Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album or view the full album index here.
DONNA SUMMER | Live and More
Casablanca (1978)
Selected by Sonya Alexander
Donna Summer was and is undoubtedly the "queen of disco." The Boston, MA native set the music charts on fire from the mid ‘70s to the ‘80s, with hit after scorching hit of sexy disco numbers. Her inaugural live album release Donna Summer Live and More is an album that not only demonstrates her vocal chops, but also her musical urbanity. The 17-track double-album was recorded at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles on June 17, 1978 and was released on Casablanca Records on August 28, 1978. It was Summer's first number one double-album, and it deservedly reached double-platinum status.
The album not only included some of her smoldering hits, but also songs from her 1977 album Once Upon a Time. Many of the songs from that album had a fairytale theme, which fits right into the world of disco, where people were able to leave their inhibitions at the door and enter a whole new world on the dance floor. She also experiments with jazz on this record, doing the "My Man Medley," which gives a nod to Gershwin with "The Man I Love," and she pays tribute to fellow songstress Barbra Streisand with her rendition of the evergreen ballad "The Way We Were."
From the sultry "Love to Love You Baby" to the Grammy-nominated "MacArthur Park," this album showcases Summer at her best, live and unfiltered. If it’s not part of your collection, add it because it is indeed live and so much more.
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