Listen on Spotify:
First Choice - Pressure Point
First Choice - Can't Take It With You
First Choice - Breakaway (12'' Version)
First Choice - I Can Show You (Better Than I Can Tell You) (Extended Version)
First Choice - Sittin' Pretty
I apologize for repeating myself somewhat; this is the second time I've posted a First Choice LP, but it's one that I've been listening to quite a bit lately. I first picked up this record back in 2002, the first LP of theirs that I ever owned. I remember playing the hell out of "Pressure Point" at the time, but believe it or not, it's only recently that I've begun to really listen to the whole album straight through. On the whole, my impression is that while it's perhaps not their best album, it does have some overlooked gems on it. For one thing, I think "Pressure Point" is one of their most infectious records—those tense, exquisite opening strings, great horn section and those drums make the perfect opening. It seems unfortunate that this doesn't seem to have been released as a 12'' single. Produced by Norman Harris, but mixed by Tee Scott, Scott's mix teases you with series of brief breaks which, if anything, just hint at the potential greatness that an extended 12'' mix could have achieved.
One of the tracks that I sort of 'discovered' while revisiting this album was "Can't Take It With You." Not strictly a 'disco' song, but probably one of their best. To me it recalls the storytelling style of some of their earlier material. Featuring a great lyric delivered with extra feeling by Rochelle Fleming herself, it's really the call-and-response in the chorus that brings it home—with the other two ladies, Annette Guest and Debbie Martin carrying it like a mantra when they sing "...can't take it with you, no you can't, when you're gone...gone...gone..." Let me just say, for the record, Rochelle and Loleatta Holloway (I really need to do an entry on her sometime) were two ladies that put the 'soul' in 'Salsoul.' Seriously, these women could sing the phone book—the dictionary, even—and make it sound genuine and soulful. Rochelle, particularly, just seemed to have a certain comforting warmth in her voice, which I think this song captures beautifully.
The single off the LP was the title track, "Breakaway," backed with "I Can Show You (Better Than I Can Tell You)." The former—written and produced by their long time producer Norman Harris along with Love Committee member and future Temptation Ron Tyson—has an overall sound that probably comes closest to that of their biggest hits. The understated break halfway through is probably my favourite part of that song, along with those straight-outta-Philly rhythm arrangements. "I Can Show You..." was one of a couple of tracks on the album written and produced by the team of T.G. Conway, Allan Felder and Cary Gilbert. For this one particularly, the overall production style feels like it was perhaps somewhat dated by 1980, recalling an earlier disco sound rather than pointing toward what was to come in the decade ahead—although that can probably be said for most of the album as well. Also, I've always thought the title was a little too wordy; for one thing, the ladies barely manage to enunciate it in the chorus. That said, I've actually really grown to like this one, especially towards the second half when those accented horns are given a little more room to shine.
All of the tracks posted above were mixed by the late Tee Scott, a DJ pioneer who got his big start as a DJ in 1972 at the New York club Better Days. By the late '70s and into the early '80s Scott was starting to gain recognition as a mixer—his first mix being First Choice's own "Love Thang" from their previous album, Hold Your Horses (1979, Gold Mind/Salsoul). These days, Scott seems to be one of the more underrepresented DJs and mixers of the time. With the recognition given to Tom Moulton, Larry Levan and Walter Gibbons in recent years, one can hope that Scott will be one of the next to have his work anthologized.
As for the album, while Breakaway was a decent LP overall, they seemed to have played it fairly safe, opting to stick with familiar collaborators and a tried-and-true sound. It would have been nice to see how or if they would have branched out with their sound in the early 1980s had they continued on. Although it doesn't seem to have been intended as such, unfortunately this would be the last First Choice LP. In a 1987 interview (paraphrased from discomuseum.com), Rochelle mentioned that the early 1980s had seen the group mired in legal disputes with management—the nature of which I'm not completely sure of—that, to quote Rochelle, "knocked the spirit out of the group." According to the same interview, the group broke up amicably after that point, with Rochelle continuing on her own, releasing singles sporadically throughout the years, most notably "Love Itch" (1985, Prelude), "Danger!" (1994, Cutting Records), "Suffer (The Consequences)" (1995, Cutting Records) and most recently "Get It On (Summer Love)" (2002, Equal) and "Are You Ready For Me" (2006, D:vision). She still performs occasionally, and apparently had an album in the works with Cutting Records at one point, though I'm sure that project has long been shelved. In any case, Rochelle's timeless voice has fronted many a disco classic and it's my hope at least, that we'll hear her grace some fresh, new grooves once again in the near future...
Note: "Breakaway" and "I Can Show You.." were both taken from CD; the other files were taken from vinyl. Also, the Breakaway album was recently released on CD by Unidisc as part of their Salsoul reissues series, which has been spottily distributed, for whatever reason (territorial issues with other Salsoul licensees perhaps?). Nevertheless, it is available and in print (see the purchase links below..). I haven't bought it yet, so unfortunately I can't personally speak for its quality.
PURCHASE:
FIRST CHOICE - BREAKAWAY CD | AMAZON.COM | AMAZON.CA | AMAZON.CO.UK | AMAZON.DE | AMAZON.FR
FIRST CHOICE - ANTHOLOGY (2 CD) | CDUNIVERSE.COM | AMAZON.COM | AMAZON.CA | AMAZON.CO.UK | AMAZON.DE | AMAZON.FR
PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #6: FIRST CHOICE - THE PLAYER (1974, PHILLY GROOVE/BELL)
LINKS:
FIRST CHOICE - BREAKAWAY @ DISCOGS
FIRST CHOICE @ DISCOGS
FIRST CHOICE @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
FIRST CHOICE @ DISCO MUSEUM.COM (web archive)
FIRST CHOICE @ JAHSONIC
FIRST CHOICE @ EVERYTHING2
ROCHELLE FLEMING @ JAHSONIC
ROCHELLE FLEMING @ WINTER MUSIC CONFERENCE 2000 (web archive)
TEE SCOTT @ JAHSONIC
TEE SCOTT @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM (web archive)
TEE SCOTT @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, PAST REISSUES
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