Disco Delivery #57: Nocturna (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1979, MCA)

Gloria Gaynor - Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away (Nocturna's Theme)
Vicki Sue Robinson - Nighttime Fantasy
Heaven 'N' Hell Orchestra & Chorus - Whatcha Gonna Do
Heaven 'N' Hell Orchestra - Bitten By The Love Bug
Moment Of Truth - Love At First Sight
Moment Of Truth - I'm Hopelessly In Love With You
Jay Siegel - Why Do Lovers Come Together
Heaven 'N' Hell Orchestra - Chopin's Nocturne - Opus 55 #1 (Nocturna)

Originally, I wasn't planning to post a follow-up to the last Disco Delivery today, in fact, I wasn't even planning to post anything particularly Halloween related today, until I suddenly remembered that I had this record. One of the little goodies I had gotten in Vancouver this summer, I managed to find a sealed copy there that I hadn't even opened until this morning. Somehow, I seem to have become a little bit precious about my sealed records lately, there's a kind of weariness that I seem to have developed over the last few years of buying and searching for records, of opening something that has been sealed for thirty or so years. It's like I'm disturbing some sort of artifact.. Either way, I suppose they're meant to be enjoyed, and this one didn't disappoint.

Although I haven't seen the movie, which is long out of print, there are some little clips on YouTube (see below) and reviews all over the internet, which generally seem to boil down to "awful, but fun." Released in 1979, (but filmed in '78) and directed by Harry Hurwitz under the alias 'Harry Tampa', it's been described as a campy, low budget disco vampire movie, with it's plot (without giving away too many spoilers) revolving around Nocturna, the granddaughter of Dracula (played by John Carradine). Having fallen on lean times, their Transylvanian castle has been turned into a hotel/disco where they invite a band (played by one time Salsoul group Moment of Truth) to play live. Nocturna falls for Jimmy, one of the boys in the band so to speak, played by the late Antony Hamilton (in what appears to have been his first major film role), who takes her to New York where romance, disco and vamipric ridiculousness apparently ensue..


Although Yvonne DeCarlo (best known for her role in The Munsters) is listed as the 'star' in the intro, judging from her involvement as the main writer, executive producer and her role as the lead character, this movie seemed more than anything, like a vehicle for Armenian born belly dancer, sometime singer and actress (and I'd use that word loosely) Nai Bonet. Something of a vanity project of hers, she seemed to have had her hands in virtually all aspects of the film, all the way down to the soundtrack. Not only is her picture prominently splayed on the back cover and inside the gatefold sleeve, she was also given a loose, vague production (or executive production) credit, with one of her companies, Nai Bonet Music even taking part of the publishing on all the songs.

Although the film wasn't exactly meant to be scary, looking at the clips, the most glaring things would have to be either Brother Theodore's hilarious/creepy ranting, along with Nai Bonet's so-called 'acting.' Even with the simple lines she seems to have, she's barely convincing with her numb, catatonic delivery. Apparently they put in a topless bathing scene (for those of you into that) with her, which is evidently supposed to make up for some of that. Nevertheless, it's probably no wonder her IMDB credits drop off completely after 1979.

That said, despite the film's dubious credentials, the soundtrack is remarkably solid, being probably one of the best disco soundtrack albums I've come across. A double LP produced and arranged by Reid Whitelaw and Norman Bergen who together had also produced Ralph Carter (of 'Good Times' fame), Alfie Davison and pretty much all of Moment Of Truth's material, it's packed mostly (last two tracks aside) with full and hearty Philly-style meat-and-potatoes disco, much of which seems to have gone overlooked despite some of the high profile names attached to this.

The two major singles from this were the lead-off tracks by Gloria Gaynor ("Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away") and Vicki Sue Robinson ("Nighttime Fantasy"). Both were given special disco mixes on the album by Kevin Burke & Wayne Scott and Doug Riddick, respectively, with both given shorter versions on their 12" releases (which I haven't heard yet). Both singles ended up charting low to modestly on the Billboard Disco Charts in 1979 (Gloria at #81 and Vicki at #21), but despite the relatively modest success of both singles, I'd probably consider these among some of the best material that I've heard from both ladies. Exquisitely arranged with just the right amount of dancefloor intensity and high drama, both tracks are incredibly infectious and memorable. A good deal of that is likely due to the backing band full of notable Philly players like Larry Washington and his distinctive percussion, Jimmy Williams (also of Double Exposure) on bass, Bobby Eli and Dennis Harris on guitar, Keith Benson on drums, Don Renaldo's Strings & Horns, and the ubiquitous Sweethearts of Sigma (with Irene Cara also credited) providing their angelic background vocals. Given that and the time period, it's perhaps no coincidence why these tracks remind me in places of some of the tracks off Grace Jones' "Fame" (1978, Island) album.

In an interview with Jussi Kantonen for DiscoStyle.com this past February, Gloria Gaynor herself had commented on "..Heartbeat" after being asked about a recently released remixed version. As much as I personally enjoyed the track, apparently Gloria herself had a different opinion:

I never liked the old one, the new version is certainly better than that. I thought "Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away" was a corny title to begin with, and the arrangement of the the original was already badly dated when I did it. And the lyrics were dreadful, I would never in real life present words like that to anyone. In fact I only agreed to sing it out of courtesy to my then manager who also happened to be my husband..

This song has apparently been remixed several times, with several rounds of remixes released in 1995, one of them by co-producer Reid Whitelaw as well as a more recent remix by Eric Kupper released last year (the one referred to in Gloria Gaynor's interview). A version of "Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away" was also produced by Tom Moulton for his Loose Change (1979, Casablanca) LP project released the same year.

Aside from the first two tracks, the two tracks contributed by Moment of Truth - "Love At First Sight" and "Hopelessly In Love With You" are also excellent. "Love At First Sight" is, in my opinion, the best of the two. An excellent piece of uplifting Philly disco, pounding rhythm and delicate piano flourishes complimented with a brilliant, uplifting melody and a muscular, soulful vocal, it seems too good to have remained an obscurity on here. Probably best known for their #3 Billboard disco chart hit "Helplessly" in 1975 (originally released on Roulette), Moment Of Truth were quite possibly one of the most underrated groups on Salsoul. Apparently no longer signed to Salsoul by this time, this song stands up to the great songs from their Salsoul period.. Although this evidently didn't become a single, referring back to Ms. Gaynor's comments about her own single, perhaps it was due to the fact that this sound might have been a bit dated as well by this time> However, if there ever was another contender on here, it would have to have been this one..

Of the other tracks on the album, there are two tracks anonymously credited to the Heaven 'N' Hell Orchestra, both a vocal ("Whatcha Gonna Do") and an instrumental ("Bitten By The Love Bug"). Of those two, my favourite is perhaps the latter, which features some energetic, yet sublime arrangements and some great galloping breaks in the middle. Although I do with they had kept the sax that they had used on the movie version of the song (see the third video clip below)..

Aside from that, there's the lone ballad on the album, "Why Do Lovers Come Together" performed by Jay Siegel (misspelled on the front cover as 'Jay Siegal'). A bit of a buzz-kill, but admittedly, a track that gets better with more listens. Siegel is probably best known as a member of the 1960's vocal group The Tokens, who had a huge hit with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1967. Also, not sure if Discogs is wrong on this one, but according to them, Siegel (credited as J. Siegel) was also one of the producers credited behind Sarah Dash big disco hit "Sinner Man."

Overall, I suppose it's not unusual for films of this calibre to have soundtracks exceeding the quality of the film itself, and while I haven't seen the movie to say so for myself, the reviews certainly suggest as much. On it's own terms, it's a solid and enjoyable record that's definitely worth seeking out for some unexpected treasures, especially for those who enjoy the Philly/Salsoul side of disco..

As far as the movie goes, there was some apparently some shadowy intrigue surrounding the film, with rumours about the film having been financed by laundered mob money. It likely persists due to the murder of one of the film's financiers, former actor/embezzler William H. Callahan in 1981, which remains unsolved to this day. Apparently the movie was only briefly released on video for in the early 80's and apparently, even then, only for rental. There's an original copy on eBay currently going for nearly $200 US, but there are also more reasonably priced bootleg DVDs out there, which are easy to find.. On that note, there's always YouTube, where there are some great, fun clips of the intro and some of the movies' disco scenes that I had to include here. Let me just say, Antony Hamilton was really something in his day..



Nocturna Opening (Chopin's Nocturne, Gloria Gaynor - Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away)
Uploaded by dharakatmandu


Nocturna - Disco Scene 1 (Antony Hamilton, Nai Bonet, Moment Of Truth performing 'I'm Hopelessly In Love With You')
Uploaded by dharakatmandu


Nocturna - Disco Scene (Heaven 'N' Hell Orchestra - Bitten By The Love Bug)
Uploaded by chuckvoodoo


Nocturna - Disco Scene (Moment Of Truth performing 'Love At First Sight')
Uploaded by chuckvoodoo

Some Trivia: The year following the making of Nocturna, one of the stars of the soundtrack, Vicki Sue Robinson would get one of her first movie roles in a film called "Gangsters", which also featured Nai Bonet in a prominent role. As well, one of the producers of the soundtrack - Reid Whitelaw seems to be still active in the music industry, albeit in the business side of things these days with his company Reid Whitelaw Productions/Brookside Music Corp.. Whitelaw and Brookside Music seem to be quite prominent in the area of disco reissues and remixes (see the various remixes of Gloria's "Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away" linked above), currently owning and controlling the catalogues of the Philly Groove and Private Stock labels to name a couple.

LINKS:
NOCTURNA - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK (2 LP) @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
GLORIA GAYNOR - LOVE IS JUST A HEARTBEAT AWAY 12" @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
GLORIA GAYNOR - LOVE IS JUST A HEARTBEAT AWAY 12" @ DISCOGS
VICKI SUE ROBINSON - NIGHTTIME FANTASY 12" @ DISCOGS
MOMENT OF TRUTH @ ALL THINGS DEEP
INTERVIEW WITH GLORIA GAYNOR @ DISCOSTYLE.COM
VICKI SUE ROBINSON @ DISCO-DISCO.COM

NOCTURNA @ IMDB
NOCTURNA @ ALL MOVIE GUIDE
ERIC (MYSPACE BLOG) - NOCTURNA REVIEW (WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2006)
VAMPYRES ONLINE - NOCTURNA REVIEW
BASEMENT CINEMA: NOCTURNA
TIME OUT NEW YORK - NOCTURNA REVIEW
GORILLANUT.COM - NOCTURNA REVIEW
CRITICAL CONDITION - OBSCURE & BIZARRE FILM ON VIDEO & DVD - NOCTURNA REVIEW

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, VISUAL DISCO

Sunshine on my mind...

Aura - L.A. Sunshine (1978, Change/MCA)

I picked up this 12" recently, but I have to admit, when I first listened to it at the used record shop, my first thought was "what...the... fuck.. is THIS!?" Deciding that my selective previewing wasn't piecing anything together on this song, I started over and dropped the needle right at the beginning. After giving it a good listening to, it didn't take me too long to get seduced.

This single has to be one of the most intriguing, and certainly interesting disco tracks I've come across so far. Anchored by that understated, percolating percussion and bass; those dreamy strings and of course that absolutely insane vocal. For me, the vocals are notable, not just because of their delivery, but because the way it seems to have been recorded, sounding slightly canned and processed but most likely without actually being so. It's like one of those records that, on paper, shouldn't work (kind of like Loose Joints' "Is It All Over My Face"), but somehow comes together into something that, while a little off-beat, is completely and oddly captivating. Perhaps the most sublime moment comes right after that verse where she goes "I'll be back soon." Believe me, it's not as plain as it sounds when you actually hear it; just when you think those vocals couldn't climb any higher, they end up soaring right above your head, completely beyond what one would expect. An eccentric, spaced out, mellow disco adaptation of the whole "California Dreaming" theme; it comes across like a kind of love letter to L.A. in the midst of a cold, dreary winter. If you look at it that way, it's probably no wonder this record came from Canada.

Not much seems to be known about Aura, the artist, or the main producer Jeff Smith, aside from one page which mentions Aura as one of "Canada's top jazz vocalists" of the time. The writer, Jim Mancel appears to have had a brief career as an artist in his own right, releasing a few singles, perhaps the most notable being "Just Be Yourself" and "Terry's Theme." However, a search on Robert Ouimet, the co-producer and the man behind the disco mix, yields the most fruitful results. Ouimet apears to have been one of the big players in the Canadian disco scene at the time. According to the liner notes of the "Disco Box" (1999, Rhino) compilation, Ouimet was the resident DJ at Montreal's Limelight discotheque from 1972-1980 and someone who, according to his bio, helped break many disco records in Canada. In addition he was an A&R man for RFC Records in the US as well as an occasional producer for the likes of Karen Silver, Mighty Pope and Francine McGee (of the cult disco classic, "Delirium") among others. Ouimet would be active in the music business well into the 1990's and is actually still around DJing today.

Perhaps I haven't come across enough information yet, but it seems like the disco scene in Montreal remains rather overlooked and underrepresented these days. Especially when compared to that of New York which has been well documented and rightfully so. Being that it was the home of some of the biggest, most influential nightclubs and disco indie labels, it is well justified. However, Montreal having been rated by Billboard once as the second most important disco market in North America has to count for something. It's unique cultural context, as well as it's contributions and innovations surely seem deserving of some kind of solid, cohesive documentation at some point in the future. To quote Ouimet, himself: "We have a half-American, half-European feel to this city, so I could play the European imports, like Silvetti's 'Spring Rain,' a year-and-a-half before Salsoul picked it up in America. Everything came together in Montreal at the right time. People were hungry for the new music. They wanted stuff they were used to, but they also wanted something else--just like me."

Anyway, when I got this record, I thought I had come across a genuine cheap, one of a kind rare find, and I still feel like I have. However, a quick internet search reveals that Joey Negro and Sean P. seem to have got to it first. This track is available on CD on their first "Soul of Disco" (2005, Z Records) compilation, which I don't have yet, but probably should.

LINKS:
AURA - L.A. SUNSHINE 12'' @ DISCOGS
DISCOGS - ROBERT OUIMET
DISCOGS - ROB OUIMET (SEPARATE LISTING)
DEEPSOUND PROMOTIONS - ROBERT OUIMET
RHINO RECORDS - THE DISCO BOX LINERS
DJ HISTORY FORUMS: MONTREAL'S DISCO HERITAGE
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA - DISCO

PURCHASE:
JOEY NEGRO & SEAN P. - THE SOUL OF DISCO (2 CD - INCLUDES "L.A. SUNSHINE")
CDUNIVERSE.COM | AMAZON.COM | AMAZON.CO.UK

CATEGORIES: MINI DELIVERIES, CAN-CON DISCO

Disco Delivery #20: Hott City - Ain't Love Grand (1979, Butterfly/MCA)

Hott City - Feelin' Love
Hott City - If All We're Gonna Do Is Dance
Hott City - Ain't Love Grand
Hott City - I Took His Money
Hott City - Peaks And Valleys

Another slab of disco from the Motor City this week. Produced by the production team of Jeffrey Parsons and Jeffrey Steinberg and released on the LA-based Butterfly label, this album is easily one of my favourite disco gems at the moment. So far, the more I hear from the Butterfly label—quite possibly one of the ultimate boutique disco labels—the more interested I get in their output. Some of you who have been following this blog since January probably remember me posting "Feelin' Love" for my third or fourth post back then. It was only this week that I finally obtained the full album, so forgive me for repeating myself a little bit. Ever since this arrived, I've been listening to it like crazy, so I just had to put it up.

Four of the five tracks on the album (all except "Peaks and Valleys") were released on 12" singles, though from what I gather, the 12" versions were the same length as the album versions. All of the tracks are stellar, but the opener, "Feelin' Love" is probably the crème de la crème of this album—an exquisite blend of sexy, slow-burning, synth arrangements shooting, pulsing and surrounding the smooth, soaring vocals of Detroit singer Sherry Fox. It's probably the most atmospheric track on the album, while the others are a little more forward both lyrically and rhythmically.

Speaking of forward, the next song on side A—also sung by Sherry Fox—is "If All We're Gonna Do Is Dance," which is probably one of the more ironic tracks on the album. It sounds like a feel-good romantic dance song, yet is dripping with frustration. Comes on like a caress, yet ends with a slap. In fact much of the album carries a similarly defiant, ironic, even sarcastic tone. With a similar exquisite arrangement, although more melodic than synthesized, it's a song about a woman tired of dancing while waiting for her man to make his move. Convinced that her man is finally going to "make it right," she goes to his place only to find more of the same, to which she responds: "...If all we're gonna do is dance... I'm going home." If her man won't make a move, won't respond to hers and can't seem to stop dancing, perhaps this man may not be all that into women... In a way, it all feels very Vanity 6 meets Karen Carpenter.

Opening side B is the title track, "Ain't Love Grand." This one has a more aggressive synth arrangement, faster tempo and cooler vocals courtesy of Bluejay (whoever she may be). All of that, along with those lyrics, none of which seem to have anything loving in them. This is perhaps as cynical as the album gets. "Hey... Ain't love grand, one night stands, no demands... Date me, rape me (!)... Bait me, mate me, hate me, ain't love grand..." Indeed.

Continuing in the same vein is "I Took His Money," this time with vocals by Ortheia Barnes and Mildred Vaney. It's a song that seems to be about a couple of women dabbling in and justifying a little bit of desperate, if calculated, prostitution: "I... took his money... he... took my love... I needed money, he needed love." After which, one of the singers admits, "...sometimes you have to be dishonest, to make it through this life..." What part of this life is love and what part is survival?

The final track, "Peaks and Valleys," closes things on a lighter note. Also with Ortheia and Mildred on vocals, the ladies document the ups and downs of their week, with the ever reliable relief of a Saturday night at the disco: "Monday I got fired, Tuesday I got lucky, Wednesday someone broke in my car... Thursday I got a new job, Friday I got evicted, Saturday night I dance like a star..." This song is a fitting album closer and, in a way, sums up the ethos of disco quite nicely in the next lines: "...As long as I can dance, the valleys aren't so bad... and when I'm old and grey there'll be good times, good times ahead..." Much like the Saturday nights at the end of a hard week, there's always the hope and the reminder of those good times to keep us going—one day it'll all pay off and there'll be something better to look forward to: "Up here...down there...peaks and valleys...life is never smooth."

Besides the music, I also love this album's decadent album cover, which looks glamorous, despite being shot either in someone's kitchen or at a greasy spoon café. It features what look like two lipstick lesbians (a common visual on Butterfly Records' releases)—one standing up, the other up on the table, both sharing a drink. Right next to them, an elegantly dressed woman nonchalantly shows off her ring to her server... I'd love to know what they intended this to say about the concept of the album.

For whatever reason, this project was originally called Graffiti, with the first singles being released under that name. I guess the name change was done so as not to be confused with another group of the same name. Steinberg (as J. Elliott) co-wrote most of the songs on the album with Jack Dalton and besides this, the only other Parsons/Steinberg disco production that I know of are a couple of 12" singles they did (which I have yet to hear) on the 20th Century label for vocalists Barnes and Vaney as Cut Glass—the most well-known being "Without Your Love" which peaked in the top 20 of the Billboard disco charts in 1980. Overall, Hott City and Cut Glass aside, Jeffrey Parsons and Steinberg are something of an obscure duo. There's very little record of anything they did together or individually before (or at least in Parsons' case) after these two disco ventures. However, I have come across some information on a Jeff Steinberg who once worked for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Not sure if it is the same person as the one on this record, but his bio mentions that he has been in the industry for some thirty-plus years and has worked in a variety of different genres. Unfortunately though, his official site (www.jeffsteinberg.com) says nothing of this record, so again, not 100% sure if it's the same person.

One of the vocalists on the album, Sherry Fox, seems to have been a fairly well known Detroit singer, most notably a part of the group RJ Fox. Fox would also appear as a backing vocalist on Aretha Franklin's rather dire 1991 album What You See Is What You Sweat among other things. Ortheia Barnes (now known as Ortheia Barnes-Kennerly), sister of soul singer J.J. Barnes, is also a very well known singer in the Detroit area, having even been described as one of the city's most beloved singers. Barnes would also appear as a vocalist on a few Aretha albums, namely One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987, Arista) and her self-titled 1980 album. In 1985 she would release her one and only LP titled Person to Person (1985, Michigan Sattelite) with the single "Green-Eyed Monster." Later Barnes would establish her own non-denominational, non-traditional ministry in Detroit to help the homeless and those recovering from addiction. More recently in 2005 she would even make a run for Detroit City Council.

Prior to recording with Hott City and Cut Glass, Mildred Vaney was most notably a member of a group called Quiet Elegance along with Lois Reeves (sister of Martha Reeves) and Yvonne Gearing. Managed by The Temptations, Quiet Elegance were an interesting group who recorded for the Memphis Hi label. Despite that, their recording career never really took off the way their performing career did; while active, they would tour with the likes of Al Green, Tom Jones and their managers, The Temptations. In the '80s, Mildred Vaney re-emerged as Millie Scott (sometimes credited as Mildred Scott), recording a couple of albums for the Island label. Her first album, Love Me Right (1987, 4th & Broadway/Island), contained the top 20 R&B hit "Every Little Bit," which was followed up three years later by a second LP I Can Make It Good For You (1990, Island). More recently she has also sung with Aretha Franklin, both live and on her latest record So Damn Happy (2003, Arista) as well as on some of the Four Tops' recent recordings.

A round of applause for you if you've still reading this. Some other things to note: I've added three new music blog links: la Fin del Mundo, Plasticmusic and Rockcritics daily. Ender at la Fin del Mundo recently put up the Spanish version of Tantra's "Hills of Katmandu," which I hadn't heard until then.. So to any of you who liked the original and who haven't heard the Spanish version, go get it while it's hot!

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
FROM 1979, WITH LOVE... (JANUARY 11, 2006)

LINKS:
HOTT CITY @ DISCOGS
HOTT CITY - AIN'T LOVE GRAND LP @ DISCOGS
HOTT CITY - AIN'T LOVE GRAND LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM (web archive)
HOTT CITY - FEELIN' LOVE 12" @ DISCOMUSIC.COM (web archive)
HOTT CITY - I TOOK HIS MONEY 12" @ DISCOMUSIC.COM (web archive)
CUT GLASS (MILDRED VANEY & ORTHEIA BARNES) @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM (web archive)
ORTHEIA BARNES: DETROIT'S OTHER DIVA DETROIT FREE PRESS (APRIL 19, 1987)

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES