''Love Maniac'' is the first album by

María Conchita Alonso María Concepción Alonso Bustillo (born June 29, 1957), better known as María Conchita Alonso, is a singer, actress and former beauty queen. She has participated in film and television productions, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit ...

. It was released on 1979 as a collaboration with Italo-Venezuelan producer

Rudy La Scala Rudy La Scala (born January 20, 1954) is a singer-songwriter and record producer, born in Rocca di Papa, Lazio, Italy. At a young age, La Scala migrated to Venezuela, where he completed his primary and secondary studies, while learning piano and g ...

and songwriter Yrma Silva, under the nickname of Ambar. The album was recorded in English and the songs were influenced by

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

and other

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

artists from that era. The album has a similar structure of Donna Summer's first albums, as Side A includes a 17-minute long version of the title track. Side B includes the ballad "Together To Heaven Or Hell", where Rudy La Scala performs the lead vocals. Also included is the "Sweet Lover" trilogy, with "Sweet Lover (Part 1.)" and "Sweet Lover (Part 3.)" being disco stompers and "Sweet Lover (Part 2.)" being a slow tempo number with spoken vocals. An alternate version of "Together To Heaven Or Hell", featuring Alonso on lead vocals, was released later in 1984, in the Greatest Hits compilation "Te Amo". Alonso was already popular in Venezuela, after being crowned Miss Teen Venezuela in 1975 and appearing in a few soap operas. However, local artists recording in English were somewhat of a novelty in Venezuela at that time and music experts feared that an audience wouldn't take her seriously as a singer. Keeping that in mind, the record label decided not to use Alonso's picture on the cover for the promo single and the release of the song was surrounded by mystery. The marketing strategy paid off and the song went to become a hit, topping the Venezuelan charts in September of that year. The album has only been released on 12" vinyl and on cassette, and is currently out of print.

Track listing

#"Love Maniac" #"Together To Heaven Or Hell" #"Sweet Lover (Part 1.)" #"Sweet Lover (Part 2.)" #"Sweet Lover (Part 3.)" Other Issues: 45 RPM
Mexico 1979 Promo (two tracks)
Venezuela 1970 Promo
Italy 1979 Remix - Fausto Terenzi (two tracks)Cat# 2141 133 LP:
Canada 1979 Best of:
Maria Conchita - Te amo 198

1979 albums María Conchita Alonso albums Polydor Records albums Disco albums {{1970s-pop-album-stub