Primitive Love

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B^[2]

Primitive Love is the ninth studio album and second English-language record by the Miami Sound Machine, released in August 1985, by Epic Records.

A 2CD remastered version of the album was scheduled for March 31, 2017 by Vibe on Records, but it was postponed because Estefan is working on her new album. To date there is no set date for the re-release; however, the track listing was revealed to the public: it will include five songs that were previously unreleased on CD, sixteen remixes, two soundtrack songs, one demo and the Spanish version of "Words Get in the Way".^[3]

The album sold over 6 million copies worldwide.^[4]

Background

This album was a follow-up to the band's previous releases in every sense: in the music, in the rhythms, and in Gloria Estefan's vocals. Previous releases by Miami Sound Machine had failed to achieve much in the way of crossover success. However, with the release of Primitive Love in 1985, their distinctive sound was finally being heard by a wider audience, both in the United States and abroad.

This album was the band's first appearance on the American albums chart, reaching #23 on the Billboard 200. The album ended the year on the 1986 Billboard Year End Charts at #10.^[5]

Three singles released from this album reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Conga" peaked at #10; "Bad Boy" reached #8; "Words Get in the Way" was the highest-charting single from this album, at #5; and "Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" climbed to #25.^[5]

Track listing

Standard track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Body to Body"	Suzi Carr, Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo	3:56
2.	"Primitive Love"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	4:42
3.	"Words Get in the Way"	Gloria M. Estefan	3:23
4.	"Bad Boy"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	3:53
5.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	3:58
6.	"Conga"	Enrique E. Garcia	4:11
7.	"Mucho Money"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	4:44
8.	"You Made a Fool of Me"	Wesley B. Wright	2:54
9.	"Movies"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	2:57
10.	"Surrender Paradise"	Suzi Carr, Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo	4:50

Europe, U.K., South Africa and Japan CD bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Conga (Dance Mix)" (Bonus Track)	Enrique E. Garcia	5:59
12.	"Bad Boy (Club Mix)" (Bonus Track)	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	6:24
13.	"Body to Body (Dance Mix)" (Bonus Track)	Suzi Carr, Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo	6:49
14.	"Primitive Love (Dance Mix)" (Bonus Track)	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	6:25

Japan Mini-LP CD Series Limited Edition bonus track (2009)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Bad Boy" (Shep Pettibone Dub)	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	6:25

U.S. (Discos CBS International release) and Latin American track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Body to Body"	Suzi Carr, Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo	3:56
2.	"Primitive Love"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	4:42
3.	"No Me Vuelvo a Enamorar" (Words Get In The Way - Spanish Version)	Gloria M. Estefan	3:23
4.	"Bad Boy"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	3:53
5.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	3:58
6.	"Conga"	Enrique E. Garcia	4:11
7.	"Mucho Money" (Spanish Version)	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	4:44
8.	"You Made a Fool of Me"	Wesley B. Wright	2:54
9.	"Movies"	Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, Rafael Vigil	2:57
10.	"Hablas de Mí" (Exclusive Track)	Jorge Luis Piloto	3:40

2017 Remastered Deluxe version (to be released)

Disc one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Body to Body"	3:56
2.	"Primitive Love"	4:42
3.	"Words Get in the Way"	3:23
4.	"Bad Boy"	3:53
5.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)"	3:58
6.	"Conga"	4:11
7.	"Mucho Money"	4:44
8.	"You Made a Fool of Me"	2:54
9.	"Movies"	2:57
10.	"Surrender Paradise"	4:50
11.	"Hablas de Mi"	3:05
12.	"Hot Summer Nights" (From Top Gun)	3:34
13.	"Suave" (From Cobra)	3:03
14.	"Body to Body" (Extended Dance Edit)	4:48
15.	"Primitive Love" (Extended Dance Edit)	5:09
16.	"No me Vuelvo a Enamorar" (Words Get in the Way Spanish version)	3:29
17.	"Bad Boy" (Shep Pettibone 7" Remix)	3:42
18.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" (Demo)	3:58
19.	"Mucho Money" (Spanish version)	4:44
20.	"Conga" (The Stronga Conga Remix)	4:24

Disc two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Conga" (Pablo Flores Dance Mix)	6:00
2.	"Bad Boy" (Pablo Flores Club Mix)	6:26
3.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" (Pablo Flores Extended Remix)	6:07
4.	"Body to Body" (Extended Dance Mix)	6:47
5.	"Primitive Love" (Extended Dance Mix)	6:23
6.	"Bad Boy" (Rubber-Club- Dub Mix)	6:18
7.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" (Pablo Flores 7" Remix)	3:07
8.	"Bad Boy" (Shep Pettibone Remix)	6:11
9.	"Conga" (Instrumental)	4:52
10.	"Bad Boy" (Shep Pettibone Dub Version)	6:43
11.	"Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" (Pablo Flores Dub Version)	5:18
12.	"Bad Boy" (Extended Dance Mix)	6:22
13.	"Bad Boy" (Extended Dub Mix)	6:15

Personnel

Gloria Estefan – lead vocal, background vocals
Emilio Estefan – percussions
Enrique "Kiki" García – drums
Juan Marcos Ávila – bass guitar
Wesley B. Wright – guitar
Roger Fisher – keyboards
Gustavo Lezcano – harmonica
Víctor López – trumpet
Ed Calle – saxophone
Tony Concepcion – trumpet
Rafael Padilla – percussion, timbales
Betty Cortez – keyboards, background vocals
Rafael Vigil – background vocals
Paquito Hechavarría – piano ("Conga")
Juanito Márquez – guitar ("Conga")
Suzi Carr – background vocal ("Body to Body")
Emilio Estefan Jr. – producer
Lawrence Dermer – arranger
Joe Galdo – arranger
Eric Schilliing – engineer, mixing
Ted Stein – engineer
John Haag – engineer
Mark Richman – engineer
Teresa Verplanck – assistant engineer
Patrice Caroll Levinsohn – assistant engineer
Carlos Santos – assistant engineer
Juanito Márquez – horn arrangement ("Mucho Money", "Movies")
Víctor López – horn arrangement ("Conga")
Ricardo Eddy Martínez – horn arrangement ("Conga")
Pablo Flores – remixes ("Bad Boy" Dub Version, 2009 Japan Mini-LP CD Edition, "Conga", "Primitive Love")
Bob Rauchman – design and art direction
Al Freedy – front cover photography
Michael Wray – back cover photography
Samy – hair and makeup
Fini Lignarolo – front cover clothes

Chart positions

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)	Platinum	70,000^{^}
Canada (Music Canada)^[12]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[13]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date
U.S.	August 13, 1985
Europe	August 12, 1985
Japan	August 23, 1985
Japan (Mini-LP CD Series)	July 8, 2009

References

^ Allmusic review
^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Miami Sound Machine".
^ "The Estefans block Miami Sound Machine 'Primitive Love' reissue". Retrieved 2017-03-25.
^ Montane, Diana (18 January 1990). "Gloria Estefan Takes Success One Day at a Time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Primitive Love (1985)". 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Miami Sound Machine – Primitive Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
^ "Charts.nz – Miami Sound Machine – Primitive Love". Hung Medien.
^ "Miami Sound Machine Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
^ "Miami Sound Machine - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard.com. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end charts". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Miami Sound Machine – Primitive Love". Music Canada.
^ "American album certifications – Estefan, Gloria & Miami Sound – Primitive Love". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.

[1] Allmusic review

[2] "Robert Christgau: CG: Miami Sound Machine".

[3] "The Estefans block Miami Sound Machine 'Primitive Love' reissue". Retrieved 2017-03-25.

[soldPrimitiveW-4] Montane, Diana (18 January 1990). "Gloria Estefan Takes Success One Day at a Time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020.

[album-5] "Primitive Love (1985)". 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009.

[ac_Netherlands_Miami_Sound_Machine-6] "Dutchcharts.nl – Miami Sound Machine – Primitive Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.

[ac_Germany_Miami_Sound_Machine-7] "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.

[ac_New_Zealand_Miami_Sound_Machine-8] "Charts.nz – Miami Sound Machine – Primitive Love". Hung Medien.

[ac_Billboard200_Miami_Sound_Machine-9] "Miami Sound Machine Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.

[10] "Miami Sound Machine - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard.com. Retrieved 16 June 2017.

[11] "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end charts". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 2011-12-30.

[CanadaMiami_Sound_MachinePrimitive_LovealbumCertRef-12] "Canadian album certifications – Miami Sound Machine – Primitive Love". Music Canada.

[United_StatesEstefan,_Gloria_&_Miami_SoundPrimitive_LovealbumCertRef-13] "American album certifications – Estefan, Gloria & Miami Sound – Primitive Love". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.

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