M.a. Merikan

Smitty is unequivocally not mellowing with age. This set finds him physically threatening some poor slob in "Get Outta My Way" and generally living up to the boast of the title track. As his profile finally rises, Smith is receiving a little high-profile assistance - Ron Levy produced the set and handles keyboards, while the Memphis Horns add their punchy interjections wherever appropriate.

Essential: A masterpiece of country-pop music.
Baby I'm-A Want You is Bread's best album, showcasing its soft and hard sides (yes, Bread had a hard side) at their respective peaks.

Originally scheduled for release in 1981, the double-album I'm a Rainbow was shelved at the last minute. In the proocess, it became legendary among Donna Summer fanatics. In 1996, I'm a Rainbow was finally released as a single compact disc. Like most of Summer's recordings from the late '70s and early '80s, it was produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who give the stylish disco a sleek, sexy sheen. The difference between I'm a Rainbow and its predecessors – and, indeed, its sequels – is the subject matter. Throughout I'm a Rainbow, Summer turns in some of her most personal, introspective lyrics and singing, which gives the album an emotional force her albums sometimes lacked. In fact, given the quality of the music, it's hard to see why this was shelved at the time because it is stronger than the majority of her official studio albums.