Customer Reviews

Once Upon a Time

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Throwing this CD on this Sunday rainy morning - at ear decibal splitting levels - brings me back to the brilliance and excitement of this release. The CD does follow the original LPs tracking so the other reviewer must have a weirdo issue; the charm of this album has always been the disco flow from song to song. Following her influential breakthrough collaboration with Giorogio Moroder on "I Feel Love" from her previous LP "I Remember Yesterday", in terms of singles - this album sank. This release was never truly single oriented as the listener must take in the entire 'disc'. So many remarkable artists list this as a major influence - and it is no wonder. This is the quintessential release by a very talented woman. Moroder and Pete Bellotte created the genius that this product became and they must be honored. This is a ear candy of the highest confection. Donna's follow up, "Bad Girls" continues with this team's efforts, but this has the sweetest disco icing. Donna has had some great follow ups - but as far as discs go, this is shaking disco get - down - hallelujah dance your butt off material - "Once Upon A Time" is a masterpiece. As a concept album it is also leaps above others like Pink Floyd's "The Wall"... this is a great record. If you have never heard it you are in for an incredible, fulfilling listening experience! Add to cart!

During the 1970's, it was quipped that Casablanca Records shipped gold and returned platinum. One of the few exceptions to this sometimes truth was Donna Summer's Once Upon A Time. Recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich (home also to Queen and Kraftwerk among others) as she had her previous albums, Donna and her management company set out to create a storyline for a double album. Time Magazine dubbed this , "....the first disco-opera."

Each side of the original album was called an "Act" and the songs were labeled "compositions." Summer kept the storyline simple, employing a Cinderella tale that takes place in the harsh, urban city. The point of view for each song was hers-there are no other character's voices or other singers outside the chorus.

Act One sets the up a story of a young woman, trapped in a world of make believe, where she was,"...living in a fantasy, trapped within their world." The setting of the city, the pain of being an outcast, and the relief of the spirit are the primary themes. Act Two was the most praised in the original reviews of this album. 90% electronic, full of major-minor modal shifts, and employing tape loops and noises that were groundbreaking, Moroder & Co. served up Fritz Lang-like world view of the proletariat. As Rolling Stone noted,"...the acoustic piano splash in Queen For A Day is a welcome and needed relief." Surprisingly, though the 3 songs on this album side are sampled and still played in clubs, none were released as singles.

Act Three allows Summer to stretch vocally and extend her stylistic range. Ballads, campy disco, and a brief, classical interpretation of the main album cut, show what Summer could transverse. Act Four was the most mainstream for American ears. "I Love You" was the single for the album-reaching #38 on the Billboard charts. Live versions of the first two songs of Act Four and of the title track would show up on the Live and More album.

Many critics would not notice Donna's vocal prowess until "Last Dance" stopped the floor in 1978. And her work as a composer and lyricist is still overlooked. She was one of the few women outside of the folk niche to write or co-write almost all of her material in the 1970s. Combine this with being African-American in Europe, and you have a most formidable personage.

This is Summers best and most coherent disc. The long notes aren't here and the guitars are not yet on the horizon. She was moving from the First Lady of Love to being a Bad Girl. Her stop here to be a princess and a singer in service of a song found Summer at her best.

This brilliant album of great songs is on a par with her other masterpiece, the more rock-influenced Bad Girls. This one is more electronic, a majestic blend of her voice, synthesizers and drum machines, all very intelligently interwoven (Giorgio Moroder & Pete Belotte's eurodisco production at its best). Every sigh, every note and every beat of the drum is in its right place, making this a perfect album in both concept and execution. Almost every second track is a classic: the hypnotic Fairytale High, the sad Working The Midnight Shift, the triumphant Queen For A Day, the longing of Now I Need You and the trance of Faster & Faster To Nowhere. I must agree with a previous reviewer, though, about the order of tracks. Previously on vinyl there was a killer sequence of Midnight Shift, then Queen or A Day, followed by Now I Need You and it worked very well. Now these tracks are separated for no rhyme or reason. But that's a minor complaint about such a wonderful album that has aged so well.

Moroder/Bellote/Summer collaboration reached excellency on this album.They were already the masters of dance/electronic music in the 70's and vocals by Summer were simply superb.Songs "Once Upon a Time/Faster and Faster/Say Something Nice" are a musical delight and absolutely irresistible to hear."Rumour Has It/I Love You" are already Donna Summer's classics, beautifully recorded. "Dance into my life" a contagious danceable rhythmical song showing Donna Summer's notorious high pitch voice and famous strong vocals.But perhaps a medley called "Now I Need You" and "Working the Midnight Shift" is the best example of musical equilibrium,excellency and master work giving this trio of producers and singer a title of royal highness on the Disco Era and in present times.In 1977 David Bowie was amazed and hypnotized by Moroder's outstanding production of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love". He knew inmediately that Donna Summer were destined to become an important figure in the music business.He was right!.She continued recording musical gems and "Once Upon a Time" is among Donna Summer's best. It's a musical jewel and and exquisite production. It has gone beyond time and it still remains like a Moroder/Bellote/Summer classic. A masterpiece!!!

Possibly her best album. Pete and Giorgio (or Giorgio and Pete, if you must) really helped to define the diva on this one. But this is not Donna Summer having her hand held. She is not only singing her heart out, but co writing and the creator of the whole concept of the girl lost in the big city. It is Donna's story, for crying out load.

The tale is of Donna Summer, working girl, waiting for her Prince charming to come and rescue her in the big city.

The songs just all blend together so well, and also help her very form style to style with ease. I could describe every song with love, but I will try and skip a few highlights and just include the best of the best.

"Faster And Faster To Nowhere" is a scary and almost exciting track that has Donna lost in the city and trying to escape through her "trip"

"Say Soemthing Nice" is the disco song that could. Makes you wnat to get up and dance and lyrics like "Don't you understand it when A person tries.." Donna sings in her diamonds and furs. So great

"Now I Need You" is just an event with those background singers. The song is just so huge.

"Working The Midnight Shift" is a great little dance number that makes anyones night go by faster, even if it does tend to depress.

"A Man Like You" and "Sweet Romance" show Donna's great vocals.

"Dance Into My Life" with all of its vocal effects and its starting out as a ballad, proves to be the funest song on the set.

"Rumour Has It" tells a cute story plus the song is a great little vibe with the background signers. Very cleaver. And the fast chorus with lines like "You never know what you won until you've lost", is just great.

Everything about this album is just as great to listen to know as it must have been years ago. The great feel of love and the great escape from her depression of the city. I love it. You must buy this album.

I'm 30 and didn't discover this particular piece of Summer's work until just recently. Wow was I blown away. Not only is this an outstanding concept album but I consider this album is perhaps the conception of what is now "techno" music. It's as though Summer and crew traveled to the 90's and brought some of it back to the 70's. To the baby boomers Mrs. Summer may be the queen of disco but to this X'er she's the mother of Techno.

I first got Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" album in the early 1990s and was amazed by it instantly. It was, however, "Once Upon A Time" that I purchased as my second Donna album that made me a Donna Summer fan for real. The remaining reviews pretty much sum up how brilliant this concept album is, Bob Esty signed the musical arrangements which are simply excellent. Surprisingly, the singles "I Love You" & "Rumour Has It" only charted in the lower half of the US Top 40, although they did slightly better in the UK, reaching #10 & #21 respectively. Besides these two lovely tunes, the compelling, synthesized-gospel tune "Now I Need You" is the highlight of this album which may not contain many of Donna's most familiar disco tunes but certainly the very best produced cuts.

I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this album, first as a kid when it first came out on a stunning 2-LP set (who can forget the Scavullo gatefold sleeve?) and then later the CD reissue. This was Donna before she broke into the masses, before LIVE AND MORE, and before BAD GIRLS - I think it stands on its own as an ambitious, perfectly realized conceptual work of art when few pop artists, disco and otherwise, were even aiming this high, and delivering. With slick Teutonic production by Moroder/Bellotte, soaring vocals from Summer, and a clutch of addictive, propulsive grooves, ONCE UPON A TIME equals anything Donna has ever released. With classic Donna anthems like RUMOR HAS IT, I LOVE YOU, FAIRY TALE HIGH, and especially NOW I NEED YOU (way, way ahead of its time, imagine Kraftwerk meets gospel), this is essential for fans of great quality music, no matter the genre. Disco never died - but this is heaven.

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Donna Summer, who earlier in the year 1977 had released an eclectic collection called `I remember yesterday' which featured the ground breaking monster smash `I feel love'.

How to follow up such a feat might have been daunting to some other artiste, but not the Summer/Moroder/Bellotte team. All the songs were written by the team.

The album `Once upon a time' was a tour de force, a concept album about fairy tales and diamonds and fur and stardust and queens. The album photos show a stunning looking Donna Summer in a night gown and stars sprinkling from her hands. I actually discovered this album in 1980, and it was the cover photo that made me a fan all those years back. Magic!

The album hit the US top 40 and was Donna's 5th gold album in a row.

The original vinyl LP comprised 4 sides on 2 discs. Side 1 opened with the title track, a sparkly dance affair with a dreamy sound, written (Donna says) for her then 3 year old daughter Mimi, followed by the paranoia of `Faster and faster' with Donna's despair laden vocals adding to the chill, followed by the sunny, upbeat, clap-a-long `Fairy tale high' and closing out with `Say something nice' where Donna really didn't need to ask us to `tell me you think that my hair's real nice'. She looks stunning!

Side 2 was `I feel love' part two. Electronica heaven! Right from the hypnotic beat, shimmery synths, electronic bleeps and effects, and choir like backing vocals of `Now I need you', to the swirling synths and delicate haunting falsetto of `Working the midnight shift', to the celebratory sounding `Queen for a day where she hits some glass shattering notes, this suite of songs is a masterpiece!

Side 3 had the horn laden retro sounding soulful `If you got it flaunt it', and the awesome `Dance into my life' with its vocoder effects and slow/fast delivery (fore runner of songs like `Cats without claws', `Voices crying out' and `Love is just a breath away').

There was also the beautiful `Once upon a time' piano/string interlude.

Then there are the brilliant ballads; the very soulful `A man like you' where we get another preview of Donna's belting voice (something that would take over from the breathy delivery) and which features some great horns, and the tender, wistful `Sweet romance', to me, one of her very best ballads ever. Starting slow and gentle with some magical sounding keyboards, it builds to an awesome chorus featuring great acoustic guitar and powerful vocals.

Side 4 opens with the energetic `Rumor has it, a UK top 20 hit, followed by the upbeat dance tune `I love you' a UK #10 hit and a US top 40 hit. `Happily ever after' closed this suite with our girl in the story finally finding love.

The last track, a spoken ballad delivery of `Once upon a time' with different lyrics, is another highlight. This is the story of the girl in once upon a time dramatically narrated against a beautiful keyboard/string/acoustic guitar backdrop, with a slight rock feel. Stunning!

This album was eons apart from what everyone else was doing in disco, and stands as one of the very best albums from the 70s, and of Donna's career.

Once upon a time is the story of dreaming and wishing for something real hard till one day we find that dream...

..something like me and you.

I always love this album. No Donna Summer collection would be complete without it. It is a double album full of beautiful and original works. My favorite track of all is "Now I need You". Donna Summer always had a concept for her albums,and that was an interesting way of recording and producing. The photos in the CD and on the original vinyl are magical,just lke a fairy tale,and bring back happy and exciting childhood memories for me and would for anyone who was a Donna Summer fan back in the day.