Summer Soderrstorm

Here we are in the middle of July, time to refresh ourselves with music and do our holiday homework, by immersing ourselves with delight in this collection of the most beautiful works inspired by the summer season. From Vivaldi to Gershwin and Schubert to Debussy, it will evoke the pleasures of balmy summer evenings, the joys of idleness, the stifling heat, the song of the cicadas and that of the harvesters. The major artists from our rich catalogue are featured in On a Summer Evening: Vilde Frang, Mady Mesplé, Simon Rattle, Jean-Pierre Rampal…

The album accompanies Questlove’s directorial debut documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). Like the documentary, most of the audio recordings that were recorded during the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival have not been heard for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America’s history lost - until now. The Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a joyous musical celebration and the rediscovery of a nearly erased historical event that celebrated Black culture, pride and unity. For the album, Questlove carefully selected 17 live renditions of jazz, blues, R&B, Latin, and soul classics performed over the course of The Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969 as chronicled by the film.

It's September 1981 and it's matter of weeks away from the release of I'm A Rainbow, the second album Donna Summer had recorded for Geffen Records, which had been produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. At the time that the album was being recorded, the musical landscape had changed and production techniques were developing further. Geffen also wanted a more R&B-influenced album, despite the album having a more R&B feel than The Wanderer had done. The songs and their lyrical content were very strong and Donna's voice had never sounded better, which was always a tough comparison against previous albums. A decision was taken by the label to withdraw I'm A Rainbow just prior to it's release.