Cats Without Claws

Cats Without Claws is the twelfth studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released on September 11, 1984. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, though her previous album had been released on another label. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's album chart, failing to attain the success of its predecessor which peaked at No. 9.

Cats Without Claws
Studio album by
Donna Summer
ReleasedSeptember 11, 1984 (1984-09-11)
RecordedOctober 1983–June 1984
Studio
Genre
Length44:36
LabelGeffen
ProducerMichael Omartian
Donna Summer chronology
She Works Hard for the Money
(1983)		 Cats Without Claws
(1984)		 The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits
(1985)
Singles from Cats Without Claws
  1. "There Goes My Baby"
    Released: July 5, 1984[1]
  2. "Supernatural Love"
    Released: October 23, 1984[2]
  3. "Eyes"
    Released: May 14, 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert ChristgauB[4]

Her previous studio album, She Works Hard for the Money (1983), had been her most successful since the disco era, and as a result, its producer Michael Omartian was asked to produce the next studio album as well. Again the majority of tracks were written by Summer and Omartian, though a couple of other writers were credited including Summer's husband Bruce Sudano. As with the previous studio album, Cats Without Claws was pop and dance oriented but included soulful ballads. The album also contained a cover version of "There Goes My Baby", originally made popular by the Drifters, which became the first single. Although Summer requested "Oh Billy Please" as the first single, again Geffen and his executives rejected her request. A gospel song written by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire entitled "Forgive Me" would win Summer a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance.[5][6]

The album received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it "occasionally silly".

Cats Without Claws produced three singles: "There Goes My Baby", "Supernatural Love" (also released as a 12" Single) and "Eyes", "There Goes My Baby" reached No. 21 on the pop chart. Further 12" dance remixes included "Eyes" and "I'm Free".

Commercial performance

Cats Without Claws peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent only 17 weeks on the chart. The album failed to attain the success of its predecessor, She Works Hard for the Money, which peaked at number 9. In the UK, it reached a peak of number 69 on the UK Albums Chart, and was commercially unsuccessful.

As of 2022, the only available physical version of the album is vinyl, since all the original CD releases have now gone out of print. It is possible a 40th Anniversary Edition might be released on its 40th Birthday in 2024.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Omartian and Donna Summer, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Supernatural Love"
3:33
2."It's Not the Way" 4:22
3."There Goes My Baby"
4:05
4."Suzanna" 4:29
5."Cats Without Claws" 4:20
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Oh Billy Please" 4:55
7."Eyes" 4:45
8."Maybe It's Over"Summer4:43
9."I'm Free"
  • Omartian
  • Sudano
  • Summer
4:29
10."Forgive Me"
4:30
Total length:44:36
2014 Demon Music Group bonus tracks[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Face the Music"
  • Sudano
  • Summer
4:14
12."Eyes" (Jellybean 7" Remix Edit[8]) 3:46
13."Supernatural Love" (Extended Dance Remix)
  • Omartian
  • Sudano
  • Summer
6:12
14."Eyes" (Extended Mix) 6:58
15."I'm Free" (Extended Mix)
  • Omartian
  • Sudano
  • Summer
6:18

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Cats Without Claws liner notes.[9]

Musicians

Production and artwork

  • Michael Omartian – producer, arrangements
  • John Guess – engineer, mixing (1, 3, 5, 7-10)
  • Jürgen Koppers – mixing (2, 4, 6)
  • David Ahlert – second engineer
  • Larry Ferguson – second engineer
  • Tom Fouce – second engineer
  • Ross Palone – second engineer
  • Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California)
  • Ronnie Puccinelli – production coordinator
  • Chris Whorf – art direction
  • Jeffrey Fey – design
  • Harry Langdon – photography
  • Susan Munao Management Co. Inc. – management

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart performance for Cats Without Claws
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] 91
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 19
European Albums (Music & Media)[12] 22
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 39
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[14] 25
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] 33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 15
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[17] 12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 69
US Billboard 200[21] 40

Single
Year Single Chart Position
1984 "There Goes My Baby" US Billboard Hot 100 21
"Supernatural Love" US Billboard Hot 100 75

References
  1. "45cat – Donna Summer – There Goes My Baby / Maybe It's Over – Geffen – USA – 7-29291". 45cat. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  2. "45cat – Donna Summer – Supernatural Love / Face The Music – Geffen – USA – 7-29142". 45cat. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  3. Wynn, Ron. "Cats Without Claws > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  4. Christgau, Robert. "Cats Without Claws > Review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  5. John Joseph Thompson Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll- 2000 "Her song "Forgive Me" was an enormous Christian radio hit and won her another Best Inspirational Performance Grammy. Critics blasted her for it, and she did see a drop in sales and popularity for several years..."
  6. Encyclopedia of recorded sound -Frank W. Hoffmann, Howard Ferstler – 2005 Volume 2 – Page 1079 "She won Grammy awards for Best Inspirational Performance in 1983 and 1984, for "He's a Rebel" and "Forgive Me," respectively."
  7. "The Official Donna Summer – Timeline – Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  8. "The Official Donna Summer – Timeline – Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  9. Cats Without Claws (CD booklet). Donna Summer. Geffen Records. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W: Australian Chart Book. p. 300. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Donna Summer – Cats Without Claws" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  12. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. October 8, 1984. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Donna Summer – Cats Without Claws" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  14. Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 978-1094705002.
  15. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Donna Summer – Cats Without Claws". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  17. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Donna Summer – Cats Without Claws". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Donna Summer – Cats Without Claws". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  20. "Donna Summer | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  21. "Donna Summer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
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