Disco de Gloria Gaynor: “I Will Survive: The Anthology”

Gloria Gaynor was undoubtedly a creature of 1970's disco, and many would agree, a creation of her producers. She wasn't as big, or as important a star as Donna Summer, and some would call her a one-hit wonder. But she was there, she survives, as does her work, and this 2-disc CD album is a great way to get it for her most devoted fans; it gives us more of her hits, and her covers of similar material, although it unaccountably skips some of her most popular things.

However, the album's got a great, intensely danceable 8-minute track of her signature song, "I Will Survive," and that should be reason enough for some fans to buy it. That song surely is great dancing; and is an anthem as well, and that not just for women. I recall once having seen a segment on the mid-East country Lebanon, at war with itself, on CBS's "60 Minutes." That segment included a night club scene: Gloria Gaynor there, singing in person, and her beleaguered fans, male and female, dancing their hearts out. And who can forget Kevin Kline's joyous dance to this song in the movie "In and Out?" I was once lucky enough to catch her in person myself, under the stars, one muggy summer evening at New York's World Financial Center, that used to lie alongside the World Trade Center. Seemed like half New York was there, and they set up a syncopated call-and-answer: "Go Gloria, Go Gloria." Touching, unforgettable? You bet. In fact, it leads me to believe that any female, between the ages of fifteen and sixty-five, in the English-speaking world, at least, who claims to be unfamiliar with singer and song is not to be trusted on any other matter, either.

Polygram's issued one or two previous hits packages for Gloria Gaynor in the past, which would probably do it for her most casual fans. But devotees will want to grab this two-disc collection that dips a bit deeper into her catalog. Everybody's got "I Will Survive" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" on a cd somewhere, but (much) less frequently-heard tracks like "Let's Make A Deal", "Real Good People" and the extended version of "Anybody Wanna Party" are further proof that Gloria's got a a sincere and completely entertaining style that happens to work very well on pop/disco-styled tunes from the '70s. They're just good songs that are fun to listen to whether they were chart-toppers or not. Part of Gloria's appeal as an entertainer is that she isn't full of herself or claiming to be anything more than a good singer/entertainer and these songs have a real heart to them. The anthology tends to dwell on her earlier releases, neglecting some great cuts from her last two Polygram albums (like the track "Ain't No Bigger Fool" from the "Stories" album). All considered, however, this anthology does a pretty good and thorough job. And by the way, although she hasn't had major hits in the US in some years, Gloria still hits the top ten in Europe (beyond the endless remixes of her past hits). Most recently, she had big success in Italy and the UK with the singles "Oh, What A Life" and "Set Me Free"...so let's not write her off yet. She deserves recognition for her work beyond "I Will Survive," as landmark a song as that was, and this anthology is a fitting tribute. I can't wait for volume two!

the two faults with this collection are the inexplicable exclusion of 'i am what i am', a gaynor classic as much as 'i will survive', and the fact that the songs are not placed chronologically; otherwise, it's the best overview of gaynor's career, and the only place where one can get on cd the versions of the medleys as they originally appeared on the LPs, i.e. in their entire duration; it is also interesting to see how gaynor progressed from a belting vocal style at her beginnings to a more mature, more assured and sophisticated phrasing in the early 80s, when she was also a much more convincing interpreter; the problem with gaynor is that she really had only a few great songs; most of the stuff here is barely acceptable, and it runs the risk of becoming quite annoying; the 'honey bee/never can say goodbye/reach out' medley is by far the best and most engaging of the three offered here, but the other two are much less interesting; there are several gems here, ommitted from other compilations, such as 'i love you cause', 'when you get around to it', 'don't read me wrong', and 'i kind of like me', all exquisitely delivered by gaynor; the loooooooong version of 'let me know' is boooooring, they should've included 'don't stop us', a great gaynor song

Truly,one of the best artist from the disco era,you will enjoy and treasure this cd from the queen of disco.Having grown up with this music,I must say that if you are a disco fan,you need this cd in your collection!!Most,if not all of the songs are sure to bring back all those nights dancing with your girlfriend into the late late night!!How high the moon.brings back a certain night with my girl.never can say goodbye,the day Rhonda left.You will enjoy this cd and listen to it for years to come.Dance,dance,dance baby!!!!!

Will

This is a satisfying compilation of Gloria Gaynor's music from the 70s/80s. Although her music was not as progressive or versatile as Donna Summer's output, Ms. Gaynor's style is gritty and soulful, and tunes like "Do It Yourself", "Substitute" (not on this comp), "Real Good People", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Honeybee" are classics. And the 12" remix "Anybody Wanna Party" is a dance floor shaker! Essential disco/dance music that belongs in any dance music collection.