LP Review: Cats Without Claws
Released: 1984
LP Charts: #24 R&B, #40 pop
Every star must fall and with Cats Without Claws, Donna Summer’s time at the top truly came to an end. Thus far in the 1980s, Summer hadn’t had the heights of her disco heyday, but she had scored four major hits in the decade and turned out three gold studio albums. That’s still star material.
And since She Works Hard for the Money (C+), was her best commercial showing of the ‘80s, Summer brought back that album’s producer, Michael Omartian, for more hits! That was the hope at least… The resulting album moved Summer even further away from the groovy work that marked her greatest successes.
The biggest warning sign this album would be not much fun is that the lead single was a cover of the classic Drifters ballad “There Goes My Baby” (#20 R&B, #21 pop). Summer doesn’t sing it badly, but it’s not her best performance either. Much more dispiriting is the soulless electronic music backing that saps the song of all the emotional drama Ben E. King and the overwrought orchestra brought to the original.
Let’s not waste too much more time here because this album is a waste of my time and your time. Cats Without Claws is simply hard to listen to. “I’m Free” and “Supernatural Love” are the only two songs bringing any positive energy to the proceedings. And I can’t recommend those songs to anybody, really. Everything else is a slog.
I never thought a Donna Summer album could be so bereft of fun, but here we are.
This album deservedly flopped and Summer took a deserved three-year break from releasing albums.
ALBUM GRADE: F
Song Scores
Supernatural Love: 6/10
It’s Not the Way: 5/10
There Goes My Baby: 4/10
Suzanna: 2/10
Cats Without Claws: 3/10
Oh Billy, Please: 4/10
Eyes: 5/10
Maybe It’s Over: 4/10
I’m Free: 6/10
Forgive Me: 4/10