Nothin' Going On But the Rent

Gwen Guthrie-Nothing Going On But The Rent
Our Disco Godfather, Bus Station John played this last night at his Double Dutch Disco monthly at The Transfer, and I forgotten what a great record it truly is, having not heard it for a while. When I heard the infamous "Bill Collector's at my door, what can you do for me?" followed by the beginning of that luscious bass, I knew it was time for some serious garage. This is another one of my favorite Levan records because it's just so deep and satisfying from start to finish and Miss Guthrie, may she rest in peace, is just so darn bold and brazen. Her spicy vocal stylings and those 24 perfect notes of bass will make your day. (Note the record was ever so appropriately released on the Boiling Point Label, pure hotness, indeed.)

Test Drive

Gino Soccio-Try it Out
Here's a tune for your Summertime swagger from a man who needs no introduction-- Montreal's own, Mr. Gino Soccio. 'Tis a bit more downtempo then the Soccio splendor one is probably familiar with, but do as the title instructs, and you won't be let down. With a bassline that's cold as ice, and a sassy brassy hook to boot, this one's guaranteed to put that oh so familiar bounce in your step.

Like a Submarine

Harry Thumann-Underwater
This one might be a little obvious, but I thought it was time for a little Italo action around here. If you didn't already, now you have it-- six minutes of sheer delight that, to me, sounds more like a spacecapade than a voyage sous la mer. Great production and amazing orchestrations throughout make this an absolute classic. Horns, electric guitar, harps- Mr. Thumann definitely has us covered.

Let's Turn It Out, and Don't Stop.

Although the focus of this blog is definitely going to be lesser known tracks, there are some disco classics that absolutely need to be put out there. Now that that’s out in the open, it’s fair to say that Loleatta Holloway is one of the most distinctive voices in the entire genre, and no exposition of disco classics would be complete without her. Skyy is another big one, but I find this track particularly interesting because it absolutely reminds me of the Juan Maclean song “Give Me Every Little Thing.”



x. Loleatta Holloway – “Catch Me on the Rebound” - Before anything else, the number one thing about Loleatta's tracks is her voice. Period. She owns diva vocals, and that's really all I can say about it. Secondly, you need this, and you need “Love Sensation” … life changing tracks. The percussion at the end of each chorus is great, particularly the funky use of the hi-hat. Ace!





x. Skyy – “Let’s Turn It Out” - Let’s see, “First Time Around” is pretty solid, but this track is amazing. The percussion and gang vocals are unparalleled. In fact, I am sticking with my claim that James Murphy and John Maclean must have had this track in mind. No other explanation is possible!

Can't You See That I Love Nobody Else

x. Geraldine Hunt – “Can’t Fake the Feeling” - There are two songs by Geraldine, who is also the mother of Freddie James, that are absolutely essential: “Heart/Heart” and “Can’t Fake the Feeling.” While both hits were originally released on Prism Records, I believe, this track is her most successful effort. Between the satin strings and chocolate bassline, this type of track’s influence on French Touch, and its pop offspring genres, is completely obvious. If you take out the strings, and make the voice a vocoder … this is “Something About Us” take two. Although, Ms. Hunt’s vocals are really what pull this song together and make it work, and taking her out of the equation would be a travesty. In other words, the significance of this track is not purely referential. This is some serious shit. Disco, funk, champagne soul … all in one sweet little package.



x. Shift – “Roller Rink Funk” - This is one of the most obscure tracks I can think of. Not that that means anything on its own, but it does mean that I wa lucky to find it on CD! To be honest, I really just collect records, and it takes a hell of a lot to get me to pick up anything in a digital format. But when walking into a record store, I heard this track and it was all over. My mom was a big disco queen from Florida, which had a HUGE scene, and she broke it down for me like this … there were two types of clubs. First, there were the Abba type spots, and they were usually filled by well-to-do white yuppies. At this sort of venue, one could expect cocaine and boring string arrangements that sacrifice funk for orchestration. Secondly, there were the Roy Ayers type clubs where you would find a largely African-American and queer audience. These were the places where you would hear tracks with just bass, drums, guitar, and vocals. You know, the type of tracks that really blur the lines between disco, funk, soul, and early hip-hop. This track is of the second category, and, basically … it fucking rocks. You can find more of these tracks on a compilation called “Deep Disco Culture Vol. 1” …

Wheel Out the Freaks

Last week I finally scored Was (Not Was)'s classic full length on CD, which granted me digitized cuts that are prêt à blogger. Please do not let "Walk the Dinosaur" lead you astray. (Though it is rather catchy innit?) Ten years before "opening the door and getting on the floor," the brothers Was and company were churning out some pretty hot grooves that blew up dancefloors worldwide. They're kind of like Kid Creole with less coconut. Here's the proof you need:

Was Not Was-Wheel Me Out (long version)
Pure hotness; I never thought a saxophone would be so appealiing and appropriate. I still can't place where some of those creepy vocal samples come from, if you know, please educate me. If I were as big as a movies nerd as I am a music nerd, I'd need to have an Airport card implanted in my brain or an Ethernet cable going into my ear cannal to accomodate the volume of Internet I'd need to have to get my fix and carry out daily activities.

Was Not Was-Out Come the Freaks (12" remix)
Halloween party jam? More like Halloween party anthem. Vincent Price not included.

Also big ups to Greg at Medium Rare for hooking us up with some great compilations full of rare gems for blog fodder. Cameron should have never brought me there, as I have a feeling a lot of cash is going to be dropped in this amazing establishment (or in my case, utopia), especially since I'm going to be moving in down the street in a few days. Self control will definitely be an order.

West End Girls

Any disco connoisseur knows that West End Records was one of the most influential labels during the garage era of the late 70's and early 80's. It was during this time that New York City dancefloors were riveted by the soulful stylings of Mr. Larry Levan, who graced the label with his talent on several different occasions with a multitude of different remixes, as well as his Peech Boys project with Bernard Fowler and Michael de Benedictus. The key to the magic of the West End sound lies its ability to encompass the flare of disco while still maintaining a relatively low kitsch factor. There will definitely be more West End action to come here on First Choice, for this is only the beginning and these two records are only a droplet from the pool of turntable excellence that is the West End Records catalogue.



Taana Garner-Heartbeat (full Larry Levan 12" version)
Though it nearly clocks in at 10 minutes in length, one wishes it would never stop. (I'll refrain from putting some lame reference to a heart stopping it's beat.) I was hesitant about posting a record that is probably familiar to most as my official first choice, but this is one of my all time favorites, as well as perfect material for this blog, encapsulating everything I love about the garage sound. This track has been sampled by the likes of De La Soul, Heavy D, Snoop Dogg, DMX, Ini Kamoze ("Hot Stepper" much?), and KRS-One just to name a few, and the list will probably continue to grow in the years to come. Though the lyrics may seem trite, Gardner's convincing impassion in their delivery makes for a love song extraordinaire. Who would have thought that such prose as "my heart beats for the one I love" could ever sound so genuine? I've never been one to be affected by such puerile words of romance, but when combined with this amazing groove, it makes one wish there was someone to be head-over-heels about-- at least for 10 minutes anyway.



Barbara Mason-Another Man
From the title, one would assume that Miss Mason is singing about her own affair, but soon one finds out that "another man is beating my time, another man is loving mine." Yes that's right, girlfriend has gotten burned by a player who's batting for both teams-- Not only did she catch them holding hands on Market Street, but he may have even knicked one "very very sexy" dress from her closet. This is a more downtempo track, yet still has enough smooth garage goodness that combine with the novel vocals to delight. Definitely not a floor filler, but still quite amusing and great fodder for when the lights come up. I like the subject at hand, and wish there was a more hard-hitting follow up about what she ended up doing in this situation, and how she'll never be fooled again etc etc. Is this not the recipe for great disco anthem? Too bad it never panned out and we'll never know what happened in the end, or what really happened to that dress of hers.