Together we can be free..

Covered these guys on here a couple of years ago, and since then they just seem to have been getting better and better. Since setting up their new label - Disco Demolition Records in the last year or so, they've put out some amazing singles in that time. Last year, there was their great collabo with Kathy Diamond - "Fire" and an equally awesome, faithful cover of Jimmy Ross' Italo classic "First True Love Affair" for the Buffet Libre cover project, which I personally consider a step above the original, even. However, I have to say that their latest, "Follow Me" (not an Amanda Lear cover), is likely their best yet..



Out of everything they've done so far, I don't think anything else summarizes their sound, that melding of sleek, Chic-influenced guitar funk, with spacey, hyper-infectious electronics more perfectly than this. There's something about their sound, and their sound on this single, particularly that manages to be effortlessly current and forward-looking, yet at the same time genuinely authentic in it's tribute to the past and it's quest for the purest musical high. Plus, the single's artwork is killer too and makes for a great T-Shirt (had to get one!), which definitely doesn't hurt either.

With remixes from DFA's Juan MacLean, Bottin and The Outrunners, the 12'' makes for an impressive package, as well.. Out of the three remixes, I'd have to put The Outrunners' mix as my personal favourite, having replaced the bounce of the original with spacious arpeggiated Italo style synths and these ambient minor chord progressions, they manage to turn an already awesome track into a solid, neo-Italo classic. You can hear their remix on their Myspace page, along with some of their other stuff, like the Patrick Cowley-esque "These Girls Are Dressed To Kill," which, I have to say, is damn near genius..

After finding out about these guys a couple of years ago, it's to nice to still see them releasing great stuff and getting more and more attention lately. Hopefully just the beginning.

"Follow Me" is out now on 12'' and on iTunes.

PURCHASE:

FOLLOW ME (12'' SINGLE)
DUSTY GROOVE | TURNTABLE LAB | JUNO

FOLLOW ME (DIGITAL SINGLE)
iTUNES US | iTUNES UK

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
CODEBREAKER: ARE YOU READY 2 LOVE? (SATURDAY APRIL 21, 2007)

LINKS:
MYSPACE: CODEBREAKER
MYSPACE: DISCO DEMOLITION RECORDS
DISCO DEMOLITION RECORDS (BLOG)
TWITTER: DISCO DEMOLITION RECORDS
FACEBOOK: CODEBREAKER (FAN GROUP)
DISCOGS: CODEBREAKER - FOLLOW ME 12''
ANTHEM MAGAZINE: Q&A WITH DISCO DEMOLITION RECORDS, CODEBREAKER (TEXT: NIK MERCER) (OCTOBER 3, 2008)
MYSPACE: THE OUTRUNNERS
MYSPACE: THE JUAN MACLEAN
MYSPACE: BOTTIN

CATEGORIES: NUDISCO

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

It's still hard to believe. I was actually planning on posting something else today, but after hearing the news today, almost everything else had been put aside for the moment. I was at work, listening to the news on the radio, when I'd heard someone mention how for many of this generation, this is like Elvis or John Lennon dying. One of those moments where people, years from now, will remember where they were, what they were doing and what they did when they heard the news.. In the last several hours, seeing the sudden, massive outpouring of emotion, easily beyond anything that I've ever witnessed, has been surreal, to say the least. Hearing and seeing everyone who is anyone releasing statements, calling into Larry King Live with their tributes; I suppose the closest comparison I have in my lifetime was perhaps the passing of Princess Diana, but with the speed and scale of media coverage today, even that is no comparison. Given how almost everything he's ever done seems to have been on such a massive scale, it seems fitting that the public outpouring upon his passing would match.

I remember being 7/8 years old, just before sliding into what ended up becoming over a decade of damage to his reputation, watching him on television, seeing videos like "Bad," with the infamous crotch grab, "Smooth Criminal," "Remember The Time," with him spinning into a cloud of dust, the morphing faces in "Black Or White," there was nothing like seeing a Michael Jackson video at the time. As a kid, like many others, I was transfixed. I had never seen anyone who could dance and sing or create a production quite like he had done. Looking back, I have to admit that as I got older, I'd end up seeing some of those same moments in a less positive light; overdone and self-indulgent as opposed to truly inspiring, the same way one would half-cringe at the things which once entertained oneself as a child. Undenably too, the backlash that ended up surrounding him for the better part of the last decade certainly played it's part as well.. That being said, while one could still call a lot of those moments over-the-top, self-indulgent; at the same time, there's absolutely no denying the sheer awe that they had inspired at the time, and still do, and the level of excellence that he continuously reached for and more often than not actually achieved in his work.

In the coming years, I'd become fascinated by the spectacle as much as the music, if not more so. The surrounding circus; a massive, bizarre, fascinating phenomenon in its own right, not to mention the side show of his family: the camp (and troubled in its own way) spectacle of LaToya, the admirable success of Janet, Jermaine's once notorious jealousy, the shared spuses, their Father's abusive tendencies and extramarital child among other things. Scouring libraries and used book stores and indulging in every scrap of every trashy Jackson tell-all that I could find was practically a pasttime at one point. I guess it all stemmed from a fascination, a curiosity about how the Jackson family and Michael himself dealt with an immense success that for all the millions sold, hearts touched, seemed as much a badge of glory as it was an albatross around his neck, not to mention an impossible shadow for his family. For someone who seemed to be constantly trying to top himself, even until the end, it was starting to look like an excercise in destruction and sheer futility. It was the key to his greatness, perhaps, yet his tragic flaw, at the same time. With that kind of pressure from within, perhaps moreso than from without; at some point one had to realize how unsustainable it all was. The statement from his former publicist seems to reveal as much.

If there's one thing about the ongoing tributes lately, they seem to show how ultimately durable his legacy is. Rich at Four Four, as always, nails it on this point. Not too long ago, I remember hearing writer Steve Knopper on the radio talking about how Michael Jackson, in the early 80's, had practically saved a music industry still reeling from the disco backlash. It's easy to forget, especially before today, in a time when people waited and expected his next spectacular unraveling, the same way they once waited for his next record or video. I think it's safe to say, even though his final concerts will now no longer be possible, that the comeback that was supposed to follow has gone off, perhaps not as planned, but even beyond what probably could have been.

I suspect that like many celebrity deaths, the tinted tributes will eventually give way to all manner of potentially myth shattering, personally damaging revelations, even though I can't think of anyone whose had more myths shattered, and shattered again in life than Michael Jackson, in his last years. For the time being however, it has actually been nice to not just remember but live again, even in a slightly twisted, confused cloud of mixed emotions, a time when Michael Jackson was the penultimate, untouchable entertainer he once was, when calling him the 'King of Pop' was once again done in tribute, instead of in parody. Though it may have been a largely self-proclaimed title, no one could say that it wasn't entirely fitting as well. RIP.

Some videos from YouTube, capturing Michael in the disco era. In ways that I'm sure many would prefer to remember him:





Updates:

On Friday (while at work), I had caught As It Happens on CBC Radio One where they talked to Deepak Chopra, dancer/choreographer & musician Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar, who taught Michael the Moonwalk, as well as Motown songwriter/producer Deke Richards one of the major members of the team who wrote and produced the Jackson Five's earliest hits. Listen below:



...and the saga continues (or is just beginning). The Nanny speaks.

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #54: WILLIE HUTCH - MIDNIGHT DANCER (1979, WHITFIELD/WARNER BROS.) (FRIDAY APRIL 11, 2008)
STARLIGHT DISCO (THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2008)
DISCO DELIVERY #33: JAMES BROWN - THE ORIGINAL DISCO MAN (1979, POLYDOR) (SATURDAY JANUARY 27, 2007)
UPCOMING REISSUES & RELEASES (APRIL 25 - MAY 30) (FRIDAY APRIL 21, 2006)

LINKS:
TIMES OF LONDON: WHAT NANNY WHO WORKED FOR MICHAEL JACKSON SAW (BY DAPHNE BARAK) (JUNE 28, 2009)
NEW YORK TIMES: AFTER MICHAEL JACKSON, FAME MAY NEVER BE THE SAME (BY DAVID SEGAL) (JUNE 27, 2009)
CBC NEWS: JACKSON FANS MOURN AROUND THE WORLD (FRIDAY JUNE 26, 2009)
LA TIMES OBITUARY: MICHAEL JACKSON'S LIFE INFUSED WITH FANTASY AND TRAGEDY (BY GEOFF BOUCHER & ELAINE WOO) (JUNE 26, 2009)
MYSPACE: LISA MARIE PRESLEY (BLOG) - HE KNEW (FRIDAY JUNE 26, 2009)
HUFFINGTON POST: MICHAEL JACKSON (INDEX)
TMZ: MICHAEL JACKSON (CATEGORY INDEX)
THE GUARDIAN: MICHAEL JACKSON (INDEX)

CATEGORIES: IN MEMORIAM..

Disco Delivery #62: Back In Time (1978, Cotillion/Atlantic)

Back In Time - El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (Original Version)
Back In Time - The Sound Of Silence (U.S. Remix)
Back In Time - El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (U.S. Remix)
Back In Time - All I Wanna Love Is Love (U.S. Remix)
Back In Time - Love Is What We Need
Back In Time - The Sound Of Silence (Original Version)
Back In Time - All I Wanna Love Is Love (Original Version)
Back In Time - Back In Time
Back In Time - Proposition
Back In Time - Love Is A Game
❚

This was one of those albums which I had come across, and eventually passed by many times in the record shop before actually buying it. Somehow, the prospect of an album helmed by Simon & Garfunkel disco covers wasn't exactly an enticing one; the sort of thing that gave the impression of being completely and irredeemably cringeworthy.


Produced by Francois Bernheim, Jean-Louis Detry and arranged by the prolific Roger Loubet (AKA R. Black-Moog on the French release), all had been behind some notable recordings, namely Loubet (the only one of the three credited on the French release) who was one of the principals behind the amazing Baciotti 12'' "Black Jack" as well as the classic French cosmic disco LP "Disco Cosmix" (1979, Philips) by The Z.A.C.K., on which all three had been involved. Originally released in France on the Carrere label as "El Condor Pasa," Atlantic's Cotillion imprint evidently picked it up for U.S. release, retitling it as a self-titled LP with a slightly different "group" photo, enlisting Issy Sanchez (a regular mixer on Atlantic disco releases), Neil Dorfsman and Ray Wilhard (both of whom are also on the Z.A.C.K. LP and are perhaps uncredited on the original album) to remix three of the tracks into an extended medley on Side A.

In other notable personnel, all the vocals on the album were courtesy of French singer, composer and stage performer Roddy Julienne. Unfortunately, the opening track on the North American version of the album, a cover of "The Sound of Silence" wasn't exactly the most flattering showcase for Julienne's vocals. Admittedly, upon first listen, Julienne's vocals on "Silence" with his at-times nasal, abrasive, forceful phrasing didn't exactly do much to diminish my initial suspicions. It was only after further listens (to this song and the rest of the LP) that the brilliance of the album's dense, exquisite production started to reveal itself.

One of the things which ended up affirming that was the second track on the US version, the album's cover of "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)." With its deft, swirling strings, and deep supple basslines beneath a relentless electronic pulse, soaring Andean flutes, all emboldened by Roddy Julienne's forceful vocals which in this case provided the perfect aural companion to the heavy, lavish production. Ultimately the centrepiece of the album, in both of its versions, all the elements here end up turning what could have been another piece of curious, disposable euro-kitsch into something of epic disco elegance, capturing the soaring, anthemic quality of the original Peruvian standard.

Though both versions are approximately the same length, the US version, which is actually better overall with its much denser mix and great extended break towards the end, complete with extra emphasis on bass and strings; none of it diminishes the impact of the original version. With its coolly spare opening - a solitary synthesized pulse, drawn in by a sequence of strings and flutes, combined particularly with a much better placement right at the beginning of the record, the original still remains perhaps the most striking of the two versions. Notably, aside from the two different album versions, this song was included in a Tom Savarese mix on Disconet Volume 1, Number 12 (which I haven't heard yet).

The Side A medley on the US Version ends with "All I Wanna Love Is Love," which is possibly the strangest track on the album. Continuing the intense, driving pulse of "El Condor Pasa," the track opens with an initially incomprehensible monologue:

"she's cruel... just like a snake... she never stops... she scratches my back... she's a woman... a nice woman.. and she loves it..."

Which is followed by yet another stunning soliloquy:

"I'm strong.. just like a tiger.. I always want, you know... I'm proud of it.. but I'm a man!.. Only a man!.. and I'm tired!..."

Not sure that I get it.

Perhaps this is one of those instances where the intended impact was lost in translation, I'm guessing it's supposed to be a desperate man being chased by a gaggle of relentless, cooing nymphomaniacs. In between the stunning poetry, with the ladies screaming out "love! all i wanna love is love! Love! all I wanna love... is love," things don't go much further than that, with the man still ends up fighting them off with desperate NO's and declarations of his tiredness towards the end. Strange, but still worth it entirely, if not for its intriguing wierdness, but also for the awesome production, filled with some deep rich and detailed bass and percussion.

Side B continues the disco momentum with the opener, "Love Is What We Need". Originally the second track on the original French release, Roddy Julienne's vocals are back in full force here with lavish drums, deep layered guitars and cascading synths all around. Much better placed as the Side B opener on the US release, it makes for yet another one of the album's high points.

For the rest of the album, the intensity of the proceedings goes down a couple of notches, starting with the title track, "Back In Time." Despite being a withdrawal from the heavy disco of the previous tracks, and a more earnest return to the Andean feel of "El Condor Pasa," with its drum and guitar driven production, it ends up working much better and being much more memorable than I had expected. Same can mostly be said for the track that follows it, "Proposition," which, minus Roddy Julienne's (lightly processed) vocals sounds like it could have easily come out of one of those many French space disco LPs (much like the producers' own Z.A.C.K project).

Although "Love Is A Game," barring a decent melody and some nice strings, is a bit of a limp closer, this album, in both of its versions ends up being one of my more rewarding purchases in the last while. Though not without its moments of strange euro-cheese, even that is almost always redeemable. The lavish intensity of the album's production more than makes up the difference. Even if there was nothing else of note on the record, the album's stunning interpretation of Paul Simon's reading of the Peruvian standard "El Condor Pasa," is epic enough to be worth the price of admission, by itself. Even Roddy Julienne's vocals, which I'm willing to admit are formidable, if nothing else; in spite of their initial abrasiveness, end up making the most of the forceful production and often intense feel of the album's most distinctive disco tracks. At their best, his vocals made an ideal compliment to the production and tempo, with a gritty forcefulness that at times seemed to recall Tina Turner, that is, if Tina were a man, with a vaguely French accent and a penchant for the occasional jazzy scat.. That being said, I haven't been buying too many records lately, but I'm glad I gave in and made room for this one..

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
INTERSTELLAR MESSAGES (SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2009)
DISCO DELIVERY #50: BRENDA MITCHELL - DON'T YOU KNOW (1978, BARCLAY/POLYGRAM) (SATURDAY JANUARY 12, 2008)
DISCO DELIVERY #48: ASHA (PUTHLI) - L'INDIANA (1979, DASH/TK) (TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2007)
DISCO DELIVERY #37: MIDNIGHT RHYTHM (1978, ATLANTIC) (WEDNESDAY MARCH 14, 2007)
TIMING, FORGET THE TIMING (WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31, 2007)

LINKS:
DISCOGS: BACK IN TIME - S/T LP (US VERSION)
BACK IN TIME - EL CONDOR PASA LP (FRENCH VERSION)
DISCOGS: DISCONET VOLUME 1, NUMBER 12 12'' (INCLUDES MIX OF 'EL CONDOR PASA')
HOTDISCOMIX: DISCONET VOLUME 1, NUMBER 12
DISCOGS: FRANCOIS BERNHEIM
DISCOGS: JEAN-LOUIS DETRY
WIKIPÉDIA: RODDY JULIENNE (IN FRENCH)
MYSPACE MUSIC: RODDY JULIENNE
WIKIPEDIA - EL CÓNDOR PASA (SONG)
WIKIPEDIA - THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE (SONG)
DISCOGS: ISSY SANCHEZ
DISCOGS: NEIL DORFSMAN
DISCOGS: RAYMOND WILLARD

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES

Disco Delivery on Twitter

Six months ago, I thought Twitter was the most inane, useless thing ever. That is, until recently, when I looked at at how many people I had started to follow, just through my own bookmarks... At this point, I figured, why resist it?

As far as social networking goes, I'm actually starting to prefer this now.. Easy and brief, and without either the privacy risks or restrictions of Facebook, it's much more open and inclusive.. Perfect for when I don't feel like writing long blog entries, which is most of the time, and which also means I'll be updating it much more frequently than the blog..

So, if you care to, follow me at: http://twitter.com/discodelivery

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS (THURSDAY MAY 31, 2007)

CATEGORIES:MISCELLANEOUS

Having you fills my life..

Marilyn Chambers - Benihana (1977, Roulette)
Marilyn Chambers - So I Cried A Little Bit (1977, Roulette)

It's been a while since my last post (and I'll admit, this one is a little over a week overdue), but I do have a new Disco Delivery post in the works, so I'm hoping to get that one up sometime soon. Anyway, even though this has been posted elsewhere already, after hearing of legendary porn star Marilyn Chambers' death last Sunday, I remembered the copy of her one-off disco single that I had picked up last summer.

While I'd never really sought out any of her movies, when this one popped up in a crate during my summer vacation in Vancouver last year, I immediately picked it up.. Released 1977 on the legendary/infamous Roulette label, the same year as her 'legit' film debut in Cronenberg's "Rabid," I'm willing to guess that in looking to leverage herself into some sort of mainstream viability, her and her people (Chuck Traynor?) probably looked at Andrea True's surprise success the previous year and thought if Andrea could do it, so could she..




Marilyn signing a copy of the single
c. February, 1977
Alas though, while Marilyn may have had a marginally better voice, Andrea undoubtedly had the better song. As it is, "Benihana" remains no more and no less than a cutesy disco novelty, a footnote in disco and pop culture, by comparison. That being said, the more I listen to this, the more I end up loving it. With both sides produced by the chant man himself, Michael Zager (who as it turned out also produced one of Andrea True's later disco hits "What's Your Name, What's Your Number" in the same year), it's certainly not without it's charms.

The first part of the song is a breathy, swinging, sexy-talking disco romp punctuated by a sleazy little sax, laden with little double entendres about "filling her up in many ways." By the end of it however she takes the porny 'action going, cameras rolling' overtures of "More More More" one step further - ditching the double entendres in favour of an all-out audio orgasm, complete with hilarious heavy breathing and panting (of the ooh ooh, feels so good - don't stop, DON'T STOP variety). While simulated orgasms in disco wasn't all that new, unlike the others I've heard, this one ends up sounding over the top it's own sort of way - like light, exaggerated porn sex as opposed to the serious, heavier "love to love you, baby" variety. But I guess that was probably the point, anyway. The fact that, in spite of everything, this didn't become (at least, as far as I know) the theme to a playful little porn flick at the time, ends up feeling like a missed opportunity to me. Either way though, as it is, it ends up making for great bit of harmless sexy fun, even if it isn't exactly considered the pinnacle of either Zager or Chambers' achievements.

The single's ballad B-side "So I Cried A Little Bit" is your typical Michael Zager ballad, which is to say, fairly tepid when not paired with a formidable vocalist. At the very least, it's a decent attempt at versatility, on her part.


Notably, Hungarian/Italian porn queen Ilona Staller (AKA Cicciolina) would cover "Benihana" in 1979, on her own disco album (which was reissued on CD some nine years back). So far, the only place where I've come across Marilyn's original on CD would be on the 3 CD Roulette Story set (the very last track) from Westside/Demon in the UK, which is out of print on CD, but still available on iTunes UK.


Personally, I would have loved to hear what other sexy disco romps Marilyn could have come up with, if given the opportunity to record a little bit more (the theme from 'Insatiable' is yet another nice preview). Evidently however, things never really did get far enough on the mainstream side of things, having returned to adult films a few short years later. For someone who has become so iconic though, it's hard not to dwell on her relatively young age, her decidedly unglamorous address at the time of her passing, and the exploitative flipside of the industry she was in, so I won't. But to her credit, in interviews and in all the obituaries and remembrances that have since come out, she comes across as someone who seemed to have been much more interesting, talented and articulate than she and others in her best known profession are often given credit for.

The Los Angeles NBC affiliate posted up a brief piece on her passing, with some video, including an interview with her teenage daughter.

PURCHASE:
VARIOUS - THE ROULETTE STORY (INCLUDES 'BENIHANA')
ITUNES UK

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #55: CISSY HOUSTON - STEP ASIDE FOR A LADY (1980, COLUMBIA) (FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008)
DISCO DELIVERY #22: SPINNERS - DANCIN' & LOVIN' (1979, ATLANTIC) (MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2006)
DISCO DELIVERY #8: CISSY HOUSTON - THINK IT OVER (1978, PRIVATE STOCK) (FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2006)

LINKS:
DISCOGS: MARILYN CHAMBERS - BENIHANA 12''
DISCOMUSIC.COM: MARILYN CHAMBERS - BENIHANA 12''
LUKE IS BACK: MARILYN CHAMBERS PROFILE
LOS ANGELES TIMES: MARILYN CHAMBERS DIES AT 56 (BY DENNIS MCLELLAN) (APRIL 14, 2009)
CBC: 1970'S PORN ACTRESS MARILYN CHAMBERS FOUND DEAD (MONDAY APRIL 13, 2009)
NBC LOS ANGELES: ADULT STAR MARILYN CHAMBERS FOUND DEAD (MONDAY APRIL 13, 2009)
AVN BUSINESS: MARILYN CHAMBERS, LEGENDARY ADULT ACTRESS, DEAD AT 56 (BY MARK KERNES) (APRIL 13, 2009)
SPOUT BLOG: MARILYN CHAMBERS DIES (BY CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL) (APRIL 13, 2009)
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: 2004 INTERVIEW WITH MARILYN CHAMBERS (BY RANDALL KING) (APRIL 13, 2009)
FOURFOUR: RIP, MARILYN (APRIL 14, 2009)

CATEGORIES: SIDE DELIVERIES, IN MEMORIAM..

Love Dancing Playmate

Playmate - Love Dance (1978, Salsoul/RCA)
Playmate - Oriental Explosion (1978, Salsoul/RCA)

A little something I'd picked up in Vancouver a couple of years ago, this seems to have been one of the more obscure Eurodisco offerings released by Salsoul at the time. With the production credited to an incognito outfit called "Cup Production," it even seems a little more anonymous than most.

Written by Christian Bensch, Peter Wagner and Uli Roever, all three seem to have some credits in the realm of German pop music, with Uli Roever having what seems to be one of the more significant disco connections, having been credited as an arranger on Pamala Stanley's "This Is Hot" (1979, EMI) LP. Quite unexpectedly, I'd also come across this song's entry in the ASCAP database, where it credits Roever and 'Roever Wagner Bensch' as the performers, so I'd venture to guess that they (or at the very least, Uli Roever) were most likely also the producers behind this.

A double A-side single, both tracks are mostly instrumental, aside from the very minimal vocals which do little more than repeat the song titles in a light, high pitched coquettish fashion. Aside from that, both tracks on the single have that unmistakable German Eurodisco sound to them, characterized by the familiar sonic backdrop of squelchy synth effects (clavinet?) and Silver Convention-esque string arrangements to name a couple of things.

Mixed by renowned DJ and remixer, Bobby 'DJ' Guttadaro (perhaps the most notable name on here, from a disco perspective) "Love Dance" starts out with a mid-tempo percussion and vocal intro then shortly moves into a horn and guitar laden Spanish/Santa Esmeralda style Flamenco tinged arrangement, with some added horns, kettle drum accents and a sexy break providing some build-up and drama along the way. Given how many mixes Guttadaro seemed to be doing for Salsoul at the time, along with the common practice of US labels in remixing their European-licensed product, I'd venture to guess that there are likely some European pressings (like the UK pressing listed on Discogs which doesn't credit Guttadaro) with a different mix of this track, which I'm going to have to confirm for myself one of these days.

With the cheese factor racheted up a few notches, "Oriental Explosion" on the flip is nevertheless entirely as enjoyable, if not slightly moreso. As with any good piece of Western Oriental fetishism, the track is naturally opened by and punctuated with loud gong crashes, an 'oriental' style wind-section and some random unintelligible chanting in the middle seemingly thrown in for good measure. A kitschy car-crash of delicate disco strings, German oompah and some vaguely Asian sounding interludes, it's every bit as strange and oddly appealing as it sounds..

Either way, while the selections on this single are probably not the sort of thing made to burn up a dancefloor, I'd consider these both to be nice artifacts of a sexy (if not slightly kitschy), laid-back Eurodisco sound of the time..

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
THE ONE I LOVE TAKES ME DOWN, TAKES ME THERE.. (THURSDAY DECEMBER 13. 2007)
FAUST WAS RIGHT, HAVE NO REGRET.. (MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2007)
DISCO DELIVERY #35: MONTREAL FEATURING UCHENNA IKEJIANI (1979, SALSOUL) (WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2007)

LINKS:
DISCOGS: PLAYMATE
ASCAP: ROEVER WAGNER BENSCH - LOVE DANCE
DISCOMUSIC.COM: BOBBY 'DJ' GUTTADARO
DISCOGS: BOBBY 'DJ' GUTTADARO

CATEGORIES: SIDE DELIVERIES

You got it, I got it..

Scarlet Rivera - Scarlet Fever (Promo 12'' Version) (1978, Warner Bros.)
Scarlet Rivera - Scarlet Fever (Edit) (1978, Warner Bros.)

Since picking this up a few years back, this little obscure disco one-off from violinist Scarlet Rivera has become a real favourite of mine. From what I've gathered Rivera had come to prominence after playing on Bob Dylan's 1976 "Desire" album and the accompanying Rolling Thunder Revue. Shortly thereafter Rivera would release a couple of albums of her own for Warner Bros., this track being the lead off of her second LP of the same name.

Produced by Jimmy Wisner, who had a hit of his own in 1961 with "Asia Minor," a rock and roll adaptation of Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor" released under the alias Kokomo; as a producer and arranger, Wisner go on to would work on records by the likes of Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, Tamiko Jones, Herbie Mann and Carly Simon among others..

A clever play on her name mixed by the prolific Jimmy Simpson, the extended version on the A-side makes an indelible first impression. Opening with a heavy, bumping beat and an infectious bassline, the soft whispery vocals highlighting the minimal and memorable (albeit in that charmingly trite, infectious way) chorus, along with Rivera's delicate, soaring violin at the top of the mix end up making this one swirling, sexy slice of disco. Although her "Scarlet Fever" LP has since been reissued on CD, this promo only 12'' mix wasn't included on the reissue and hasn't (as far as I know) made it to CD/digital..

Although with disco tracks, it's usually 'the longer, the better,' the shorter version on the B-side is also worth a listen. Jimmy Simpson isn't credited on that mix, but the vocals at the top of the track, along with the extended string crescendos end up making the most of the nearly three and a half minute edit on the flipside.

In a 2003 interview with the Bob Dylan fanzine Freewheelin', when asked about 'doing disco,' Rivera had distanced herself from this track, without actually mentioning it by name, saying in no uncertain terms that she hates the song and was pushed into doing it:

Q: You have done Disco music?
A: No, on my very first record my producer pushed me into doing a song like that and I hate the song. I don’t like the record now! He took advantage of me and I have learned from that. I now know who that artist is!

Rivera's feelings notwithstanding, from a disco point of view, I think "Scarlet Fever" holds up pretty well. In retrospect, "Scarlet Fever" can probably be categorized alongside disco efforts of noted instrumentalists like Herbie Mann and Candido. Although a one-off as opposed to the full-length disco efforts of Candido and Mann, this track, at least in my estimation, did a good job of incorporating her string stylings into a nice ephemeral piece of disco fever..

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #52: STAINLESS STEAL - CAN-CAN (1978, WARNER BROS.) (TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2008)
DISCO DELIVERY #43: WARDELL PIPER (1979, MIDSONG INTERNATIONAL) (MONDAY AUGUST 27, 2007)

LINKS:
DISCOMUSIC.COM - SCARLET RIVERA - SCARLET FEVER 12''
WIKIPEDIA: SCARLET RIVERA
WIKIPEDIA: JIMMY WISNER
DISCOGS: JIMMY WISNER
ALL MUSIC GUIDE: SCARLET RIVERA - SCARLET FEVER LP (REVIEW)
DISCOGS: JIMMY SIMPSON
FREEWHEELIN' (TAKE 13): INTERVIEW WITH SCARLET RIVERA (BY MASATO KIRO)

CATEGORIES: SIDE DELIVERIES

Disco Delivery #61: Touché (1979, Magnum/GRT)

Touché - Warm Storm Of Love
Touché - Dancing In The Dark
Touché - Nightrider
Touché - Take A Look (But Don't Touch)
Touché - Love Eyes
Touché - One Day
❚

While practically 90% of the Canadian disco out there seemed to come out of Montreal, this (along with Denise McCann and Bryan Adams' first single) seem to be among the few (at least that I've found) to have come out of Vancouver..

Produced by Brian Griffiths for Griffiths Gibson Productions, a company which was (and still remains today, as Griffiths Gibson & Ramsay Productions/GGRP) one of the top commercial music production (read: commerical jingles) services in Vancouver, the album was also recorded at their facilities, Vancouver's Little Mountain Studios. Having hosted acts like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Mötley Crüe and The Cult among others, it was reportedly one of the pinnacle recording destinations in Western Canada in it's day. Perhaps as a result of the connections, the album's credits end up reading like a veritable laundry-list of notable Vancouver musicans of the time. Among them are drummer Jim Vallance, Peter Bjerring, Howie Vickers, Guitarist David Sinclair, Bob Buckley on Keyboards, along with mixdown engineers Bob Rock and Vancouver punk scene veteran Ron Obvious to name most of them.

Out of all of them, Vallance and Rock are perhaps the most eminent. Vallance, who along with Peter Bjerring had been involved with Canadian arena rock band Prism and it's predecessor Sunshyne, would become one of Bryan Adams' major collaborators, co-writing many of his hits as well as writing for acts like Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett among others.

Bob Rock, then a staffer at Little Mountain would later have a sizeable hit in Canada with his own group, The Payola$ and their single "Eyes Of A Stranger." Rock has gone on to become a superproducer of sorts, having produced for acts ranging from Metallica and Aerosmith to Cher and Michael Bublé..

Of the other names, Howie Vickers, who has writing credits on three of the album's six tracks, was the lead singer for a group called The Collectors, and essentially served as the pre-cursor to Canadian rock mainstays, Chilliwack.. While aside from being well-travelled session players in their own right, guitarist David Sinclair (Sarah McLachlan, k.d. lang) and keyboardist Bob Buckley (Our Lady Peace, Celine Dion) would form a duo in the 80's called Straight Lines and would go on to be part of the group Body Electric.

That's of course not to disregard the singers, Nancy Nash, Mary Saxton and Rosalind Keene, who end up cutting a flawless, radiant (albeit anonymous) harmony on the record. Perhaps as a way of diminishing some of the project's anonymity, all three are actually credited as being Touché, themselves. While all three seemed to be regular session singers, at least two of them have some notabilty attached to their names.. Mary Saxton has at least a couple of albums and some singles to her name, some of which have become rather highly regarded in the Northern Soul scene. One of her albums, entitled "Sad Eyes" (1969, Birchmount) has become particularly sought after, having fetched some fairly high prices online recently. Given it's apparent rarity, someone had recently taken the liberty of putting the audio of her entire "Sad Eyes" LP up on Google Video, for anyone whose curious.

Nancy Nash, aside from having some of the highest profile session work of the three, had also released a couple of albums, including a little known AOR-type album in the early 80's entitled "Letting Go" (1982, Avalon/Polygram). Later, having adopted the Aboriginal name Sazacha Red Sky, Nash had continued to record, with one of her songs garnering a (slightly controversial, it seems) Juno Award nomination in 1994.

Although there's less information about Rosalind Keene and her credits, she, like Nash and Saxton, is apparently still active today, performing regularly in and around the Vancouver area..

Although Nash, Saxton and Keene are credited as being the group itself, after looking them up, they're obviously not the same ladies on the album's cover (which the credit on the back seemed to imply.) However, the quiet intensity of the album's black and blood-red artwork is also notable in itself, having been designed by renowned graphic artist Hugh Syme who's perhaps best known for being the artist behind Rush's distinctive album covers, among other acts..

Can-Con trivia aside, despite the strong rock connections, the album itself ends up being a pleasantly slick, sexy sublime disco production. With the light rock-ish guitars, sax solos and gliding strings that underscore most of the tracks, the album is perhaps more of an atmospheric combination of soft-rock and disco than a high tempo, bass and percussion driven disco groove..

The best illustration of that would likely be the opening track "Warm Storm Of Love." Arranged by Jim Vallance and written by producer Brian Griffiths and Howie Vickers; anchored by a heavy guitar refrain in the intro, elevated by the singers' airy harmonies and surrounded by a gusty string section, "Storm.." makes for a dramatic first impression. A perfectly appropriate opening, the almost gentle intensity of the vocals mixed with the stark backing ends up making it the perfect compiment to the album's artwork.

The second track, and only non-original on the album, "Dancing In The Dark," a cover of the Schwartz/Dietz standard arranged by keyboard player Bob Buckley, ends up bringing a little more levity to the proceedings. Anchored by a sexy, nocturnal sax solo and some genteel string and vocal arrangements, they manage to turn out an excellent cover, at the very least convincingly turning an old standard into a misty nighttime disco fantasy..

That said however, I'd consider the next three tracks to be the ultimate highlights of the album. Starting with the Side A closer, "Nightrider," arranged by Bob Buckley and written by Buckley and Vickers, this track ends up taking the tempo up a little bit from the previous selections. Opening with a driving guitar, leading into a more spacious mix putting extra emphasis on the beat and the percussion, it's perhaps the closest thing on the album to a bona-fide disco stomper.

The album's second major highlight would have to be the Side B opener (and the album's single), "Take A Look (But Don't Touch)" arranged by Peter Bjerring and written by Brian Gibson. A smouldering disco teaser with Mary Saxton apparently on lead, it's got to be the sexiest track on the album, not just because of the vocals or the swelling strings that underscore them, but mostly because of the lyrics. With it's soft, subdued vocals and the words painting a sensual lyrical ode to dancefloor surrender, it's probably the best song on the record, lyrically speaking. Musically, I'd single out the string refrain after the chorus, interspersed with the little guitar fill-in as a moment of brilliance in itself..

The third of the three major highlights would have to be "Love Eyes." A sublime, guitar driven disco track, written by Vickers and arranged by guitarist David Sinclair; with it's tempo and sweet string arrangement augmented by the great, albeit brief break in the middle, this song ultimately marks the album's breezy, uplifting culmination.

After that, the album concludes with an instrumental track, "One Day," written and arranged by Bob Buckley. Naturally featuring Buckley's synth work, he manages to get into some pretty great spacey synths solos at a couple of points in the track. Given album producer Brian Griffiths and his company's background in commercial jingles and themes, it's probably no accident that this track ends up reminding me of something that could have been used in a late 70's TV commercial..

Looking at Griffiths Gibson & Ramsay Productions/GGRP's website, the only mention of this album is a rather dismissive reference in their 'History' page, which makes it sounds like a cash-in that they would much rather forget about. And while perhaps the cash-in part of it might have been true, for a bunch of rock guys whom I'd imagine would have sooner divorced themselves from an album like this if given the chance; they actually managed to come up with a pretty solid, albeit slick (they are a commercial production company, after all) set of disco tracks. While the rock-influenced disco sound seemed to have been gaining some steam around this time, the rock influence on this album is less about energy and tempo and spashing loud guitars everywhere, as much it is about mood. Complimenting rather than overpowering the disco elements, personally, I think this is too good of a record to be left as some rock musicians' dirty little disco secret..

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #56: TOP SECRET (1979, TELSON/LONDON) (MONDAY OCTOBER 27. 2008)
DISCO DELIVERY #53: BARBARA LAW - TAKE ALL OF ME (1979, PAVILLION/EPIC) (FRIDAY FEBRUARY 29, 2008)
DISCO DELIVERY #42: SOUTHERN EXPOSURE - HEADIN' SOUTH (1979, RCA) (MONDAY JUNE 4, 2007)
DISCO DELIVERY #35: MONTREAL FEATURING UCHENNA IKEJIANI (1979, SALSOUL) (WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2007)

LINKS:
DISCOMUSIC.COM: TOUCHÉ LP
DISCOGS: TOUCHÉ LP
DISCOGS: TOUCHÉ - TAKE A LOOK BUT DON'T TOUCH / NIGHTRIDER 12''
GGRP (GRIFFITHS GIBSON & RAMSAY PRODUCTIONS)
JIM VALLANCE OFFICIAL SITE
NANCY NASH MUSIC
SHOOTING STARS FOUNDATION - PERFORMERS: STARRY NIGHT (INFO ON MARY SAXTON)
SHOOTING STARS FOUNDATION - PERFORMERS: MOTOWN MELTDOWN (INFO ON ROSALIND KEENE)
DAVID SINCLAIR OFFICIAL SITE
BOB BUCKLEY PRODUCTIONS
HUGH SYME OFFICIAL SITE
WIKIPEDIA: MUSIC OF VANCOUVER

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, CAN-CON DISCO