CAFFE` LATTE` 
TOP 1500 CHOICE TRACKS

#275 STATE OF INDEPENDENCE Donna Summer
The track "State of Independence" fuses elements of funk and gospel and is a strong cover of the Jon & Vangelis original from their 1981 album 'Friends of Mr Cairo'. Jon Anderson is a member of  the progressive rock group Yes. Vangelis is the Greek composer best known for his Oscar winning music from the film 'Chariots of Fire'. 
Summer's remake was featured on her 1982 eponymous album. Quincy Jones produced the cut, which featured session musicians David Paich and Steve Porcaro from Toto, Louis Johnson, Paulinho da Costa, Greg Phillinganes and Richard Page. 
A key feature of the recording is the All Star Choir, consisting of Summer, Christopher Cross, James Ingram, Michael Jackson, Q, his wife Peggy Lipton Jones, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Lionel Richie, Brenda Russell, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder. This gathering later inspired the collaborative project USA for Africa (with many of the same vocalists) and the 1985 charity disc "We are the World". 
"State of Independence" peaked at #41 in America and reached #14 in the UK. In Australia, the disc climbed to #30. It fared far better in the Netherlands, where the single made #1. "State..." has been reissued and remixed since then and even returned to the charts.

This is a list made up of the songs I enjoy the most, ranked in order of preference: the higher we go, the more I cherish them. Some were released as singles, others as album tracks. Some are obscure; others were worldwide hits or have universal appeal. They aren't always the most famous or popular, but simply a personal choice. I have excluded songs from the last few years in order to get a better idea of a song's lasting impression. I hope you find some new tracks to love, or re-discover some past favourites.
2 new instalments are added each day (every 12 hours) with 1 of the remaining 300 songs as well as moving down from #1201 to 1500, with 5 of those songs added daily.