 |
|
|
|
|
|
Someday... you'll appreciate this (song commentary)
5. In Another Place and Time (Stock/Aitken/Waterman), from Another Place and Time, 1989, Atlantic (Experimental)
|
|
A very "British-hip" looking Donna reflected her new collaboration with The Hit Makers at The Factory. The image makeover was astonishingly well executed and suited our Diva well. |
 |
|
SAW finally learned to cut back on the production values and let Donna carry this syncopated melody line written partially in triplets
(which are very hard to carry off musically by any performer) executed with military pleat crispness by
Donna's interpretation. The pain and confusion of the lyric's situation of a love that can never be are poignantly delivered by
Donna's largely diva style and complemented by some experimental techniques reminiscent of
"Grand Illusion" or later "What Is It You Want," as well as the soprano that lets us know that after the years of suspected
abandonment, our girl still has got it, even on a much dryer microphone that
can't cover up flaws like one laden with reverb.
Some say this album was an attempt to win back a gay audience that had abandoned her years
before, and that may be the case to some extent. The lyrics to this song certainly could support that
fact, but Donna didn't even write them, thereby poking holes in that
argument. SAW had an incredibly successful and commercial run in the late '80s, and I think that Bruce wanted to help Donna get back in the limelight quickly and saw this collaboration as a way to do
that. While nobody will ever touch the magic of Summer/Moroder/Bellotte in my
mind, this quartet came close. A cross-Atlantic leak of the album before its US release, a severed contract with
Geffen, and production problems combined with the changing musical tastes of a fickle American public followed by the breakup of the SAW factory added complications that in the industry result in a real
mess. Unfortunately, this often-overlooked ballad has to remain as a reminder and masterpiece from a brilliant work at the second height of
Donna's career.
(Written by David Thornton)
