Donna Summer, remixed by Chromeo and Oliver (from the forthcoming Love to Love You Donna); streaming at vevo.com
First-wave disco is sometimes remembered as novelty music, but Donna Summer was not fooling around. Where others loved, she loved to love. And not only did Summer need her hot stuff this evening, she needed it tonight .
The late diva is the subject of the forthcoming Love to Love You Donna, an album that hands over her vintage material to modern producers such as Barcelona DJ Oliver and the light-hearted Montreal electro-funk duo Chromeo, who, with the 1982 hit Love Is in Control, slim down the bass line, strip off the reverb and modernize the beats and instrumentation.
The video mixes and matches the Jheri-curled superstar with archival footage of dancers who are having a ball, but not a disco one. All in all, snazzy hot stuff, this song of the Summer.
Brad Wheeler