Disco Delivery Mix #13: Sounds of '78 (Guest Mix for Sunshine After Dark )

A little over a year ago, my friend John Huck invited me to do a mix for his disco radio show, Sunshine After Dark, and just recently invited me to do another. We finally got to meet in person over the summer here in Toronto and had a lovely afternoon bonding over disco and record digging, so am more than happy to make a new one!

Over the last while, using Vince Aletti's Disco Files as a guide, John has been doing these Disco Time Capsule episodes, taking listeners on a chronological journey through the records of 1974-1978. It's been quite a lovely trip listening to him curate these shows chronologically, getting to hear how certain sonic signifiers in disco developed over time. I fully encourage other disco-heads out there to take a listen, all Sunshine After Dark shows are archived on his Mixcloud page.

John just finished a series of shows chronicling the disco from the Summer of 1978, and while I didn't organize this mix in a strictly chronological order, in keeping with the theme, the selections in this mix are all releases from 1978.

Sunshine After Dark broadcasts online and on the radio out of CJSR 88.5 FM in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada every Thursday at 7 PM Mountain Time (0100 UTC), re-broadcasting Tuesdays on CKXU in Lethbridge, AB and Wednesdays on CHMA in Sackville, NB.

As mentioned earlier, all episodes are also archived on Mixcloud, and you can listen to my mix on Episode 180, below.

Enjoy!




Disco Delivery #13: Guest Mix for Sunshine After Dark (#180) (Download)

Tracklist:

Le Pamplemousse - Do You Have Any? (Ya Know Where I Can Get Some)
Wilfried (Scheutz) - Johnny's Diskothek (12" Version)
Michele White - Sweet Innocent
Claudja Barry - Boogie Tonight (12" Version)
Three Ounces of Love - Star Love
Roy Ayers Presents Ubiquity - Starbooty
Stanley Turrentine - Disco Dancing
(Siduku) Buari - I'm Ready
Soraya - My Life
Midnight Rhythm - Workin' & Slavin' (I Need Love)
THP - Tender Is The Night

All the records used in this mix

Track Notes:

Le Pamplemousse - Do You Have Any? (Ya Know Where I Can Get Some): My favourite track off my favourite of Rinder & Lewis' Le Pamplemousse albums. A slinky, funky groove and one which hints at certain powdered disco pleasures. Written by a one Gil Carson who is also credited on a number of other Le Pamplemousse songs, including their signature hit, "Le Spank."

Wilfried - Johnny's Diskothek (12" Version): Came across this at a local shop recently, and there was something intriguing and catchy about this euro-disco schlager track that tickled my disco & pop sensibilities. By the late Austrian pop singer, Wilfried Scheutz, this was from a disco-flavoured album he recorded called Nights In The City, that I'm certainly looking out for after hearing this. Produced by Robert Ponger, who had also released a (recently reissued) album of his own with an instrumental version of this song.

Michele White - Sweet Innocent: A recent dollar bin find, released on the TK subsidiary, Sunshine Sound, and one which involves a lot of familiar names from the Miami recording scene of the time - Bobby Caldwell, The Sunshine Band's Rick Finch, KC and their backing singers just to name a few. The title track and standout of Michele White's album, which was alone worth the price of admission.

Claudja Barry - Boogie Tonight (12" Version): A lovely sleeper track from her I Wanna Be Loved By You album, which contained her big hit "(Boogie Woogie) Dancing Shoes." The Canadian-only 12" single of this song, which I used here has some lovely extended bits that enhance the song quite nicely.

Three Ounces of Love - Star Love: A favourite of mine from the Detroit sister group, Three Ounces of Love and their sole Motown album. It seems that after the demise of The Supremes the year prior, Motown was likely betting on two upstart female groups to fill in the gap, High Inergy and Three Ounces of Love. High Inergy were ultimately the ones dubiously crowned "the new Supremes," however the Three Ounces of Love album is, to my ears, closest to the sound that the latter-day Supremes had. Their album employed many of the same writers and producers that were also on those very last Supremes records, like this particular song, co-written and produced by Greg Wright who was also behind The Supremes' disco hit, "He's My Man."

Roy Ayers Presents Ubiquity - Starbooty: Continuing on the 'star' theme, one of Roy Ayers' greatest disco moments, in my opinion. Blown away by how ridiculously prolific he was around this time, this one has an ideal combination of disco and jazz-funk sensibilities, chugging and propulsive while capturing a freewheeling looseness that sets his work apart.

Stanley Turrentine - Disco Dancing: A little disco surprise (at least when I stumbled across it) from jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine and his What About You! album on the Fantasy label. I understand why disco-flavoured releases by jazz musicians weren't looked at especially highly, often seen as unfortunate compromises to prevailing trends. That's not to say that many of them didn't have a worthwhile moment or two, which is perhaps easier to say if you're not coming from a jazz perspective. This track stood out to me on the record, an original (among the covers on the album) written by Philly disco mainstays, Phil Hurtt and the late Richie Rome. Rome also arranged the entire album featuring the vocals of the Sweethearts of Sigma who are all over the record. At the same time, this track almost exactly anticipates the sound Rome would employ on the album he would produce for the model/singer Flower the following year.

Buari - I'm Ready: I had heard this lovely disco outing from Ghanian musician Siduku Buari, on an unofficial reissue 12" several years ago. Containing more than little hint of "You're Just The Right Size" by The Salsoul Orchestra, this song was on his recently reissued (thank you BBE!) cult album Disco Soccer.

Soraya - My Life: Taken from a one-off album from mysterious singer Soraya Kaci, which was arranged and co-written by French cosmic disco icons Bernard Torelli and Jean-Pierre Massiera, the same team behind records by Venus Gang and Herman's Rocket. I had first heard this one night at work recently, when Cyclist, the resident DJ of the Wax Candy Disco nights here in Toronto played this track off the album. Immediately after, I had to know what it was. When I logged onto Discogs to buy a copy, it noted that I had added the album to my wantlist some 14 years ago (likely due to the Massiera connection) and, it seems, promptly forgot about! Containing more than a few key hints of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Getaway," this track is perhaps one of the most instant and gratifying on this wonderfully strange and intriguing album.

Midnight Rhythm - Workin' & Slavin' (I Need Love): I had opined at length on this album on this blog back in 2007. Produced by Robby Adcock and Joe Long, I have long wanted to play this in a mix and here, I finally get the chance. The propulsive groove conjuring up the heady gay discos and backrooms of the time has been a favourite of mine for some years now. See Disco Delivery #37 where I relay some of my conversation/correspondence with the album's co-producer Robby Adcock, for some interesting background on this release.

THP - Tender Is The Night: A favourite from the Toronto-based production team of Ian Guenther & Willi Morrison, this track, from their third album of the same name, is perhaps the highlight of that particular record. Featuring The Duncan Sisters on vocals, this felt like an appropriately bright and tender closing number for this mix.


PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
disco delivery mix #9: guest mix for sunshine after dark (thursday august 18, 2022)
disco delivery #37: midnight rhythm (1978, atlantic) (wednesday march 14, 2007)


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, CAN-CON DISCO

Love & Pain

Photo: Memorial Wall - Baldwin Street, Toronto (August 2023)

Last week, in the run up to the most recent INTERGEN night my partner and I played at The Little Jerry here in Toronto, I thought to record a little mix consisting mostly of house records I had acquired and enjoyed in the past few months. After listening to this mix on my own for the past week or so, I thought it would be a nice one to put up online.

Starts out in a deeper mood, before going into some classic era 80s-90s house, then coming full-circle again.

Included a tracklist and track notes below, hope you enjoy!

Love & Pain (Download)

Tracklist:

Kemt - Asok
&Me, Black Coffee - The Rapture Part III
Shahrokh Dini - Dust (Instrumental)
N.Y. House’n Authority - Apt. 3A
Lisa Mitchell - Rescue Me (DJ Stomp Mix)
Monique - Love And Pain (Love Dub Pain Overdub)
Shinichiro Yokota - Do It Again
Marvin Springer - Lies (12” Vocal Mix)
Billie Ray Martin - Running Around Town (Extended Mix)
Modern Mechanical Music - Persia
East Coast Love Affair - Chicago
Swayzak - Fukumachi (2023 Edit)
Nic Joseph - Love Is Here

All the records used in this mix

Track Notes:

Kemt - Asok: I've been enjoying some lovely releases from the Bristol label Shall Not Fade these past few years, including this most recent one from French producer Kemt on their Lost Palms imprint. This track, side A of Kemt's Moony EP, had a moody airiness that struck me right away, one which felt right to use as a starting point here.

&Me, Blackcoffee - The Rapture Part III: This release has been my intro to &Me, Blackcoffee and the Keinemusik label. I didn't have much to go on when I first saw this release, but upon hearing it, I had to buy a copy. There's a melancholy about this track that drew me in, particularly in the piano which is so deftully and delicately deployed here.

Shahrokh Dini - Dust (Instrumental): I recently got a 12 year restrospective compilation of the Compost label, full of quality material, which certainly put it on the map for me. As I was looking through the label's releases, found that this single from 2021 was still in print. When listening, I was taken by the melancholy feeling here, which moved me in a similar way to the previous track. Not sure why I played the instrumental instead of the vocal here, nevertheless, the instrumental hits all the same emotional notes.

N.Y. House’n Authority - Apt. 3A: Got this classic in a recent online purchase. And while Nu Groove is one label I'm always looking out for, this marks an ideal introduction of sorts to the work of one of the label's principals, Rheji Burrell. All the tracks on the APT. 12"/EP are quality, but I thought this had some nice sonic motifs that worked well with the previous track.

Lisa Mitchell - Rescue Me (DJ Stomp Mix): Got this at a local record store recently, and the appropriately named 'Stomp Mix' had me spending a little extra time at the preview station! While this seems to be the sole release for singer Lisa Mitchell, the producer James Bratton had been the producer on a lot of Sybil's releases around this time, as well as others on the Next Plateau label, like Kelly Charles' "You're No Good For Me," which I'd first heard on one of the landmark House Sound of Chicago compilations.

Monique - Love And Pain (Love Dub Pain Overdub): Lovely classic sound from 1992 here, also one that I found recently at a local record store. Hits all the marks of bounce, depth and soul that I love, all given extra space in this particular mix on the single's B-side. Released on Mascot Records an imprint of MicMac Records, which in a little interesting disco connection, was established by Mickey Garcia and Prelude Records' founder Marvin Schlachter.

Shinichiro Yokota - Do It Again: Heard this on the recently re-pressed Soichi Terada compilation, Sounds from The Far East from 2015 on the Rush Hour label. One that I've been enjoying a lot recently and highly recommend. For me, this is one of the standouts!

Marvin Springer - Lies (12” Vocal Mix): A lovely Basement Boys production from 1999, which I also got recently at a local record shop. The soulful vocal and bounce of this track had me immediately hooked. There's an "LP Mix" of the track on the B-side, which I took to hint at a forthcoming album, which evidently never happened. That said, I'd be curious to know if The Basement Boys have anything else in the can on this vocalist.

Billie Ray Martin - Running Around Town (Extended Mix): I'm always on the lookout for Billie Ray Martin releases, and when I saw this 12" at one of my old Calgary stomping grounds on a recent visit, had to snap this up! Besides a vocal that I love, it has a certain trademark synth sound characteristic of some popular house records of the early-mid 90s (see Robin S. - Show Me Love), which seems to be coming around again these days.

Modern Mechanical Music - Persia: The title conjures Persia, but it's more like Chicago circa 1986 with this track, another one I found at a local record shop. This particular 12" has a roughness that appeals to me, one that other earlier house records from this time share. The synth motifs and chants here also seem to have one foot in the electro sound of the time too, which I have to say also appeals to me quite a bit.

East Coast Love Affair - Chicago: Keeping with the Chicago theme, the Athens of the North label has been on my radar now for some time, due to their reissues of rare soul/disco records, but some of their more current/original material has also been capturing my attention. Case in point being East Coast Love Affair - a duo consisting of label boss Euan Fryer and Nick Moore (AKA Linkwood). Their cover of this Roy Ayers track from 1983, translates so brilliantly and perfectly into a classic house groove. I had first seen this on a recent release list, but after hearing some DJs play this out one night at work, I had to purchase it straight away!

Swayzak - Fukumachi (2023 Edit): My partner, Andrew recently turned me onto Swayzak. When he saw that there was a 25th Anniversary reissue of their 1998 album Snowboarding in Argentina, he encouraged me to give it a listen. Loved it so much, I ended up ordering a copy. Am quite drawn to the deep, minimal sound on the album, which is among one of my favourite listens recently. Track C1 is one that I flagged early on as a favourite, so am glad to find a place for it here.

Nic Joseph - Love Is Here: A recent release on the Berettamusic label out of Detroit that I picked up earlier in the year. This particular track (the title track of the EP) moved me straight away, in large part due to the beautiful vocal (sample?) that's weaved throughout. The feeling of that vocal was the ideal motif to bring this mix to a full-circle close.


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES

Disco Delivery Mix #12: Wheels Begin to Roll

Photo: Roller Boogie Boy by Stuart Reif, After Dark Magazine, year unknown.

On a bit of a roll with these at the moment, so deciding to just post this instead of holding it back for another time.

This one is more straight-ahead disco than the last mix I posted. Visited family recently which also gave me an opportunity to take more records back from storage, so a few of those appear here. At least one selection has been the subject of a past blog post, however all of them are songs that I've been enjoying re-discovering and grooving to for the last few weeks.

That being said, I hope that you, dear listener, enjoy as well!

Disco Delivery #12: Wheels Begin To Roll (Download)

Tracklist and track notes below.

Tracklist:

Must - Sado Maso Disco (Instrumental)
Fern Kinney - Love Me Tonight
Macho - Roll
Mystery - Hold On To This Moment (Instrumental)
Love Robot - Slaves of Pleasure
Blo - Back In Time
Beverly Johnson - Don’t Lose The Feeling (12” Version)
Chuck Cissel - Cisselin Hot
Tony Rallo & The Midnite Band - Burnin’ Alive
Plaza - Let’s Do It
Champs Boys Orchestra - Tubular Bells
Gino Soccio - Rhythm Of The World

All the records used in this mix

Track Notes:

Must - Sado Maso Disco (Instrumental): A single I had retrieved from storage recently, one that I had bought some years back based on the cover and on the sheer notion of a song called Sado Maso Disco. Upon listening to it again, I found that the instrumental version on the B-side was much more to my liking. While the whips, chains and moans on the A-side are good for a little sado maso kitsch, the instrumental track is strong enough on its own and could sit alongside anything Cerrone was doing at the time. I suppose that's just as well, since the writers behind this - Célestin Ganou, Michel Gouty and Pierre Naçabal were involved in a number of French disco and pop productions in the 1970s and early 80s.

Fern Kinney - Love Me Tonight: From Fern Kinney's second album, Fern from 1981, this is perhaps my favourite track on the album. Produced by the same team behind her hit cover of "Groove Me" - Carson Whitsett, Wolf Stephenson and Tommy Couch, her coquettish high falsetto and the light and lovely synths make a perfect combination. This track was originally recorded by Malaco labelmates, Sho Nuff as "Tonite," the title track of their second LP from 1980. Fern Kinney's version here doesn't deviate too far from the Sho Nuff original, just with a little extra charm and finesse.

Macho - Roll: Taken from the second Macho album from 1980, sometimes titled Macho II, the same outfit which had a disco hit with a cover of "I'm A Man." Jacques-Fred Petrus turned much of this record over to Celso Valli, the man behind the disco projects Azoto and Tantra, where he goes for a more rock-disco sound, which seemed to have a brief moment in the turn of the 80s. While this second album is somewhat uneven, this track is to me one of the better ones. Like many other J-F Petrus and/or Celso Valli productions of the time, music tracks were recorded in Italy, and vocals recorded with American session singers in New York. Unfortunately the singers themselves aren't credited on this album, however, I can clearly hear the ever-reliable New York session vocalist, Gordon Grody as one of the leads on this particular track. On a visual note - if you thought the first Macho album cover was homoerotic, this second one is perhaps even more so.

Mystery - Hold On To This Moment (Instrumental): A track I had posted on the blog years ago (see A Moment or Two..). The combination of those pots-and-pans style drums and string arrangements place this squarely in that early 80s Lime-adjacent Montreal disco sound. It's perhaps just as well, since this was arranged by Lime's Denis LePage himself and has his sonic stamp all over it. As I recall, the vocal on the A-side was especially terrible, but thankfully the instrumental is good enough on it's own to redeem this single. Interesting fact, this was released in the US on Tommy Boy, one of the first releases on the fledgling label.

Love Robot - Slaves of Pleasure: From a curious album I picked up sometime last year called Love Robot. Frenchmen Gérard Salesses and TV producer/impresario Jean-François Porry (AKA Jean-Luc Azoulay) appear to be the principals behind this. This particular track, "Slaves of Pleasure" always seems to go over well whenever I play it. Add this to the list of curious disco songs about robot love - Dee D. Jackson's "Automatic Lover" being a prime example, with lyrics promising a future where "men are only a memory." My favourite line: "we are slaves of pleasure, a new kind of leisure, and your only program, is to love you madame."

BLO - Back In Time: Picked up a reissue of this single (on PMG) from Nigerian band BLO a few years ago. An acronym for the members' first names - Berkley "Ike" Jones (guitar), Laolu "Akins" Akintobi (drums) and Mike "Gbenga" Odumosu (bass), BLO was a rock band formed in the early 70s taking inspiration both from Afrobeat and American psychedelic rock. By this time, the lineup was Berkley Jones, Laolu Akintobi and Otu Lemmy Jackson and they were recording more straight-ahead disco tracks like this one. Though apparently the version of this song on the PMG reissue is shorter than the original release, I couldn't possibly pass up this groove once I heard it for myself.

Beverly Johnson - Don’t Lose The Feeling (12” Version): A solid disco single from supermodel (and first black woman to grace the cover of American Vogue), Beverly Johnson. Apparently the theme song from the 1979 action-adventure film Ashanti, which starred Michael Caine, Peter Ustinov and Beverly herself, it would also be the title track to her full-length album released the same year. Johnson may not be a vocal dynamo but with all the heavy-hitters involved here - like Betty Wright who co-produced this with Robert White, Michael Melvoin who is one of the co-writers, Horace Ott as arranger, complete with "Midnight Mix" by Richie Rivera, Johnson sounds good on this catchy little groover.

Chuck Cissel - Cisselin Hot: Oklahoma-born Chuck Cissel was a theatre performer in the 70s, landing plum roles in hit musicals like Purlie, Hello Dolly! and perhaps most prominently, in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. His work on stage and in commercials led to various recording opportunities, the biggest of which was a record deal with Arista. This song is, for better or worse, one of the defining moments of his recording output. With a groove that's as hot as the title proclaims, I'm somewhat surprised this wasn't a bigger hit. Produced by Skip Scarborough and David Crawford (not to be confused with the Dave Crawford who produced hits for Jackie Moore, Wilson Pickett and Candi Staton) this groove is unstoppable, peak-1979 heat!

Tony Rallo & The Midnite Band - Burnin’ Alive: Guitarist and one of the most in-demand arrangers in France at the time, Tony Rallo appeared on many records by French luminaries like Dalida (including the one featured on the previous mix), Charles Aznavour, Sacha Distel, Catherine Ferry and others. Rallo also appeared on French disco productions like Madleen Kane's Rough Diamond and Theo Vaness' Back to Music under the alias Tony Lexter, reasoning that French audiences were more likely to buy disco product with an American name than with a French name, something that friend and arranger Raymond Donnez also did, under the alias Don Ray. Alec R. Costandinos, someone else who likely moved in many of the same musical circles in France, offered to record an album with him in London with top-flight British and American session players. This was the title track and the undisputed standout on that record. Love how this song packs a lot of dancefloor energy, yet still has enough room for the session players to add some jazzy solos to the mix. Probably one of Costandinos' best outside productions, this one still lights up dance floors.

Plaza - Let’s Do It: I had long wanted a copy of this elusive (at least to me) album by the disco project, Plaza. Finally got a copy of it late last year - recorded in the UK but only ever released in France and Venezuela (according to Discogs). Produced by Mike Thorne and ex-Soft Machine members Karl Jenkins and Mike Ratledge, vocals by an uncredited Claire Torry, the album is chock full of elegant, hyper-delirious disco goodies like this one.

Champs Boys Orchestra - Tubular Bells: An early mash-up of sorts, this record is ostensibly a cover of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" combined with the bassline of Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby." Produced by Patrick Bocéno with yet another well-travelled French arranger and conductor, Hervé Roy, it's an intriguing and clever disco combination.

Gino Soccio - Rhythm Of The World: From Gino Soccio's second album S-Beat from 1980 which to me was a bit of a mixed bag. Many of the tracks saw him incorporating elements of new-wave which was increasingly making itself heard on disco dancefloors by the turn of the 80s. It didn't always work to my ears but sometimes it did, like on this song. Somehow sounding slower than it actually is, the combination of ambient-style synths with rock guitar touches and an "I Feel Love"-style bass-line comes together quite sublimely.


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, CAN-CON DISCO

Lost in the night

Photo: Nona Hendryx by Nick Sangiamo, 1984

Posting a little overdue mix for the start of summer...

Some years back I had made a little tradition of putting a mix up for Pride season, so am coming back to that partial sort of way. At the same time, this particular mix isn't exactly the straight-on celebratory disco that I'd usually have on tap for the occasion. Decided instead to go in a few different directions this time, using various selections of post-disco, and/or disco-adjacent material this time. Still, quite heavy on female singers, as is my tendency. Most of the songs on here are just under or just over 100 BPM, so I suppose this one's perhaps more for walking than dancing.

Most of the records I used for this mix were also ones that I brought the last time my partner Andrew and I played our INTERGEN night in May. As it turns out, we'll be doing another INTERGEN night this coming Wednesday June 28th, a kind of post-pride recovery through records, if you will. Starting at 9PM at The Little Jerry in Toronto. If you're in the area, do come by!

Lost In The Night (Download)

Tracklist and track notes below... Enjoy!

Tracklist:

Terry Crawford - Chocolate Candy
Hot - Just ‘Cause I’m Guilty
Lucio Battisti - Un uomo che ti ama
Maxine Nightingale - Get It Up For Love
Alfie Silas - Put The Freeze On
Nona Hendryx - Soft Targets
Costas Charitodiplomenos - Lost In The Night (12" Version)
Barbara Fowler - Come and Get My Lovin’
First Love - It’s A Mystery To Me
Linda Clifford - I Want To Get Away With You
First Choice - Pressure Point
Dalida - Helwa ya baladi
Martha Velez - There You Are
Paula Moore - On The Edge
Liza Minnelli - If There Was Love

All the records used in this mix

Track Notes:

Terry Crawford - Chocolate Candy: A favourite of mine from Canadian singer Terry Crawford (sometimes called Terri Crawford) and one that I had happened upon quite by accident. Back in 2006, when I was living in Calgary, my favourite record shop had a back store room full of records. The owner noted how much disco I was buying, so let me into his store room, telling me that anything I found in there was $2 bucks a pop. I didn't have a portable record player with me, nor did they have a preview station, so I was going largely on instinct. While this wasn't exactly the disco I was perhaps half-expecting, I consider it one of the gems I found in that particular expedition. Written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Cheryl Dilcher in 1973 (who herself has a little disco connection), there's something about the bass in the groove here, and Terry's vocal approach that cinches this as my preferred version. Some years later, I figured out this was a fairly sought after record when someone from Europe messaged me on Discogs offering to pay me an amount of my choice for a .wav file of this song. As of this writing, the promo-only 12" is still going for upwards of $200 USD on Discogs, though I will say, for the intrepid diggers out there, copies still show up once in a while in Canadian dollar bins.

Hot - Just ‘Cause I’m Guilty: This group, comprised of Gwen Owens, Cathy Carson and Juanita Curiel put out three albums, all of which were helmed by the Muscle Shoals production duo of Clayton Ivey & Terry Woodford. I first heard Ivey & Woodford's work on The Supremes 1975 self-titled album. Not long after their time on Motown, they had one of their biggest hits on this group with the song "Angel In Your Arms," later covered by Millie Jackson, Barbara Mandrell and Reba McIntyre, to name a few. While that was the hit, the funkier sass and swing of "Just 'Cause I'm Guilty," the last track on Hot's self-titled album, remains my favourite. In any case, both songs summarize that intersection of soul, funk, and country that Ivey & Woodford covered so well.

Lucio Battisti - Un uomo che ti ama: First heard of Lucio Battisti through the Italian diva, Mina, who sang many of his songs. One of his many successful collaborations with the lyricist Mogol, his 1976 album (which this song is from) is among my favourites. Called Lucio Battisti, La batteria, Il contrabbasso, eccetera (The drums, the double bass, etcetera) it's one I had discovered from my partner, Andrew's collection, and shows Battisti incorporating ever more elements of American funk and disco into his sound. Recently, Sony Music Italy reissued the album on vinyl with a bonus CD which included the Spanish version of the record. This song, (which in English means, "A Man Who Loves You") and the entire record remain a wonderful listen in either language.

Maxine Nightingale - Get It Up For Love: I don't think I've heard a bad version of this song, which is a good thing, because there seem to be quite a few out there. I first heard this song when Táta Vega covered it as a disco song on her Try My Love album in 1979, which I had written about on this blog some years back - see Disco Delivery #41: Táta Vega - Try My Love (1979, Motown). This version, from 1977 on Maxine Nightingale's second album Night Life (sometimes titled Love Hit Me after its lead single) cuts closer to Ned Doheny's original. Though Táta's version will always be tops for me, I'd rank this up there as a favourite also.

Alfie Silas - Put The Freeze On: Alfie Silas-Durio has a long list of credits to her name as a session singer, as well as three albums of her own from the early 80s. This one's from her first, Alfie on RCA in 1982, which had a number of good tracks (I've found 1982-83 to be particularly good years for post-disco R&B/Boogie records). Ended up buying the album largely on the appeal of this song. Its melancholy synths conjure up spacey themes and metaphors, as do the lyrics. From that description one would think the whole thing could fall into gimmicky and/or cheesy territory, but it all comes together in quite a sincere, soulful and innovative way. Pitched down slightly for a little extra depth.

Nona Hendryx - Soft Targets: One of my favourite songs from her underrated 1984 LP, The Art Of Defense, the lyrics conjure up thoughts and images of vulnerability and uncertainty with a groove that's minimal but powerful. Pitched this one down also for beatmatching purposes and to impart a little extra power. In my opinion, a highlight of the work she did with Material/Bill Laswell in the early 80s.

Costas Charitodiplomenos - Lost In The Night (12" Version): Italo-Disco from Greek singer/songwriter Costas Charitodiplomenos. I had discovered Costas' songs on YouTube, and was intrigued at the Italo sound some of his work had. The connection clearly wasn't lost on the Italians either, as this ended up on the Many Records label in Italy, remixed by Mario Flores and Romano Bais (who put out a number of Italo records as R. Bais). Lyrically and melodically solid, I thought it worked well with the theme and feeling of the previous Nona Hendryx track and many of the other selections here.

Barbara Fowler - Come and Get My Lovin’: Stellar boogie from the Radar label and singer Barbara Fowler, who had been a vocalist in the disco/boogie projects Sinnamon and Sparkle. Don't always get to play this one, but am glad to find a place here for it. From the extended dubby synth effects to a killer soulful vocal, this has so many of the things I love about early 80's boogie. Produced by Eric Matthew (AKA Joe Tucci), the man who brought you Gary's Gang, Sure Shot by Tracy Weber and many of Sharon Redd's hits.

First Love - It’s A Mystery To Me: I've covered this group here before, when I posted their 1980 disco single Don't Say Goodnight/Love Me Today. Until recently, their sole album, Love At First Sight, on their producer, Donald Burnside's label, Chycago International Music, remained elusive for me. When I finally picked it up at a recent record fair, this song was one of the standouts for me. From 1982, one of those golden years of boogie, much like the previous selection - a funky groove, with lovely synths together with charming, soulful harmonies.

Linda Clifford - I Want To Get Away With You: One of my favourite disco divas, and a highlight from one of my favourite albums of hers, I'm Yours from 1980. That album was mostly produced by Isaac Hayes, and this song in particular has his stamp all over it. Personally, I think it's too bad this wasn't a single. I love hearing Linda sing in her lower register here, and all of the little classy touches on the production, from the elegant pauses to the guitar hook that gets you right from the top.

First Choice - Pressure Point: Another one I've covered here before - see Disco Delivery #29: First Choice - Breakaway (1980, Gold Mind/Salsoul). This was from the group's last album, and while this song wasn't among their hits, it's definitely among my personal favourites of theirs. Produced by the ever reliable Norman Harris and mixed by Tee Scott, from those strings at the intro, to all of the sharp, teasing breaks and edits, am glad to finally place this one in a mix!

Dalida - Helwa ya baladi: Changing gears into a signature song from the late icon of French pop, Dalida. I picked up a Canadian pressing of the album this was from, Dédié À Toi/Monday Tuesday some years back. However it wasn't really the disco tracks that captured me but this one, the last song on Side A. Sung in her native Egyptian Arabic, the title evidently translates to "Oh Sweet, My Homeland." Something of an evergreen patriotic song in Egypt these days, it's easy to hear why this became one of Dalida's most beloved songs in Egypt and across the Arab world.

Martha Velez - There You Are: I had bought Martha Velez' album Escape From Babylon at my favourite Calgary record store back in 2005. At the time, I didn't really have a great deal of knowledge of all the great names involved, but it intrigued me nonetheless. Between that and the fact that it was sealed and had a song called "Disco Night" on it, how could one go wrong? Beginning her recording career as a folk singer, she recorded this reggae album in 1975 with Bob Marley and Lee "Scratch" Perry in Jamaica. While this album still seems to get mixed reviews, it's one I personally love and go back to again and again, with a much fuller appreciation these days. This song, written by Marley, is to my ears, one of its high points.

Paula Moore - On The Edge: One of the big record fairs here in Toronto had room of $5 records that I used to love going to. It's a frenzy, but one never knows what one will find there. This particular album, titled High and Low in most territories, retitled Valparaiso in Canada after its hit single, is one case in point. Produced by super-producer and Daft Punk dad Daniel Vangarde, it's not quite like the hits he made for Ottawan and The Gibson Brothers, opting instead for a more subdued synth-centred sound here. While the album is perhaps not consistent enough in my ears to to be a classic, there are nevertheless, several remarkable songs on it, this being one of them. Combining the synth sound of much of the album with a reggae beat on this track, the result actually sounds much more interesting than it seems on paper.

Liza Minnelli - If There Was Love: From Liza's 1989 Results album, produced by the Pet Shop Boys. I probably needn't say much more, but to my mind, one of the great producer-artist pairings of that moment. I remember as a young gayling, Results being presented to me as a key part of my education in queer culture. The drama and resonance of Liza's voice in this song and the Pet Shop Boys' production and notably Neil Tennant's sharp personal lyricism here summarizes, to my ears, why that partnership worked so well. One of the song's key verses: "Men of affairs, women with power, satellites talking, to clutter our lives. Banks of predictions, policies made, prophecies broken, violence deranged..." Words which feel perhaps truer now than they did then. Culminating with a recitation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 94, while there are a number of great songs on the album, this is perhaps the one I go back to the most.


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, DISCO DELIVERY EVENTS, CAN-CON DISCO

Hand in hand in the rain

Posting another mix, this one in a more House-oriented direction again, featuring a combination of mine and my partner, Andrew's records. Also recorded this at the end of January, yet feels right for this time of year just as the season changes and the snow gives way to rain.

Also, a good time to post this now, since Andrew and I will be playing records again as INTERGEN
this coming Wednesday April 5th at our favourite listening bar The Little Jerry. If you're in the Toronto area, come by! As with the last time, some of the records here will end up in our collective bags. (Digital flyer and photo by Andrew Zealley)

All the records used in this mix

In lieu of track notes, I've put Discogs links to the individual tracks in the tracklist below... Enjoy!

Hand in hand in the rain (Download)

Tracklist:

Mark E - I’m Your Eversion
Stefan Ringer - You Know
Javonntte - Walking In The Rain
Lipelis - Video Track
Psycho Weazel - Gomina (feat. Sandford)
Fallout - The Morning After
Cloud 9 - Do You Want Me Baby (Deep Dub
Linda Clifford - Whatcha Gonna Do (Jazzy Groove)
Patrice Scott - Better Days
Loure - Two Times Deep
Azura - Theme From Azura (Dream Version)
Arnold Jarvis - Take Some Time Out (Club)
Panoram - Seabrain (Quiet Village Remix)


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, DISCO DELIVERY EVENTS

Disco Delivery Mix #11: Midnight Shift

Photo: Newsstand by Toby Old, 1999

Putting up another Disco mix I recorded back at the end of January. A combination of records I had recently acquired along with others from the recesses of my collection.

Going from light to dark, moonlight to sunshine, a little froth and a little funk, I thought the Donna Summer track "Working The Midnight Shift" (which appears at the middle of this mix) set the tone for things quite well.

A personal thing I've really enjoyed about doing these mixes (and playing them back) is how it's given me an opportunity to take records that I haven't played in a while and really make them part of my daily/regular listening.

Disco Delivery Mix #11: Midnight Shift (Download)

Tracklist and track notes below. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

T.C. James & The Fist-O-Funk Orchestra - Bumpsies Whipping Cream (Savarese 12” Mix)
Nite School - Do You Speak French?
José Calvário - Lisboa à noite (Lisbon By Night)
Manu Dibango - Motapo
Trademark - Days Of Pearly Spencer
Chrisland - Angela, Angel
Donna Summer - Working The Midnight Shift
Theo Vaness - Sentimentally It’s You
Who’s Who - Palace Palace
The Stewart-Thomas Group - To Freak Or Not To Freak
The Red Stripe Band - Try Love
Billy Newton-Davis - Romance (Disco Remix)
Dusty Springfield - Baby Blue (Disco Version)
Nancy Wilson - Sunshine

All the records used in this mix

Track notes:

T.C. James & The Fist-O-Funk Orchestra - Bumpsies Whipping Cream (Savarese 12” Mix): A bit of a lascivious start to the mix, I first heard this song on the T.C. James & The Fist-O-Funk Orchestra album which was a lovely cheap find some years back. Was delighted to discover this lovely extended mix by Tom Savarese on 12". This was taken from the Canadian 12" which has Savarese mixes on both sides. A US promo has a Walter Gibbons Mix (not of this song) on the A-side, and has become well sought-after, going by its Discogs stats.

Nite School - Do You Speak French?: A little sexy "parlez-vous français?" instructional number with a lot of sprightly female vocals and swirly strings, which is always a winning combination with me! Belgians Jean Kluger and Ralph Benatar with American producer/engineer Galen Senogles appear to be the team behind this. Benatar with either Kluger or Senogles also had a hand in other disco goodies by Black Blood and LAX, among others. Senogles was also the engineer on a number of Rinder & Lewis projects on the AVI label.

José Calvário - Lisboa à noite (Lisbon By Night): A little something from an obscure album, The Best Disco In Sound from noted Portugese composer José Calvário, which happened to get a Canadian release back in the day. A lovely orchestral disco album which lands in the same lane as the records of Costandinos, side-long suites playing all the way through seamlessly.

Manu Dibango - Motapo: I had gotten Manu Dibango's 1978 album Sun Explosion for cheap a few years back at one of my local (and dearly departed) record haunts here in Toronto. For 4 tracks and a whopping $3, there were some lovely long Afro-disco goodies on here, this being one of them. In a sense, works in much the same way as the very euro-orchestral disco of the previous entry.

Trademark - Days Of Pearly Spencer: A favourite of mine, and one of the better covers of singer-songwriter David McWilliams' original from 1967, reportedly about a homeless person from the streets of Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Marc Almond would later successfully cover this in 1992 however, not surprisingly, I enjoy this disco version best. Even keeping the "telephoned in" vocal effect used in the original, there's an evocative melancholy here which which is not only retained but in my opinion, heightened in this disco translation.

Chrisland - Angela, Angel: Continuing on the disco noir of the previous track is this song by Chrisland, one of several monikers used by the French singer/producer Christian Girard. With lyrics like "it must have been the devil to have left those scars upon your arm," it's evidently a disco song about losing a loved one to the depths of heroin addiction. Unusual subject matter for disco to say the least, but one that I've long loved and wanted to place properly in a mix.

Donna Summer - Working The Midnight Shift: The namesake of this mix and the final entry in these disco chronicles of urban misery is perhaps one of my favourite Donna Summer songs, and in my opinion one of the best moments of her Once Upon A Time double album. The urging pulse of Giorgio Moroder's synthesized backing track perfectly evokes the sadness and desperation of the lyrics and Donna's yearning vocal. A little pitched up here for beat-matching purposes, but hopefully not to the song's detriment.

Theo Vaness - Sentimentally It’s You: Including yet another Theo Vaness track on this mix, one that I had retrieved from my collection in storage over the Christmas holidays. There are sections of the vocal and lyric that I'm not especially crazy about, however I decided to mix this in just before my favourite part of the track, when that great propulsive break kicks in. Taken from his Bad Bad Boy album, which has probably one of the more homoerotic disco album cover shots of the time.

Who’s Who - Palace Palace: Lifting things up a little is this nugget by Daniel Vangarde, French disco super-producer and father of Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter. Reportedly inspired by a night at a New York roller-disco where he was taken by the dancers skating with whistles and perhaps also an ode to the famed Parisian disco "Le Palace," this is undoubtedly one of my favourite things to come from the mind of Daniel Vangarde. Because Music recently released a lovely retrospective of his work on his Zagora label, which also includes this track. Nevertheless, was glad to find an original 12" late last year.

The Stewart-Thomas Group - To Freak Or Not To Freak: A pleasant little cheapie that I also came across late last year, this was a one-off single by Marvell Thomas, (brother of Rufus, Carla and Vaneese Thomas), and soul songwriter Randall Stewart. While I probably wouldn't call this the greatest thing I've bought for $2.99, it's certainly not without it's charms, and provides a nice little lift in the mix.

The Red Stripe Band - Try Love: I had heard this track out from time to time, wondering what it was. Finally found out when I saw it reissued on 7" late last year, which I ordered straight away. Originally recorded by it's songwriter Tony Wilson, founding member of the group Hot Chocolate, this is easily my favourite version of this song. As of this writing, original pressings of the 1981 single are going for over $300 US on Discogs.

Billy Newton-Davis - Romance (Disco Remix): A pleasantly surprising recent cheap find, likely the first single from Toronto-based singer Billy Newton-Davis. I recall in the early days of this blog, a reader emailing me about looking for a copy of this single. Never had any luck coming across it until late last year. Produced by a one Boh Tanasijczuk, (who only has this one credit to his name on Discogs) and mixed by Toronto Disco DJ Wally MacDonald, it may not have been as polished as some of Newton-Davis' later work, but it has an appealing groove that convinced me to take this home.

Dusty Springfield - Baby Blue (Disco Version): A non-album disco single from the late, great Dusty Springfield, I had long been taken by this song, so much so that I ended up buying a copy of the 12" on eBay late last year. Written by some British heavy-hitters - Bruce Woolley, with Geoff Downes and future super-producer Trevor Horn (both later in The Buggles), this is perhaps my favourite of Dusty's disco efforts. I remember being surprised to read that Dusty herself was more enthusiastic about performing and releasing disco in the late 70s than even many of her producers were, which perhaps explains why this was one of the few. Love the combination of her vocals over the sleek synth pulse and latin-tinged percussion here.

Nancy Wilson - Sunshine: Ending things on a mellower, jazz-funk tip here. Taken from Nancy Wilson's 1979 Love, Life & Harmony album, one of the last from her long run at Capitol Records. While this album had some disco-leaning tracks, this song, however, was not among them. Fully one of the sublime highlights of the album though and one of the best grooves she's put her inimitable vocal stylings to.



CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES

Sky House Mix - Parts 1 & 2

Fully activating my SoundCloud account and just uploaded a pair of mixes I made in the past month. Trying something different here, at least for me. Going in a more House-oriented direction with these. Mixed with a combination of mine and my partner Andrew's records.




Incidentally, if you're in the Toronto area, Andrew & I will be also be playing records as INTERGEN this coming Wednesday February 22nd at The Little Jerry. Some of the records in these mixes will surely make the cut!
(Digital flyer by Andrew, digital wigs by YouCam Makeup)

In lieu of track notes, I've put Discogs links to the individual tracks in the tracklists below... Enjoy!

Sky House Mix, Part 1 (Download)

Tracklist:

Gavinco - West Horizon
Simoncino - Masonry
Materie - My Language (Dub)
Kai Alcé feat Rico + Kafele Bandele - Take A Chance (Mr. Fingers Full Ambient Acid Instrumental)
Superpitcher - Monks In The Sky
Kiwi - Schulze
Panthera - Bra
Palermo Disco Squad - After All These Tears
Paranoid London - (Vi-Vi) Vicious Games (with Josh Caffe)
DJ City - Luke
Genius of Time - Juno Jam
Hiroshi Matsui AKA Royal Mirrorball - (Earth In) Blue
Jovonn - Random
Kenny "Jammin’" Jason feat. Paris Grey - Don’t Want It (Club Mix)
Sample Minded - The Sound of Redness (Club Mix)

Sky House Mix, Part 2 (Download)

Tracklist:

Will Long - Under-Currents (DJ Sprinkles Overdub)
Fort Romeau - Jack Rollin'
Daso - Meine
Levon Vincent - Untitled (Niresa EP - Side B)
Kuniyuki & Soichi Terada - Get Up
Kings of Tomorrow feat. Elzi Hall - Show Me
Talaboman - Samsa
Lord of the Isles - Together
Digital Justice - Theme From "It's All Gone Pearshaped"
Ragtyme - I Can’t Stay Away (Power-Pella)
Touch - Love Fixation (Vocal)


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, DISCO DELIVERY EVENTS