Another Setting Radio: Body Rhythm #4

Photo: Alexandra Hutchinson (l) of Dance Theatre of Harlem and India Bradley (r) of New York City Ballet by Ye Fan, 2023


March 15 brings episode 4 of Body Rhythm to Another Setting Radio.

As always, there is disco in the mix. However, decided to start things and close things with some songs that I've long wanted to place in a mix somewhere/somehow.

The archived show is posted below with some further details on this month's song selections... Enjoy!

Body Rhythm - Show #4
Tracklist:

Sheryl Lee Ralph - Be Somebody
Amii Stewart - Working Late Tonight
Sister Sledge - Il Macquillage Lady
Denise LaSalle - Try My Love
Wanda Walden - Don’t You Want My Lovin’
Sal Panzera - No Stasera No
Roxy Robinson - Come On
Alides Hidding - Hollywood Seven (Mike Simonetti & Johnny Jewel edit)
Five Special - Why Leave Us Alone (12” Version)
Rhetta Hughes - Angel Man (G.A.) (Downtown Version)
Fancy Cake - Higher, Higher, Higher
Girly - Trouble
Barbara Mason - Darling Come Back Home
Judy Cheeks - Walking All Over My Love

All the records played on show #4


Track Notes:

Sheryl Lee Ralph - Be Somebody: Starting things off with the side two opener from actor/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph's sole album from 1986. "In The Evening" was the hit and the title track from it, but this is probably my favourite song on the album. I'm not always a fan of the way reggae was incorporated into pop songs during this time, usually as a trendy production style. I consider this an exception though. To me, the synth-forward 80s reggae-style backing track works here without slipping into parody. The urbane melancholy of the song lyrics add a little weight and cut through in an unexpectedly affective and effective way.

Amii Stewart - Working Late Tonight: Another slice of urbane melancholy from a European pop perspective. Amii Stewart may have been considered something of a one-hit wonder in the US, but she continued to make a career in Italy cutting excellent pop songs like this. The drama of the music and lyrics are everything here, and no wonder, as this was produced by British film composer Simon Boswell, who was fresh from producing Italian superstar Renato Zero the year before.

Sister Sledge - Il Macquillage Lady: To my mind, one of the most interesting songs released by the Sisters Sledge. Putting some of their high school French to work here, this is probably the standout for me on their self-produced 1982 album, The Sisters. A song about a woman who uses her makeup as her security, as her illusion, "hiding in her mask of fantasy." Not your typical pop song subject matter and musically speaking, the sparkling synth work here elevates things even further. This song has gotten some extra mileage after being revealed as the base sample Daft Punk used for their track "Aerodynamic." Taken here from the B-side of a 7" single I had fished out of a dollar bin a while back. Their Motown cover of Mary Wells' "My Guy was on the A-side.
To my ears, that was probably one of their most pedestrian single choices but a decent hit for them at the time. Slowed the tempo down just a little bit here, for a little extra impact.

Denise LaSalle - Try My Love: From what is possibly Denise LaSalle's most disco-oriented album I'm So Hot from 1980. The title track is the most sought-after cut, but this one's my personal favourite from the album. Cut in a minor key; the thick pulsing synths and sweetened strings just give it the right amount of sleaze and elegance. Was a single in Canada, but nowhere else it seems. For what it's worth, this one almost never leaves my record bag.

Wanda Walden - Don’t You Want My Lovin’: Wanda Walden's 1981 album Searchin' For Love was another one of those dollar bin finds for me. Which is to say, a little weathered but for $1, entirely worth it for this cut alone which checks all the boxes of a top-tier Narada Michael Walden production from the time. In-the-pocket groove, Chic-esque guitars (that's American Idol's Randy Jackson on bass) and a killer break. As for the name connection, Wanda was evidently Narada's sister in-law, and this ended up being her only album.

Sal Panzera - No Stasera No: Meaning No, not tonight, this was a lovely bit of Italian disco via Montreal that Disco Segreta recently reissued, which is how I first heard of this. Originally issued in Canada in 1981 on a small run of 7" singles, Salvatore Panzera had immigrated to Canada in 1967 and would form a band that often played Italian weddings on the weekends in the Montreal area. One of his bandmates was Giovanni "Johnny" D'Orazio who would go on to be a prolific disco producer in Montreal. Though there are no production credits on this reissue or the original 7" single, D'Orazio is listed as a co-writer with Panzera here and it certainly bears all the economically catchy trademarks of D'Orazio's productions. Of the many interesting obscurities Disco Segreta has been reissuing lately, this one is among my favourites.

Roxy Robinson - Come On: From a Canadian single sung in Italian to an Italian production sung in English, this is the opening track from Robinson's sole album Silence and Other Sounds from 1977. I'd rate her album as one of my most satisfying record finds recently. So much so, I had made a post about it on Instagram recently. This song is one of the standouts on the album and one which sums the sensual and dramatic sound of the record. I wish I knew more about Roxy Robinson (sometimes credited as Rosalinda Robinson or just ‘Roxy’). She appears to have some other credits on Italian releases from the time, either as singer or songwriter. Produced and arranged by Enrico Intra, Pino Presti also appears on the record and this song was also recently reissued under Presti’s name by Best Record Italy.

Alides Hidding - Hollywood Seven (Mike Simonetti & Johnny Jewel edit): I had first heard Alides Hidding's version at least a decade ago while going down a disco rabbit hole on YouTube. One of those things I had saved to various wantlists and then basically forgot about. A few years ago, DJ Elvin T from Philadelphia plays this one night while he was guesting at Wax Candy Disco here in Toronto. I was working behind the bar that night and racking my brain trying to figure what this song was. I had to go up and ask him afterwards, and he tipped me off to this edit by Mike Simonetti & Johnny Jewel, the guys who founded the Italians Do It Better label. Needless to day, ended up tracking down a copy for myself soon after. Released on their edit label, Perseo, the A-side is a straight-ahead extension of Alides Hidding's 1980 disco version, which remains my personal favourite. I'm a sucker for a tragic, melancholy disco song and this fits the bill perfectly. The B-side of the Perseo release has three other versions, including the original by Jon English, done as a ballad, from 1976. Alides Hidding would end up fronting the Dutch group Time Bandits, perhaps best known for their hit "I'm Only Shooting Love."

Five Special - Why Leave Us Alone (12” Version): The major disco hit from Detroit band Five Special, expertly mixed for disco by Rick Gianatos. While I enjoy this song, didn't play it all the way through here. I loved the synth in the break and thought that would be the ideal point to segue from the previous track, so this one comes in on the latter part of the song.

Rhetta Hughes - Angel Man (G.A.) (Downtown Version): A disco tribute of sorts to New York City's Guardian Angels from 1983. While I'm not necessarily aligned with all the politics surrounding Curtis Sliwa and his organization, there's no question that they provided a measure of safety for ordinary New Yorkers at a time when the city was perhaps at its most dangerous. This is one of two disco tributes to the Guardian Angels that I know of. The other being "The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us" from 1979, sung by Margo Wiliams and produced by Patrick Adams. This particular single was produced by Kenny Lehman, who had a hand in Chic's first singles, and politics aside, I find it to be a pretty killer record. This was released later enough in thto the 80s to probably be characterized as Hi-NRG, yet there are enough elements here like the live percussion that also elevate it above a lot of others in that realm. This song ended up being a nice dance hit for Rhetta Hughes who had been a professional singer and Broadway performer for the better part of the previous decade. There was even a video for this song which is in itself a great time capsule of early 80s New York.


Fancy Cake - Higher, Higher, Higher: Speaking of high octane, I came across this recently while doing a little bit of virtual record digging (ahem) on Discogs. Between its rock guitars and the opening verse - "sitting here and waiting for some lover to come," I feel like this certainly took more than a few cues from Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff." While I can't say the lyrics are quite as coherent on this song, they are nonetheless infectiously catchy and sleazy as all hell. I'm not sure of the genesis of the act Fancy Cake, but the picture of the group on the 7" sleeve was enough to seal the deal for me. Produced by Peter Giesecke AKA Patric Perquee, AKA Goudy Heavyface whose work I've played before on the first Body Rhythm show in December.

Girly - Trouble: An obscure Bobby Orlando production possibly from 1984, but released in 1987. Had no idea about this one until a reissue came up a couple of years ago on I.D. Limited. Timely as original copies were starting to go for a pretty penny. It's classic Bobby O all the way through, he's even a little self-referential here with the lyric "yesterday was passion, today it's just excuse."

Barbara Mason - Darling Come Back Home: Thought I'd start bringing the tempo down here with one of my favourite songs by Barbara Mason. From her sole LP on Prelude, I Am Your Woman, She Is Your Wife from 1978, this was the opener and the tour-de-force on the record. It's still perhaps too slow to be full-on disco, but it certainly approaches disco. This song was originally done on Motown in 1973 by Eddie Kendricks and later by Philly group Love Committee, but Barbara's version is perhaps the best one for me. The moody instrumentation and production here is what takes this one a cut above. In particular, there's a haunting horn/synth trigger sound here which was created, I believe anyway, by something called the cromulizer, invented by album's producer, Weldon A. MacDougal III.

Judy Cheeks - Walking All Over My Love: One of her more underrated songs, this was from taken from an album Judy Cheeks had done with Giorgio Moroder's right-hand man Pete Bellotte in 1983 called Hard On The Heels of Love. That album only ever came out in Italy it seems, but one of the tracks, "Fascination" was released as a single in the Netherlands with this song on the B-side. Needless to say, consider this another instance of the B-side resonating with me more strongly. I've used the word 'melancholy' too much already, but it applies here just as well. It's that quality of the song, Judy's mournful performance and the synth hooks here - engaging without being overpowering, that really set this one apart. Sadly Judy Cheeks passed away late last year at the age of 71.


PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
another setting radio: body rhythm #3 (monday february 16, 2026)
another setting radio: body rhythm #1 (sunday december 21, 2025)
upcoming sister sledge reissues (friday august 10, 2007)

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 Mix #10: Night People Have More Fun

Photo: Potassa de la Fayette by Meryl Meisler, 1977

Starting off the new year with a new mix!

I usually visit family every year over the Christmas holidays, and while I'm there, I have the opportunity to dig for records in my own collection (the part that's in storage) and pick up some more at some of my old stomping grounds. This year, I thought it would be nice to make a mix of the records I brought back. I recorded a few different takes, but the first try (uploaded here) turned out to be the best.



Download

Decided to add some track notes to this post, so first the tracklist, then the notes:

Tracklist:

Electra - Feels Good (Carrots and Beets) (Instrumental)
Marzio - Phantom of the Opera
The New York Models - Hot For You (Extended Version)
Lime - Angel Eyes
Theo Vaness - Night People Have More Fun
Dynamic Superiors - Nowhere To Run
Cuba Gooding - Running Man
Laura Taylor - Some Love
Gladys Knight & The Pips - It's A Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons 12" Mix)
Patsy Gallant - Sugar Daddy
Sandy Mercer - You Are My Love (Walter Gibbons & Steve D'Aquisto 12" Mix)
Made In USA - Never Gonna Let You Go

All the records used in this mix

Track Notes:

Electra - Feels Good (Carrots and Beets) (Instrumental): I noticed this single had been reissued recently and given that, looked like originals were starting to get a little pricey. I swore I had a copy, but I couldn't seem to find it. As it turns out, I had it in Calgary in my boxes in storage. I need to give my copy a little cleaning, but it's no wonder this is in demand again - a lovely record landing right in the intersection of Italo-disco and US electro.

Marzio - Phantom of the Opera: I found this little Italo single - a US pressing, no less, for a cool $2 in Calgary back in 2006. This track is actually the B-side, which I honestly found much more interesting than the A-Side, "Volcano." Some off-kilter vocals from Marzio, but it has some of those lovely synth sounds and chords that I enjoy from this era of Italo Disco.

The New York Models - Hot For You (Extended Version): One of the many projects released by Bobby "O" back in the early 80s, I had recently obtained the Bordello A Parigi reissue of another New York Models single, "Love On Video." Originals of that were starting to go up in price and when I saw that I had this in storage (which is also getting similarly pricey), had to bring it back! Bobby "O"'s productions from this time can be on the formulaic side, but when they're as good as this, I can't resist.

Lime - Angel Eyes: Lime can be a bit of a mixed bag for me. Denis & Denyse LePage's productions are chock-full of interesting melodic hooks, production ideas and great synthwork, but there are times when the vocals put a damper on things. However, took out my copy of the Lime 3 album in storage and found it to be a great listen all the way through. This number shined brightly on the album, so it finds it's way here!

Theo Vaness - Night People Have More Fun: Entering the straight-ahead disco portion of this mix, the one Theo Van Es is another that has been a mixed bag for me in the past. Michaele, Paul and Lana Sebastian were some of the most consistent producers of disco and upon listening to his self-titled album, this track stood out. Sure, it's a little on the heteronormative side, lyrically. Either way, they'd redeem themselves elsewhere (see the heavy homo overtones on Vaness' second album cover), and this has some percussive hooks that stuck with me long enough to include it here.

Dynamic Superiors - Nowhere To Run: Motown seemed to be doing this sort of thing a lot by the late 70s, covering itself with increasing regularity. I suppose it was also good way to double-dip on some of that publishing $$. Once in a while though, some really interesting covers came out of this push, this being one of them. Two-thirds of Holland-Dozier-Holland are back producing a retread of the same song they did for Martha & The Vandellas in 1965 and it translates well to disco, I think. The instrumental breaks in the second half of the track are dynamite, especially the bass guitar towards the end, which I unfortunately mixed out of before it really got started, but you can still get a sense of where it goes. In any case, it convinced me to take their 1977 Give & Take album back with me.

Cuba Gooding - Running Man: Some more Motown disco, this time courtesy of Cuba Gooding (Sr.), on a little solo break from The Main Ingredient. While going through my record boxes, saw that I had a copy of his second solo LP, Love Dancer. Produced by label stalwart Michael L. Smith (AKA Michael Lovesmith) this was one of 2 or 3 nice disco goodies on there that convined me to take this back home with me.

Laura Taylor - Some Love: Laura Taylor's album, Dancin' In My Feet, had remained elusive for me for some time. Ended up finding it misfiled at one of my old record haunts in Calgary, so decided to buy it. Found it to be an unexpectedly solid, consistent album with Taylor herself credited as a writer on many of the songs, including this one, the opening track on the album.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - It's A Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons 12" Mix): I've opined at length on this track here in the past, though until now, original 12" copies had remained elusive for me. Have to say this is one of my most treasured finds over the holidays. This has been reissued, both on CD and 12" recently, which means originals probably aren't as sought after they once were, but it is still nice to finally have one in my possession (and at a good price).

Patsy Gallant - Sugar Daddy: I don't have a great deal of Patsy Gallant's records, though one certainly does come across them often while record shopping in Canada. Over the holidays though, found and bought a crisp, mint copy of her Besoin d'amour album which included this sweet, charming slice of Frenglish Can-Con Disco.

Sandy Mercer - You Are My Love (Walter Gibbons & Steve D'Aquisto 12" Mix): Despite the association with Walter Gibbons, this 12" isn't all that expensive. In fact you might even call this a dollar bin record. That being said, "You Are My Love," (the A-side on my Canadian pressing, but the B-Side on all the others) is my favourite of the two songs on this single, and features some sweet breaks which convinced me to take this one back home.

Made In USA - Never Gonna Let You Go: Pulled my copy out of storage and while taking a listen to the opening track, the culminating break sounded familiar to me. Turns out it was the basis for Theo Parrish's "Never Gonna Let U Go," which itself remains a peak hour favourite and one that I still hear out a fair bit. Hearing that was all the convincing I needed to take this back.

Also, if you're in the Toronto area, my partner and I have a ongoing night at The Little Jerry, which we call INTERGEN. We play back-to-back all night and our next installment (our fourth so far) is this coming Wednesday January 11th. My partner is older and brings newer records and as the younger partner, I bring the older records. In other words, he listens forward and I listen back. It all somehow balances out and gives us both a chance to weave some interesting sound dynamics over the course of an evening. If you're in the area, come by and say hi!


CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERY MIXES, DISCO DELIVERY EVENTS