Album Reviews
As the title implies, Donna Summer is getting down to business. You may be surprised, though, at what sort of business she means. She Works Hard for the Money, in marked contrast to last year's grandly overreaching Donna Summer, functions as efficient entertainment, but, like Summer herself, it's all in service to the Lord. Summer and producer Michael Omartian are both gone-public born-agains who haven't lost their commercial bent, and that's their saving grace. While Summer rolls her eyes heavenward, she keeps her feet firmly on the dance floor; as a result, She Works Hard is more than just a glossy recruitment ad for God's army.
Given Summer's bad-girl past, it's sometimes hard to distinguish sacred from profane; Summer is at her best when she keeps us guessing. "He's a Rebel," with its West Side Story sense of drama, could be about James Dean, not Jesus Christ; the arrangement of "Stop Look and Listen" is jauntily upbeat, despite the fact that Summer is actually trying to rewrite "Sounds of Silence" (with lines like "The prophets of the times are written on streetcar walls"). The most obvious hit here is the title track, a driving Giorgio Moroder-style riff that was eclipsed this summer only by Moroder's own "Flashdance... What a Feeling." But "Unconditional Love" could be a sleeper it's a collaboration with Musical Youth that's so utterly charming you scarcely wonder what Summer is doing preaching about Jah. The message, thank God, is mostly in the music. (RS 405)
MICHAEL HILL
(Posted: Sep 29, 1983)
Click the play button.
Register or enter your username and password.
Let the music play!
It's FREE.
- She Works Hard For Her Money
- Stop Look And Listen
- He's A Rebel
- Woman
- Unconditional Love
- Love Has A Mind Of Its Own
- Tokyo
- People People
- I Do Believe I Fell In Love
![]() |
Advertisement
More CD Reviews
-
John Mayer
Battle Studies -
Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures -
Bon Jovi
The Circle -
Paul McCartney
Good Evening New York City -
Weezer
Raditude -
Leona Lewis
Echo -
The Rolling Stones
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert – 40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set -
Nirvana
Bleach (Deluxe Edition) -
Various Artists
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack The Twilight Saga: New Moon -
Wolfmother
Cosmic Egg
Hear it Now
View
Email
Stumble
AIM
Del.icio.us
DiggThis
Fark It!



- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.