Another Setting Radio: Body Rhythm #3

Photo: Melba Moore by Richard Avedon, 1979


February 15th brings episode number 3 of Body Rhythm.

Bringing a more straight-forward soul and disco selection to this month's instalment. It's February, Black History Month, in the aftermath of Valentine's Day and the depth of winter. In that spirit, I thought these selections all fit the bill in one way or another.

Archived episode posted below for those who want to listen back... Enjoy!


Another Setting Radio

Body Rhythm - Show #3
Tracklist:

Labelle - Goin' On A Holiday
William Bell - Your Love Keeps Me Going
Margie Alexander - Gotta Get A Hold On Me
Eloise Laws - Love Goes Deeper Than That (12" Version)
Paul Lewis - Inner City Blues
Melba Moore - Miss Thing
Peggie Blue - I Got Love
Cheryl Lynn - Love Bomb
Wilbert Longmire - Black Is The Color
Honey - Superhythm
Patience Africa - Sondela (Psychemagik edit)
The Montreal Synthesizer Orchestra - Disco Melody of ‘77
Céline Lomez - Vol de nuit

All the records played on show #3


Track Notes:

Labelle - Goin' On A Holiday: Opening with one of my favourite Labelle songs, from their 1974 Pressure Cookin' album. Written by Nona Hendryx, this is one song which clearly exemplified the point-of-view and emotional immediacy of Labelle's songs, especially the ones Nona wrote. Arranged by Stevie Wonder, who could only be credited on the record as "A Friend." Many people seek escape during winter, never more true than during the months of January and February. Some people seek literal escape, yet there are always other avenues of escape on offer. There's even escape in isolation. Ways to, as the song says, "let your own sunshine brighten up your day."

William Bell - Your Love Keeps Me Going: Picked up Bell's 1977 album It's Time You Took Another Listen at a small record fair in town recently. Was intitially taken by the back and front covers, and this particular song is my favourite on the album. Best known for his work on Stax, this was from the last of his two albums on Mercury before going independent.

Margie Alexander - Gotta Get A Hold On Me: Thought this was the perfect combination of soul and disco to cue up after William Bell. A one-off disco single from Margie Alexander on the Chi-Sound label. Alexander was originally a gospel singer, to which she'd return after some scattered secular singles in the 70s. This song just has a groove that hits hard and a soulful vocal with all the grit and force to match it.

Eloise Laws - Love Goes Deeper Than That (12" Version): A fine disco single from Eloise Laws, who along with sister Debra and brothers Hubert and Ronnie, is a member of the talented Laws family. This is perhaps one of my favorite tracks from her excellent 1977 LP, Ain't It Good Feeling Good. Produced by the Holland Brothers and released on their Invictus label, it was probably one of the last releases on Invictus, as part of their ill-fated pact with CBS. A nice keep-it-real disco valentine, I've always found their work in disco to be inventive and funky, bringing energy and feeling without sounding like anything else or falling into too many obvious genre clichés. I sometimes feel their work with Lamont Dozier casts such a wide shadow, their later work like this often gets overlooked.

Paul Lewis - Inner City Blues: An interesting production from Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, credited to Paul Lewis, one of the other members of K.C. & The Sunshine Band. A single consisting of two Motown covers, Eddie Kendricks' "Girl, You Need A Change of Mind" on the A-side and my favourite of the two, this cover of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" on the B-side. It's not clear to me how much of Paul Lewis is actually on this single, I suppose he's in the chorus, yet it sounds more like female backing vocalists carrying most of lead here. Nevertheless, I love the Miami-meets-Motown disco sound on this single, as well as the dubby drum effects on this 12" version.

Melba Moore - Miss Thing: I wrote a whole Disco Delivery entry on Melba's 1979 album, Burn, which is something of an anomaly in her catalogue, yet one that I've always really enjoyed. Produced by Giorgio Moroder's main right-hand man, Pete Bellotte, with funky bass courtesy of the great Marcus Miller, this song is one of my favourites on the record. Not only a killer groove, but also somewhat ahead of its time. At least a decade before Paris is Burning and Madonna's "Vogue," this was clearly Melba's tribute to the ballroom scene. Iconic, even if only for that.

Peggie Blue - I Got Love: From one of the few albums of Peggi Blu, as she'd later be known, this was the title track of her first record which was written, arranged and produced almost entirely by legendary songwriter Jerry Ragovoy. Despite the calibre involved here and in later efforts, Blu's recording career never quite took off. Nevertheless, she went on to have a long career as a respected session/background singer and vocal coach. She'd even gain a measure of viral fame in the 2000s, jokingly dubbed American Idol's "Vocal Coach from Hell." Peggi Blu passed away recently in 2024 at the age of 77.

Cheryl Lynn - Love Bomb: One of the standouts from from Cheryl Lynn's 2nd album, In Love, from 1979. Produced by British producer Barry Blue and co-written by Blue and Lynsey de Paul, who did the original on her album of the same name in 1975. Compared to de Paul's original, Cheryl Lynn's version is a veritable monster. Bolder and punchier on the groove with vocals cascading from the stratosphere. While the metaphor was heavily influenced by the prevailing nuclear fears of the time, there's still something of an evergreen statement in there.

Wilbert Longmire - Black Is The Color: A disco-jazz classic from guitarist Wilbert Longmire and his 1978 Sunny Side Up LP that I love to play whenever I can. This is an adaptation of the folk standard "Black Is The Colour of my True Love's Hair," as recast and popularized further by Nina Simone. This particular arrangement and adaptation by producer Jay Chattaway and the great Bob James turns it into a bonafide disco burner. The relation to the original song isn't immediately obvious, the statement is stil there - condensed yet clear. Since it's Black History Month, one thing that emerges in any kind of study of music or musicology is that in nearly every society, wherever one goes, culture and cultural innovation is generally driven by those on the margins. And here, it has to be said, there is no disco music without Rhythm & Blues, Jazz and Gospel. The players may be from many backgrounds, but at its core, it's all driven by black music. Black is the color.

Honey - Superhythm: One of those singles in which the B-side won me over the A-side. An interesting British one-off by 10cc, Sad Café and Mandalaband keyboardist Vic Emerson and producer David Kent-Watson whose credits are mostly on classical records. While the A-side, "Superman! Superman!" is mostly a disco novelty, this B-side had a certain deep, dark sexy disco appeal that sold me on the first play.

Patience Africa - Sondela (Psychemagik edit): Meaning "come closer," this is an isiZulu cover of Donna Summer's groundbreaking classic, "I Feel Love" by South African singer/actress Patience Africa. Lovingly extended by Psychemagik on Volume 3 of their Undercover Lovers series, which is the version I play here. I played another great Psychemagik edit on the first Body Rhythm show and this is another one which they treat in all the right ways. Nothing gimmicky or cliché, just respectfully taking the best parts of the song and making the most of them.

The Montreal Synthesizer Orchestra - Disco Melody of ‘77: I don't think I'd be remiss in calling this yet another variation on "I Feel Love," but it's also a charming little bit of spacey disco from Montreal which I had picked up in the past year. Credits are basically non-existent on the 12" single, however Discogs and the SOCAN database mark the main player behind this single as John Brenner who would go on to produce Montreal disco records by Geraldine Cordeau and Suzy Q among others.

Céline Lomez - Vol de nuit: A single from Quebecois actress/singer Céline Lomez, produced by Yves Lapierre, who had also produced records for Patsy Gallant and Toulouse; music by André Gagnon and lyrics by Jean Robitaille. This song was inspired by (or at least cross-promoted with) a British/Canadian film adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's second novel of the same name, a story based on his own experiences as an aviator delivering airmail to South America in the early days of commercial aviation. Lomez also starred in the film, entitled The Spirit of Adventure: Night Flight alongside Trevor Howard and Bo Svenson. Lomez also released an English version of this song entitled "Night Flight," but the French version here felt gentler, warmer and just a generally correct way to end things.


PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
another setting radio: body rhythm #1 (sunday december 21, 2025)
disco delivery #64: melba moore - burn (1979, epic) (saturday april 14, 2012)

LINKS:
another setting radio
instagram: another setting radio
soundcloud: another setting radio archives
another setting radio: artist bio - thomas del pozo


CATEGORIES: BODY RHYTHM

Another Setting Radio: Body Rhythm #2

Body Rhythm returns to Week 7 of Another Setting Radio!

Another Setting's lineup continues to grow, this past Sunday's broadcast lasted most of the day. So, do check out their Soundcloud and take a listen to their expanding roster of Toronto selectors!

This month's installment of Body Rhythm has some more disco in the mix, but starts off with some recently acquired boogie, a little early 80s funk and house that I've been itching to play.

The archived show is posted below with tracklist and track notes if you missed the broadcast or want to listen back... Enjoy!


Another Setting Radio

Body Rhythm - Show #2
Tracklist:

Kaiya - Scandalous
Natalie Cole - Winner (Take All)
Michael Wycoff - Looking Up To You
Margo Michaels and Nitelite - The Good Stuff’s Coming In
C + C featuring Carm - Go For It (Dance Mix)
Narada Michael Walden - Confidence
Stargard - Let Me Be Your Mindbender
Charles Rousseau - Now, Right Now
Jackie Moore - Don’t Knock My Love
Esther Phillips - Love Addict (12” Version)
Lalo Schifrin - Most Wanted Theme
Connie Case - Get Down
Screamin’ Rachel - My Main Man
Glass Pyramid - Better By The Minute
Shikane - Change Your Mind In Dub (excerpt)

All the records played on show #2


Track Notes:

Kaiya - Scandalous: Picked up this spare, slinky little groover from 1983 recently. Produced by 'Godmother of Detroit Soul' Johnnie Mae Matthews, Kaiya is actually her daughter Audrey Matthews. A later release on Juggy Murray's Sue Records, who broke the first Ike & Tina Turner hits in the 60s. Murray sold his earlier masters but would sporadically reactivate the name and label until his death in 2005. I thought this track was just mellow and catchy enough to start things off nicely here.

Natalie Cole - Winner (Take All): One of the outtakes from Natalie Cole's 1983 LP, I'm Ready, a one-off for Epic Records. Still in the throes of her drug addiction at the time, she'd eventually disown that entire album on the basis that she really wasn't as 'ready' as the title proclaimed. When she made a major comeback in the early 1990s, Epic would reissue the album on CD with 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks from the album's sessions, and this song is one of my favourites from those. To my ears, the unreleased songs were actually the best material from that much-maligned project. Produced by jazz fusion legend Stanley Clarke, this has an assertive, funky groove that would have made a nice release at the time. This song and the other bonus tracks from that album have not been pressed on vinyl yet, at least officially. However, there was a recent bootleg 12" with all four of them that I had acquired not too long ago which is how this song appears here. The mastering job on that bootleg release is not ideal, however it'll do until we get something legit.

Michael Wycoff - Looking Up To You: Recently got this soulful gem of a song on a recent 12" single, which sported a Mike Maurro Mix on the A-side. Maurro is one of those remixers whom I find to be one of the most reliable when it comes to remixing classics like this. As good as his mix was though, I ended up playing the standard mix on the B-side for this. Didn't need it to go on too long, but just wanted to have something soulful and uplifting to take things up a notch. Co-written by Leon Ware and produced by Webster Lewis, it's no wonder this song hits all the right spots.

Margo Michaels and Nitelite - The Good Stuff’s Coming In: I'd picked up the sole album by Margo Michaels & Nitelite late last year at a local shop. Was intriguied initially by the credits, her album being a later production by Holland-Dozier-Holland on their Real World Records label from 1981. As one of, if not the, biggest Motown hitmakers, Holland-Dozier-Holland have an enviable streak of classics to their name. While they would eventualy split in the 1970s, with Lamont Dozier realizing his long-held ambition to be a singer on his own, the Holland Brothers - Brian and Eddie would continue as independent producers. Personally, I'm always on the lookout for the Holland brothers' productions, their work with the latter-day Supremes remains among their finest, for example. Notably, this album (and this song too) marks a rare reunion with all three of them. Though it's not quite on par with their heights at Motown and Invictus, Margo Michaels' album is a decent record with some solid, funky, uplifting moments, like this particular song.

C + C featuring Carm - Go For It (Dance Mix): The sole Can-Con entry this time around, I had picked up this single while in Calgary earlier this year. There wasn't much online about this, but I was intrigued enough to take a chance on it. No word on who Carm is, but C + C was the production duo of Carl Harvey and Carl Otway, both Jamaican-born Toronto musicians with a number of major credits to their names. Both Harvey and Otway would be members of Crack of Dawn and Sweet Ecstasy, best known for their dance hit "Pull Our Love Together" which Harvey and Otway also produced. Like a catchy, uplfting PSA in the form of a hard-hitting dance track, this was a great pickup for $3 and fit perfectly here, thematically and musically.

Narada Michael Walden - Confidence: The title track from Narada's 6th album on Atlantic from 1982. He was just on the cusp of becoming one of the super-producers of the 80s and this song shows why. Hard-hitting, accessible and funky with all the power and groove that its title implies. I don't think this was among his major hits, I don't even think this was a single, but it's certainly a hit on my turntable.

Stargard - Let Me Be Your Mindbender: A later song from Stargard - Rochelle Runnells and Janice Williams, who started in the 70s as a trio with Debra Anderson but were reduced to a duo by the 80s. After a couple of albums on Warner Bros., they returned to MCA for what would be their last album, Nine Lives in 1982. Not sure if that record was done as a kind of contractual obligation, (their first couple of LPs were on MCA) but it seems like Nine Lives came and went without much of a trace. Nevertheless, this song is perhaps the highlight of the record for me. One of the funkiest, hardest tracks they had ever done which inexplicably remained an album track.

Charles Rousseau - Now, Right Now: Another Noel Williams/King Sporty production. I included one on the last show and I have two more here that I've been really into lately. This is the only record credited to Charles Rousseau on Discogs and it's a nice little late disco burner from 1981. Written by Miami soul legend Paul Kelly and released on Noel Williams' Konduko label.

Jackie Moore - Don’t Knock My Love: My favourite song from Jackie Moore's final full-length album, With Your Love from 1980. Fresh from her signature disco hit, her version of The O'Jays' "This Time Baby," this album follows in largely the same pattern. Produced by the ever reliable Bobby Eli and featuring a balance of solid R&B and disco, it was probably released a bit too late for the disco tracks to catch fire, but it has some solid selections, nevertheless. Her cover of The Four Tops' "Helpless" was the single but this song, her version of Wilson Pickett's "Don't Knock My Love" would have been my choice. Her and Eli succcessfully update Pickett's classic here with just the right amount of grit, soul and energy. Interestingly enough, a couple of years later in 1982, Moore would duet with Pickett himself on "Seconds," also produced by Bobby Eli and released as a single on the Catawba label. Not sure who did it first, but Loleatta Holloway and The Salsoul Orchestra would also record that song the same year, with Patrick Adams producing.

Esther Phillips - Love Addict (12” Version): Picked up this promo-only 12" mix of the lead single from the late Esther Phillips' first Mercury LP from 1977, You've Come A Long Way, Baby. After having a disco hit on Kudu with her version of "What A Diff'rence A Day Makes," it seems Mercury snapped her up but kept her sonic formula largely intact. Not to mention, this song and the album it was from seem to make clear reference to her storied history of drug addiction. Nevertheless, the allusion is both potent and convincing, her voice alone sounding like a perfectly weathered story in itself.

Lalo Schifrin - Most Wanted Theme: Some lovely disco that I wish were longer from the soundtrack master, Lalo Schifrin. I was tipped off to this track recently just as I've been exploring more music in that specific jazz/funk/disco intersection. There's a kind of electronic shuffle effect in this song that is just so damn cool and sweeps you in so brilliantly. I had recently picked up his 1977 Towering Toccata album not long before recording this, so it was nearby and begging to be included!

Connie Case - Get Down: The other Noel Williams/King Sporty track in the mix, and it's an update of a track he had originally done in 1979 as King Sporty & The Root Rockers. I love that single, but this updated version from 1982 is probably my preferred take. The vocals are more up-front here and those drums, which have a kind of proto-house sound to my ears, just hit a little bit harder.

Screamin’ Rachel - My Main Man: Speaking of hitting hard, I recently got this release from 1985 on Trax, one of the major Chicago house labels. I'd been after a copy of this ever since hearing it some 10 years ago and now that I have it, I still can't get enough of it. Screamin' Rachel Cain's story is legend in itself. She would eventually marry Larry Sherman, the founder of Trax and would assume control of much of the business. That again is it's own messy odyssey and perhaps best told elsewhere. Vice did a profile of her in 2013 called "The Punk Rocker Vho Made Chicago House Happen" by Vivian Host, which is still online and worth a read.

Glass Pyramid - Better By The Minute: Another piece of solid funk reissued by PPU back in 2024. Glass Pyramid were a funk band from Oklahoma City active throughout the 80s, and this particular track from 1988 is definitely one of their finest. Produced by the band with Mel Bolton who had a number of credits on Motown throughout the 80s, the track slaps and the vocal from Georgetta Funches really lights it up. With originals going for hundreds of dollars, grateful that PPU had made this one available again.

Shikane - Change Your Mind In Dub (excerpt): I needed to keep things exactly to an hour, so I only played part of this track. A little 12" I picked up recently by British act Shikane from 1984, and this was apprently their only single. To my ears, this is kind of in the vein of what Imagination were releasing at the time. I love the moody synth instrumentation on the track more than the vocals or the lyrics, so the more spacious dub mix was really what grabbed me here. Played just enough of it to bring things to a gentle close.

LINKS:
another setting radio
instagram: another setting radio
soundcloud: another setting radio archives
another setting radio: artist bio - thomas del pozo


CATEGORIES: BODY RHYTHM