DONNA SUMMER
THE WANDERER
JE
DRIVEN BY THE MUSIC/DEMON
★★
After the recent gargantuan Encore boxset, Summer’s 1980 album gets a standalone release, expanded by seven disposable brand new remixes. Feeling exploited by her label Casablanca over her sexualised image, Summer became the first signing to Geffen. At the height of the “Disco sucks” idiocy, The Wanderer is a mishmash, uncertain of where to go next. Giorgio Moroder producing a gospel song, I Believe In Jesus, is as fascinating as you’d hope. Cold Love is powerful, Summer’s voice as imperious as ever. But it’s a record in transition, an example of a label wanting quick results from its star without really knowing what to do with them.