Glorious

Gloria Gaynor decided to switch producers with her fourth album, Glorious. While her first three albums were produced by the Meco Monardo/Tony Bongiovi/Jay Ellis team, Glorious was produced by disco ace Gregg Diamond and guitarist Joe Beck. The latter is primarily a jazz musician, but like so many jazz improvisers, Beck knows how challenging it can be trying to earn a living playing jazz; so in the 1970s, he took part in some more commercial projects. For Gaynor, working with different producers and songwriters meant some changes. Side one isn't turned into a nonstop dance mix this time, and Gaynor got away from the idea of having the dance-oriented tracks in one place and the slower material in another. Unfortunately, Diamond and Beck don't do as much for Gaynor as one would hope; Glorious isn't a bad album, but it's an album that never really catches on fire either. "This Side of the Pain," "Life Ain't Worth Living," and other disco-soul numbers are competent but not remarkable; except for the haunting "Most of All," none of the material is in a class with earlier gems like "Casanova Brown" and "Honey Bee." Meanwhile, Gaynor's disco version of the standard "As Time Goes By" is surprisingly stiff. While Gaynor really soared on her interpretations of "How High the Moon" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," she doesn't sound nearly as inspired on "As Time Goes By." Considering that Diamond's work with the Andrea True Connection had been excellent, one would expect him and Gaynor to be a powerful combination. But Glorious fails to live up to its potential and is strictly for Gaynor's most die-hard fans. ~ Alex Henderson