Donna Summer ‘I’m A Rainbow – Recovered & Recoloured’ review: ‘A mostly brilliant experiment’

Words: Simon Button

Here’s a curio for Donna Summer fans: An album the disco diva recorded in 1981 which only saw the light of day in 1996 getting a reimagined and remixed makeover 40 years after its inception.

With the likes of Junior Vasquez, Figo Sound and Ladies On Mars on makeover duties, I’m A Rainbow – Recovered & Recoloured is an interesting experiment and mostly a brilliant one, breathing new aural life into recordings that were mainly still in demo form when the 2-disc set was finally released.

Listening to that version, you can see why label boss David Geffen was reluctant to release it as a follow-up to Summer’s shift from dance music to new-wave pop on The Wanderer, insisting that she pursue a more soulful sound under the guidance of producer Quincy Jones.

Listening to the new version, the album sounds fresh and catchy, slimmed down from a not-all-great 18 tracks to a more streamlined ten – a decision which original co-producer Pete Bellotte salutes in the extensive essay that accompanies the CD set.

Repositioning ‘I’m A Rainbow’ itself as the opening track sets the tone for what’s a very diverse bunch of songs as Summer sings And all the colours that you see, are all a part of me. Now given a Gospel feel with her always-stunning vocals front and centre, it leads into ‘I Believe In You’ – a spiritual follow-up to her 70s classic ‘Heaven Knows’ as Donna duets again with Joe ‘Bean Esposito’ against a seductive beat.

‘Back Where You Belong’ is a standout track with a Niles Rodgers-style guitar riff, ode to motherhood ‘Brooklyn’ (recorded about Donna’s daughter long before the Beckhams picked the name for their own offspring) gets a beefier mix and the propulsive rock rhythms of ‘Romeo’ (which made it onto the Flashdance soundtrack in 1983) are sent into overdrive.

The one dud is ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, not because Summer’s vocal work isn’t amazing but because the Nu-disco remix is way too fussy when a simple stripped-down arrangement would have been so much better.

And there are tracks from the original album, like ‘True Love Survives’ and ‘To Turn The Stone’ (which Frida from ABBA covered on her Something’s Going On album), that deserve to be included here.

But with its new lick of paint I’m A Rainbow is up there with Donna’s best post-disco work, even if it has taken four decades for the songs to be given their due.

Rating: 4/5

I’m A Rainbow – Recovered & Recoloured is out now on CD and vinyl