Another Setting Radio: Body Rhythm #1

Photo: Potassa de Lafayette (r) and dancer at Studio 54 by Hasse Persson (1978)


Happy to be part of the Week 3 lineup of a new online community radio project here in Toronto called Another Setting Radio. When they put a call-out for contributors recently, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. So, massive thanks to Nafi and Emily for letting me contribute!

The few of you that still check this page will notice that I've been absent from posting for a while now. Needless to say, it has been a full year for me on a personal level. As a result, I've put a lot of things on the back-burner, so I've itching to make a mix for some time now.

As for the show, I'm calling it Body Rhythm and am really looking forward to putting a mix together on a regular basis again. Not to mention, it'll also provide me a good reason to dig in my own record collection and put it to work, even when I'm not playing records out in public.

Naturally, there'll be a good dose of disco, but am also hoping to keep the format somewhat loose just as an opportunity to stretch out and keep things somewhat genre-fluid, if you will.

Right now, Another Setting broadcasts on Sundays from 12:00-21:00 (Eastern Standard Time), but all episodes will be archived on Soundcloud the next day for on-demand listening. As with most of my other mixes, I'll be embedding the Soundcloud link here along with a tracklist and track notes below.

Whether you're listening live or on-demand, hope you enjoy my show as well as the other local selectors on Another Setting. Listening back to the past couple of weeks has been a lovely opportunity to delve into other people's musical worlds and discover new sounds and sensations in the process.

This first show starts off with a little more of a boogie flavour, before going into some italo, disco and funk, colouring outside those lines ever so slightly...


Another Setting Radio

Body Rhythm - Show #1
Tracklist:

GL - It Could Be You
Janice Marie Johnson - Givin’ It Up
Eddie Fisher - Gigolo (Mix 1)
WG Band - Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) (Psychemagik edit)
Funk Machine - Dance On The Groove (And Do The Funk)
Georges Thurston - De ville en ville
Ernest Ranglin - Soft Touch
Danny Keith - Keep On Music (Dub)
Djosa - Botanica Obscura
La Fox - I Thought That You Liked Me
Hot Shot - Midnight Tube
The Armed Gang - Funky Fever

All the records played on show #1


Track Notes:

GL - It Could Be You: Recently picked up this modern boogie 7" by Australian duo GL on the PPU label. Originally from their 2014 debut EP Love Hexagon, I was initially taken by the A-Side, "What Ever Happened To Us," but this B-side is just as good, with the ideal feel and tempo to kick things off. Vinyl copies of their 2014 EP are unfortunately out of print and seem to fetch a pretty penny these days, so this 7" was the most accessible hard copy available.

Janice Marie Johnson - Givin' It Up: Probably my favourite song from A Taste of Honey singer/songwriter/bassist Janice Marie Johnson's 1984 solo LP One Taste of Honey. I recall hearing that her LP was recorded as a contractual obligation to Capitol Records after the dissolution of A Taste of Honey. Despite that, I found it to be a generally enjoyable album. Though this song was not a single, it probably could have/should have been!

Eddie Fisher - Gigolo (Mix 1): Not the Eddie Fisher who was married to Liz Taylor and Debbie Reynolds, but a St. Louis, MO based guitarist and producer who had been Albert King's bandleader before putting out several albums of his own. Recently picked up this quirky piece of lo-fi midwestern boogie from 1981 on Fisher's own Nentu label. Was taken by the funky beatbox and synth sounds along with the goofy little vocoder further into the song. "Mix 2" on the B-side is longer and slightly more instrumental, but I felt like this version chugged along with a little more momentum.

WG Band - Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) (Psychemagik edit): For the most part, I tend to go for originals over edits, but Psychemagik are one of the exceptions for me. An obscure 1986 German cover of BT Express' signature hit, they took all the best instrumental passages and extended them for optimal satisfaction. Like most of their edits, this one hits all the right spots. Taken from the latest installment (Volume 6) of their ongoing Undercover Lovers series.

Funk Machine - Dance On The Groove (And Do The Funk): Recently picked up this Canadian cover of French act Love International's 1981 single, released the year after on the Montreal Neige label. Though it didn't exactly change things up too much, it seems to have made some waves on its own given how many countries also released this one. I love the spare synth funk groove of this song in both versions, though this one has just a slightly rougher edge to it that also appeals to me.

Georges Thurston - De ville en ville: Continuing the Can-Con section here with this single from the artist also known as Boule Noire. Picked this up recently, initially charmed by the English version on the other side ("Town to Town"). While the order and selection of towns and cities differ slightly, both sides are a funky roll-call of Canadian, American and even Mexican, Caribbean and Central American cities many of whom not normally referenced in songs like these. Stand up, Rivière-du-Loup, Sudbury and Chicoutimi!

Ernest Ranglin - Soft Touch: One of my favourite disco reissues in the past several years would have to be Emotional Rescue's 2019 reissue of Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin's 1983 album Be What You Want To Be. Produced by Noel Williams AKA King Sporty and originally released on his Konduko label, it's a lovely gem of Miami disco, with all of its Caribbean and R&B influences in perfect balance. "Soft Touch," is one of the major earworms on offer, but the whole album is a great listen.

Danny Keith - Keep On Music (Dub): Changing gears to some straight-ahead Italo disco that I picked up earlier this year. Produced by Mauro Farina (Danny Keith was his alias), Giuliano Crivellente and Ides Zanet, I have nothing against the vocal, but just felt like the instrumental "dub" slotted in here just a little bit better.

Djosa - Botanica Obscura: Picked up this 7" on the Rush Hour Store Jams label a couple of years ago. Listened to a quick sample on Juno which immediately checked all the boxes for me. Lovely, warm synth sounds with a little "I Feel Love" bassline, and I was sold.

La Fox - I Thought That You Liked Me: A friend turned me on to this one a couple of years back. He had asked me if I would be able to ID a this song on a mix he had heard. Couldn't identify it either at first but was similarly intrigued. A quick Google search of its lyrics revealed it for me and I sprung for a copy straight away. Sung by a one Merrilyn Fox and released on La Elton's Rocket Records label, this song has a misty, melancholy quality that really stuck with me. I took one of the online suggestions and played this here at a slower speed (33 +6, rather than its stated 45 RPM) for a little extra mistiness.

Hot Shot - Midnight Tube: I initially got this 12" for the very, very ABBA-esque A-side "Love is to Love a Lover's Love." So much so, it has a prime place on my ongoing "Trying to be ABBA" playlist. Given that producer Patric Perquee would eventually produce an album of ABBA songs by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, it's probably not a stretch to suggest that he followed closely on their heels. Flipping the record over however, I was taken by the B-side in a very different way. A song about urban danger and decay - "if you don't wear a gun, you'd better run" it seemed to call forth Bowie & Eno as much as much as the A-side recalled ABBA. "Midnight Tube" would also be the title track to Hot Shot's 1981 LP with both these songs.

The Armed Gang - Funky Fever: One of many Italo or Italian disco (there is a distinction) groups calling themselves "gangs," original copies of their album remained elusive for me until a couple of reissues came out a few years back. The Armed Gang was assembled by producer Maurizio Sangineto (AKA Sangy) with American GI vocalists (hence, 'armed') James Otis White, Jr., Kenny Claiborne (given top billing on their lone album) and Joe Bunch. A common assemblage at the time, Black American GIs moonlighting as singers while in Italy, sometimes singing for Italian producers, even achieving a modicum of fame from their music at the time. Clearly Sangineto was trying to achieve something a little more 'street,' a little more funky than the typical Italian disco production and this track kind of encapsulates that. Basically an extended jam revolving around the guys smoking blunts while cruising women on the streets. I thought this would be a good one to close things out here, building on the "urban streets" theme of the last selection.

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


CATEGORIES: BODY RHYTHM, CAN-CON DISCO

Disco Delivery #26: A Taste Of Honey - Another Taste (1979, Capitol)

Listen on Spotify:
A Taste Of Honey - Dance
A Taste Of Honey - The Rainbow's End
A Taste Of Honey - Do It Good
A Taste Of Honey - I Love You
A Taste Of Honey - Take The Boogae Or Leave It
A Taste Of Honey - Race

How great is that album cover?.. Love the colour scheme and the neon lettering..

Anyway, everybody's probably heard A Taste Of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie" at some point.. Only one of the most ubiquitous disco songs out there, and speaking for myself, one of my first favourite disco songs as a kid.. It wasn't until around 2000 when I really started to collect disco records, that I checked out the rest of their output. For the most part, every single one of their albums is exceptional, but this one, along with their final album, "Ladies of the Eighties" are probably their most overlooked LPs.. Despite nothing but favourable reviews (at least that I've come across), "Another Taste" was to be a classic case of the sophomore slump, commercially speaking at least. The opening track, "Do It Good," continuing in the same "get on the floor" vein, with it's bass/guitar driven groove and catchy refrain was to be the first single from the LP. A great track on it's own terms, it was no match for their mega-hit from the previous year; peaking at a respectable #13 on the Billboard R&B charts, but only managing #72 and #79 on the disco and pop charts, respectively (although I do hear it's one of their biggest hits in Japan). Commercial slump notwithstanding, I'm with the critics on this one. Once again produced by jazz-funk legends The Mizell Brothers, Alphonso (Fonce) and Larry; even if there wasn't an instantly catchy single like "Boogie Oogie Oogie," the album as a whole was a definite improvement over their debut. The grooves are smooth and sublime, and as an LP, always consistent and engaging. While undeniably still disco, they seemed to be bucking some of the trends by continuing with the Mizells on this album. At least from my perspective, not having been around at the time, it seemed like the sound and the vibe they went for was in total contrast to the harder, faster more rhythmic sound that seemed to colour much of the disco from 1979. The album instead being full of light, sunny, uplifting, mellow grooves. Perhaps it may have limited the album's appeal among disco audiences in 1979, but after hearing a song like Hazel Payne's "The Rainbow's End," "Dance" or the beautifully simple "I Love You," I can't help but be glad they went in the direction they did. In fact, they seem to be at their best on those very songs. All three are coloured with elegant, sweeping strings, flutes and great vocals and guitar work courtesy of front-ladies Janice-Marie Johnson and Hazel Payne. I also have to point out how much I love it when they get to breaking it down towards the end of "I Love You," when they let the beautiful backing instruments shine behind that bumpin' bass drum..

Side Two begins with "Race" written by keyboard player Perry Kibble and Thurman Aldridge. One of the more obviously dance-oriented songs on the album and what I believe was the second single on the album, which didn't chart. It's got an almost disco-jazzy vibe, especially with those flutes right at the top of the mix. The most 1979-ish song on the album is probably the cutesy titled "Take The Boogae or Leave It" written by front ladies Janice-Marie Johnson and Hazel Payne. Putting away the flutes and the strings for some four or so minutes and going full-tilt-boogie with the bass and guitar, it's definitely one of the most instantly recognizable songs on the album. It's almost as if they wrote this song with "Boogie Oogie Oogie" in mind.. a part II, if you will.. Best part of the song: Janice-Marie's awesome, funky bass..

Again despite making a solid LP, the album would peak at #26 R&B and #59 Pop on Billboard. Not altogether bad, but quite a drop from the top 10 peaks their debut had on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. In fact, according to the charts posted on the All Music Guide, "Another Taste" would be their lowest charting LP out of the four they released. Perhaps the glut of disco records on the market in 1979 had something to do with it, maybe their sound just wasn't with the hot trends at the time, or there just wasn't that instantly catchy single on the album, or perhaps all of those combined. Whatever the case, clearly some changes were on the way for the group. Before their next album, the two principal male members, keyboard player Perry Kibble and drummer Donald Johnson would leave the group. Several years back, I remember hearing an interview with Janice-Marie on a site called the R&B Page (which is sadly no longer online), where she talked in detail about her time in the group. Apparently execs at Capitol had only wanted Janice-Marie and Hazel and wanted nothing to do with the guys, instead opting to put the ladies up front (which they did) and to replace the guys with studio musicans (which they didn't, at least at first). Apparently after this LP, the execs got their wish and for their next two albums, A Taste of Honey was down to just the ladies. An unfortunate decision in my opinion; though that's not to say they didn't make great records after. Their next album "Twice As Sweet" (1980, Capitol) would pair them with producer George Duke and yield them one of their best songs, "Rescue Me" and their second (and last) major hit, "Sukiyaki." Their final album "Ladies Of The Eighties" (1982, Capitol) would pair them up with producers Al McKay of Earth Wind & Fire and Ronald LaPread of The Commodores. Perhaps the group dynamic had something to do with it, or the influence of the Mizell Brothers, or most likely both, but even still, their first two albums had a certain something missing from their last two records. An artistry, a sophistication perhaps, or just that certain vibe and image that seemed to really make them unique.

After their last album, Janice-Marie would make a solo album called "One Taste Of Honey" (1984, Capitol), apparently done as a contractual obligation to the label. Shortly after, she would retire from the music business until around the late '90s when she started performing again. By 2000 she would release her second solo album "Hiatus Of The Heart (2000, Tastebuds). She continues to tour perform these days, both solo and as A Taste of Honey. In recent years, she's also been reconnecting and exploring her Native American heritage in her music. Her latest release was a single called "Until The Eagle Falls" from 2002. Hazel Payne, meanwhile, also resumed performing around the late '90s. In 2004 she performed with Kid Creole (AKA August Darnell) in the disco musical "Oh What A Night." Today she also tours and performs with her own band. Although both ladies largely perform separately these days (as far as I know), in 2004 Hazel and Janice-Marie briefly reunited live on stage for a PBS Disco Special.

As for the other two members, keyboard player Perry Kibble and drummer Donald Johnson ended up, interestingly enough, here in my hometown - Calgary, Alberta. Perry Kibble passed away in 1999, but before his passing was quite prominent in the local music scene and a member of a local group here called Clear Image. The mother of their lead singer was a friend of my own mother, and gave her a copy of their locally produced CD.. I'm going to have to put it up here sometime.. They had performed on local TV here a few times, and not surprisingly, "Boogie Oogie Oogie" was a staple in their repertoire. Donald Johnson is still around today and living here in Calgary. Today he's a bluesman who tours and records as Donald Ray Johnson. Johnson is still going strong and has so far has released three albums: "It Ain't Easy Being Blue" (1995), "Donald Ray" (1998), "Pure Pleasure" (2002) and "Travelin' Man" (2006).

LINKS:
A TASTE OF HONEY - ANOTHER TASTE LP REVIEW @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
A TASTE OF HONEY - ANOTHER TASTE LP REVIEW @ WILSON & ALROY'S RECORDS REVIEWS
A TASTE OF HONEY - ANOTHER TASTE LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
A TASTE OF HONEY - ANOTHER TASTE LP @ DISCOGS
A TASTE OF HONEY @ WIKIPEDIA
A TASTE OF HONEY @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
A TASTE OF HONEY @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
A TASTE OF HONEY REUNION @ SOULFUL DETROIT FORUM
INTERVIEW WITH DON JOHNSON @ SMOOTH JAZZ NOW
THE MIZELL BROTHERS @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
THE MIZELL BROTHERS FAN PAGE - SKY HIGH
JANICE MARIE JOHNSON'S OFFICIAL SITE (remove exclamation point in new window)
HAZEL PAYNE @ PERSONALITY ARTISTS
DONALD RAY JOHNSON'S OFFICIAL SITE (remove exclamation point in new window)

PURCHASE:
A TASTE OF HONEY - CLASSIC MASTERS CD @ AMAZON.COM

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO..