200 FAVE ALBUMS. Today: #93. Continues tomorrow.

THE CAFFE` LATTE`

200

MOST RECOMMENDED ALBUMS

Some are the best selling, while others may be obscure, but the albums listed here are all worthy of a listen. No compilation/ best of sets. Only exceptional live albums included. This is a personal listing of the albums I enjoy the most to this day.

#93

I REMEMBER YESTERDAY: 

DONNA SUMMER

 [1977] 

Donna Summer must have been so frustrated being pigeonholed as a disco artist. While the singer's electronic dance output was years ahead of its time, her albums showcased an ability to cross a wide array of styles. Despite this, most of the attention (if not all) was unfairly aimed at her disco output. For her 'I Remember Yesterday' album, the tracks follow a theme. This was essentially a more obvious concept album. Commencing with the title track, Summer leads us back to the 1920s. Our journey through time fast forwards to the 1950s with "Love's Unkind". Summer pays homage to Motown and The Supremes in particular on "Back In Love Again". In the days of vinyl, side 2 kicked off with "Black Lady", a song tailor-made for Cher or a funky group at the start of the 1970s. "Take Me", the weakest track on the album, has interesting disco and strings while the singer adopts a more sexual attitude. This is followed by a ballad entitled "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)", an adult contemporary song worthy of Barbra Streisand. As if these selections were not sufficient enough to prove the artist's versatility, the album closes with its strongest asset: the awe-inspiring "I Feel Love". Producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte had sent Summer on a trip spanning decades and various genres. After returning to the present on the preceding 2 tracks, they launched the singer far off into the future. In 1977, no one had ever created a track as amazing as "I Feel Love". It was robotic, electronic and innovative. Summer's vocal infused it with a human element as well as a blast of sensuality. The track still influences dance and electronica to this day. The album may have aged, but its closing track remains an aural climax.

Highlight tracks: I Feel Love; Love's Unkind & Back In Love Again.