Another Place and Time

After enjoying immense stardom during the disco era in the 1970s, Summer had experimented with different styles of music during the 1980s and had released several albums with Geffen Records with varied results; Geffen had refused to release much of her material including her biggest post-1970s success, the 1983 album She Works Hard for the Money, which had only been released by virtue of being given to another label – Mercury Records – to satisfy a legal obligation between Summer and her 1970s label Casablanca Records. Summer's final Geffen release was her 1987 album All Systems Go.

When the album was commissioned, Summer was signed to Geffen Records. They released her from her contract before the record was to be released. However Summer still had an international distribution deal, so Another Place and Time was released in Europe and was a big success. Soon after import records were being snapped up in North America. Summer had to scramble to find a new label to get Another Place and Time out in the US market as quickly as possible. That label turned out to be Atlantic Records. While the album was distributed fairly quickly, import sales cut into success of the US release. Since 1984, Stock Aitken Waterman had dominated the UK charts with acts like Bananarama, Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley scoring countless hits worldwide. "S/A/W" were famous for their unique "hit factory" sound, which was basically their own brand of 1980s synthpop/dance. S/A/W described the album as a labour of love, and went on to say it was their favorite album. The S/A/W team wrote all ten of the tracks for their collaboration with Summer, with the singer having co-writing credit on three tracks.

Upon its release, Another Place and Time received generally positive reviews. Alex Henderson of AllMusic.com praised the album, stating that it was "an excellent CD" and "one of the best albums that Summer provided in the '80s", and added that he considered "Whatever Your Heart Desires," "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt" and "This Time I Know It's for Real" as "exuberant, club-friendly Euro-dance/Hi-NRG gems".[1] In July 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop underlined "Summer's impeccable delivery", considered Another Place and Time as "a pop masterpiece" which he ranked as the best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.[4] In a 2016 review, Pop Rescue stated that this is "a fantastic pop album" which is "the combination of a disco legend, and pop's hottest songwriting and production team", and added that "Donna's vocals belt out the big powerful numbers alongside the slower more tender tracks with flawless skill".[3]

Warner Bros. Records, Summer's label of release in the UK and Europe since 1980, elected to issue the Another Place and Time album in those territories with the track "This Time I Know It's for Real" becoming a hit in the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden; "This Time I Know It's for Real" had an especially strong impact in the UK with a spring 1989 peak of #3 affording Summer her best UK chart showing since 1977 when "Love's Unkind" peaked at #3 (Summer's only higher UK charting single is "I Feel Love" also from 1977). The album also went on to reach #17 in the UK Albums Chart. In the US, with the single losing chart momentum and sales because of imports; it was expeditious, that a label be found for the North American market. In April 1989 Atlantic Records, Warner Bros. affiliate in the WEA conglomerate, acquired the Another Place and Time album for release in the US where boosted by the Top Ten showing of "This Time I Know It's for Real", which reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Conversely, the parent album peaked at #53 on the Billboard 200 album chart, eventually selling approximately 255,000 copies in the United States.

A second album was planned with Stock Aitken Waterman, however Summer never found the time to get back to the UK, and the tracks were later recorded by singer Lonnie Gordon.[5]

In 2014, the album was re-released in the UK in a 3-CD set as well as digital downloads, containing a remastered original album, plus extended versions, original versions and remixes.

• Donna Summer – vocals
• Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and George De Angelis – keyboards
• Matt Aitken – guitar
• A. Linn – drums
• Dee Lewis, Matt Aitken and Mae McKenna – backing vocals

Production

• Stock, Aitken, Waterman – producer, arrangements
• Karen Hewitt and Yoyo – engineering
• Mixmaster Pete Hammond – mixing
• Recorded at PWL, London
• Donna's vocals were recorded using the Calrec Soundfield Microphone.
• Lawrence Lawry – photography
• David Howells – design
• Lawrence Lawry and Donna Summer – front cover concept
• Andrene (at Vidal Sasson) – hair
• Richard Sharpes – makeup
• Kelly Cooper – styling