Upcoming Disco Reissues & Releases (and more.. )

(Note: new updates/additions on 3/1/06, revised 3/16/06)

Just a little update on some upcoming CD album reissues and compilations in case anyone's interested.. A good chunk of these by Collectables records which should be out towards the end of the month..

February 28th:

The Trammps - Where The Happy People Go (1976, Atlantic / 2006, Collectables)
purchase @ amazon.com | dustygroove.com
One of THE disco groups; much more to them than "Disco Inferno," as I am just now discovering for myself.. The title track is one of their biggest and best known disco hits..
THE TRAMMPS - WHERE THE HAPPY PEOPLE GO LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
THE TRAMMPS - WHERE THE HAPPY PEOPLE GO (REVIEW) @ ALLMUSIC.COM

Kleeer - Winners (1979, Atlantic / 2006, Collectables)
purchase @ amazon.com | dustygroove.com
Kleeer - License To Dream (1981, Atlantic / 2006, Collectables)
purchase @ amazon.com | dustygroove.com
Two albums from the funk/disco ensemble Kleeer, often held in the same esteem as other great groups on the Atlantic label like Chic and Change. Prior to their incarnation as Kleeer, they were the Universal Robot Band who had some underground disco classics under the direction of well renowned disco producers Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael..
KLEEER - WINNERS LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
KLEEER - WINNERS (REVIEW) @ ALLMUSIC.COM
KLEEER - LICENSE TO DREAM LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM

Dee Dee Bridgewater - Just Family/Bad For Me (1976, 1979 Atlantic / 2006, Collectables)
purchase @ amazon.com | dustygroove.com
Tony award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater was a well known R&B singer before switching primarily to Jazz later in her career. "Just Family" is not disco, but 1979's "Bad For Me" produced by George Duke was her one stab at disco. The title track was a favourite at the Paradise Garage, the 12" having been mixed by none other than Larry Levan himself. These two albums were previously released separately as European import digipak CDs, which are still available..
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER - BAD FOR ME 12" @ DISCOMUSIC.COM

March 13th:

Various - A Tom Moulton Mix (2006, Soul Jazz Records) (updated 3/16/06, this release has been delayed until April 3rd)
pre-order @ amazon.co.uk | dustygroove.com
Probably one of the releases I'm most excited about. On a recent thread on the discomusic.com forums, I had wondered about the possibility of an anthology of Tom Moulton's disco mixes, since "mixologies" for the likes of Walter Gibbons and Larry Levan had been released, yet Moulton, who was the most prolific out of all of them hasn't had any sort of compilation. Someone in the know replied and said that this would be coming out sometime in January, well January's gone and according to Dusty Groove, it's been pushed back to Mid-March, so we'll see about that one..

New Info: Just found out that Amazon UK now has a picture and a tracklist up and that this should should be out in around a couple of weeks. Amazon doesn't list the track times, but it says there are two discs, so they must all be full-length versions (I think most of us would be pissed if they weren't). At first glance looks like a pretty good balance of hits and rarities. Some of his well-known classics are included like "More, More, More" by Andrea True Connection "La vie en rose" by Grace Jones "Love Is The Message" by MFSB etc. There are also some rarities in there too, like the selections by Camouflage, Orlando Riva Sound, The Lovers and Udell to name a few.. Not to mention, what seems to be a new mix of Eddie Kendricks' "Keep On Truckin'"!. The Soul Jazz Records website (www.souljazzrecords.co.uk) says: "Many of the mixes are exclusive to this CD and have previously only existed as acetates or promos distributed only to Tom’s friends." So I'm looking forward to some of those surprises, can't wait for this one!

In case anyone isn't familiar with Tom Moulton and his contribution to disco, go here
.. Finding "A Tom Moulton Mix" on the credits of a record (and there are so many) is almost always a good sign..

As yet unconfirmed release dates:

The Supremes - 70's Albums sets (1970-1976, Motown / 2006, Hip-O Select/Motown)
Apparently the first batch of their 70's albums were supposed to be released this month, but they've since been pushed back.. Hip-O Select sent out a little note on their latest mailing list newsletter:
...Some of you may be wondering what happened to releases previously announced in ICE magazine and to a few of the fans' message boards, including The (70s) Supremes, Marvelettes, Rare Earth, Gloria Jones, All This And World War II, and Earl Van Dyke. These releases have not been forgotten and being rescheduled in order to give them the love and attention they truly deserve. Once we have firm release dates for them, we will make an announcement over email and on our site...
Hip-O Select so far hasn't disappointed with the quality of their releases, so however long the wait, I know it'll be worth it..

LaToya Jackson - LaToya Jackson (1980, Polydor / 2006, ?)
Reissue of the most intriguing and enigmatic Jackson's debut album which contained the dancefloor hit "If You Feel The Funk" among others. Not to mention notable guests like Patrice Rushen, Stevie Wonder, Ray Parker, Jr. and Jacko himself. Previously reissued on CD in Japan in the '90s; those old Japanese CD reissues are going for big bucks on eBay these days. More info at the LaToya Haven forum.
LaTOYA JACKSON - LaTOYA JACKSON LP (REVIEW) @ ALLMUSIC.COM

On another note:



Motown has always been an interesting label and musical phenomenon to me. Being something of a Motown fan and having an interest in urban issues, I've always been intrigued by the City of Detroit. Looking at the Ruins of Detroit, it's beings me back to when I was a kid looking at the Ancient Greek ruins in books and the feeling of sadness, wonder and awe that I had looking at those images.. Which brings me back to Detroit..

I had only just found out about the Motown Building (not the little "Hitsville USA" house), but their later offices in the Donovan Building on Woodward Avenue and it's meeting with the wrecking ball last month.. Now it's always sad when a building goes down like they often do in Detroit these days, but what makes this significant is that there were archives and memorabilia still in the building, largely left alone since Motown's departure in 1972. Esther Gordy-Edwards of the Motown Museum (www.motownmuseum.com) had mentioned that there were still many things left that they hadn't yet had the chance to go through.. I don't know what's worst, that no one acted to salvage anything in all this time or that it was all sacrificed in the name of "aesthetics" and Super Bowl parking.. In my opinion, a building, no matter how faded it may be is still much more interesting and attractive than an empty, abandoned urban lot, but that's just me.. Luckily some urban explorers had managed to salvage some little pieces of memorabilia here and there (including correspondence from what was apparently Marvin Gaye's desk).. Many entries on this at the Detroit Blog and others.

LINKS:
DETROIT BLOG - 01, 02, 03, 04
KEMPA.COM - DESTROYING HISTORY
STUPEFACTION - MOTOWN HISTORY, UNDER THE WRECKING BALL
METRO DETROIT URBAN EXPLORATION - DONOVAN (AKA MOTOWN) BUILDING
DUSTIN DWYER FOR MICHIGAN RADIO - THE MOTOWN BUILDING (STREAMING REAL MEDIA FILE)

CATEGORIES: REISSUES & RELEASES, ARTICLES & RAMBLINGS