Cats Without Claws is the twelfth studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released on September 11, 1984. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, though her previous album had been released on another label. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboards album chart, failing to attain the success of its predecessor which peaked at No. 9.
Her previous studio album, She Works Hard for the Money (1983), had been her most successful since the disco era, and as a result, its producer Michael Omartian was asked to produce the next studio album as well. Again the majority of tracks were written by Summer and Omartian, though a couple of other writers were credited including Summer's husband Bruce Sudano. As with the previous studio album, Cats Without Claws was pop and dance oriented but included soulful ballads. The album also contained a cover version of "There Goes My Baby", originally made popular by the Drifters, which became the first single. Although Summer requested "Oh Billy Please" as the first single, again Geffen and his executives rejected her request. A gospel song written by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire entitled "Forgive Me" would win Summer a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance.
The album received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it "occasionally silly".
Cats Without Claws produced three singles: "There Goes My Baby", "Supernatural Love" (also released as a 12" Single) and "Eyes", "There Goes My Baby" reached No. 21 on the pop chart. Further 12" dance remixes included "Eyes" and "I'm Free".
Commercial performance
Cats Without Claws peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent only 17 weeks on the chart. The album failed to attain the success of its predecessor, She Works Hard for the Money, which peaked at number 9. In the UK, it reached a peak of number 69 on the UK Albums Chart, and was commercially unsuccessful.
As of 2022, the only available physical version of the album is vinyl, since all the original CD releases have now gone out of print. It is possible a 40th Anniversary Edition might be released on its 40th Birthday in 2024.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the Cats Without Claws liner notes.
Musicians
Donna Summer – lead vocals
Michael Omartian – keyboards, additional drums, additional percussion
Erich Bulling – Yamaha DX1 and Yamaha DX7 programming
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars
Michael Landau – guitars
Nathan East – bass guitar
Mike Baird – drums
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Gary Herbig – saxophone solos
Dara Bernard – backing vocals
Mary Ellen Bernard – backing vocals
Cydney Davis – backing vocals
Siedah Garrett – backing vocals
Khaliq Glover – backing vocals
Portia Griffin – backing vocals
Susannah Melvoin – backing vocals
Bruce Sudano – backing vocals
Gene Van Buren – backing vocals
Kin Vassy – backing vocals
Terry Williams – backing vocals
Production and artwork
Michael Omartian – producer, arrangements
John Guess – engineer, mixing (1, 3, 5, 7-10) Jürgen Koppers – mixing (2, 4, 6) David Ahlert – second engineer Larry Ferguson – second engineer Tom Fouce – second engineer Ross Palone – second engineer Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California) Ronnie Puccinelli – production coordinator Chris Whorf – art direction Jeffrey Fey – design Harry Langdon – photography Susan Munao Management Co. Inc. – management