Primitive Love

Primitive Love
Standard cover art. The original UK cover used the image of Gloria Estefan shown on the "Bad Boy" single.
Studio album by
Miami Sound Machine
ReleasedAugust 13, 1985 (1985-08-13)
Recorded1984−1985
StudiosNew River (Fort Lauderdale)
International Sound (Miami)
GenreDance-pop
Length39:24
Labels
ProducerEmilio Estefan Jr.
Miami Sound Machine chronology
Eyes of Innocence
(1984)		 Primitive Love
(1985)		 Let It Loose / Anything For You
(1987)
Singles from Primitive Love
  1. "Conga"
    Released: September 1985
  2. "Bad Boy"
    Released: February 1986
  3. "Words Get in the Way"
    Released: June 1986
  4. "Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)"
    Released: October 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star
Robert ChristgauB

Primitive Love is the ninth studio album and second English-language record by the Miami Sound Machine, released in August 1985, by Epic Records. The album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. The album includes the top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles "Conga", "Bad Boy", and "Words Get in the Way".

Background

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, they achieved success both in the United States and abroad. The album was the band's first appearance on the American albums chart, reaching #21 on the Billboard 200. The album ended the year on the 1986 Billboard Year End Charts at number ten.

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

A 2CD remastered version of the album was scheduled for release on March 31, 2017 by Vibe on Records, but it was postponed because Estefan was working on a new album at that time. To date, there is still no new date set for the re-release. It was to 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".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo, and Rafael Vigil, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Body to Body"
  • Suzi Carr
  • Dermer
  • Galdo
3:56
2."Primitive Love" 4:42
3."Words Get in the Way"Gloria M. Estefan3:23
4."Bad Boy" 3:53
5."Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" 3:58
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Conga"Enrique E. Garcia4:11
7."Mucho Money" 4:44
8."You Made a Fool of Me"Wesley B. Wright2:54
9."Movies" 2:57
10."Surrender Paradise"
  • Carr
  • Dermer
  • Galdo
4:50
Total length:39:24
Europe, U.K., South Africa and Japan CD bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Conga" (dance mix)Garcia5:59
12."Bad Boy" (club mix) 6:24
13."Body to Body" (dance mix)
  • Carr
  • Dermer
  • Galdo
6:49
14."Primitive Love" (dance mix) 6:25
Japan Mini-LP CD Series Limited Edition bonus track (2009)
No.TitleLength
15."Bad Boy" (Shep Pettibone Dub)6:25
U.S. (Discos CBS International release) and Latin American track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Body to Body"
  • Carr
  • Dermer
  • Galdo
3:56
2."Primitive Love" 4:42
3."No Me Vuelvo a Enamorar" (Words Get in the Way) (Spanish version)G. Estefan3:23
4."Bad Boy" 3:53
5."Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" 3:58
6."Conga"Garcia4:11
7."Mucho Money" (Spanish version) 4:44
8."You Made a Fool of Me"Wright2:54
9."Movies" 2:57
10."Hablas de Mí" (exclusive track)Jorge Luis Piloto3:40

2017 Remastered Deluxe Version (unreleased)

Disc one bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Hablas de Mi"Piloto3:05
12."Hot Summer Nights" (From Top Gun)
3:34
13."Suave" (From Cobra)Emilio Estefan3:03
14."Body to Body" (extended dance edit)
  • Carr
  • Dermer
  • Galdo
4:48
15."Primitive Love" (extended dance edit) 5:09
16."No me Vuelvo a Enamorar"G. Estefan3:29
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)Garcia4:24
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Conga" (Pablo Flores dance mix)Garcia6:00
2."Bad Boy" (Pablo Flores club mix) 6:26
3."Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" (Pablo Flores extended mix) 6:07
4."Body to Body" (Extended dance mix)
  • Carr
  • Dermer
  • Galdo
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)Garcia4:52
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 CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) Platinum 100,000^
Colombia Gold  
Japan — 42,640
United States (RIAA) 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
Music on vinyl re-release March 29, 2024

See also