Rolling thread for your recent DISCO and BOOGIE discoveries, enthusiasms and obsessions

What's currently doing it for you? Under-the-radar obscurity or celebrated megasmash that had hitherto passed you by - it doesn't matter to me, just post them up here and share the joy

random new-to-me things that i picked up recently for cheap...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVif2QVRQTQ
Pierre - Just Right (1984)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikkDz5G45C4
Sarah Dash - Low Down Dirty Rhythm (1983)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HV5g1Dfao
Steve Shelto - Don't You Give Your Love Away (1983)

also, my god i really need a copy of this amazing thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f19C89_8WaU
Black Gold - C'mon Stop (1983)

Short version 6:31. Ah, disco...

Really like that "Low Down Dirty Rhythm" track, thanks!

yr welcome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3PuHwGchDE
Teena Marie - I Need Your Lovin' (1980)

I know and love Behind The Groove and Lovergirl, but I hadn't heard this one before today, I really gotta up my Teena game. What else is good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nL3xFKM48c
Sly Cabell - Feelin' Fine (1982)

Keep coming back to this one at the moment. Have no idea who Sly Cabell is, but this is a Shep Pettibone joint on Salsoul with a lovely saxy good times vibe and also kinda Princey I think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAXXpLRTprs
Mary Clark - Take Me I'm Yours (1980)

Most mind-melting reissue I picked up last year, JFHC what a belter

I know and love Behind The Groove and Lovergirl, but I hadn't heard this one before today, I really gotta up my Teena game. What else is good?

― i'm surprised to see your screwface at the door (NickB), Saturday, March 17, 2018 1:56 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

uh "square biz"!!!

wonderful thread idea btw

oooh, holy heck, how did i not hear that before?

fuck, sweet tune! and that weird subtly psychedelic percussion sound in the background, reminds me of the glottal noises that the jug player in the 13th floor elevators used to make

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HzfGbzq29g
Thelma Houston - If You Feel It (1981)

Another one I keep coming back to, so flipping funky. Don't know who's playing that bass but Keni Burke and Scott Edwards (who's all over the great Stevie albums) get credits on the album so that figures

Gotta say though, I'm not sure what to make of the line 'you're like an important china tea cup'. Is that supposed to be a good thing?

my favorite recent disco discovery is voyage's "souvenirs". completely gorgeous song.

yeah, that’s a good one. wacky band, think all the people involved were french library music guys - some of their non-voyage stuff goes for a fortune

So many new discoveries (as I'm maintaining this blog), so many new purchases (as I have a new weekly residency playing disco-jazz-funk-boogie on vinyl), so this is a timely thread.

Received in this morning's post:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIx7RMbKqsg

Mary Clark "Take Me I'm Yours" also seconded - bought this a couple of weeks ago.

Also received in this morning's post:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXhbXh2_xS8

And finally, in yesterday's post:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF6MqDsSock

Hooray Mike! :D

Will have a listen once I get home, but that Mass Production looks familiar. Blog looks like an absolute goldmine!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-eCNM-TmhY

obsessed with the vocal performance on this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbKv_M3UwMc

nothing new to anyone but do you ever notice the way all the different elements on this are so strong and yet intertwine so effortlessly

welcome boxedjoy! that melba moore - oh shit, lovely stuff! <3

again she's someone that i need to investigate a bit more thoroughly, her catalogue's vast! things that i do know and love: 'You Stepped Into My Life', 'Pick Me Up, I'll Dance', 'Miss Thing', 'Underlove'

need to get myself educated though!

fave gwen for me atm is 'seventh heaven', but that whole 82-86 period of hers is all gold imo

ha, that donald byrd goes a lot harder than i thought it would! mass production is cool as well, love that soprano sax. i suspect a certain ratio were definitely listening to that one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54qYh92-F_A
Bobby Nunn - Don't Knock It (Until You Try It) (1983)

^ been jamming this one a lot today. was a single in the UK only and pretty much flopped at the time, but it's some really nice synthy boogie business. guy was involved with both rick james and earth, wind & firer, and i think it has got some of the funkiness of the former and the sweetness of the latter

jazz-funk but so so great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ga7f-vh4Bg

love that cover too

Best discovery yet from Mike's blog: Shalamar's 'Right in the Socket'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrRECQarE0

The song itself is great, and at 4:36 it becomes amazing.

ha yeah - big old synth wombles in and starts blowing the place up! :D

something very prog but still pretty funky about the one that Neil posted, like if genesis had infiltrated earth, wind & fire instead of the other way round. hadn't heard of those dudes before

hadn't heard this before today either...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVy4HW6FQ9c

Midnight Star - Midas Touch [Acappella AKA Bassappella version] (1986)

you probably know the song but this version is just vocals and a really reverby bass synth, sounds weirdly modern but also quite bonkers

b2 on the standard US & UK 12" btw

shalamar 'right in the socket' is a key moment in this insanely good live larry levan dj set recording: https://www.discogs.com/Larry-Levan-Live-At-The-Paradise-Garage/release/21473

if you haven't heard that you are absolutely missing out on life

he blends it into cher's "take me home," so awesome

xp to Nick a great summary of "Celebration"! I love how that ecstatic guitar solo comes in towards the end, it's almost Eddie Hazel-esque in its virtuosity

I also discovered "Right In The Socket" via the same blog, and I've since played it out a few times; handily, "Second Time Around" is on the other side.

Not played that Levan mix in a long, long time, must rectify.... but I see it has T-Connection "At Midnight", a copy of which arrived in yesterday's post!

My roommate is constantly digging for boogie/funk and we have lots of reccomendations.

Here's some UK Boogie we're feelin: https://www.discogs.com/State-Of-Grace-Touching-The-Times/release/600722
Italo: https://www.discogs.com/Dr-Togo-Be-Free/release/102834

Oh and I accidentally ordered six copies of this record a couple weeks ago. Boys and girls, don't drink and shop for records. https://www.juno.co.uk/products/unit-one-lets-all-sing-together/675376-01/

speaking of xxxxxpost Teena Marie, I really liked Congo Square, the last new album released before she passed--first few songs are pretty desperately philosophical more than anything else, but then she gets it together---and this transitional effect turns out to be very appropriate---wiki quotes:
The album title references Congo Square, in the Tremé in New Orleans, an area in which, during times of slavery, slaves were "allowed to dance and sing in the wardrobe of their mother country on Sundays."[5] Teena Marie said of the album:

"I've been through quite a few trials and tribulations over the last two years. I spent many of those hours in prayer and felt like God was putting his arms around me. I started thinking about the music I grew up on—how inspired it was. Each song I was coming up with began to sound like the style of some favorite artist of mine from the past... Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, Billie Holliday, the old Chicago soul of The Emotions and the new Chicago vibe of Kanye West... Ice Cube's bumpin' in the trunk vibe and of course, Rick James. It's all in there."[5]

Teena Marie also expressed her appreciation for Faith Evans, saying, "I've always loved Faith and her vocal style. She reminds me of me. Her correlation with Biggie—having a career with him and without him—reminds me of me and Rick James. I feel like she's a younger me. Of the younger ladies, she's the one I love most."

my favorite tune from the donald byrd from the F.U.M.L. album is the closer. i listen to it for affirmation at least once a month. and one of the great walking bass lines out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7z97XfHVoY

and some more solar. i am absolutely in love lately with dynasty's "groove control." i think it's perfect in every way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCUq0gdh0M

davey: i was going to say that i don't think i've ever even heard of state of grace before and then it turns out that lol this one is already on my discogs want list...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE8ytsuYgHg
State Of Grace - That's When We'll Be Free [Special New Mix] (1982)

and that dr togo song is sick! a nice uh chris rea vibe to that one (not an insult!) :D

when i was listening to lots of jazz as a teen, donald byrd was always way too slick sounding for me and i never really checked him out, but now every song i hear from him is just super nice, what the hell was i thinking?

and yes, dynasty have got some good stuff! the one i have is 'i don't wanna be a freak (but i can't help myself)'

oh nice milk bottle accompaniment on 'groove control'!

xxxp State of Grace is pretty good huh. I wasn't aware of their other output.

Here's another one I'd picked up recently. Not sure how obvious it is, since my knowledge of the genre isn't really deep, but it's funky as hell. It looks like there are some reasonably priced copies still on Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/Steve-Watson-Born-To-Boogie-My-Little-One/release/7554675

Oh and another bomb reissue: https://www.discogs.com/Touch%C3%A9-Just-Like-A-Doorknob/release/11079663

I love how strong the vinyl reissue scene has been, lately. My theory is that Discogs is a big positive influence, since it's made it easy to quantify how many people want out-of-print releases.

when i was listening to lots of jazz as a teen, donald byrd was always way too slick sounding for me and i never really checked him out, but now every song i hear from him is just super nice, what the hell was i thinking?

Pretty much the same path we all eventually follow with jazz-funk mastercuts fodder.

making good use of that next to you break

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJNajgq7Phs

i'm finally recording the long-awaited funky b mix tape now. so many gems in dude's collection. couple highlights:

dabeull - dr fonk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OCyYbW6zPY

sky tony - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no9bA_gUIyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no9bA_gUIyE

kon - all night (everybody)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjJ4z65D-dU

tuxedo - roll along
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6VVnSPAWho

new touch sensitive EP is some str8up ear candy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQsQHHUQCWQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88p6AwgZNaw

great EP: https://lyndadawn.bandcamp.com/album/at-first-light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BOmOADxDVA

out of the funky b archives, issa jam from 2008

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnvwXoTTO04

dayton flic - livin' for your love

'Move' off that Lynda Dawn record is so great, even though it is pretty much wholesale theft from Fifth of Heaven's 'Just A Little More'

I love this one at the moment, check that clunky bass synth sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Hlv0CDQdM

Gloria Weems - Push it up [1983]

and this is just straight gorgeous, think it's a JP Massiera joint:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA5GR_iPfVQ

Chantal Balmy - Imagine

only just listened to that Sky Tony track upthread with the Donna Allen sample, that's pretty nice!

God I am so behind on this thread, that Slave song rules. I don't know Slave too well tbh, really need to dive into their stuff. Big fan of some Aurra tunes though, weren't they kind of a spin-off from Slave? Obv Steve Arrington is a boss too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uEiJ_dzKmY

Diva - Prise au piège

I already knew the awesome 'La Nuit' by these folks but this is another great one

This one's also amazing, Geraldine Hunt was behind some excellent stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUUnUkC57UE

Sophie Stanke - L'Amour d'une Diva

“Sophia Stanke”

Possibly a member of the Lithuanian-Québécois Stanké family, which shortened its name from Stankevičius upon moving to Canada. Stanko and its variants are generally derived from the given name Stanislav.

Two recent 1984 purchases:

Kerr - Back At Ya (Instrumental)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsuGzghQ6NY

Tyzik - Jammin' In Manhattan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsvjM9LzWYY

bringing the bounce to the floor there mike! :)

Tim Lawrence's listening companion for the second volume of his New York dance etc trilogy, which I'm reading now---already got most (?) of this, and the rest might be around online, but this seems handy, and might sound better:
https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/42875

The John Robie one is a deep cut. Wanted to reissue it after finding it on a disconet comp. Pretty cool track.

Feeling this one: McGee - Now That I Have You (1984). It's a remake of an older track which has since been reissued on comps, but this version sadly sells for sums beyond my means.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5sU4HcQc94

Now in the peerless homestretch of Larry Levan's Live At The Paradise Garage--the Strut version, with 1979 added to title by poster SoftTalk Mesa---ilx or something currently messing my YouTube pastes, but look for that post, with perfect sound on non-audiophile headphones. Ahhhhhhhhhh

pretty delighted to have stumbled across this -- robbie leslie's extended remix of jimmy ruffin's "hold on to my love" that disconet put out in 1981. the standard-length version, which had been a pop hit the previous year, is a tight and solid tune, but extended it really takes on a heightened sense of epic drama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXQjC0FfxrU

youtube comments seem to suggest that this was a hit at the saint.

'81 was clearly still a transition period from trad disco to hi-NRG--there's a slight awkwardness to this J. Ruffin remix's production and performance to my ears which I find endearing

I made a few disco playlists of some of my favourite tunes for a Finnish board, might as well share them here, in case anyone's interested. They are meant to be introductions to various types of disco, but I tried to veer away from the obvious hits everyone knows:

"Classic disco"
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW4Wfh6CZlb15vknlCMtcd7ephRCOf6y
- String and horn heavy tunes in the classic disco mold.

"Instrumental disco"
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW4Wfh6CZlaYhyjx3cReXChfDrj69oqR
- Disco tunes that are fully instrumental or only have some backing vocals, also includes disco covers of movie themes.

"Space disco"
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW4Wfh6CZlYPs0pJOWxlmxk75CQ1ropT
- Disco with space-themed lyrics and/or cosmic sounds.

"Gay disco"
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW4Wfh6CZlYFatzo2UUt8_Ntc59Kggac
- Tunes done by gay artists and/or with a gay or campy feel.

"Synth disco"
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW4Wfh6CZlaGlq8la12gxpuQzGi_DF7W
- Disco with synth leads, mostly boogie from the early '80s.

I'll be updating the lists every now and then.

Nice Tuomas! Were you into the Disco Discharge comps? Your playlists kinda remind me of them.

I have two or three of those, but never really dug deeper. The Disco Recharge series of album reissues from the same label is great though, especially since they reissued all of Boris Midney's various projects... He's pretty much my favourite disco composer/producer of them all.

When it comes to disco compilations, my favourites are Ben Liebrand's magisterial "Grand 12-inches" seroes, and (for rare '80s disco and boogie) Unidisc's "Star -Funk" series.

I used to own all the Disco Discharge comp CDs, but sold them; unlike most CDs, they've retained most of their value. There's some superb stuff on them, of course, but in general the aesthetic was a pinch too zingy for my tastes - and in particular, some of the later Hi-NRG comps really weren't great at all.

too zingy for my tastes

This is a fantastic way to describe those comps. There was always something a little ... not for me about them?

What do yall mean by "zingy"? Never heard this series.

I would recommend the Grand 12-inches series for you if you aren't familiar with it already... It covers a lot of same ground as the Disco Discharge, but has way more mellow and funky stuff, and since it isn't limited to disco only, it also has loads of great extended versions of '80s R&B and synth pop too, with an occasional old school rap and house tune thrown in as well. The only downside is that Liebrand apparently couldn't get/afford anything from the Warner Bros archives, so there's no Prince or Madonna on the comps, but other than that they have almost all the great 12"/extended mixes from the seventies and eighties you can imagine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ4nLTlCkLo

I started making a Spotify playlist of all those Disco Discharge comps earlier this week. I've added the first ten so far:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/58Sjf1TMQF5tMrk8xsBeFr?si=s7cnKA7LQcaUz9HoGXMH_A

And there's already one on there for the Grand 12 Inches series:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4LqfSYJkMpSNeUmcjefMSr?si=CmIeAuSEThyG_6Lb709KLA

And there's already one on there for the Grand 12 Inches series:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4LqfSYJkMpSNeUmcjefMSr?si=CmIeAuSEThyG_6Lb709KLA

It's nice that someone has made this, but since the actual comps apparently aren't on Spotify, it looks like in many case they've added the radio/7" edit of the song on the list, and not the 12" version, which, you know, kinda goes against the spirit of something called "Grand 12-inches" :) Based on the notes on Liebrand's site, several of the track on these comps are extended mixes he has uncovered from various archives, which have never been released on CD before, and I guess they aren't on Spotify either? There's also a handful of extended mixes he's done himself specifically for this compilations by blending together the vocal and dub mixes from the original tapes. These include "Beat the Street" by Sharon Redd, "You're the One for Me" by D-Train, "Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley Jackmaster Funk, etc., and they're mostly really good, since Liebrand is an excellent remixer.

I made one more playlist:

"Smooth disco"
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW4Wfh6CZlZwrRGFCyxmkZzh_O61L2Zf
- More mellow and romantic (but still danceable) tunes for the wee hours of the night.

Ah, haven't listened to the Grand 12 inches one as i've probably got 75% of the albums anyway xp

When I was making the Disco Discharge one I always tried to include the correct versions from the compilations

the sound quality on the “Grand 12 Inch” series is supposedly really good too:

I have taken the greatest care to come up with the best possible masters, sometimes comparing up to 5 different versions to find out which one sounded the best and most pure. And sometimes even baking the analog master tapes to make them playable again.

Yeah, the comps generally sound really good.

fucking hell this moonstone version of "the visitors" is killing me rn, so amazing

enjoying this Greek banger from 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRMU787OEtY

tuomas thank you very much for posting your playlists!

fucking hell this moonstone version of "the visitors" is killing me rn, so amazing

fucking hell goddamn IAN LEVINE produced that? christ, that must be the one thing he's ever done in his life that isn't fucking horrible

Here's another not-fucking-horrible Ian Levine production (and co-write): finally, in 2001, he made a genuinely great Northern Soul record.

Sidney Barnes - Standing On Solid Ground

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMpnlZ7PaoI

https://youtu.be/4LDTn01uHno

I actually genuinely love the over-the-top quality of Levine's hi-NRG work with Earlene Bentley, but I can understand it's not everyone's piece of cake.

Let's try that again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LDTn01uHno

speaking of "wait what the fuck", here's a disco record with vocals by clare torry, songs written by mike ratledge and karl jenkins. i knew about the "soft space" late-period softs disco single, i didn't know about this. and based on this song it's... great! fucking great! and that cover!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaoD90BnzZ8

here's a 45 i came across today while sorting records:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTGGwVoJuqg
unknown artist - what a man

just an all around goofy but pretty great tune. i guess this is a re-discovery.

somebody is trying to get $500 for it on discogs lol

this is a pretty decent playlist i ran across today

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSnqKIn6Nc8AJiFWqE5n2xs12AEFy-PwZ

And speaking of old proggers making dance records, here's the Francois Kevorkian remix of King Crimson's "Sleepless", from 1984:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFiptMUAprE

More danceable Fripp, this one with David Byrne:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuuFP8gh2_E

got to looking through the discog of ricki byars muldrow (now beckwith) and ronald muldrow, aka chemise, aka parents of georgia anne muldrow (!), and found this gem, released same year as "she can't love you." doesn't reach quite the same heights, but some real nice chords and changes.

vivian prince, "a hold on you" (produced/written by the muldrows)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIgf3vvf_ag&feature=emb_logo