Disco Delivery #29: First Choice - Breakaway (1980, Gold Mind/Salsoul)

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 got this LP back in 2002, the first LP of theirs that I ever got. I remember at the time playing the hell out of "Pressure Point," but believe it or not, it's only recently that I've managed to really listen to the whole LP continuously. On the whole, my impressions are that it's perhaps not their best album, but nonetheless one with some overlooked gems on it.. For one thing, I think "Pressure Point" is one of their most infectious records; those tense, exquisite strings at the opening, great horn section and those drums, which are just plain bumpin'. 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 been..

One of the tracks that I sort of 'discovered' while revisiting this album was "Can't Take It With You." Not a strictly 'disco' song, but probably one of the best songs they did. To me it seems to recall some of the storytelling style of some of their earlier material.. A great lyric delivered with extra feeling by Rochelle Fleming herself; it's really the chorus though 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 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 particularly well.

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 half-way 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, it seems like the overall production style was perhaps somewhat dated by 1980, recalling a more earlier disco sound than anything that was to come in the 1980's, 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, since 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 was 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 DJ's/mixers of the time.. With the recognition given to Tom Moulton, Larry Levan and Walter Gibbons in recent years, maybe like the others, 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 with it, 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 if they would have 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 1980's 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 licencees perhaps?).. Nevertheless, it is available and in print (see the purchase links below..). I haven't bought it yet, so unfortunately I can't speak for it's 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

LINKS:
FIRST CHOICE - BREAKAWAY @ DISCOGS
FIRST CHOICE @ DISCOGS
FIRST CHOICE @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
FIRST CHOICE @ DISCO MUSEUM.COM
FIRST CHOICE @ JAHSONIC
FIRST CHOICE @ EVERYTHING2
ROCHELLE FLEMING @ JAHSONIC
ROCHELLE FLEMING @ WINTER MUSIC CONFERENCE 2000
TEE SCOTT @ JAHSONIC
TEE SCOTT @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
TEE SCOTT @ DISCOMUSIC.COM

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #6: FIRST CHOICE - THE PLAYER (1974, PHILLY GROOVE/BELL)

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, PAST REISSUES

Disco Delivery #6: First Choice - The Player (1974, Philly Groove/Bell)

"..cold blooded son-of-a-gun, that's what he is.."

First Choice - The Player (LP Version) | LINK TWO
First Choice - Guilty | LINK TWO
First Choice - Hustler Bill | LINK TWO
First Choice - Imagination | LINK TWO

I hadn't pulled out these ladies' early stuff in a little while, until last week when I heard "The Player" on Mac Daddy's latest mix, and it's been running through my head ever since.. In case anyone's not familiar with these ladies - First Choice (Rochelle Fleming, Annette Guest and Ursula Herring) were one of the premier female groups to emerge from disco. While not strictly disco (they had just as many excellent, straight-up Soul/R&B records) they had some of their biggest and most consistent success among disco audiences, from their early hits like "Armed & Extremely Dangerous" in the early '70s to their records on Salsoul towards the late '70s like "Doctor Love," "Double Cross," "Love Thang" and "Let No Man Put Asunder" among others (the latter most recently covered by Mary J. Blige)..

The first three tracks that I put up are off their second album, "The Player" produced by Stan Watson and Norman Harris. Mind you, I'll buy almost anything with Norman Harris' name on the credits, he's got to be one of my favourite producers, almost always a guarantee of quality Philly disco.. The first selection, the album's title track is a great slice of early disco. James Brown, Isaac Hayes and Norman Whitfield aside, I'm guessing this might have been one of the first songs with it's tempo (and with it's disco appeal) that went up to 7 minutes in length (7.10 to be exact) and with a large, prominent instrumental break. The structure of the extended track with the instrumental break would really catch on in a few years and become the prototype for future disco mixes. Just love those catchy refrains in there "...he's a player, he'll get next to you.. he's a player, this is what he'll do...he'll shoot you down..right down to the ground.." right along side those punchy horns; not to mention the extended break with that superb, percolating percussion. The whole thing sounds like it could been a theme for one of those many "Blaxploitation" films from the period, which is probably what inspired this song in the first place.. Recently Philly Groove Records put out a Tom Moulton mix of this song, extending it even further to 10 minutes, which is something I'd like to hear. Seems like the kind of mix that would have been done, had the 12" single been invented at the time..

The next two probably aren't as disco friendly as the first one, but are probably uptempo enough to be considered "early disco," so I'll include them here anyway.. The second song, "Guilty" is another favourite of mine with that great melody and those bright, wonderful string and horn sections.. The next one, "Hustler Bill" follows in a similar vein to "The Player," though not quite as heavy, but with another catchy refrain "...Hustler Bill... give me a thrill.. ridin' around in your automobile.." and a great vocal from Ms. Fleming..

For the last one I decided to use one of their non-album (and possibly unissued) tracks; a cover of "I've Got To Use My Imagination" originally by Gladys Knight & The Pips from their 1973 "Imagination" album. Aside from shortening the title, their version has a faster tempo and a busier arrangement; an early disco cover version, if you will..

A little bit about the sources of these tracks.. I actually took them from a great 2-CD compilation called "First Choice: Love & Happiness - Greatest Hits" from 1994 on the Japanese P-Vine label (not Unidisc like the allmusic review says). Perhaps "Greatest Hits" is a bit of a misnomer; aside from the bonuses, it only covers the material from their first two albums: "Armed & Extremely Dangerous" (Philly Groove/Bell, 1973) and "The Player." Regardless of that, it's still an excellent compilation. Tom Moulton was involved in the production and mastering of the collection and the sound quality is excellent (all selections from the original masters). My only gripe is with the liner notes, which are extensive but completely inaccurate, giving recording and release info for their Salsoul singles, when the material on the collection predates their Salsoul period by several years.. Unfortunately this set is out of print now, but it's the best collection of their early material that I've found so far..

** note: I apologise for being a little bit late with this update.. To potential users of File Lodge, I've just had the most aggravating, time consuming uploading experience ever.. grrr!!.. Just so you can be warned about them..

LINKS/PURCHASE:
FIRST CHOICE - THE PLAYER LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
FIRST CHOICE - GREATEST HITS (2 CD) @ AMAZON.COM
FIRST CHOICE LPs & CDs @ DUSTY GROOVE

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, PAST REISSUES