. The album features remakes of Hartman's hits and previously unreleased material. [2]
Following his 1989 instrumental album New Green Clear Blue , Hartman returned to producing other artists and writing his own new material. [3] Hartman started recording a new solo album of contemporary pop and dance music in the early 1990s and commented in 1993: "So many things have changed in terms of social and political issues, as well as the need for love and personal relationships. All of these things are the reasons why writing and recording new material is most meaningful to me." [4]
Hartman died on March 22, 1994, from an AIDS-related brain tumor. [5] A new compilation album, titled Keep the Fire Burnin', was then released later in the year. The album spawned two singles, both of which were new songs: "The Love in Your Eyes" and "Keep the Fire Burnin'", the latter featuring Loleatta Holloway, who Hartman had worked with before. [6] As a single, the song reached No. 49 in the UK. [7] "Living in America", written by Hartman and Charlie Midnight, was originally released by James Brown in 1985, who scored a big hit with the track. The version that appears here is Hartman's own previously unreleased version. [8] The tracks one, four and nine have no remake credit in the titles.
In an interview for Hartman's unofficial fan site, Midnight recalled: "I last saw Dan in the hospital in New York City. He was very optimistic and expected to go back into the studio to record more songs for a new album that eventually became, "Keep the Fire Burnin'." Because I had moved to Los Angeles, we subsequently kept in touch by telephone." [9]
In a February 1995 issue of The Advocate, an advert for the album was published with the statement: "Dan Hartman ruled the dance floors all over the world with classics like "Instant Replay," "Relight My Fire," and "I Can Dream About You". Now these and other boogie monsters come together on his new release, "Keep the Fire Burnin'." Featuring the new single, "The Love in Your Eyes," plus his own versions of his hit songs, "Free Ride" and "Living in America." Some hits are forever." [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [11] |
| Cash Box | positive [12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [13] |
| The Courant | positive [14] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music | [15] |
Upon release, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly commented: "Whether jumping aboard the '70s disco bandwagon or glomming on to '80s power pop, Dan Hartman was something of a hack chameleon. But this retrospective, Keep the Fire Burnin', makes its point: that his music was the worthy successor to KC's white-guy disco." [13] Greg Morago of The Courant wrote: "Hartman was preparing to reconquer the '90s dance floor with a pop-dance collection at the time of his death. From that effort, the title song, "Keep the Fire Burnin," is Hartman at his best. Aggressive, bouncy and up-front, the track - with additional smokin' vocals by diva Loleatta Holloway of "Love Sensation" fame - proves he never lost his touch. He puts his own vocal stamp on "Living in America," the pretty "I Can Dream About You" shimmers anew in a remake, as does "Instant Replay," as close to disco perfection as possible. And "Free Ride" still takes us there. This sampling of Hartman's remarkably diverse career is a treat." [14]
Steve Baltin of Cash Box commented: "This collection is a fitting tribute to Hartman. For those who know the music, but didn't know much about Hartman, this is a good introduction." [16] Anthony Violanti of The Buffalo News stated: "Dan Hartman doesn't waste time kicking out the jams on his new album. "Keep the Fire Burnin'," the opening track, is a scorching, gospel-style duet with Loleatta Holloway." [17] Tim Griggs of AllMusic noted: "This collection of hits and unreleased material by Dan Hartman is only so-so. Hartman deserves a better retrospective." [11]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Keep the Fire Burnin' (Duet starring Loleatta Holloway)" | Dan Hartman | 6:01 |
| 2. | "The Love in Your Eyes" | Hartman | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Living in America" | Hartman, Charlie Midnight | 7:09 |
| 4. | "I Can Dream About You" | Hartman | 6:02 |
| 5. | "The Name of the Game" | Hartman, Midnight | 4:39 |
| 6. | "We Are the Young" | Hartman, Midnight | 4:20 |
| 7. | "Free Ride" | Hartman | 7:05 |
| 8. | "Vertigo / Relight My Fire" | Hartman | 11:24 |
| 9. | "Instant Replay" | Hartman | 5:23 |
| 10. | "Countdown / This Is It" | Hartman | 14:12 |
| 11. | "Keep the Fire Burnin' (That SFB Feeling Mix)" | Hartman | 6:06 |
Black Box is an Italian house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group is currently made up of DJ Daniele Davoli, classically trained clarinet teacher Valerio Semplici, keyboardist and electronic musician Mirko Limoni, and vocalist Celestine Walcott-Gordon. French fashion model Katrin Quinol joined the act in 1989 and became the official face of Black Box, appearing on the cover of their single and album releases as well as in music videos, including the hit "Ride on Time", which was the highest-selling single of 1989 in the UK. The following year, it was revealed that Quinol was lip-syncing and had not performed on the recording. American singer Martha Wash performed the majority of the songs on the group's debut album, Dreamland, while being uncredited.
Daniel Earl Hartman was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful song, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway. It was released in July 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, Music for the People (1991). The song became a number-one hit in the United States, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.
Loleatta Holloway was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation". In December 2016, Billboard named her the 95th-most successful dance artist of all time. According to the Independent, Holloway is the most sampled female singer in popular music, used in house and dance tracks such as the 1989 Black Box single "Ride on Time".
"Living in America" is a 1985 song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight and performed by James Brown. It was released as a single in 1985 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song entered the Billboard Top 40 on January 11, 1986, and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. It also became a top five hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart; it was his only top 10 single in the UK. It was his first Top 40 hit in ten years on the US pop charts, and it would also be his last. In 1987, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and won Brown a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Walter "Bunny" Sigler was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s.
"Relight My Fire" is a disco song written and released by American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer Dan Hartman as the title track from his 1979 album of the same name. It was also performed by Costa Anadiotis' band Café Society in 1984 and British boy band Take That in 1993, five months before Hartman died.
"Love Sensation" is a 1980 song performed by American R&B singer Loleatta Holloway, taken from her album of the same name. The song was produced and written by Dan Hartman, arranged by Norman Harris, and mixed by Tom Moulton. It was a hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, where the song spent a week at No. 1 in September 1980. Vocals from the song have been widely sampled, particularly in electronic dance music, such as in the 1989 Black Box song "Ride on Time".
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on 3 December 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.
Love Sensation is the sixth and final studio album recorded by American singer Loleatta Holloway, released in 1980 on the Gold Mind label.
"The Love in Your Eyes" is a song by American musician-singer-songwriter Dan Hartman, which was released on November 8, 1994 as the first single from his posthumous album Keep The Fire Burnin'. The song reached No. 53 on Canada's RPM 100 chart in February 1995.
New Green Clear Blue is the seventh and final studio album by American musician and songwriter Dan Hartman, released by Private Music in 1989. The album represented a big stylistic departure for Hartman; it consists of instrumental, ambient songs, with the concept of being a journey into the subconscious. New Green Clear Blue was written, performed, engineered and produced entirely by Hartman.
"Waiting to See You" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Dan Hartman, which was released in 1986 as a single from the film soundtrack of Ruthless People. It was written by Hartman and Charlie Midnight, and was produced by Hartman. The song was also to be included on Hartman's album White Boy, which was shelved by MCA in 1986.
"Heaven in Your Arms" is a song by the American musician Dan Hartman, released in 1981 as the first single from his fourth studio album It Hurts to Be in Love. It was written and produced by Hartman.
It Hurts to Be in Love is the fourth studio album from American singer and songwriter Dan Hartman, released by Blue Sky in 1981. It was produced by Hartman and mixed by Neil Dorfsman.
"All I Need" is a song by the American musician Dan Hartman, released in 1981 as the third and final single from his fourth studio album It Hurts to Be in Love. It was written and produced by Hartman.
I Can Dream About You is the fifth studio album from American musician/singer/songwriter Dan Hartman, released on May 3, 1984, by MCA. The album was produced by Hartman and Jimmy Iovine.
"Second Nature" is a song by American singer-songwriter Dan Hartman, released in 1985 as the fourth and final single from his fifth studio album I Can Dream About You (1984). The song was written by Hartman and Charlie Midnight, and produced by Hartman and Jimmy Iovine. "Second Nature" reached No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained in the charts for 12 weeks.
Keep the Fire Burnin' is a song by American musician-singer-songwriter Dan Hartman featuring Loleatta Holloway, which was released in 1995 as the second and final single from Hartman's posthumous album, Keep The Fire Burnin'. The song reached No. 49 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1995.
Relight My Fire is an album by the American musician Dan Hartman, released in 1979.