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| Cats Without Claws | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 11, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | October 1983–June 1984 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:36 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Michael Omartian | |||
| Donna Summer chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cats Without Claws | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B[2] |
Cats Without Claws is the twelfth studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released on September 11, 1984. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, though her previous album had been released on another label. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's album chart, failing to attain the success of its predecessor which peaked at No. 9.
Her previous studio album, She Works Hard for the Money (1983), gained more fame and success since the disco era, and as a result, its producer Michael Omartian was asked to produce the next studio album as well. Again the majority of tracks were written by Summer and Omartian, though a couple of other writers were credited including Summer's husband known as Bruce Sudano. As with the previous studio album, Cats Without Claws was pop and dance oriented but included soulful ballads. The album also contained a cover version of "There Goes My Baby", originally made popular by the Drifters, which became the first single. Although Summer requested "Oh Billy Please" as the first single, again Geffen and his executives rejected her request. A gospel song written by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire entitled "Forgive Me" would win Summer a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance.[3][4]
Cats Without Claws produced three singles: "There Goes My Baby", "Supernatural Love" (also released as a 12" Single) and "Eyes". The song, “There Goes My Baby" reached No. 21 on the pop chart. This album also included 12" dance remixes included "Eyes" and "I'm Free".
- ^ Wynn, Ron. "Cats Without Claws > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Cats Without Claws > Review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
- ^ John Joseph Thompson Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll- 2000 "Her song "Forgive Me" was an enormous Christian radio hit and won her another Best Inspirational Performance Grammy. Critics blasted her for it, and she did see a drop in sales and popularity for several years..."
- ^ Encyclopedia of recorded sound -Frank W. Hoffmann, Howard Ferstler – 2005 Volume 2 – Page 1079 "She won Grammy awards for Best Inspirational Performance in 1983 and 1984, for "He's a Rebel" and "Forgive Me," respectively."