Love's About to Change My Heart

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"Love's About to Change My Heart"
Single by Donna Summer
from the album Another Place and Time
B-side"Love's About to Change My Heart" (Instrumental)
ReleasedAugust 14, 1989
Recorded1989 at PWL, London
GenreDance-pop
Length4:03 (Album version)
3:45 (PWL 7" Remix)
LabelWarner Bros. (Europe)
Atlantic (U.S.)
Songwriter(s)Matt Aitken, Mike Stock, Pete Waterman
Producer(s)Stock, Aitken & Waterman
Donna Summer singles chronology
"I Don't Wanna Get Hurt"
(1989)
"Love's About to Change My Heart"
(1989)
"Breakaway"
(1989)
Music video
"Love's About to Change My Heart" on YouTube

"Love's About to Change My Heart" is the third single from Another Place and Time, the 1989 album by Donna Summer. The song was released on August 14, 1989 by Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Records. It was written and produced by British production team Stock Aitken & Waterman.[1] Released as the second single in the US, the song was a hit on the dance charts, but failed to repeat the Top 40 success it enjoyed in Europe.

In contemporary interviews, Summer described the track as one of her favourite cuts; tying only with "Breakaway" as the best from the LP.[1] The late singer's husband, Bruce Sudano, said that both he and Summer were very enthusiastic about the track because of its quality, her powerful vocal performance, and the song's deference to her strongest work with Giorgio Moroder, saying, "It's a full showcase on every level".[1]

Critical reception[edit]

When reviewing the single, Stephen Duffy of Record Mirror simply wrote: "Not as good as Kylie and that's a terrible thing to say...", which refers to his review of Cliff Richard's "I Just Don't Have the Heart" (on the same page) in which he stated the same thing and asked: "How will he moonwalk to this?"[2] In the same magazine, the Civillés & Cole 12" mix was praised by James Hamilton, considering that this "vastly superior 0-124 bpm remix turns [Summer's] most recent, rather limp, Stock Aitken Waterman creation into a superb solidly bounding and soaring stormer in the classic "disco" style of a decade ago".[3]

Retrospectively, in a 2016 review of the album, Pop Rescue stated that "Love's About to Change My Heart" "opens sounding a bit like a Whitney Houston 80s song, before absolutely roaring into a hi-NRG bass/keyboards/beats track", and added positively that "Donna's vocals sit confidently on top of this, and at times it gives a wonderful nod to her disco era".[4] In 2019, James Masterton wrote that "Love's About to Change My Heart" is "a brooding mid-tempo track. Summer's vocals wound themselves subtly around the melody, reaching for a gospel-inspired climax that in truth never quite arrived in the expected manner".[5] In 2021, British magazine Classic Pop ranked the song number 24 in their list of 'Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs', calling it a "sumptuous" single from Another Place and Time and expressing sadness about its commercial failure in the United States.[6]

Chart performance[edit]

In US, "Love's About to Change My Heart" peaked at number 85 on Billboards Hot 100. Despite the lack of chart success in the US, it was a solid top 20 hit in the UK and it became a favorite among Donna Summer fans due to her strong vocal performance and the fact that it had a slow beginning, reminiscent of several of Summer's disco hits of the 1970s, during which time she was the most successful female of that genre.

The song was remixed from its original album version for release as a single. Notably the European single remix was different from the one found in the U.S. It reached number three on the U.S. Dance Chart[7] and number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] The video was directed by Dieter Trattmann.

Cover versions[edit]

The song was covered by Spanish singer Mónica Naranjo in her debut album. She made a Spanish-language version called "Fuego de pasión".

Track listings[edit]

  • UK 7" single
  1. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Edit)" - 3:47
  2. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Instrumental)" - 3:47
  • UK 12" single / UK CD
  1. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Extended Remix)" – 6:23
  2. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Instrumental)" – 5:10
  3. "Jeremy" - 4:40
  • UK second 12" single
  1. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Clivilles & Cole 12" Mix)" – 7:40
  2. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Dub 2)" – 7:10
  3. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Clivilles & Cole 7" Mix)" – 4:20
  • US 12" single (Atlantic 0-86309)
  1. "Love's About to Change My Heart (PWL 12" Mix)" - 6:23
  2. "Love's About to Change My Heart (PWL 7" Mix)" - 3:45
  3. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Clivillés & Cole 12" Mix)" - 7:40
  4. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Dub)" - 7:10
  5. "Love's About to Change My Heart (Clivillés & Cole 7" Mix)" - 4:20

Charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "Love's About to Change My Heart"
Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 71
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 33
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) (Music & Media)[11] 68
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 11
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 59
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[15] 3
UK (OCC)[8] 20
UK Dance (Music Week)[16] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 85
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[18] 3

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 49: Wouldn't Change A Thing to Love's About To Change My Heart on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  2. ^ Duffy, Stephen (19 August 1989). "45 reviewed by Stephen Duffy of The Lilac Time" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 29. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 25 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ Hamilton, James (21 October 1989). "James Hamilton's DJ directory" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 38. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 25 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
  4. ^ "REVIEW: "ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME" BY DONNA SUMMER (CD, 1989)". Pop Rescue. January 6, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Masterton, James (2019). "Donna Summer". Chart Watch UK - Hits of 1989. ISBN 9781090753205.
  6. ^ "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs". Classic Pop. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  7. ^ Hot Dance/Disco (1974-2003). Record Research, Inc. 2004. ISBN 0-89820-156-X.
  8. ^ a b "Official Charts > Donna Summer". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  9. ^ "Chartifacts: Week Ending 4th December 1994 (from The ARIA Report No. 251)". ARIA. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Imgur.com.
  10. ^ "Ultratop Vlaanderen > Donna Summer – Love's About to Change My Heart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  11. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 36. 1989-09-09. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Donna Summer". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 250. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love's about to Change My Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  14. ^ "Donna Summer > Love's About to Change My Heart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  15. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 42, 1989". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Top Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 September 1989. p. 27. Retrieved 30 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  17. ^ "Billboard > Donna Summer Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  18. ^ "Billboard > Donna Summer Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-04-17.