Category Archives: Disco
THE BIG APPLE BITES BACK-NEW YORK HOUSE AND REMIX CULTURE.
THE BIG APPLE BITES BACK-NEW YORK HOUSE AND REMIX CULTURE. Over the last few months, I’ve been reviewing just a few of the Backbeats series of compilations released by Harmless since 2009. This is a comprehensive overview of various genres of music that numbers everything from Deep Soul, Eighties Garage and Northern Soul to Philly …
DISCO GOLD: SCEPTER RECORDS AND THE BIRTH OF DISCO.
DISCO GOLD: SCEPTER RECORDS AND THE BIRTH OF DISCO. In previous articles I’ve written about disco music and remixes, one name that keeps cropping up in Tom Moulton. He is credited as the godfather of the remix, literally single handedly creating one of the most important tools in every DJ’s arsenal, the twelve inch single. …
GREG WILSON CREDIT TO THE EDIT VOLUME ONE.
GREG WILSON CREDIT TO THE EDIT VOLUME ONE. For someone that loves music as much as I do, one of the worst things that could happen is having your music collection stolen. After all, how can you replace albums that are either long out of print, were released on small labels or are imports that …
UNDER THE INFLUENCE VOLUME ONE COMPILED BY DJ RED GREG.
UNDER THE INFLUENCE VOLUME ONE COMPILED BY DJ RED GREG. With so much good music being released, sometimes I don’t get the opportunity to write about an album when it’s released. One such album is a compilation of rare soul and disco entitled Under the Influence Volume One Compiled By DJ Red Greg. Released in …
DEEP DISCO AND BOOGIE VOLUME 1.
DEEP DISCO AND BOOGIE VOLUME 1. For over thirty years I’ve been a fanatical collector of music in all forms. When I first started collecting, vinyl was still king, with tapes, mini discs and compact discs all still to come. Since then, I’ve been unable to resist crate digging, with anywhere where there might be …
CHIC-TAKE IT OFF.
CHIC-TAKE IT OFF. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a group or artists’ star can wane. In some cases, this is because the quality of their music is no longer as good as it once was, or it can be because their music is no longer fashionable. With Chic, the demise in popularity …
LOOSE CHANGE-LOOSE CHANGE.
LOOSE CHANGE-LOOSE CHANGE. Tom Moulton’s role in disco music can’t be understated. He’s credited with inventing the remix, and could take a three minute track, extend it, creating eight minutes of majestic disco music. Now, remember this was long before the technology that’s available now. Back then, there was no Logic Pro, Reason or Ableton …
JOHNNY D PRESENTS DISCO JAMMS VOLUME 1.
JOHNNY D PRESENTS DISCO JAMMS VOLUME 1. Nowadays, for anyone wanting to try to become a DJ, the equipment is very different to the equipment Johnny “D” DeMairo learnt his trade on. For the wannabe DJ, they can choose from CD decks, USB controllers with software like Traktor or if they’re traditional or old school …
DIMITRI FROM PARIS-GET DOWN WITH THE PHILLY SOUND.
DIMITRI FROM PARIS-GET DOWN WITH THE PHILLY SOUND. For anyone who like me who is a huge fan of Philadelphia International Records, 2012 is going to be year to enjoy. A number of compilations, box sets and live albums are being released to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff founding Philadelphia …
GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS-ABOUT LOVE.
GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS-ABOUT LOVE. By 1980 when Gladys Knight and The Pips released About Love, their career had stalled, with the group at a crossroads in their long and distinguished career. This run of hugely commercially successful albums began with their final album on Motown Neither One of Us and Lasted until 2nd Anniversary, …
AL KENT-THE BEST OF DISCO DEMANDS.
AL KENT-THE BEST OF DISCO DEMANDS. Now previously, I’ve written about quite a few disco compilations, but never one like this. This is something quite different and very special. The other disco compilations I’ve reviewed were good, very good, but this takes disco compilations to a new level. Whereas the other compilations had either one …
LIVIN’ THE NIGHT LIFE AND SATURDAY HOUSE FEVER.
LIVIN’ THE NIGHT LIFE AND SATURDAY HOUSE FEVER. While disco provided the soundtrack to the seventies, garage was one of the genres of music that provided the soundtrack to the eighties. Like disco in the seventies, garage in the eighties and nineties both feature on a Backbeats compilations. Whereas seventies disco featured on Yowsah, Yowsah, …
YOWSAH, YOWSAH, YOWSAH.
YOWSAH, YOWSAH, YOWSAH. Dance, Dance, Dance, (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) sang Chic in 1977, on what became one of their classic tracks. That track became one of the classic tracks of the disco era. However, Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah is also the title of an excellent compilation of 70s New York Disco released as part of the …
DISCO DISCHARGE-CLASSIC DISCO, DISCO LADIES AND DISCO FEVER USA.
DISCO DISCHARGE-CLASSIC DISCO, DISCO LADIES AND DISCO FEVER USA. Throughout the history of popular music, various artists and types of music have managed to provoke a variety of reactions. From the release of Billy Haley and The Comets’ Rock Around the Clock in 1955, to the shock and horror that greeted Elvis Presley’s gyrations on …
ESTHER PHILLIPS-YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY.
ESTHER PHILLIPS-YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY. Not only did Esther Phillips have one of the most distinctive voices in music, but she was one of the most versatile vocalists of her generation. Whether it was soul, jazz, blues or even funk or disco, she could handle a song with aplomb, and deliver it with …
MELBA MOORE-MELBA.
MELBA MOORE-MELBA. In a recent article on Deniece William’s album My Melody, I explained how sometime, I bought an album because of who’d either produced or played on an album. With Deniece William’s album My Melody, Thom Bell had produced the album, and I’ve always been a fan of Thom’s work on the many Philly …
CHIC-REAL PEOPLE.
CHIC-REAL PEOPLE. Last week, I was lucky enough to get a copy of Nile Rodgers new autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny which was truly, a fascinating read. It dealt with not just his music career, but his early family life. Now I’ve many similar books over the years, …
THE THREE DEGREES-3D.
THE THREE DEGREES-3D. In previous articles I’ve reviewed the two albums The Three Degrees recorded for Philadelphia International Records, with Gamble and Huff. These albums The Three Degrees and International were both fantastic albums, with some great music on them. They were the most commercially successful albums of the The Three Degrees’ career and to …
SISTER SLEDGE-LOVE SOMEBODY TODAY.
SISTER SLEDGE-LOVE SOMEBODY TODAY. Recently, I bought a copy of Niles Rodgers new autobiography Le Freak, which I’ve been working my way through. In the book, he talks about all the artists and groups he’s worked with. One of these groups, was Sister Sledge, who with Bernard Edwards they wrote, arranged and produced two albums. …
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