A Love Trilogy

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	B

A Love Trilogy is the third album by Donna Summer. It was released on March 5, 1976, just eight months after her international breakthrough with the single and album of the same name - "Love To Love You Baby". The boldly sexual nature of that particular song had earned Summer the title "The first lady of love." By now Summer's work was being distributed in the U.S. by Casablanca Records, and they in particular were keen for her to continue portraying this image, despite her not being completely comfortable with it. As such, the Love Trilogy album continued in the same vein with the first side being taken up entirely by one long disco track in four fairly distinct movements ('Try Me', 'I Know', 'We Can Make It', and 'Try Me, I Know We Can Make It'), the incorrectly named "love trilogy" of the title - "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It". Side Two contained a further three sexually-oriented disco songs, including a cover of Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic". The album's artwork showed Summer floating light-heartedly through the clouds, again adding to the image of her as a fantasy figure.

While the album sold well across the world, (it was her second, consecutive album to be certified Gold in the United States) it failed to produce a successful follow-up single to "Love To Love You Baby". Edited versions of "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" and "Could It Be Magic" charted in some nations, but sales figures did not come close to those of her breakthrough single.

Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Try Me / I Know / We Can Make It / Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" (Pete Bellotte, Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer)	17:57

Side B

No.	Title	Length
2.	"Prelude to Love" (Bellotte, Moroder, Summer)	1:06
3.	"Could It Be Magic" (Adrienne Anderson, Barry Manilow)	5:15
4.	"Wasted" (Bellotte, Moroder)	5:09
5.	"Come With Me" (Bellotte, Moroder)	4:22

Personnel

• Donna Summer – vocals, composer
• Giorgio Moroder – bass guitar, composer, producer and synthesizer
• Pete Bellotte – composer, producer
• Backing vocals: Madeline Bell, Sunny Leslie, Sue Glover (the Midnite Ladies)
• Other musicians on this album were known collectively as "Munich Machine" and worked on a variety of Moroder/Bellotte productions from this period.
• Munich Machine are: Thor Baldursson – string arrangement, Frank Diez – guitar, Keith Forsey – drums, Martin Harrison – drums, Molly Moll – guitar, Gary Unwin – bass.

Production

• Producers: Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte
• Engineer: Juergen Koppers, Mack & Hans
• Musical arrangements: Giorgio Moroder and Thor Baldurson

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1976	The Billboard 200	21
	Billboard Top R&B Albums	16
	U.K. Albums Chart	41
	Spain	1
	Germany	24
	Norway	14
	Sweden	18
	Austria	8
	Italy	1

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1976	"Could It Be Magic"	Billboard Hot 100	52
		Billboard Hot R&B Tracks	21
		U.K. Singles Chart	40
	"Try Me I Know We Can Make It"	Hot Dance Music	1
		Hot R&B Tracks	35
		The Billboard Hot 100	80
	"Wasted"	Hot Dance Music	1

External links

• A Love Trilogy at Discogs