The late queen's longtime collaborator and husband,
Bruce Sudano, served as executive producer for this tribute, a varied collection of remixes from house pioneers (
Frankie Knuckles,
Masters at Work), hipper left-of-center figures (
Holy Ghost!,
Hot Chip,
Jacques Greene), and current dance-music stars (
Duke Dumont,
Laidback Luke). In some instances, it helps to not be much of a
Donna Summer fan.
Afrojack transforms "I Feel Love" into a graceless barrage of battering noise and reduces
Summer's vocal to pulp, while
Greene's "On the Radio" has
Summer so heavily echoed and distant that it could be titled "On the Radio (At the Bottom of a Deep Well)."
Dumont likewise treats
Summer like a sample source, but he at least places her at the fore, over a characteristically spacious and relaxed house track. On the other side,
Masters at Work update and sweeten "Last Dance" with live bass, guitar, and keyboards.
Knuckles, assisted by
Eric Kupper, also retains
Summer's essence for a version of "Hot Stuff" that trucks. At the end, there's a new song, "La Dolce Vita," written by
Summer,
Moroder, and Nathan DiGesare. As enjoyable as anything off 2008's
Crayons, Italo-disco fanatics might not be able to hear it without thinking of
Ryan Paris' 1983 hit of the same title, while younger listeners might think of it as a rip-off of
Daft Punk's "Get Lucky." It's bittersweet to hear
Moroder's processed voice intone "We miss her so." ~ Andy Kellman