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..

black and white rainbows, colourful shadows..

Smokey Robinson - And I Don't Love You (Dub) (1984, Motown) | LINK TWO
Smokey Robinson - And I Don't Love You (12'' Extended Version) (1984, Motown) | LINK TWO

Not to worry, I am working on the next disco delivery.. 'tis on the way, will arrive before the end of the week.

In the mean time I decided to rip a 12" single that I picked up over the weekend.. Not exactly disco, but one of those many Larry Levan mixes from the '80s that I hadn't heard yet. Taken from Smokey Robinson's "Essar" (1984, Motown) LP, both this song and the LP it was from were not among Smokey's more successful efforts. In fact the "Essar" LP (what the hell is "Essar" supposed to mean, anyway? edit: apparently it's his initials 'S.R.' in word form.. Thanks to the anonymous commenter..) was one of his lowest charting LPs up until that time. Regardless of the commercial aspect, it's certainly one of the most interesting records I've heard from him..

Produced by frequent collaborator Reginald "Sonny" Burke, the remixes on both sides were credited to Larry Levan and Benny Medina. The mostly instrumental Dub mix on side B though is, in my opinion, classic Larry. It almost reminds me of some of the mixes he did for Gwen Guthrie around this time.. Stripped down to the basic synth track and guitar licks; reduced Smokey's vocals to the occasional melancholy wail wallowing in the layers of echoing synthesized rhythms. As opposed to the vocal extended mix on side A, the dub mix really brings out the dark side of the song. In other words, you really believe it when you hear him sing "..and I don't love you." No reason why, no explanations, it coolly and simply makes the point. Quite the contrast to side A where, listening to the full lyrics, you really aren't supposed to believe what he says..

Also an interesting fact, the Benny Medina credited on the mix is in fact the same Benny Medina that has managed Jennifer Lopez and currently Mariah Carey. Medina had his start at Motown, originally as the lead vocalist in the short-lived group Apollo, along with one of Berry Gordy's sons among others.. Apollo's only album was also produced by Berry's ex-wife Raynoma Singleton, no less..

P.S. Sorry for the scratchy rip.. I really need to invest in a good record cleaner sometime..

LINKS:
SMOKEY ROBINSON - ESSAR LP REVIEW @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
SMOKEY ROBINSON - ESSAR LP REVIEW @ WILSON & ALROY'S RECORD REVIEWS
SMOKEY ROBINSON ALBUM REVIEWS @ ROBERTCHRISTGAU.COM
SMOKEY ROBINSON - AND I DON'T LOVE YOU 12" @ DISCOGS

CATEGORIES: MINI DELIVERIES

Disco Delivery #25: Rinder & Lewis - Warriors (1979, AVI/Quality)

Rinder & Lewis - Love Potion #9
Rinder & Lewis - Blue Steel
Rinder & Lewis - Willie and the Hand Jive
Rinder & Lewis - Arabella/Home
Rinder & Lewis - Harlem Shuffle

File links updated 10/26/08

Finally, it's here..

I've been wanting to showcase something from these guys for a while now. Laurin Rinder & W. Michael Lewis were, in my opinion, one of the best disco production duos of the disco era. Probably not one of the most recognizable as far as the mainstream goes, but certainly one of the most prolific and popular among disco enthusiasts. Rinder and Lewis were pretty much the principals behind El Coco, Le Pamplemousse, Saint Tropez, Tuxedo Junction, Discognosis as well as the soundtrack to the TV show "In Search Of.." (which I used to love as a kid) among others.. According to a 1980 article (see links section), by then they had apparently been involved in some twenty nine albums. Laurin Rinder admitted in a recent interview with Discopia, that they pretty much lived in the studio during the late '70's, in his words: "we really had cots, beds and the whole thing, we were just pumpin’ them out. 7 days a week, 3 different projects at the same time. I played drums on everything but had to play a little differently. I had to ask the engineer 'What’s the name of this group?' " Not surprisingly cocaine figured quite prominently in the madness of those days. Another thing Laurin Rinder admitted in that same interview was: "The amount of coke we did to do all this you can’t even imagine. $300 a day. I had to have plastic inserts in my nose so I could do more." I wonder if ol' Rick James needed plastic inserts..

What makes their output even more remarkable is that they played the majority of the instruments themselves. Despite that, as musicians they didn't credit themselves on some of their earlier works, instead giving false names to false musicians on the back of their records; In part I guess to give the appearance of being a real group. One other reason, as Rinder admitted in his discomusic.com interview, was to remain fairly anonymous, so as not to tarnish their reputation as "legit" rock and jazz musicians. In recent years, Laurin Rinder has been the most forthcoming with tales of the day, having done at least two interviews with disco websites in recent years. Prior to disco he already had a long history as a session and journeyman drummer, having played on countless records since the 1950's, including a stint as a session player at Motown, often without credit.

"Warriors," as mentioned earlier was their second album as Rinder & Lewis, and is probably among some of the best stuff they've released. Even the cover they used, an actual picture of their fathers on a fishing trip, made a clever statement. Overall, I love the sound they went for on this LP, with great musicianship coloured with some amazing, lush, smooth synthesizer effects. The cream of the crop as far as the tracks on this album goes, and as good as everything is, is probably the closing track "Blue Steel." Forget Zoolander (please), this track is, to me, the culmination of that excellent balance of synthsesizers and live musicians that they achieved throughout the album. Those amazing, equal parts calm and crazy synths at one point blending seamlessly with the violin solo is, for me, one of the best things about this track. Dark, haunting and sexy at the same time, it's one of the most atmospheric disco instrumentals I've yet to hear. It almost recalls one of their standout tracks, "Lust" from their "Seven Deadly Sins" (1978, AVI) project. So much so that one internet review even described this track as "Lust, part II." One of those tracks that one just needs to luxuriate in to really appreciate..

The two covers on the album are also well worth listening to. The LP opens with a synth driven cover of Johnny Otis' "Willie & The Hand Jive," which as I recently learned is actually about an innocent 1950's dance/clap game, not that other kind of hand jive, but I digress.. Opens with a great I-Feel-Love-esque robotic beat which by the middle of the track becomes a kind of dark, crazy, paranoid synth workout.. It would be this song paired with "Love Potion #9" that would chart at #20 on the Billboard disco charts in 1980.. Their other cover, a Lieber & Stoller song (they'd been known to cover a few in their time) "Love Potion #9" opens side 2. Equal parts playful and sexy, with a great hypnotic beat to it, the cheeky lyrics make an interesting contrast with the dark soundscapes that colour this album.

According to a 1980 interview with Rinder & Lewis, "Arabella/Home" (or at least the 'Arabella' part) was originally done eight years prior to this album as a rock song, recast as a disco track for this project. Great string section on this one, also love that pounding bass drum on the "Home" section of the track.

The lightest, most playful track on the album is probably "Harlem Shuffle" with guest vocalist Carmen Twillie up front. Not quite as dark in mood, no crazy synth effects and much more vocally driven than any of the others. It probably comes closest to recalling the vibe of many of the El Coco projects.

Anyway, for this one I put the entire album up. It's a pity (as usual) but much of the AVI label's disco output, particularly Rinder & Lewis' productions are pitifully underrepresented on CD.. Aside from a recent Japanese reissue of El Coco's "Let's Get It Together" (1976, AVI) album, there is one budget CD of El Coco hits and a now out of print CD called "Disco 54: The AVI Collection," which most notably contained the nine minute version of "Lust." I'd hope that Universal, who owns the AVI catalogue, will give much of Rinder & Lewis' classic AVI output proper reissue treatment one day. Until then, vinyl hunters will keep on hunting..

Not surprisingly, after disco, Rinder & Lewis burned out. All that coke had to take it's toll sometime, I suppose. Much of their post-1980 AVI output has been considered largely sub-par by many disco fans (though personally, I haven't heard too much of the post-1980 stuff, but I'm curious to).. In addition, they had started to focus more on TV music composition after getting tired of dealing with record labels in trying to get their proper royalties. After doing an album for Eloise Whitaker, Laurin Rinder would leave the music business, while Michael Lewis would continue on.. Despite, at least in the beginning, not really being familiar with disco, doing it based on their record label's suggestion; they managed to build up an excellent and impressive canon of disco material under their many guises...

Also, for those who are interested, be sure to check out the links below to the interviews with Laurin Rinder and Rinder & Lewis together..

Next week: another taste of something sweet and smooth..

LINKS:
RINDER & LEWIS - WARRIORS LP @ DISCOGS
RINDER & LEWIS @ DISCOMUSEUM
LAURIN RINDER & W. MICHAEL LEWIS 1980 INTERVIEW: PART ONE | PART TWO
LAURIN RINDER INTERVIEW @ DISCOPIA
LAURIN RINDER INTERVIEW @ DISCOMUSIC.COM

PURCHASE:
DISCO 54 - THE AVI COLLECTION @ AMAZON.COM

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, INTERVIEWS

I know I've got some 'splaining to do..

I really hate giving excuses, but I might as well update you, my faithful readers, about what's been keeping me.. After all, It's been over a month since my last update and I really shouldn't keep everyone hanging here.

Although I haven't updated as much, it's been quite the summer; a new job and to top it all off at the beginning of August, I had to move into a new place. So far, the place is great, (love my location and my view); unfortunately, due to problems with transferring internet access, I didn't have any for several weeks. To make a long story short, because a three year contract was signed with the internet/phone provider, we wanted to try and transfer it to the new place, but this time without a corresponding land-line.. In any case, after about a month of neverending delays and problems, I gave up on that and switched to a new provider.. As a result, I didn't have internet until about the beginning of this month.. All that in addition to me trying to furnish the new place and getting my first little taste of (semi) independence, I just really haven't been in the mood to rip any records or update..

Yesterday was my first day of the new semester at University, so I am working less hours and ironically, I'll probably have more free time to spare. That said, I hope to get a new Disco Delivery up sometime this coming weekend *fingers crossed*..

Again, sorry for keeping everyone waiting..

CATEGORIES: MISCELLANEOUS

New deal for Donna

Great news for Donna fans.. It's always great to see artists like Donna get a break. It seems the only way a veteran artist over 40 can get anything out these days is by doing one of those mucky standards albums..

Just recently Donna & her people released a press release announcing her new deal with the Sony/BMG label Burgundy Records (www.burgundyrecords.com). For those of you who don't know, the Burgundy label was launched this past January with Chaka Khan (can't wait for her new album!) and Aaron Neville as their first signings. Targeted toward "legendary artists" (ie. who don't fit into labels' increasingly youth-oriented focus), it seemed the perfect label for Donna. As soon as the label launched, fans have been speculating about them signing her ever since. In any case, I'm glad she finally has a solid record deal. I've always assumed that if any label was going to release a new album for her, it would be Universal or one of their affiliated labels.. For one thing, they have their own label, similar in concept to Burgundy, called New Door Records. According to a press release, the New Door label was made to "release new material from artists with existing Universal catalog," which also seemed to fit perfectly. Also, the people at Universal have been, shall we say, generous, in releasing compilation after compilation of her hits. A notable exception though was her latest single "I Got Your Love" which they released last year. For a change, that was a stand-alone release not connected to any hits compilation or anything else. I assumed there was to be something bigger on the horizon for them to be testing the waters like that; unfortunately, aside from it doing well on the club charts (as expected), nothing else really came from it. All things considered, it's too bad Universal seemed to see Donna these days as only a catalogue artist..

Anyway, without further ado, here's the press release as posted on Donna's official site:


SONY BMG’S BURGUNDY RECORDS SIGNS
LEGENDARY SINGER SONGWRITER
DONNA SUMMER

NEW ALBUM TO BE RELEASED SPRING 2007

New York, NY – July 2006 – BURGUNDY RECORDS, SONY BMG’s new record label, announced today the signing of legendary singer songwriter DONNA SUMMER.
“Donna Summer is a perfect fit for Burgundy and we couldn’t be happier to be working with her. She is an absolute legend – a classic and timeless vocalist who still has a great deal of demand and viability within the marketplace,” says Joe DiMuro, EVP/General Manager of Burgundy Records.

"I'm excited and very eager to get started. Let the games begin. It's great to have Burgundy Records as my new musical family, “says Donna Summer.
Donna is scheduled to go into the studio this Fall to record her new album, which is currently in its initial planning stages.

Donna Summer is in good company on Burgundy Records, joining legendary artists Aaron Neville, America and Chaka Khan, all of whom have new records on the way.

About Burgundy Records:

Burgundy Records, an imprint under SONY BMG’s Strategic Marketing Group, signs legendary multi-platinum artists and releases new titles in conjunction with innovative marketing campaigns that promote their artists through traditional and non-traditional channels. Their roster includes Aaron Neville, America, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer and The New Orleans Social Club.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a global recorded music joint venture with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. Sony BMG Music Entertainment is 50% owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50% owned by Sony Corporation of America.


Can't wait to finally see this new album in the stores. It's been some fifteen years since her last original album, "Mistaken Identity" (1991, Atlantic) so it's long overdue to say the least.. Though it's good news she'll be in the studio, I'd also love to hear some of the unreleased tracks from her aborted "Angel" album. That album was supposed to come out on Epic/Sony before that deal fell through (more background on this at the Donna Tribute site and samples on her official site www.donnasummer.com).. Though who knows, maybe some of those tracks will end up surfacing on this project as well. Wait and see, I guess...

Oh and please, please God, don't let it be a standards album.. Really, I just wish that god-awful trend would die already..

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
NUDISCO: DONNA SUMMER - I GOT YOUR LOVE (JANUARY 16, 2006)

LINKS:
THE DONNA TRIBUTE SITE
BURGUNDY RECORDS LAUNCHES - MIX ONLINE

CATEGORIES: DISCO NEWS

Madonna vs. Agnetha

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Disco Delivery #24: Love & Kisses (1977, Barclay/Polydor)

Love & Kisses - Accidental Lover
Love & Kisses - I've Found Love (Now That I've Found You

Forgive me, I know it's been a while.. No, I haven't run out of disco records yet, I've just been neglecting this blog this past month.. As usual, busy at work and just plain lazy at home. Consider this past July my summer holiday from blogging if you will... Anywho, I've actually been planning to put some of Alec R. Costandinos' work up here for some time, I figure I've invoked his name enough already, I might as well put something up.. For those who may not know, Costandinos was undoubtedly one of the Eurodisco auteurs. In the span of about three to four years in the late '70s (from '75-'79) he managed to put out some of the most amazing, intricate, complex orchestral (master)pieces of disco artistry ever put on vinyl. Starting with his work on Cerrone's "Love In C Minor" to what many consider his most inspired moment; his disco rendering of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" (1978, Casablanca), to his other studio projects like this one (Love & Kisses), Paris Connection, Sumeria and Sphinx. Not to mention some of his more obscure works like Tony Rallo & The Midnite Band and (yes, believe it or not) Tina Turner's disco LP "Love Explosion" (1979, United Artists).

Costandinos' Love & Kisses project is probably best known for the title track/theme from the movie "Thank God It's Friday," which peaked at #22 on the Billboard Pop charts.. Prior to making a name for himself in disco, Costandinos had worked primarily in France as a songwriter/producer for and with the likes of Dalida, Vangelis, and most prominently Demis Roussos. In 1974 Costandinos would become involved with a group called Kongas, whose drummer was none other than future disco auteur Jean-Marc Cerrone. Later in 1975, the two would collaborate on Cerrone's first solo project "Love In C Minor" (1976, Malligator), one of the greatest disco classics which inevitably launched both of their careers as disco producers. The two original tracks off Cerrone's three-track "Love In C Minor" LP (the title track and "Midnite Lady") would unfortunately be the last products of the Cerrone/Costandinos partnership. As for as the reason that was, it's a bit of a question mark. In the past few years there have been a few discussions about this particular subject on the discomusic.com forums. One of the things that was claimed, based on old interviews and such (none of which I have seen or read, mind you), is that their collaboration ended after a subsequent "misunderstanding" about credit. Costandinos apparently claiming he was not credited appropriately for his contribution to the "Love In C Minor" project. Again, I'm not 100 % sure how true this is, although I've always found Cerrone's "Midnite Lady" to sound more like a Costandinos production than a Cerrone production, so it certainly seems plausible.. Whatever the case, by 1977 he had enough clout to release his own disco project, which leads us to this LP..

Essentially this album, with it's deliciously playful and racy cover, was something of a glorified 12" single. Consisting of only two tracks, each taking up an entire side (both tracks running around 17 minutes each), it cemented Costandinos' signature production style. His brand of European orchestral maximalism (as some might put it) was in full display on the A side - "Accidental Lover." After a brief conversational intro, it breaks into a full tilt 4/4 beat with glorius staccato strings on top. In some ways "Accidental Lover" recalls both "Love In C Minor" and "Midnite Lady". It's almost a fuller, faster version of both.. Going back to the speculation about the Cerrone-Costandinos misunderstanding, it's been said that the similarities were not some sort of formulaic accident, but a deliberate attempt by Costandinos to prove his involvement in the Cerrone record. Creating something similar enough to draw comparisons, yet distinct enough to be an original.. Getting back to the music though, one other thing that I found striking was not just the strings themselves, but how Costandinos uses them. The strings have a full, almost relentless, powerful sound to them, being even rhythmic in places. They're constantly alternating from a smooth, gentle sound to a striking staccato sound. They're so dynamic, they almost talk to you.. Point being, I don't think I've heard any other disco producer use strings quite the way Costandinos does.

The story on Accidental Lover I found a little perplexing initially.. At the beginning of the song the lyrics are a little feisty "...who'd you think you're fooling with your mystery tale, accidental lover, you're just trying in vain, don't wanna love you.." then later the vocals go.. "you know I love you... you know i love you..I wanna love you" Although as the blanks get filled in with the intro at the beginning and Alec's own vocals towards the end, it seems like a kind of one night stand story.. The man meets the woman, the woman is the one who starts off reluctant, who "doesn't want to love him." They sleep together, then the woman changes her mind and it's the man who wants to move on.. Alec's vocals towards the end go, in part.. "just close your eyes when I walk out that door.. and life will go on as it used to before.." A pretty intersting narrative, kind of gives the song a useful tension I think..

The track on side B "I've Found Love (Now That I've Found You)" doesn't quite have the tension of "Accidental Lover," but it makes a nice flipside/continuation to it.. After the tension of side A comes the euphoric release of side B.. The lyrics and female vocals are much more cheery and chirpy, not to mention Alec himself takes a lightly more prominent role as a vocalist.. Let me just say after hearing him here, I'm glad he didn't make it too much of a habit.. Still, it's not so much the vocals that win me over but the complex layers and changes throughout the song.. How it switches from layered orchestral strings, horns and harps to a strong percussive section with some great drum breaks and back again.. Not to mention some of those tense, frantic strings close to the 10 minute mark..

The singers on the album are anonymously credited as "Sue, Stephanie, Joanne, Vicki, Sunny and Alec." While Alec is, of course, Costandinos himself, the ladies include some of the most prominent session singers in the UK at the time. Sunny & Sue are actually Sunny Leslie & Sue Glover who aside from recording as a duo (as Sue & Sunny), were original members of Brotherhood of Man. The two would also sing on some other disco projects, including albums for Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Madleen Kane, Ian Levine and other Costandinos projects like Sphinx and Sumeria.. Similarly the other three session singers were also quite prolific in their own right. Vicki Brown and Joanne Stone would each be on records by some very prominent artists as did Stephanie DeSykes who would also (like all the other ladies) be involved in other Costandinos projects among many other things.. Some of the other notable personnel include Slim Pezin on guitar, who was a member of the group Voyage, as well as Raymond Donnez AKA Don Ray on keyboards and as arranger and conductor. Don Ray was of course a ubiquitous name on albums by Cerrone, Costandinos and Santa Esmeralda to name a few..

That said, as impressive as this record is (to me, at least), the best of Costandinos was yet to come. For the record, I'd probably agree with the the majority in saying that his most inspired moment was probably his landmark "Romeo & Juliet" album.. Even though that is largely considered his peak, like many of the great disco producers, he was one of those that managed to make many great records in what was really a remarkably short time.. The complexity, spendour and certainly the ambition of his records were something unique to it's time.. It's been said on the discomusic.com forums, and I'd agree, that the likes of Costandinos' productions are unlikely to be heard again, certainly not today anyway. Which makes it even more unfortunate, that according once again to many of the discussions on the forum, Costandinos himself (who apparently owns or controls most of his masters) doesn't seem to have any interest in reissuing his work on CD. Lord knows why, but for someone who put so much into his productions, it's a shame that much of it can't be enjoyed and preserved on CD.. Still, there have been bits and pieces of his work that have been reissued though. One of them being a "best of.." CD of his work on Unidisc in the late '80s. Apparently poorly mastered with shoddy artwork and to top it all off a misspelling of his name ("Constandinos" instead of "Costandinos"). Perhaps that is one reason why he is reluctant to authorize any CD reissues.. Also, there was a very limited Japanese CD release of his "Romeo & Juliet" album in the late 90's and a budget reissue of the Tina Turner album he did. All are long out of print and go for pretty good money these days..

After his disco efforts, Costandinos seemed to scale things down considerably. He would release one more album in 1981 called "Americana," ironically not released in the US. He would also have some sporadic writing and production credit here and there, one of them being a 1982 album for Swedish singer Tommy Nilsson. Later on he would become more involved in the film industry scoring films and more recently producing... These days he is apparently married with children, living in Los Angeles largely involved in making commercials.. A couple of notable recent credits have been as a writer and executive producer on a movie called "True Vinyl" from 2000 and as Executive Producer on another movie called "King Rikki" (2002), an East L.A. adaptation of Shakespeare's "Richard the III"..

In closing, I must credit the discomusic.com forums for introducing me and educating me on Costandinos and his work. Over the years it has been a great resource for me on pretty much all things disco. As far as info on Costandinos is concerned though, info on the rest of the 'net is often fairly vague compared to many other prominent disco producers. Searching many of the discussions on the forum have certainly helped fill in a few blanks in his story..

LINKS:
LOVE & KISSES @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
LOVE & KISSES @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
LOVE & KISSES - S/T LP (REVIEW) @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
LOVE & KISSES - S/T LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
ALEC R. COSTANDINOS @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
ALEC R. COSTANDINOS DISCOGRAPHY @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
ALEC R. COSTANDINOS @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
ALEC COSTANDINOS @ IMDB
ALEC R. COSTANDINOS @ RATEYOURMUSIC.COM
DISCOMUSIC.COM FORUMS - COSTANDINOS VS. CERRONE

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO..

No hittin' below the belt..

How do you spell 'Fierce'? Two words. Grace. Jones.

Grace Jones - Below The Belt



Grace performing "Below The Belt" from her 1978 "Fame" LP.. For sure, not your average live lip sync, as those poor guys in the audience soon found out.. If there's anything I must do one of these days, it's to see one of Grace's live shows. Ah, the stories I've heard..

CATEGORIES: VISUAL DISCO

Disco Delivery #23: Duncan Sisters (1979, RCA)

Duncan Sisters - Boys Will Be Boys
Duncan Sisters - Sadness In My Eyes
Duncan Sisters - Outside Love

I know it's been a little while since my last entry, I apologise for the brief absence.. In any case, In that time I've only gotten busier at work, bought a new iPod (yes, finally jumped on the bandwagon) and am nearly finished reading Peter Shapiro's excellent book "Turn The Beat Around - A Secret History of Disco," which has been an amazing read.. Even if you may not agree with everything he says, it's an extremely interesting and even illuminating read. Hope to write a longer review about it one of these days.

I've been wanting to do an entry on at least one of the great productions of Toronto-based producers Willi Morrison and Ian Guenther (A.K.A. Three Hats Productions/THP) for a little while now. In case some of you don't know, they were the production duo behind the THP Orchestra and their epic disco monster "Two Hot For Love." Some of their other projects included Sticky Fingers, Grand Tour, Skatt Bros. (an unfortunate name if there ever was one) to name just a few. One of those projects included this album for the Duncan Sisters, Phyllis and Helen whom they had been using as regular session singers on some of their major projects from that time. In the mid '70s, prior to their disco efforts, the Duncans had done backup vocals for the likes of Al Green and Ann Peebles on the Memphis Hi label. In 1978 they would begin appearing as the primary lead vocalists on Morrison and Guenther's third (second in the US) THP album "Tender Is The Night (1978, Butterfly) and later on their Sticky Fingers (1978, Prelude) project.

It seems by 1979 Guenther/Morrison were starting to branch out from their signature sound somewhat. They would take a rock-oriented direction on the Skatt Bros' "Strange Spirits" (1979, Casablanca) album and a more radio-friendly pop sound for the final THP album "Good To Me" (1979, Atlantic). The Duncan Sisters album, not surprisingly, falls on the more pop-oriented side of things. Originally released in the US on Casablanca's Earmarc imprint (but on RCA in Canada), the single off the album, "Boys Will Be Boys" had some of the same characteristics as their hit "Two Hot For Love". A very similar percussion/hi-hat intro, similarly lush light synths, except this time quickly merging itself into a full, layered Spector-esque power-pop/disco combo. Again, with those characteristic THP horns spread all over the place, gunslinger guitar and spirited, catchy vocals and lyrics, it has all the elements in place. There's a definite classic pop aesthetic in the song. With the way the sisters sing a lyric like "the traces of the tears I cried are on my face," they do what some of the best pop songs do. In other words translate heartbreak into something irresistably sweet, catchy and infectious..

With a title like that, probably not a surprise that "Boys Will Be Boys" was a hit in quite a few gay clubs. Interestingly, Ronnie Spector herself would cover this song on her Genya Ravan-produced "Siren" LP from 1980.

"Sadness In My Eyes" takes things a little bit more seriously. A song that, instead of brushing it aside like the previous, seems to revel in it's drama-queen sensibility. It's a song with a melody that is so simple, effective and original that it's hard to believe it's not a cover. Written (music and lyrics) by Willi Morrison, the lyrics are interesting, given 1979 as the last years of disco as most knew it. The line, "it's sad I know, when the good times have to go.." seem eerily prophetic for it's time. The end of a love-affair paralleling the end of disco perhaps? Maybe there was a lingering sense of what would happen at the time. I'm not sure, but like what Peter Shapiro touched on in his book, some of the best disco came from those that were able to take the bitter with the sweet. Those, like Rodgers & Edwards of Chic who didn't just leave disco as a pleasure free-for-all, but who acknowledged the sense of melancholy, bitterness and cynicism that was just as much a part of disco as the escapist, hedonistic party that was most visible. Then again, maybe I've just been into Shapiro's book a bit too much, but I digress..

"Outside Love" (also a single, apparently) is somewhat more conventional disco than the last two. Back to big diva vocals, powerful, sweeping buildups and layered instrumental breaks. One of my favourite parts ot this song is at the end of the chorus when the one of the ladies sings "I'd be better loving on the outside." Powerful vocals and drums punctuating every syllable.

Some of the other songs on the album include at least one other enjoyable disco track, "Love Is On The Way" as well as some good to awful attempts at balladry, namely "Rock Along Slowly," which is hopelessly pedestrian, to "You Give Me Such A Feeling" which is a great album closer.

The Duncan Sisters would release one more album in 1981 (which I haven't heard yet) called "Gonna Stay In Love" (pic stolen from eBay). This time around they were calling themselves just The Duncans and had switched to the blues & soul indie label Malaco. One of the singles off that album, "Too Damn Hot" was released as a 12". The title track and another song, "Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees" (these titles certainly sound promising..) were also released as singles.. Since then the Duncans have occasionally surfaced as backup vocalists for the likes of U2 and B.B. King to name a couple. The most recent news about them was of a performance together, once again as the Duncan Sisters, at the 1999 Poretta Soul Festival in Italy. According to the brief bio on the Soul Festival's website, at that time Helen was a soloist in the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and Phyllis was working with the Jim Johnson Orchestra of Memphis.

This is just the first of several THP Productions that I would like to put up. It's really too bad that very little of their output has been featured on CD as of yet. They were one of the best representations of what some have called a "Canadian disco sound" - a unique hybrid of both American and European styles. There have been some reviewers who type them as "Eurodisco," and there was certainly that element, but there was also a definite (North) American continental sound it. In other words, it definitely didn't sound like anything from either Munich or even New York. Given the penchant for some Canadian productions to be somewhat on the cheap side once in a while (after all, it was, relatively speaking, the early days of Can-Con), there was never anything cheap sounding about a THP production. Even just for that, they deserve their props.

Also something to note, Richard Bernstein, the graphic artist who did those iconic covers for Grace Jones' three disco albums and Loleatta Holloway's 1979 "Loleatta" album was also behind the photo-drawings on the cover..

LINKS:
DUNCAN SISTERS - S/T LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
DUNCAN SISTERS - BOYS WILL BE BOYS 12'' @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
DUNCAN SISTERS @ THE PORETTA SOUL FESTIVAL
DUNCAN SISTERS @ SOULFUL DETROIT FORUM
DUNCAN SISTERS @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
DUNCAN SISTERS @ DISCOGS
PHYLLIS DUNCAN CREDITS @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
HELEN DUNCAN CREDITS @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
THE DUNCANS - GONNA STAY IN LOVE LP (REVIEW) @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE

PURCHASE:
VA - WE LOVE DISCO @ AMAZON.CO.UK (INCL. "SADNESS IN MY EYES")

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, CAN-CON DISCO

Disco Delivery #22: Spinners - Dancin' & Lovin' (1979, Atlantic)

Spinners - Body Language
Spinners - Let's Boogie, Let's Dance
Spinners - One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)
Spinners - With My Eyes
Spinners - Medley: Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl

A great disco album from The Spinners (AKA The Detroit Spinners in the UK), one of the soul groups of the 1970's.. It's been said (I think it was by Smokey Robinson in his autobiography, but don't quote me on that) that Motown artists who leave the label are often hard-pressed to top any success they had at Motown. That was probably true for some groups, but for others like The Spinners, Gladys Knight & The Pips and The Isley Brothers, who all often felt neglected by Motown, the opposite was actually true. The Spinners in particular wouldn't hit paydirt until they left for the Atlantic label in the early '70s and were paired with one of the masters of Philly soul, Thom Bell. However, by the late '70s, they were on their third lead singer (John Edwards) and in something of a commercial slump. Apparently this was the second album the group released in 1979, the first being "From Here To Eternally," their final album with Thom Bell. "From Here To Eternally" would be one of their lowest charting albums up until that time, which seemed to prompt a new association for their next album with producer Michael Zager. With "Dancin' & Lovin' ," they would manage to reverse the slump (at least for a little while) starting with the big hit single from the album, "Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me Girl." Essentially a medley consisting of a cover of the 1966 Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons hit with an original tune ("Forgive Me Girl"), it's an exceptional piece of soulful disco. It was also a bona-fide cross over hit topping the US Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary and Disco charts.

In all honesty, before I came across this album, I had only heard of the Spinners but wasn't really familiar with their work (in a way I'm still not really familiar with their full body of work yet). I first came across the LP about a year ago in the new arrivals of a used record shop and picked it up purely out of curiosity. I wasn't really expecting the album to really impress me as much as it did. For me, there really isn't a bad track on this album, which really made it a bit hard to choose which tracks to put up. Despite not being familiar with The Spinners' work, I was however familiar with producer Michael Zager's work, mostly with Cissy Houston, and so far nothing he had done had disappointed. So far, the tracks he did off this album are undoubtedly some of the best I have ever heard from him. Some of his best production values are especially evident on the LP, particularly those big buildups; full, meaty rhythm sections, combined with a real smooth, yet soulful edge on top of it all.

"Body Language," apparently also released as a 12" in the UK, is one of those smooth, soulful disco tracks off the album. Opening with some great guitar lines into a strong, yet silky smooth lead vocal, great background harmonies and a soft, elegant string section. They even incorporate a little bit of the lyrics from the Michael Zager Band's "Let's All Chant" in the song: "..my body, your body, everybody move your body.. let's all chant.."

"Let's Boogie, Let's Dance" continues in a similar vein. Starting out with a slow intro, gradually building into a sunny, melodic disco groove. It's the type of inoffensive, joyful disco song you'd expect your grandparents to be able to get down to at a wedding party while the younger ones sit it out, secretly humming along in their heads. Irresistably shiny and catchy, one of those songs that just effortlessly radiates happiness and joy and good vibes, because really, you just can't go wrong with that..

"One, One, Two, Two.." finds them in a slightly funkier direction. The only song on the album not produced by Michael Zager, this one was produced by sometime Detroit singer Will Hatcher co-produced with The Spinners themselves. This one chugs along with a great blend of the Spinners' smooth yet assertive vocals and some really funky guitar work, complete with a mean break two-thirds of the way through, showing off some of that great percussion and guitar work..

"With My Eyes" is another Zager-produced track, and probably one of the most dramatic on the album. Love those strings and those great, soulful vocals, neither of which are overwhelming, both have just the right amount of passion and restraint. Those lyrics are probably also the finest on the album. A beautifully poetic take on the old "love at first sight" theme.

Can't possibly do a post on this album and omit the biggest success from it. Although it's probably pretty well known by now, it's still a great tune. The guys manage to breathe some new life into "Working My Way Back To You" and manage to combine it seamlessly with their original song "Forgive Me Girl" that, dare I say it, overshadows the first part of the medley with it's sheer soulful drama. There were many artists who seemed to see Soul and Disco as somehow incompatible, but particularly on this song, the Spinners manage to flawlessly combine the best of both. One of those groups who successfully blended their genuinely soulful style with the disco sound and had a bona fide across-the-board chart hit to show for it.

The Spinners would record another two albums with Michael Zager in the producer's chair, and would manage to make lightning strike twice in 1980 with another medley "Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time" off their "Love Trippin'" (1980, Atlantic) album (of which some editions included edited versions of "Body Language" and "Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl"). They'd follow that album up with "Labor Of Love" (1981, Atlantic), the last album with Zager, which would see their momentum slip considerably. After starting off the decade with a bang and something of a resurgence, sadly, it was not to continue. None of their remaining albums for Atlantic would reverse their commercial fortunes, nor would a 1989 album for the resurgent Volt label. Nevertheless, the Spinners are apparently still performing today and have a solid legacy as one of the great male vocal groups of the 1970s.

Although they may have overused the words "boogie" and "woogie" a little much, the album still stands as an excellent example of a soul group successfully (both commerically and creatively) combining both elements and sounding entirely genuine and convincing the whole time. Given the fact that one-off disco efforts were a dime-a-dozen at the time, their success in the disco arena was perhaps no small feat. Interestingly, "Dancin' & Lovin" was also one of the first Spinners albums to be given a CD reissue. Rhino Records released a no-frills budget reissue of the album in 1992, with probably one of the cheapest covers (painfully generic artwork with a bad scan of a worn out copy of the LP on the front) I've ever seen. It recently went out of print, yet it's still easy to find with cheap used, or new cut-out copies to be found almost everywhere..

**New Links: Some great new disco on the blogosphere. First Choice is a brand spanking new blog dedicated to Disco, Italo, Garage and Electro. They've only been around for some two posts and they've already got some great West End Records classics as well as a couple of early '80s italo and electro selections. Needless to say, I'll definitely be coming back for more.. Also DJ Robert Drake's Reflections of a Rock Lobster is a wonderful blog of memories from his life. From memories of New York and Philly nightlife (nights at the Paradise Garage, The Saint, The Anvil etc..) to more personal reflections, it's one of my new favourite personal blogs.. Check 'em both out sometime!

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
DISCO DELIVERY #8: CISSY HOUSTON - THINK IT OVER (1978, PRIVATE STOCK) (FEBRUARY 24, 2006)

LINKS:
THE SPINNERS - DANCIN' & LOVIN' LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
THE SPINNERS - DANCIN' & LOVIN CD @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
THE SPINNERS ALBUM REVIEWS @ ROBERTCHRISTGAU.COM
THE SPINNERS @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
THE SPINNERS @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
THE SPINNERS @ WIKIPEDIA
THE SPINNERS @ DISCOGS
INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL ZAGER @ DISCO-DISCO.COM

PURCHASE:
SPINNERS - DANCIN' & LOVIN' CD @ AMAZON.COM
SPINNERS - DANCIN & LOVIN CD LISTINGS @ FROOGLE

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, PAST REISSUES

Disco Delivery #21: Beautiful Bend - Make That Feeling Come Again! (1978, Marlin/TK)

Beautiful Bend - That's The Meaning
Beautiful Bend - Boogie Motion
Beautiful Bend - Make That Feeling Come Again
Beautiful Bend - Ah-Do It

I recently got an email suggesting this album, so I figured now would probably be a good time to pull this one out.. This project is probably one of my favourite things ever done by producer Boris Midney. Midney's otherwise known for other disco projects such as Festival (the name under which he released the infamous "Disco Evita" album), Caress and most prominently USA-European Connection among others. The Beautiful Bend project was to be his second disco release after the first USA-European Connection album.

Born in Soviet-era Russia; in August of 1964 while in Tokyo, Midney and fellow musician Igor Berukshtis would leave their Soviet vaudeville-style group and defect to the U.S. Embassy. Midney and Berukshtis would then be known as the first Russian Jazz players to defect to the west. Once in the US, they would form the Russian Jazz Quartet, who would release one album, "Happiness" in 1965 on the Impulse! label. Apparently the album was passed over at the time and still remains so..

Midney would later reinvent himself in the late '70s as one of the Euro-disco auteurs. Though firmly based in the US by this time, the sound of his productions are perhaps the Euro-est of all the Euro-disco producers. Others like Costandinos and Moroder would draw from funk, rock and R&B influences from time to time; Midney, at least at his most prominent, was firmly based in classical, orchestral, and even jazz influences with a very European melodic sensibility. So much so that Midney's appeal is often completely lost, his work even reviled among many R&B disco purists. That aside, his unabashedly grand, orchestral and at times esoteric European style is a large part of his genius. Just in how he was able to approach disco with a completely, in some cases radically different perspective and make it translate. Probably one of the ultimate examples of the diversity within disco music in the late '70s..

The opening track, "That's The Meaning," is nothing short of heavenly. With those crazy string effects ushering you into a darkly dramatic build up right up until the vocals come in with those few, simple, euphoric words.. "That's the meaning, that's the feeling, that's the joy good loving brings.. It's so real I could feel, I could touch, if I could.." Nothing sums up the feeling, the almost affirmative quality of the song better than that... "That's The Meaning" later segues into "Boogie Motion," which is probably the lightest track on the album with a real playful quality to it, particularly in those vocals and instumental passages towards the end.

From what I've read on forums and such, Side One ("That's The Meaning," "Boogie Motion") was the side that got the most club play, but Side Two (or as they call it on the album, the "Continuation of Side One") is probably the favourite of many listeners of the album. Listening to "Make That Feeling Come Again" it's not hard to see why. With it's dark beginning and the gradual, epic build up to those beautiful, heavenly melodies particularly towards the middle.. That middle part is probably the best part of the song. It's not an overblown peak, but one that's understated, simple and melodic. It mostly consists of a beautiful, layered piano and string combination that can probably be described as blissful perfection.

The album ends with "Ah-Do It", a dark, hypnotic, almost paranoid track with some amazing effects and powerful passages and transitions.

While his sound was unique, there is still a definite disco aesthetic in it, the lyrical themes and minimal female vocals, layered strings, tempos etc.. The rhythmic aspect is also there, albeit not as emphasized and in a groove that is much more esoteric than straight ahead funky. Truth be told, at times it almost comes across as something that is probably easier to listen to than to dance to. There's probably no better way to really absorb it than just simply listening and appreciating the layered melodious quality of the music. That said, I'd love to hear a DJ include these songs in their live set. I can only imagine how an epic track like "That's The Meaning" or even "Make That Feeling Come Again" would have translated on to a dancefloor in one of those early morning hours.. With those larger than life swirling, sweeping orchestral passages and amazing effects on an amazing sound system, the right audience, combined with whatever the drug du jour was at the time, it must have been quite the experience...

Almost and even slightly avant-garde in places, it's no wonder there are many people who either love it or hate this album, and much of Midney's work for that matter.. Whatever the case, Midney, particularly on this album really does take the whole idea of orchestral disco to another level, one that is highly atmospheric and (at least in this case) a little less conceptual. Midney and his work are sometimes referenced as the precursors to trance. I'm probably not knowlegable enough to espound on that comparison, though Midney himself certainly seemed to acknowledge it. In 1999 he'd release an album called "Trancesetter," (so far his last album) which I haven't heard yet, but which apparently combines elements of trance with some of his classic orchestral disco style. It was released at approximately the same time in which he reissued much of his work on CD through his own label on a series called "The Boris Midney Masters" with the "Beautiful Bend" album included. "Trancesetter," the "Beautiful Bend" reissue and all the others in his "Boris Midney Masters" series have been out of print now for several years, but the CD reissue is highly recommended for anyone who likes this album. It's in somewhat high demand these days, probably the most sought-after of his "Boris Midney Masters" series, but there are still copies to be found on Amazon.com and on eBay once in a while.. I'm not sure what Midney has been up to in these last few years. He still has an official website up called MidneyMedia (www.midney.com) detailing a few projects in progress, though I'm not sure how up-to-date it is. That aside, Midney is one producer who's work I'm really looking forward to hearing more of..

LINKS:
BEAUTIFUL BEND LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
BEAUTIFUL BEND CD @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
BORIS MIDNEY @ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
BORIS MIDNEY @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
THE FANTASTIC BORIS MIDNEY @ RATEYOURMUSIC.COM
J.B. SPINS - SOUNDS LIKE FREEDOM

PURCHASE:
BEAUTIFUL BEND CD @ AMAZON.COM
BORIS MIDNEY ANTHOLOGY @ CDUNIVERSE.COM

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES, PAST REISSUES

Disco Delivery #20: Hott City - Ain't Love Grand (1979, Butterfly/MCA)

Hott City - Feelin' Love
Hott City - If All We're Gonna Do Is Dance
Hott City - Ain't Love Grand
Hott City - I Took His Money
Hott City - Peaks And Valleys

Another slab of disco from the Motor City this week.. Produced by the production team of Jeffrey Parsons and Jeffrey Steinberg and released on the LA-based Butterfly label, this album is probably one of my favourite disco gems. So far, the more I hear from the Butterfly label, the more interested I get in their output. For sure, one of the ultimate disco boutique labels. Some of you who have been following this blog since January probably remember me posting "Feelin' Love" for my third or fourth post back then. It was only this week that I finally obtained the full album, so forgive me for repeating myself a little bit. Ever since I received it, I've been listening to it like crazy, so I just had to put it up..

Four of the five tracks on the album (all except "Peaks and Valleys") were released on 12" singles. From what I gather though, the 12" versions were the same length as the album versions. All of the tracks were stellar, but the opening track "Feelin' Love" is probably the crème de la crème of this album. An exquisite blend of sexy, slow-burning, synth arrangements shooting, pulsing and surrounding those smooth, soaring vocals courtesy of Detroit singer Sherry Fox. It's probably the most atmospheric track on the album, the others being a little more forward lyrically and otherwise.

Speaking of forward, the next song on side A, also sung by Sherry Fox, "If All We're Gonna Do Is Dance" is probably one of the more ironic tracks on the album. In fact much of the album is almost dripping in a kind of defiant ironic, even sarcastic tone to it. With the same exquisite arrangement, although more melodic than synthesized, it's a song about a woman who's tired of dancing while waiting for her man to make his move. After being convinced that her man is finally going to "make it right," she goes to his place only to find more of the same.. To which she says "..If all we're gonna go is dance.. I'm going home.." I guess I don't have to have to point out the irony in this one. For me, it's really all in the juxtaposition between the theme and the delivery. It's not often you hear a woman sing so elegantly and beautifully yet so forwardly about her making the moves on her man. Even beyond that, it could even be a little *nudge nudge*, *wink wink* to the listener. Gotta wonder, if her man won't make a move, won't respond to hers and can't seem to stop dancing, perhaps he may not be all that into women.. Just a thought. In a way, it's all very Vanity 6 meets Karen Carpenter, if you know what I mean..

Opening side B is the title track, "Ain't Love Grand." This one has a more aggressive synth arrangement, faster tempo and colder vocals (by Bluejay, whoever she is). All of that, along with those lyrics, none of which seem to have anything loving in them.. "Hey.. Ain't love grand, one night stands, no demands.. Date me, rape me, crape(?) me, ain't love grand.. Bait me, mate me, hate me, ain't love grand.. Blind me, bind me, don't re-mind me, ain't love grand.."

Continuing in the same vein is "I Took His Money," this time with vocals by Ortheia Barnes and Mildred Vaney. A song that seems to be about a couple of women dabbling in and justifying a little bit desperate prostitution.. "I.. took his money.. he.. took my love... I needed money, he needed love.. " After which, one of the singers admits, "..sometimes you have to be dishonest, to make it through this life.." which seems put the ladies' whole idea of "love" under question. Kind of ironic, since really, exchanging money for sex pretty much cancels out any possibility or idea of "love". Which is perhaps one reason why the song wasn't called "He Took My Love" instead..

The next song, "Peaks and Valleys," is one that's slightly more positive and less sarcastic/ironic than the last few. Also with Ortheia and Mildred on vocals, the ladies document the ups and downs of their week, with the ever reliable relief of a Saturday night at the disco.. "Monday I got fired, Tuesday I got lucky, Wednesday someone broke in my car.. Thursday I got a new job, Friday I got evicted, Saturday night I dance like a star.." This song quite a fitting album closer and, in a way, sums up the ethos of disco quite nicely in the next lines: "..As long as I can dance, the valleys aren't so bad.. and when I'm old and grey there'll be good times, good times ahead..." Much like the Saturday nights at the end of a hard week, there's always the hope and the reminder of those good times to keep us going. That one day it'll all pay off and there'll be something better to look forward to.. "Up here.. down there.. peaks and valleys.. life is never smooth"..

One other thing that I love about this album is that decadent album cover, which looks glamorous, despite being shot either in someone's kitchen or greasy spoon cafe.. What looks like two lipstick lesbians, one standing up, the other up on the table, both sharing a drink. Right next to them, an elegantly dressed woman nonchalantly showing off her ring to what seems to be a bartender.. I wonder what, if anything, it's all supposed to say about the concept of the LP.

For whatever reason, this project was originally called Graffiti, with the first singles being released under that name. I guess the name change was done so as not to be confused with another group of the same name. The only other Parsons/Steinberg disco production that I know of were a couple of 12" singles they did (which I have yet to hear) for the 20th Century label under the moniker Cut Glass. The most well known of which was "Without Your Love" peaking in the top 20 of the disco charts in 1980. Overall, Hott City and Cut Glass aside, the two Jeffreys are something of an obscure duo. There's very little record of anything they did together or individually before (or at least in Parsons' case) after these two disco ventures. Although I have come across some information on a Jeff Steinberg who once worked for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Not sure if it is the same person as the one on this record, but his bio mentions that he has been in the industry for some thirty plus years and has worked in a variety of different genres. Unfortunately though, his official site (www.jeffsteinberg.com) says nothing of this record, so again, not 100% sure if it's the same guy.

One of the vocalists on the album, Sherry Fox seems to have been a fairly well known Detroit singer, most notably a part of the group RJ Fox. Fox would also appear as a backing vocalist on Aretha Franklin's rather dire 1991 album "What You See Is What You Sweat" among other things. Two of the other vocalists on this album, Ortheia Barnes and Mildred Vaney were also the vocalists on the Cut Glass project as well. Ortheia Barnes (now known as Ortheia Barnes-Kennedy), sister of soul singer J.J. Barnes is also a very well known singer in the Detroit area, having even been called one of the city's most beloved singers. Barnes would also appear as a vocalist on a few Aretha albums, namely "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" (1987, Arista) and her self-titled 1980 album. In 1985 she would release her one and only LP titled "Person to Person," (1985, Michigan Sattelite) with the single "Green-Eyed Monster." Later Barnes would establish her own non-denominational, non-traditional ministry in Detroit to help the homeless and those recovering from addiction. More recently in 2005 she would even make a run for Detroit City Council.

Prior to recording as Hott City and Cut Glass, Mildred Vaney, was most notably a member of a group called Quiet Elegance along with Lois Reeves (sister of Martha Reeves) and Yvonne Gearing. Quiet Elegance were quite an interesting group, recording for the Memphis Hi label and having been managed by The Temptations. Despite that though, their careers as recording artists never really took off like their performing careers. While they were active, they would tour with the likes of The Temptations, Al Green, and Tom Jones among others.. In the '80s after her disco work, Mildred Vaney would record as Millie Scott (sometimes credited as Mildred Scott) and would even do a couple of albums for the 4th & Broadway/Island label. Her first album, "Love Me Right" (1987, 4th & Broadway/Island) contained the top 20 R&B hit "Every Little Bit," which would be followed up three years later by a second LP "I Can Make It Good For You" (1990, Island). More recently she has also been one of Aretha Franklin's regular backup singers, both live and on her most recent record "So Damn Happy" (2003, Arista) as well as on some of the Four Tops' recent recordings.

Anyway, round of applause for you if you've still reading this.. In other things, I added three new music blog links: la Fin del Mundo, Plasticmusic and Rockcritics daily. Ender at la Fin del Mundo recently put up the Spanish version of Tantra's "Hills of Katmandu," which I hadn't heard until then.. So to any of you who liked the original and who haven't heard the Spanish version, go get it while it's hot!..

PREVIOUS RELATED ENTRIES:
FROM 1979, WITH LOVE... (JANUARY 11, 2006)

LINKS:
HOTT CITY - AIN'T LOVE GRAND LP @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
HOTT CITY - FEELIN' LOVE 12" @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
HOTT CITY - I TOOK HIS MONEY 12" @ DISCOMUSIC.COM
HOTT CITY @ DISCOGS
CUT GLASS (MILDRED VANEY & ORTHEIA BARNES) @ DISCOMUSEUM.COM
ORTHEIA BARNES: DETROIT'S OTHER DIVA DETROIT FREE PRESS (APRIL 19, 1987)

CATEGORIES: DISCO DELIVERIES