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The Wanderer
The Wanderer
Studio album by Donna Summer
Released	October 20, 1980
Recorded	March–July 1980
Studio	Westlake Audio and Rusk Sound Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Rock; new wave;
Length	39:17
Label	Geffen
Producer	Giorgio Moroder; Pete Bellotte
Donna Summer chronology
Singles from The Wanderer
	"The Wanderer"; Released: September 20, 1980; "Cold Love"; Released: November 29, 1980; "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'"; Released: February 21, 1981;

The Wanderer is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on October 20, 1980. It marks a musical departure for Summer, being an album influenced by rock and new wave whilst previous albums all fell under the disco music category. Her inaugural release of the Geffen Records label, it became a top 20 album in the United States, with the title track reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; other singles failed to enter the top ten. However, the record was less successful on the charts than her previous album Bad Girls, which topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks.

This album had been out of print, but was re-released on December 9, 2014, on the Driven by the Music label with remastered and bonus tracks, alongside all her other albums released during the 1980s (excluding She Works Hard for the Money). A reissue was released for purchasing and streaming for the 40th anniversary of the album on October 16, 2020. It features the original tracks and seven additional remix tracks.

The album sold over 600,000 copies in the United States.

Background and release

Summer had made her name the previous decade as the most successful female artist of the disco genre, releasing a vast selection of hit singles and albums on Casablanca Records. During this period however, Summer had felt that the label had exploited her and made her portray a sexually orientated image ("The First Lady of Love") with which she never felt comfortable.^{[citation needed]} The label had also taken over other elements of Summer's personal life, to the point where she felt she had no control over her life or career.^{[citation needed]} Having come out of a period of depression and rediscovering her Christian faith, Summer had made the decision to break away from Casablanca and file a lawsuit against them. After leaving Casablanca, Summer became the first artist to be signed to the newly established Geffen Records.

By 1980, banners reading "disco sucks" were seen everywhere and disco records became flops. Summer decided to leave the disco sound behind. The album was co-written and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who had produced the vast majority of Summer's hits since their partnership with her began in 1974. Production for The Wanderer was rushed; Geffen wanted to get new product out because of Casablanca's plans to release Walk Away, another greatest hits collection. "We would have liked to do more tweaking, and have more time for production. But we just had to let it go," said Harold Faltermeyer about the recording of the album.

"Cold Love" gained Summer a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Summer's rediscovered Christian faith was documented in the gospel song "I Believe in Jesus", for which she also received a nomination for Best Inspirational Performance. As a child Summer had sung in gospel choirs, so this song was a chance for her to go back to her roots.

Critical and commercial reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	A−^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]

The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard album chart – selling 600,000 copies in the US – and the title track hit number 3 on the US singles chart. However, two follow-up singles – "Cold Love" and "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" – barely reached the top 40. The album and its singles attained limited success on the UK charts. None of the singles cracked the UK top 40. Critics, however, were largely positive. Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau wrote, "She loves a good hook the way she loves her own child. And you can (still) dance to her."^[2] Bil Carpenter, in his review for AllMusic, elected "Cold Love" and "Night Life" as the best songs of the album.^[1]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Wanderer"	Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder	3:47
2.	"Looking Up"	Pete Bellotte, Moroder, Summer	3:57
3.	"Breakdown"	Harold Faltermeyer, Bellotte	4:08
4.	"Grand Illusion"	Moroder, Summer	3:54
5.	"Running for Cover"	Summer	4:01

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Cold Love"	Keith Forsey, Bellotte, Faltermeyer	3:38
7.	"Who Do You Think You're Foolin'"	Sylvester Levay, Jerry Rix, Bellotte	4:18
8.	"Nightlife"	Bellotte, Moroder	4:00
9.	"Stop Me"	Bellotte, Forsey	3:44
10.	"I Believe in Jesus"	Summer	3:37

Personnel

Donna Summer – lead vocals
Harold Faltermeyer – keyboards, synthesizers, arrangements (1–6, 8, 10)
Sylvester Levay – keyboards, synthesizers, arrangements (7, 9)
Jeff Baxter – guitars
Steve Lukather – guitars
Tim May – guitars
Les Hurdle – bass
John Pierce – bass
Leland Sklar – bass
Keith Forsey – drums, percussion
Gary Herbig – saxophone solo
Trevor Veitch – musical contractor
Bill Champlin – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5–10)
Carmen Grillo – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5–10)
Tom Kelly – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5–10)
Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals (4)

Production

Pete Bellotte – producer, mixing
Giorgio Moroder – producer, mixing
Harold Faltermeyer – engineer, mixing
Jürgen Koppers – engineer, mixing
Brian Reeves – engineer
Ken Perry – mastering at A&M Studios (Hollywood, California)
Laurie Kanner – production coordinator
Donna Summer – album concept
Christopher Whorf – design
Martin Donald – lettering
Harry Langdon Jr. – photography

Charts

Chart performance for *The Wanderer*
Chart (1980)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[4]	18
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[5]	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[6]	54
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)^[7]	4
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[8]	22
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[9]	16
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[10]	18
Spanish Albums (AFE)^[11]	8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[12]	15
UK Albums (OCC)^[13]	55
US Billboard 200^[14]	13