Customer Reviews

Bad Girls (Dlx) (Dig)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everyone has heard this album at one point or another. What's special about this collection is that it is remastered and the sound is IMPECCABLE! This album could easily have been released yesterday;it sounds so very current!! The digipack is designed to imitate the original LP album fold out and the 12" versions on the second disc are also first time remastered. Truly an awesome collection of Donna's hits. There is no other that can match the honest, emotive, soulful voice that is Donna Summer. For those who have complained that this set does not include anything unreleased other than the fabulous demo version of Bad Girls, read the foreword beautifully written by Brian Chin. Giorgio Moroder says that when he and Donna recorded back then, it was not common practice for them to do a demo first. They laid down the tracks and Donna did the vocals usually all at the same time and the songs were done. This is the reason why there is very little unreleased music from that time period with Giorgio. It would be wise for Universal to release additional Deluxe versions of Donna's albums where there is plenty of unreleased material from the 80's. I look forward to seeing She Works Hard For The Money in Deluxe form to include all of the unreleased songs from that decade. Anyone at Universal listening? If so, check out the Delphiforums called Endless Summer. There are plenty of fans very willing to discuss and have discussed what would make a fabulous deluxe set. 'Nuff said!

Far and away Summer's sweetest season, "Bad Girls" stands as a pop and disco classic 24 years after its release. And this expanded, remastered deluxe edition brings a new dimension to the reach and range of this stunning musical document. The original album (disc one) still stands strong. From the title track, to the rock-disco funk of "Hot Stuff," to the delightful romp of "Dim All the Lights," to the country touches of "On My Honor," the cuts on this record presented Donna's voice in a wide range of contexts, hinting at the changes that would come in her music the following year. Great. Disc two is where the party really starts. Running nearly 80 minutes, the 12-inch mixes pulsate, sway and groove in a way the album cuts cannot. The "Last Dance" mix is fabulous, while "Walk Away" is more fun in its longer incarnation. "MacArthur Park Suite" is a true dance classic, racing along at a frenetic 17 minutes and showcasing one of Donna's towering vocal victories. "Bad Girls" could have been left off since it is pretty much the same as the original album version, but "Dim All The Lights" and "No More Tears" really rock. So pick this great expanded edition up. It's an even better take on the greatest dance album in pop history.

Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" is one of those rare albums that washes over you like a life-giving elixir of hope. It's [] imaginitive, progressive, beautiful, hook-filled, and danceable. Above all, it defined its era, and in retrospect, it continues to define and influence today's artists. Perhaps Donna's influence should be re-evaluated: she was at the forefront of the electronica movement, releasing the pulsating "I Feel Love" in 1977 and extending her musical experimentation in that genre to this double LP set. With "Bad Girls", she also defined what dance music would be and still is -- she was the first artist to develop longform dance epics (fans of Madonna's extended remixes, take note), and she pioneered many of the style's enduring techniques.

Now, Universal Chronicles has rereleased "Bad Girls"; an installment in their wonderful Deluxe Edition series, it is a double-disc set that lavishes the record with the respect it deserves.

Disc One contains the original album, remastered with 24-bit technology. The record's opening salvo is the brilliant one-two punch of Hot Stuff (#1 pop) and Bad Girls (#1 pop). Unlike much of Donna's earlier material, these perennial tracks cannot be merely classified as disco; they are incredible dance songs, yes, but they also signalled tremendous musical growth for Summer, who decided to incorporate rock elements into Hot Stuff, and flamenco guitar/ R&B influences into Bad Girls. Indeed, it is her willingness to experiment that has led to such career longeivity. And she was never a producer's pawn -- she coproduces several tracks here, and cowrites eight of them; later, she would take even more control.

"Love Will Always Find You" extends the theme of tawdry sex and cheap love (Bad Girls was envisioned as a concept album about prostitution), adding a throbbing brass section in for good measure. Its ballad-ready title belies its addictive beat. The downbeat "Walk Away" (#36 pop) and the celebratory "Dim All The Lights" (#2 pop) follow in quick succession; both are classic dance tracks that benefit from Donna's incredible performance and propitious sequencing. As she 'walks away' from love, heartbroken, we segue into the hope that new love brings on "Dim All The Lights". But these songs would be nothing without her incredible delivery -- listen to her exquisite intonation and the emotion she injects into her sonic story.

"Journey To The Centre Of Your Heart" (reminiscent of "Love Will Always Find You"), "One Night In A Lifetime", and the hopelessly addictive - and very sexy - "Can't Get To Sleep At Night" are shimmering mid-tempo dance cuts about sexual and emotional infatuation. But if you thought that Donna could only do disco and dance, witness the tender beauty of the piano ballad "On My Honor", the slightly operatic "There Will Always Be A You", and the jazzy "My Baby Understands". These tracks showcase Donna's vocal abilities and stylistic versatility (there are even country influences in "On My Honor") and they rank among my favorite Summer album tracks.

And now we arrive at the electronica section of the album -- "Our Love", "Lucky" and the haunting closer "Sunset People". These tracks are bathed in synthesizers and electronic quirks, and are perhaps the most beautiful (and influential) on the album. "Our Love" is absolutely stunning, an obvious forerunner of the Eurythmics "Love Is A Stranger" and New Order's seminal "Blue Monday" (in fact, "Blue Monday" steals a hook directly from "Our Love"). It falls into the "why was this not released as a single?" category, and its abrupt ending has been replicated countless times. "Lucky" is incredibly sensual, one of the best things she's ever recorded. And "Sunset People", a song that details the seedy nightlife of the sunset strip, is a perfect end coda to the emotional and sexual odyssey that is "Bad Girls".

If this is where the record had stopped, I wouldn't have minded. But the suits at Universal have also bestowed a gorgeous set of remastered bonus tracks on us. First up is a soulful take on Bad Girls (it's the much-talked-about demo version). Disc Two is devoted entirely to 12-inch versions of Donna's best songs. We get "I Feel Love", "Last Dance", the superb 17-minute "MacArthur Park Suite", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", "Walk Away", "Dim All The Lights", as well as the rare extended editions of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (available only on the Casablanca box set) and "On The Radio" (heretofor unavailable on a Summer collection). Combine this with beautiful liner notes, all the original LP art faithfully replicated, and a gorgeous fold-out four-panel digipack case, and you truly have a Deluxe Edition to treasure.

This album is a classic tribute to Donna's artistry and longeivity. Remastered and expanded, this is the definitve version -- worth buying all over again.

It is rare when an album finds itself to claim both artistic aclaim, and commercial appeal. For Dona Summer, Bad Girls remains her singature, blockbuster album, that not only broke the chart barriers of it's time, but set the stage for the female superstars of the 80's (not that ANY of them have ever given Donna her just props).

The made for radio tracks of sides 1 & 4 took the world by storm, and Hot Stuff made belivers even from the Disco Sucks crowd. Bad Girls took some by surprise with it's very direct lyrics about the Ladies of The Night, but it became her first song to top both the Pop and R & B charts at the same time.
These 2 tracks together with side 2 opener, Dim All The Lights remain highlights of her stage shows to this day.

Side 2 & 3 focused on Donna as a singer-songwriter, and the easy Pop Songs of side 2 flowed into the beautiful ballads of side 3, There Will Always Be A You being the stunner, and side 3 closed out with her Janis Joplin tribute, My Baby Understands.

Side 4 finds us back at the Disco, with Our Love, Sunset People and Lucky. These tracks easily transport us back to 1979, yet they remain fresh and vibrant today.

Bad Girls remains the 'brass ring" in Donna's career, every artist should be as fortunate to have one.

Though remembered for her many hits during the disco era, Donna Summer and her collaborators (the underrated producer Giorgio Moroder & cowriter Pete Bellotte) recorded what has to be one of the best releases of the disco era. I hate to categorize it as "disco" as this release was a stroke of genius as it incorporated so many elements that it does not do it justice to put it in a neat simplistic category. It has now been re-released in a newly remastered/expanded edition and it sounds better than ever and adds some key songs.

This release blends rock, disco, ballads and some of the best electronic touches of the era. I have a soft spot for it as the last cut on the original LP was "Sunset People", a song that in my mind is one of her best and was never released as a single. The throbbing beat is beyond description.

Listening to it again so many years after it was first released, only serves to make me love it more as it is clearly THE defining Donna Summer release as it works both as a full concept and its individual parts. It also serves to showcase the full spectrum of Donna's vocal repertoire as there are some who only remember her voice as extended moans from "Love To Love You Baby". There is nothing wrong with that song (in fact it's soooooo right), but here Donna shows that she can handle just about anything and what amazes me is that she showcases so many facets of her talents yet the whole release is so cohesive. You'd be hard-pressed to find another release that is so satisfying.

To top it off this "Deluxe Edition" is worth every cent as it includes a valuable second CD with extended version of this release as well as some of Donna's greatest hits, including the hard to find "Mac Arthur Park Suite" clocking in at 17:35. The packaging tops the original LP release (which is a rarity these days) and it includes lyrics and some great photography, which reminded me of a highly-rated pre-MTV special the ABC aired shortly after this was originally released. The "Bad Girl" put together a show that will forever be etched in my mind.

If you are a fan, this is a must, if you are on the fence don't disregard it solely because of erroneous perceptions that Donna Summer is a "disco" creation. She is so much more and this release may be one of the few of the era that you can listen to from beggining to end and it actually sounds like a greatest hits package. It's that good!!! Most of today's dance acts should look back at this release to see how it's done. It was a massive hit when it was first release in the late 1970's and it does not sound dated at all.

This was always one of the best albums of all time, where Donna's million and multi million selling singles 'Dim all the lights' (#2), 'Hot stuff' (#1), and 'Bad girls' (#1) came from.

Now, it's been reissued in a fabulous, glossy, digipak, which folds out like the original double vinyl package, with extra photos and a real in depth write up on the recording of the album, as well as other hits of Summer's.

The set comprises 2 cds, the first which features the original 15 songs, as well as the demo of 'Bad girls' (available for the first time here) produced by Donna herself, which makes for an interesting contrast to the familiar album version.

It was a step in another direction for Donna; less strings, more guitars and assertive lyrics. The styles range from dance, ballads, country tinged ('On my honour'), rock ('Hot stuff', the Janis Joplin-like 'My baby understands'), to electronica ('Our love', Lucky', and the trance inducing 'Sunset people'), a little something for everyone.

The second cd features 9 extended mixes, including the rare 'Foxes' movie soundtrack version of 'On the radio' (which is awesome), 'Mac Arthur park Suite' (with the single version of 'Heaven knows' with horns, unlike the vinyl 'Live and more' version), 'I feel love, and more.

I actually got this, despite having the 'old' 'Bad girls' cd and it is well worth it. For newcomers, this is an excellent introduction to the sound of Summer, as it was nominated for 5 Grammys (including Album of the year, best pop song, best R&B song) of which 'Hot stuff' won for best rock song, topped the Billboard hot 200, and sold millions and millions, and shows why Donna Summer was, and still is the leader of the pack.

Just prior to the album's release in May of 1979, Donna was quickly becoming one of the most prominent and important artist of that time. Following a series of highly successful singles and gold albums, LIVE AND MORE gave the artist her first number one album in 1978, coinciding with the massive success of the "MacArthur Park" and "Last Dance" singles. When the double album BAD GIRLS was released shortly after, no one could escape the clutches of her music! "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" were inescapable on the airwaves, quickly becoming signature tracks to Donna's ever extensive repertoire. "Dim All the Lights" followed there after in late 1979, solidifying the mass appeal and success this album has come to generate. More than 25 years after its initial release, BAD GIRLS continues strut it stuff with this much deserved deluxe edition release of the album. Although the original album has been beautifully remastered, the second disc seems slightly redundant with the 12 inch mixes, which mostly appear on the DANCE COLLECTION. Nevertheless, it's still worth the time and the investment for the digipack packaging, extensive liner notes, and remasterd sound. Prime Cuts: "Our Love", "Lucky", "There Will Always Be a You", "Love Will Always Find You", "On My Honor", "One Night In A lifetime

As stellar and ground-breaking as the album "Bad Girls" was and still is, I'm floored by what a knockout the bonus disc is! Come on now, when have you ever gotten a "deluxe edition" that you think is actually worth the money? Here it is -- the extra music is worth the price of admission all by itself. It's chockablock with danceable, tappable, rock-your-shoulders music, perfect for parties, working, driving or just bringing your mood into a great state. This is irresistible music, a rare level of artistry that has that magical it-all-comes-together quality. You simply cannot be unhappy with this package -- and just try to stop playing that second disc!

This is my favorite Donna Summer album, the masterpiece of the Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder/Pete Bellote team. It contains some of Donna's hits that have become classics and other songs that showcase her vocal range and power. Donna is sexy and raunchy on "Hot Stuff", playful on "Bad Girls", sweet and innocent on "Lucky". This special edition by Universal contains some treasures that were previously unreleased like the demo version of "Bad Girls", a soulful version different to the album cut, and the extended version of "On the Radio" from the Foxes soundtrack, which was previusly only available on the Casablanca Story Box Set. Disc 2 also contains some of Donna's greatest hits in 12" version, all remastered with a great sound. If you love Donna Summer, this album is a must have. If you're a casual fan, this album is a great compilation that has some of her best work. All in all, a great buy.

This has always been known as one of the best disco albums ever made. This has been made ever more the obvious with this re-issue.
While the big hits are all great, the part that consisted of side 4 of the album is what really shines here. The electronic medley (as it is affectionately known as) is dounding more fabulous now than ever. Our Love sounds better today then in 1979! Disc 2 is also nice; a re-mastered version of the Dance Collection (it seems...) with the long Foxes version of On The Radio. Nice to hear all of these long versions again ... MacArthur Park Suite still kicks!

The re-mastering is terrific and a beautiful package with restored artwork, a neat booklet with an informative essay & interesting liner notes with Giorgio Moroder really make this stand out. Can't Get to Sleep... is another long time fave, sounding better than ever now.

If you are to get only one Summer collection, I would start here and go next to the Donna Summer Anthology. Both are your best bets on seeing Miss Summer's extrodinary talents.