Special Songs Pt 1

Every month I am going to post three songs for which I have a particular liking. Obviously, being the annoying drone that I am, a *little* (ha!) introductory paragraph will accompany each song - so you pop music quiz fanatics have a little time to enjoy yourselves reading my silly musings over facts that absolutely everyone knows! :-D Now isn't that something?! I thought so, too ;-)

However, in this case, and just because it's the first time, I am going to post only one track... That lasts as long as three songs put together! :-) The song in question is (cheesy drum-rolling)... The classic No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by the incomparable Barbra Streisand and God... I mean, THE Donna Summer!!!!!! AAARRRGGHHHH!!!!! Before you faint of sheer extasis, let me prevent you about something - the file is a bit large. But 11:42 minutes of sublime disco fabulousness are well worth it. Of course! :-D



The single was released during what was arguably the commercial peak of Summer and the beginning of the short-lived creative one for Streisand.



Donna's albums always were rollercoasters of epic proportions that included as many glorious heights as they contained disastrous descents into laughable kitsch (there is such a thing, and you know it is SAD), but the outstanding quality of her thunderous mezzo and the conviction with which she delivered disco anthems, bizarre ballads and what were to become the beginnings of electronic music allowed her to elevate every moment to the rank of Musical History - yes, with capital letters. Soon after the release of her greatest hits, which contained the overdubbed 12" version of this song - the one I'm posting! - Donna's career started its slow and often not very glorious downwards journey into vaudeville status and general kitschy awkwardness.

Negatively affected by allegations of Christian-motivated homophobia (which she has always denied) and less than sterling material, her career stalled soon enough, being briefly revived by a few incursions into rock in the mid-eighties, and her spectacular collaboration with disposable pop wizards Stock, Aitken and Waterman in 1989, Another Place And Time. Still, she has acquired and kept her legendary status over the last twenty years just by deploying her exceptional talent in endless concerts around the world.



La Streisand is one of the most versatile and unique voices in the story of pop; a perfect musical instrument the sheer beauty and power of which are yet to be matched. While her occasional dealings with rock music during the late 60's/early 70's were apparently horrendous (I have never been enough of a fan to try and find out for myself), she managed to maintain relevance by venturing into folk rock with her fantastic album Stoney End, and more or less adapting changing fashions in popular music to her highly refined, yet often affected and soulless, style of ballad-singing - as well as promoting the soundtracks of her often misguided, contrived and soporific films.

Disco music, however, seemed to bring out the best in Streisand, and her offerings from 1976 to the glorious pinnacle of her career, her Bee Gees collaboration Guilty in 1981 (which she has never been able to surpass) are some of the best music of the Disco Era. Or popular music for that matter. Even though she managed to remain relevant until the mid-eighties, the truth is that Barbra's albums have become increasingly lacking in quality as time went by, with a concomitant decline in sales. Still, her legendary status is undeniable, and unlike Summer, she is publically adored everywhere.



Well, I hope that I didn't bore you too much, and here's the song No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).

Oh, before I forget - you can buy Donna's On the Radio - Greatest Hits and Barbra Streisand's Wet at Amazon.

Oh, and here's the superb live performance that Donna and the awesome Tina Arena gave in New York in 1999!

Or else, and I'm only including it for its comical value, watch this video of Juggernaut Donna crushing those annoying whiny-voiced attempts at mediocre pseudo-crooners, Westlife.

Enjoy!