Disco Delivery Mix #15: Music You Can Ride On

Photo: Studio 54 Dancers by Bill Bernstein (1978)

Been holding onto this for a little while, since the end of January in fact, when I had recorded this. Wanted to make a mix using records I had retrieved from storage at the end of 2023, so there are quite a few of those here along with some things I had picked up at the time plus a couple of old favourites I had pulled off the shelf. Surprisingly, I've been DJing a bit more this past year and have a couple more gigs on the horizon, just in time for the final weekend of Pride.

First up, this Friday June 28th, I'll DJing back-to-back with Cyclist at Wax Candy Disco at The Piston, and on Saturday June 19th, Cyclist & I will be back-to-back again, DJing Midnight Message at The Little Jerry, so consider this a little taster!

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As for the mix itself, I've included track lists and track notes below. Some of the tracks in the middle of the mix have been slowed down for beat-matching purposes, but either way, I hope you enjoy!

Disco Delivery Mix #15: Music You Can Ride On (Download)


Tracklist:

Psychic - Take A Chance
Geraldine Hunt - Could We (12" Version)
Hemlock - Body Rhythm
The Average Disco Band - Michelle
Bohannon - Come Dance With Me
Mighty Pope - Sweet Blindness (LP Version)
Madleen Kane - Forbidden Love (12" Version)
Gregg Diamond - Danger
Marlena Shaw - Love Dancin' (12" Version)
Finished Touch featuring Harold Johnson - The Down Sound
Vivian Reed - Ready And Waiting (12" Version)
Luca D'Ammonio - Oh Caron

All the records used in this mix.

Track Notes:

Psychic - Take A Chance: A little one-off from Jimmie Haskell, a noted arranger that has appeared on numerous records, including some which have appeared on this blog. The A-Side, "Stinger," is a disco adaptation of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, but it was the B-side, "Take A Chance," which really caught my ear. With spirited girly chorus vocals and all, it's right up my alley and to my mind, a lovely way to open things.

Geraldine Hunt - Could We (12" Version): A personal favourite from the late Geraldine Hunt. From the same album as her big hit "Can't Fake The Feeling," this is a lovely mid-tempo groover that gets me every time. Even though this mix runs a little shorter than the LP version, there's more room to groove on this particular version.

Hemlock - Body Rhythm: Another one-off that I purchased at Amoeba Records in West Hollywood back in 2009. (I recall, in part cause I still have the price tag on it). They didn't have a preview station there, but the fact that this was a Richie Rivera Midnight Mix was enough to pique my interest. I had honestly largely forgotten about this until I was looking through my 12" singles in storage and found the A-side to have quite an appealing groove, not to mention a catchy little chorus. A lovely little party starter!

The Average Disco Band - Michelle: One of several releases I have by the elusive disco producer John Ferrara, who had some hot moments back in the late 70s early 80s (and is recorded for posterity in the 1979 60 Minutes Disco piece which makes the rounds from time to time). Aside from hits like "Love Attack," he had done this unusual little disco project for H&L Records under the Average Disco Band moniker, covering Beatles songs in a disco style. I suppose it was part of the fever of the times, however aside from the single lyric "Michelle, ma belle," it actually bears only a passing resemblance to the Beatles' original. Either way, this version is a standout on its own, regardless of the gimmick attached.

Bohannon - Come Dance With Me: Hamilton Bohannon's late 70s albums on Mercury, both under his own name and the ones he produced for Caroline (AKA Carolyn) Crawford, are some of my favourites of his. By this time, he had basically perfected his signature sound of funk with finesse. This song, the opening track of his 1978 On My Way LP is a clear case in point. Propulsive grooves, lushly adorned and sweetened yet still unmistakably funky.

Mighty Pope - Sweet Blindness (LP Version): Originally released in 1976 by a Toronto band also called Sweet Blindness, which had been something of a disco hit in it's own right, I have to admit that I prefer this somewhat more polished remake by Jamaican-Canadian singer, Mighty Pope. Taken from his second LP, Sway produced by John Driscoll, Montreal DJ Robert Ouimet and arranged by Gino Soccio and the given the calibre of those names, the results speak for themselves. Though this version changes one of the chorus lyrics from "music you can ride on" to "music you can dance on," Mighty Pope still sneaks in a little nod to the original towards the end.

Madleen Kane - Forbidden Love (12" Version): Working at The Piston during Cyclist's Wax Candy Disco nights here in Toronto it's interesting to see, beyond the well-known standards, which songs capture the crowd. A crowd which is, by and large, at least a generation younger than me. This song is one of those. Well-known among disco connoisseurs but perhaps not as much among the general public, it has nevertheless become a signature favourite of the Wax Candy crowd. And it's no wonder, because this song has just about everything - drama, lushness, momentum, beat and tempo. When I saw that I had this 12" in storage, I had to take it back with me and include it here.

Gregg Diamond's Star Cruiser - Danger: Another record I retrieved from storage, this was a single-only affair by the late Gregg Diamond under his Star Cruiser moniker. I love the explicitly gay references which permeate this track, from the title of the project itself to the song lyrics referring to "danger, always looking for strangers, " and "finding an empty truck." Visions of cruising the piers in New York City and the trucks of the Meatpacking District. Bring your poppers!

Marlena Shaw - Love Dancin' (12" Version): One of the high points of the late song stylist Marlena Shaw's disco output, the John Luongo/Michael Barbiero 12" mix of "Love Dancin'" was also another one I had in storage. The joyful crescendo of this song is undeniable to me, particularly in it's extended version which is why I had to include it here.

Finished Touch featuring Harold Johnson - The Down Sound: A stand-alone single from the Motown studio outfit Finished Touch, which had put out an album entitled Need To Know You Better in 1978. The label on the single notes that this was from a planned second album, which evidently never came out. I had to retrieve this one from storage once I was reminded of this lovely stomper. Have to make mention of one of my favourite lyric couplets in a disco song from this time here - describing a sound that's "got conservatives enraged, it's giving editorial another page." Indeed!

Vivian Reed - Ready And Waiting (12" Version): Vivian Reed is perhaps best known as a Tony-nominated stage actress and singer in Broadway productions like Bubbling Brown Sugar and The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club. Her recorded output, sorely underrated and mostly for the United Artists label, has some solid gems in it like this particular song. With a dynamite groove, matched measure by measure by her vocals, it's one that I take with me as often as I can.

Luca D'Ammonio - Oh Caron: I had found this in a local record shop earlier this year, initially taken by the sleeve and the label name, Disco Più. Upon listening, I found the A-side to be a relatively soft bit of romantic Italian pop which was pleasant enough though not particularly interesting to me. The B-side however, was another story. Oh Caron (not sure if that's actually what the vocalists are saying), was a surprising bit of fiery African influenced disco, which is ultimately what convinced me to get this. Not long after coming across this single, a intriguing compilation came out this past March on Four Flies Records called Africamore - The Afro Side of Italy (1973-1978), which includes this track among many other delights, shining some light on an interesting corner of the Italian musical landscape.


PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
disco delivery interviews robert ouimet (saturday, may 24, 2014)


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, DISCO DELIVERY EVENTS

Vintage Articles: Sean Lawrence's Discaire Column - Supply Without Demand // Christopher Street - May 1979

Recently, while doing a bit of research, I had come across some old issues of Christopher Street - a long defunct gay magazine published from 1976-1995, often referred to as "The Gay New Yorker" in its time. Finding out about Christopher Street for the first time felt, quite honestly, like uncovering a treasure. While perhaps quite a bit more highbrow and New York-centric next to other gay offerings on the newsstands of its day (and certainly compared to what exists now), I'd have to rank Christopher Street, at least what I've seen from this period, as easily one of the best gay magazines that I've read. While the quantity and accessibility of information available online can compensate somewhat for the beleaguered state of print media these days, reading something like Christopher Street, one can't help but feel a touch of nostalgia for a time when something as culturally literate and intelligent as Christopher Street had a solid place in newsstands and in gay culture at large.

Being the sophisticated cultural arbiter that it was, aside from covering society, politics, literature and the arts; given the times and their audience, that usually meant that the topic of disco was weaved into their general coverage fairly regularly (record labels pushing their disco product were some of their biggest advertisers at the time, which probably helped too). One column that stood out in that regard was Sean Lawrence's Discaire, which debuted in May of 1979 as their "on the disco scene" column. It was never really 100% exclusively disco and not so much a look at the 'scene' as much as a record review column, and quite honestly, I wasn't even really familiar with the term 'Discaire' before this, (a slightly disused term for a DJ, or anyone who plays, selects and comments on music) but unfortunately given its timing, the column would be relatively short-lived. Debuting right around the time of the great disco backlash in America (which the column would at times make reference to), Discaire would run, barring a couple of issues, from May 1979, until February 1980.

While Christopher Street had carried record reviews before this, Discaire came across as a much more personalized take on things than your standard record review column. Although Sean Lawrence was not nearly as prolific as, say, Vince Aletti; armed with sharp prose that was generally clever and witty without being merciless; given that he came with a well-cultivated gay sensibility (obviously) and knew his way around disco - even if I didn't always share his opinions, they're always a pleasure to read. While Lawrence is hardly breathless and uncritical about disco (as the title of this very installment proves), I have to admit how refreshing it is to find record reviews from this time, and specifically coverage of disco that isn't loaded with the usual (dare I say - straight white male) rock critic biases, where even a positive disco review usually has the writer twisting themselves into some sort of awkward, apologetic stance just for doing so.

Anyway, for now, here's the first Discaire column, Supply Without Demand - pans for Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight, praises for Johnny Mathis, Montreal's Alma Faye Brooks and Ferrara, among others..


____________________________________________

Discaire: Supply Without Demand 

by Sean Lawrence

B Songs reveal more than we want to know about the record industry: they sound as if the company needed more product, or the artist needed more money, or the disco/radio station needed more anything to play. When B songs appear on the albums of performers we like and whose work we have followed, they spoil the neighborhood. What, we wonder, can the performer have been thinking when the decision was made to record that junk? And who really made the decision?

         Let's talk about Patti Labelle.

         To those of us who have trekked with the hordes of urban renaissance gays and Bloomingdale's blacks to just about every concert Patti Labelle has given in the New York metropolitan area, her new album, It's Alright With Me (Epic JE 35772), is at once a delight and a disappointment. “Music Is My Way Of Life” is a disco upper if ever there was one, with a full, unstoppered sound of happiness. It's the kind of song that moves swarms of people to rush Labelle on stage when she sings it at the end of a concert – and it almost carries this album. But someone has surrounded this gem with B dross and should be charged with artist abuse.

         Another performer who deserves better packaging is Gladys Knight, and she'd better get it soon. Waiting for an A song on Gladys Knight (Columbia JC 35704) is like waiting for Godot. Knight's efforts on Buddah (Miss Gladys Knight [BDS 5714] and The One and Only ... Gladys Knight & the Pips [BDS 5701]) at least had bonbons such as “I'm Still Caught Up With You” and “It's A Better Than Good Time” (which had a nifty retro-disco quality). Yes, there is life after the Pips, but not much. Like Linda Ronstadt, Gladys Knight is best when she sings about lost or remembered love. Gladys Knight is a collection of mediocre songs that neither departs from nor enhances this terrain, and a waste of time for such a gifted performer. Knight herself is listed, with Jack Gold, as co-producer; insofar as she may be responsible for the selection of material on this album, she deserves a better producer.

         Jack Gold, on the other hand, can't be faulted for his work on Johnny Mathis's new release, The Best Days of My Life (Columbia JC 35649). This is a surprisingly fine album, including the now requisite disco hit (“Begin the Beguine”) and the predictable heterosexual duet (“The Last Time I Felt Like This” from the film Same Time Next Year, sung with Jane Olivor and not awful at all). The rest of the songs on the album are smarter and more authentically moving than the stuff Mathis sings on the Tonight Show just before Johnny Carson starts asking him about his love life.


On the heavy disco scene, “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)” (Arista SP-38) is an elegantly mellow hit containing disco roller-skating rhythms (they skated to it at Manhattan's Twelve West at the opening of the Disco Convention) that some people have been adapting to non-roller-skating dancing. Although disco roller-skating is not the hottest thing to hit the gay community since typhoid, it seems apparent that Arista Records is serious about trying to get its share of the disco market.

         Whereas “Disco Nights” embodies Andrew Holleran's definition of “light disco,” Madleen Kane's “Forbidden Love” (Warner Bros. 8772) marks the entrance onto the scene of Erotic Funeral Disco. It's about time that intercourse had a new song. (“Hold Your Horses” by First Choice is already worn from play.) “Forbidden Love” is full of dark sexual exhortations that will surely make it the national anthem in the darker corners of the baths. It even smells like poppers.

         From the “Why Not?” Department comes a new disco album based on a Victorian novel, and produced by John Ferrara, Wuthering Heights (Midsong International 0798) is one of the more inspired of the recent disco releases. Three acts on its title side build to a danceable frenzy with the same kind of fervor and calculation we remember of Donna Summer's classic Love Trilogy album. How, you ask, can an album be based on Wuthering Heights? Just keep singing “Heathcliff” over and over, with lots of strings, congas, and orchestra bells in the background. Can War and Peace be far behind?

Two of the latest releases from Casablanca, the mogul disco label, introduce new performers. Alma Faye's Doin' It! (NBLP 7143) indicates that she has promise as a disco diva (we've heard her touted as the Aretha Franklin of disco). On “Don't Fall In Love” her voice overwhelms the normally pushy instrumental, thus breaking new ground for disco. One of the songs even proves that disco is ecology-minded - “It's Over” sounds like a recycled “I'm A Victim of the Very Songs I Sing.”

         Dennis Parker's Like An Eagle (NBLP 7140), produced by Jacques Morali, sounds like a California album about New York. One of its longer cuts (“New York By Night”) contains references to tricking, hustling on 53rd and Third, dancing at Studio 54, and eating gossip at Elaine's, but sounds as if it's being remembered from inside a soundproof limo cruising an L.A. Freeway. Parker is clone-attractive and has been packaged for disco j.o.

         And...

         Now that everyone is coming to the realization that “Disco Saves” (careers, homes, marriages), Paul McCartney has turned to it for salvation. Too bad. His “Goodbye Tonight” [sic] (Columbia 23-01940) is the disco turkey of the year. It makes us look forward to Ethel Merman's “conversion” ■

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LINKS:
wikipedia: christopher street (magazine)
facebook: newmanology - christopher street magazine
arbery books: christopher street back issues
ephemera forever: christopher street

discogs: patti labelle - it's alright with me lp
discogs: gladys knight - s/t lp
discogs: johnny mathis - the best days of my life lp
discogs: gq - disco nights (rock-freak) 12"
discomusic.com: gq - disco nights (rock-freak) 12"
discogs: madleen kane - forbidden love 12"
discomusic.com: madleen kane - forbidden love 12''
discogs: ferrara - wuthering heights lp
discogs: alma faye - doin' it! (us lp)
discogs: dennis parker - like an eagle lp
discomusic.com: dennis parker - like an eagle lp
discogs: wings - goodnight tonight 12"
discomusic.com: wings - goodnight tonight 12"


CATEGORIES: VINTAGE ARTICLES

Disco Delivery #13: Move your body all around..

I decided to do something a little different this week.. Instead of posting about a particular album, I just decided to post a bunch of songs that I'm digging at the moment..




Madleen Kane - Let's Make Love (1978, Warner Bros.) | LINK TWO

This one is from Madleen Kane's first album "Rough Diamond" (1978, Warner Bros.). A former model from Sweden, she would be a fixture in the disco/club scene right into the mid '80s. The production team of Michaële, Paul and Lana Sebastian produced this song as well as the entirety of her first two albums, which included some of her biggest hits like "Rough Diamond" and "Forbidden Love." She would later work with Giorgio Moroder and UK Producer Ian Anthony Stephens, yet none of them would really capture her as well as the Sebastians did. With their full, classy, and (at times) almost orchestral production they managed to capture a certain willowy charm and sexiness in what seemed to be an otherwise limited voice (just see her album with Giorgio Moroder)..

This song wasn't a single as far as I know, but is just a great example of that certain pure, carefree sexiness that many disco records captured so well.. Check out that light wah-wah guitar (I believe that's what it is) chugging along in the background..




AKB - Stand Up, Sit Down (1978, RSO) | LINK TWO

A great piece of piano-driven disco from the production team of Andy Kahn and Kurt Borusiewicz, who were best known for producing Karen Young's big disco hit "Hot Shot" (1978, West End). Hot off the heels of their hit with Karen Young, they put together this studio group, named AKB after their combined initials. AKB would put out only one album called "Rhythmic Feet" (1979, RSO) on which this song is included. Not much in terms of lyrics and vocals, which basically consist of "..stand up, sit down, you gotta move your body all around.." But it's got a great backing, with a hot drum pattern, handclaps and those great piano riffs.
LINKS:
AKB @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM




Hank Crawford - I Hear A Symphony (1975, Kudu) | LINK TWO

Noted Saxophone player Hank Crawford dipped his toes into disco territory early on with this cover of the 1965 Supremes hit. Such an exquisite blend of soul, funk and a bit of smooth jazz into what was then the emerging disco sound.. Interesting fact: Patti Austin is the main vocalist on this song, which also made the disco charts for some 9 weeks in 1976.
LINKS:
HANK CRAWFORD - I HEAR A SYMPHONY LP (REVIEW) @ ALLMUSIC.COM




Wardell Piper - Nobody (Can Take You From Me) (1984, Prelude) | LINK TWO

Fast forwarding into the early/mid '80s for a bit of that post-disco, pre-house electro-funk sound.. Earlier on, Wardell had released a dynamite disco album in 1979, which yielded a couple of minor dancefloor hits. Into the early 80s she continued to release singles sporadically. One of those being this one for the once-mighty Prelude label; one of the leading independent disco labels of the time. By 1984 they weren't pumping out as many singles or hits as they once did and would close two years later in 1986, this also being among the last singles they would release. This song, produced by the relatively unknown James Batton, was later included on a CD called "Prelude's Greatest Hits, Vol. 5, yet I don't even think it charted on any of the Billboard charts. Still, this song just has a really great groove with it's sharp, minimalist synth-driven production and Wardell's smooth, controlled vocal. To me this song is just cool as ice..


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES