...AND THE BEAT GOES ON! The GRAND ILM DISCO POLL results are revealed!

70. Patrick Cowley - Sea Hunt (1981)
210 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-114402-1143741113_zps859b6428.jpeg

http://youtu.be/E0L7sKXEdG0

sea hunt is definitely one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. i played it this one time and my friend was shouting at me "OMG THIS SOUNDS LIKE PORPOISES FUCKING IN OUTER SPACE!!!!"

― jaime, 20. elokuuta 2007 8:05

Sea Hunt. Wow.

― Violent In Design (Masonic Boom), 3. heinäkuuta 2009 18:09

I can't speak to the rest of his catalog -- but most of that record (LP, right? There's certainly 40 minutes of material on there) is outstanding and feels very italo. I particularly love his deplyment of female vocals -- on "Get a Little" but also the wordless cooing doubling the synthesizer lead on "Sea Hunt."

― Naive Teen Idol, 15. lokakuuta 2009 19:10

This is only the second non-single on the list, after "At Last I Am Free". It's not hard to see why people (myself included) voted for it, anyone who loves epic synth instrumentals should love "Sea Hunt".

Apparently the tune is a cover version of the theme from a late 50s TV show of the same name:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HFdvCy6ivY

Sea hunt is epic, my fav cowley tune

huh didn't know it was a theme tune cover, but that makes sense! It's a very "action tv" oriented melody.

Btw, everyone should read that Patrick Cowley article Flopson linked to a few posts above... It's a touching text, and the anecdote at the end of the article is hella impressive.

wonder what change songs are going to show up. feel like "angel in my pocket" has a good chance.

― From the Album No Baby for You! (Matt P)

I went for The Glow of Love, it was one four songs I voted for with Luther Vandross on vocals.

I voted for a few Change songs - "AIMP" wasn't one of them - and will be very disappointed if none place in the top 50.

'Ain't nobody' is still (11 years after the quote above) some days my favourite song ever but yeah it's not disco and I didn't vote for it.

'A Lover's holiday' somehow slipped off my ballot at the last minute, I think partly because it never registered much with me until i heard Greg Wilson play the LNTG edit out, before that I was always a 'searchin' kind of guy or a 'glow of love' kind of guy on a Sunday.

I was a woman-with-a-purpose-in-the-city the other day when Shame came on in the car

69. Chic - My Feet Keep Dancing (1979)
211 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2255109-1272628018_zps62ce1bf9.jpeg

http://youtu.be/A75Bb0erCU4

The incredible restraint of the strings on "My Feet Keep Dancing" is quite nice. In my head that strident triplet (is it?) comes in every few lines, on the track it happens something like twice. And the tap solo w/Bernard repeating this incredible surging figure OVER AND OVER is nice, too. And! Tony does the most incredible drumroll, just a straight long duggaduggadugga that's pretty fucking stunning after nothing (I think. Effectively, anyway, really) but that same exact and perfect beat for the whole song.

― Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), 21. huhtikuuta 2004 15:09

My God, this is powerful stuff, almost religious. Undeniably physical music that is utterly ethereal yet tough as nails at the same time. There's a deep chasm of melancholy and sadness at the heart of what are, on the surface, very jubilant songs, and I find that undercurrent unbearably affecting. The austerity, tightness and restraint in something like the tap-dance breakdown and slow build-up in "My Feet Keep Dancing" makes me feel like my lungs and heart are going to explode.

― Clarke, 3. helmikuuta 2008 20:25

listening to 'my feet keep dancing' right now and thinking how NEXT LEVEL the groove on this is, the short, rapid guitar bursts

― deej, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:21

Reverend, the way Rodgers/Edwards mixed strings and Thompson's drums negate the need for extra percussion! Listen to "My Feet Keep Dancing" again! Their ethos is crafting this huge drama using minimalist ends.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:27

Generic is the last thing i would call a song like (and i hate to use this example again but its the one i've been playing over and over today) "my feet keep dancing" - so many of their best songs seem like an exercise in originality/creativity, an attempt to take a standard soul-disco formula and make it interesting, while keeping the same communal vibe and incredibly lockstep-tight dance grooves. You can here them experimenting w/ hemiolas and other rhythmic tricks, minimalism, playing the groove of the guitar-bass-drums off the strings-horns-lushness, bells and handclaps, using a small palette of instruments and styles (how many times did you ever hear nile rodgers guitar doing the 'nile rodgers trick') but somehow making it all sound v. v. different from song to song...everything in their catalogue sounds so distinct to me

― deej, 2. heinäkuuta 2007 8:45

"My Feet Keep Dancing" - the greatest song from this greatest of disco bands

― Kevin John Bozelka, 11. syyskuuta 2009 18:39

TOO LOW. Love the tapdancing breakdown and the general Red Shoes vibe.

Why is it so easy to find great ILM quotes on Chic tunes, but not on the other tunes in this poll?

Because Chic?

Those are great quotes, but then this is one of the greatest songs by one of the greatest bands.

68. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much (1981)
212 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-206392-1274370533_zps72a5c2fe.jpeg

http://youtu.be/uoI_tWf3pH8

This is easily Never Too Much, it's one of my favourite songs ever. I'm a huge fan of the Never Too Much album, only seven tracks but they're all brilliant.

― Kitchen Person, 5. joulukuuta 2012 0:49

There are other good ones on that list too, but Never Too Much is just a perfect R&B single.

― jetfan, 5. joulukuuta 2012 3:14

i sang "never too much" at karaoke once and it was actually surprisingly boring to sing.

― fennel cartwright, Wednesday, December 5, 2012 1:28 AM

i did the same! & its so true. it's def more about how he uses his voice than that melody

― D-40, 5. joulukuuta 2012 17:30

Luther's schmaltzy more often than not, but he's great nonetheless. "Never Too Much" will always remind me of early 80's NYC R&B radio - WBLS, KISS, KTU. It was a standby on those stations, and those were GREAT stations at that time. Frankie Crocker anyone? Anyone? Hello?

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), 18. heinäkuuta 2003 18:42

Oh Papa

Right ON! Heard *Never Too Much* on one of Theo Parrish's mixes and had to quiz him to find out what it was. Fortunately I found a 12" of it.

I used to sing it to my girl... I shall do so again.

― factcheckr (factcheckr), 9. helmikuuta 2007 6:47

Luther Vandross "Never Too Much" Classic or Dud?

I think it's fair to say Luther Vandross was the finest male vocalist disco produced. (Though obviously his biggest successes were post-disco; I'm not sure if "Never Too Much" really counts as disco either.)

67. Sister Sledge - He's the Greatest Dancer (1978)
222 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2595493-1292281973_zpsea7c0323.jpeg

http://youtu.be/TDwutKpVyas

He's The Greatest Dancer has so many killer lines - "The place was so boring / Filled with out-of-towners touring", "Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci", "He looks like a still"!!

― etc, 5. toukokuuta 2008 1:20

I love Will, but nothing is better than "He's the Greatest Dancer".

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), 27. elokuuta 2005 14:24

Hi, my name is Cliff Purvis. Have you ever heard that called He's The Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge? I like to play that song really loud in my dressing room before I give lectures at real estate seminars. It makes me feel like I can take on the world.

― Display Name, 3. heinäkuuta 2007 10:23

Sister Sledge's "We Are Family"/"He's the Greatest Dancer" 12-inch may be the greatest double-sided single by anybody, ever

― M Matos, 12. maaliskuuta 2002 3:00

Three great songs back to back to back.

"My Feet Keep Dancing" was my Chic pick. In my universe it was as huge as "Le Freak" and "Good Times."

Sister Sledge's "We Are Family"/"He's the Greatest Dancer" 12-inch may be the greatest double-sided single by anybody, ever

Really?! Those were issued together?

Amazed only seven votes for this, I thought it was a universal.

Never Too Much is way too low. It was my number two and it's one of the most perfect songs ever created.

Great Chic and Sister Sledge songs but not the ones I voted for. Not sure which of the ones I voted for will place as He's The Greatest Dance is so low.

Might have been let down by vote splitting. I know that some people only went for one song per artist and when the competition is Lost In Music, We Are Family and Thinking Of You (all within the first five tracks of the same album) it's going to be tough.

Xp

I love "Never Too Much" but didn't vote for it, because I feel it's more R&B than disco... Maybe some others felt the same way and that's why it's so low?

(xpost)

Yeah, I tried to keep my votes to one-per-artist, except for a couple of personal favourites (Sharon Redd, Boris Midney) with whom it would've been impossible, so there was no room for "He's the Greatest Dancer", as great as it is.

I went back and forth whether to include 'Never Too Much' because of this, but finally decided to leave it in (I think? I'd have to check my ballot). I probably put it lower than I otherwise would have because I was hesitant about its disco status.

I went relatively unorthodox on my Chic picks. For Sister Sledge, I went with "One More Time," tho "He's the Greatest Dancer" was close.

I excluded "Never Too Much", on not-really-what-I-call-disco grounds. "My Feet Keep Dancing" is a great Chic pick, although not one of mine.

has anyone started spotify/youtube playlists yet?

i have a slow day at work so i can

http://open.spotify.com/user/miketd/playlist/4za5ZvxZ6pUQZrcmhkbJja

There are some duplicates on that Spotify list, where the full length versions are only available in the UK. In those cases, WilliamC has added alternative versions that can be streamed in the US.

Twice as many good times

66. "D" Train - You're the One for Me (1981)
228 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1293083-1237306234_zpsde1196c0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/qfwmt8HyZ38

D-Train actually was a football player before a composer. His music was some of the best early 80s electronic funk(but not electro-funk!) You're the One For Me was a big hit and is listed on a 1982 Hacienda chart along with New Order, ABC, Patrice Rushen and other New York and UK club acts. Keep On and Walk on By were also hits. Massive, beautiful stuff, don' t know if there was ever a video.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 25. toukokuuta 2004 16:14

What a great song

― boxedjoy, 7. huhtikuuta 2012 0:4

So life-affirming. I would karaoke the hell of this song.

― neutral sequence for flute (blank), 7. huhtikuuta 2012 0:59

6 Feb D Train You're The One For Me (30) - Yes, ONLY #30! One of the ten most important dance tracks of the decade. OK it did get a Paul Hardcastle makeover (i.e. the keyboards off "19" and much gurning on TOTP) three years later and did, uh, twice as well (#15) - but this is an URGENT AND KEY record. Years ahead of its time in its use of space and echo (see Inner City at the opposite end of the decade for proof of this). Classic classic classic.

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 14:03

D-Train's "You the one for me"

didnt vote for this because i tried to stay away from things that felt more "boogie" than "disco" but this song is a classic-- played it out a million times

I think "You're the One for Me" really set the mold for early 80s boogie/synth disco. So many singles released after it (including D-Train's own follow-ups, they kinda stuck to the formula) sound like they're trying to imitate what Hubert Eaves and James Williams did here.

Anyway, an über-classic tune, obviously; my cell phone ringtone is the synth riff is from this. IMO "You're the One for Me" is one of those rare tunes where the B chorus (the one that starts "with the love I have inside of me...") is actually better than the A chorus. That B chorus, with its shouty gospel vocals, also seems to presage a lot of the vocal house music produced later in the 80s, such as "Love Can't Turn Around".

!!!

Musician Prince performed a cover version of the song on Lopez Tonight featuring his backup singers, with Shelby J. on lead vocals & Sheila E. on percussion in early 2011 to launch his 21 Nights in Los Angeles.

this is the best ilm poll ever

Oh!!!

Where can I see that?

(xpost)

i tried to stay away from things that felt more "boogie" than "disco"

To the contrary, I think maybe half of my ballot was boogie, which I think is the apotheosis of disco.

That said, I threw my support behind "Keep On."

Yeah, to me too boogie is a direct continuation of American disco, only with synths replacing strings and horns, I can't really see it as a different genre.

64.(tie) Space - Magic Fly (1977)
231 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2441311-1284234537_zps31c74429.jpeg

hhttp://youtu.be/wVP0bPH-_-k (music video)
http://youtu.be/P_ukfGAd8T4 (12" version)

The real punks were listening to "Magic Fly" and "Dancing In Your Head" in '77 ;)

― Marcello Carlin, 28. toukokuuta 2002 3:00

I don't know the Pyramid Project but I think Danny Wang played the Floyd part a few years ago at a lifechanging gig. He was warming up a small space before Robert Owens and I was on a couch falling asleep and he played the most amazing set, including the 9 minute italian remix of Passion by the Flirts. It was so beautiful. I think one of my goals in life is to have as many copies of Magic Fly and Oxygene. They are surely the "Gloria" and "insert other rock song all bands cover" of the electronic disco scene.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 9. tammikuuta 2004 3:40

Magic Fly | Space (1977)

Next in the series of 'no idea how I haven't heard this before'. No.2 in the UK. Sounds just like the title suggests. I keep forgetting it's almost 30 years old. Strangely now sounding.

― Alba (Alba), 7. syyskuuta 2004 0:50

Space - "Magic Fly" c/d?

The original is the original, but IMO the Tom Moulton remix of Kébekélektrik's cover version is better for disco dancing.

i love boogie, i just needed some arbitrary rules to get down to 50 votes

i never understand what boogie is

YES! I never thought Magic Fly would chart so high!

i love boogie, i just needed some arbitrary rules to get down to 50 votes

Oh me too. Which is why I mostly got rid of anything not dominated by a monster bassline.

64.(tie) Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing (1976)
231 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1187062-1199322217_zps2434c32f.jpeg

http://youtu.be/pegK76VxXIY

You should be dancing? One word: HORNS

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), 20. kesäkuuta 2012 0:08

All those mid-to-late 70s singles are fucking incredible, though. Great melodies, good dancing groove, very unique sound (you can tell immediately when a song is the Bee Gees; which seems a clue to turn off the radio to many here.) All you haters will come around eventually.

― Mark, 6. kesäkuuta 2001 3:00

what is your favorite bee gees song

YOU SHOULD BE DANCING

― GOD, 5. lokakuuta 2007 1:25

I'd be fine if that was the highest ranking Bee-Gees song. But I'm starting to get the fear.

worst song to play as a dj... impossible to follow it up with anything as hype

my eyes, like, roll into the back of my head when i dance to this track

I'd be fine if that was the highest ranking Bee-Gees song.

otm

you're afraid more bee gees songs will place? why?