DONNA SUMMER: ‘Four Seasons Of Love’ LP (GTO GTLP 018) (Billboard chart debut 10/9/76)
‘Spring Affair’ is the best of the funky jumpers in her ‘Try Me’ groove, others being ‘Summer Fever‘, ‘Autumn Changes‘ and ‘Spring Reprise‘ (‘Winter Melody’ is slow). The tracks mix with over-long doodling breaks this time, spoiling the continuous flow.
BARRY WHITE: ‘Is This Whatcha Want’ LP (20th Century BTH 516) (Billboard chart debut 11/13/76)
As well as the new single. ‘Now I’m Gonna Make Love To You’ and ‘I’m Qualified To Satisfy You‘ move along with future hit potential, while the sexy slow ‘I Wanna Lay Down With You Baby‘ gets pretty risky!
CAROL DOUGLAS: ‘Midnight Love Affair’ LP (Midland Int’l BKL 1-1798) (mentioned in Billboard column 7/31/76, Billboard chart debut 8/28/76)
Lovely Carol does a Donna Summer, making her current disco hit into one long unending album side by mixing in other similar songs.
GIORGIO: ‘Knights In White Satin’ LP (GTO GTLP 017) (Billboard chart debut 7/31/76)
And Donna’s own producer does likewise, stretching the Moodies’ song over one side and repeating the “coz I luv you” line. Edited to a single (GTO GT 73), the sexy fast ‘I Wanna Funk With You Tonight‘ flip is good too.
The current Sex Pistols phenomenon is amazingly close to the Who situation in 1965. Back then, all the Mods identified with the Who because of the way they looked. However, apart from dabbling with James Brown and Motown numbers at live shows, the Who did not play music that the Mods danced to. As now, the kids were dancing to black American soul, the funk of the day. The Who represented their own life style.
The Pistols drew their following from modern funky fans at certain clubs, especially in the London area where the fashions get freakier but the music stays black. There, the kids go in for the torn T-shirts, chain from earlobe to nostril look that is outraging parents and forging a bond among the wearers. Sure, the Pistols have fans – as did the Who – that are only into white rock, but for the disco crowd, it’s the look that counts!
New Spins
TOWER OF POWER: ‘You Ought To Be Havin’ Fun’ (CBS 4675)
Choppy tighten up jiggler, with happy harmonies and proven appeal for funky jocks here, who already love it.
SHOWSTOPPERS: ‘Ain’t Nothing But A Houseparty’ (Cream CRM 5005)
Truly classic dancer from ’67, still a fave.
SANDPIPERS: ‘Hang On Sloopy’ (Satril SAT 114)
Suddenly everyone’s talking about this smooth fast hustling of the Vibrations’ oldie, by the ‘Guantanamera’ gang.
O’JAYS: ‘Message In Our Music’ (from LP ‘Message In The Music’, Philadelphia Int’l PIR 81460) (Billboard chart debut 9/11/76)
Infinitely superior to the single, the full 6:24 LP cut has some terrific breaks and is the one to use.
PASADENA ROOF ORCHESTRA: ‘Cheek To Cheek’ (Transatlantic BIG 554)
Just made for MoR gigs, this is the best vintage-sounding version of the Fred Astaire quickstepper that I’ve ever heard. Heaven!
STEVIE WONDER: ‘Isn’t She Lovely?’ (from LP ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’, Tamla Motown TMSP 6002) (LP Billboard chart debut 10/30/76)
Happy harmonica handclapper, the brightest disco hit from the sprawling set. Other disco goodies are ‘I Wish’, ‘Sir Duke’, ‘Another Star’, ‘Ebony Eyes’ and ‘As’.
ERNIE MARESCA: ‘Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)’ (Seville SEV 1019)
Ernie’s classic Twist-tempo rocker has grown in stature since ’62, until now there can be few who won’t recognize it. An all-time disco great, it goes perfectly with Dion, ‘At The Hop’, and the other hit revivals. Try it and see!
HANK C BURNETTE: ‘Spinning Rock Boogie’ (Sonet SON 2094)
The most frantic guitar instrumental ever, full of freaky effects, this Swedish rocker has already caused a stir in London after Capital Radio play. Literally incredible!
LALO SCHIFRIN: ‘Jaws’ (CTI CTSP 005) (mentioned in Billboard column 6/12/76, Billboard chart debut 7/17/76)
The biggest import since Brass Construction, this monotonous discotization buries the frightening movie theme in booming bass, rattling rhythms and sundry synthetics. It’ll be a monster.
DR. BUZZARD’S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND: ‘Cherchez La Femme’ / ‘Sour And Sweet‘ / ‘I’ll Play The Fool‘ (LP RCA RS 1072) (Billboard chart debut 6/26/76)
Huge in America, the long-awaited album’s a mixture of cooled-out Manhattan Transfer, big band and hustle sounds, very subtle and appealing. Will it go here, though? The last-named track’s a single (RCA 2736), with Thom Bell-type beat.
DEAF SCHOOL: ‘What A Way To End It All’ (Warner Bros. K 16812)
Not immediately danceable, but believe me, this zany Sparks/Roxy-type pastiche is gonna be a smash!
GOLDEN FIDDLE ORCHESTRA: ‘The Golden Fiddle March’ (Mountain TOP 13)
Immensely useful for mobile jocks, it’s great “Och aye the noo” Gay Gordons-type music, with a flipside set of ‘Reels’ that’s the best I’ve ever heard on single.
Ben Cree has resigned his leadership of the National Association of DJs. His announcement cleared the air before disco manufacturers and DJs met on Monday at London’s Ski Club to decide on future trade organisations for the industry.
Divided into two meetings, the DJs and manufacturers each agreed on plans to form their own separate associations.
The unanimous vote was for a new Disc Jockey Federation, DJF (UK), totally disassociated from the NADJ.
Current members will be contacted by the committee of the new Federation, which is still in the discussion stage, but it will not be directly involved in the running of trade exhibitions.
This will be handled by the British Association of Discotheque Equipment Manufacturers, formed after a vote among the sixteen leading manufacturers who attended the meeting, chaired by Dave Durie of Optikinetics. Constituted to further the interests of and promote the British disco industry, BADEM’s first move is to form a steering committee to conduct a three months’ survey within the industry, so that the articles of association will have full industry approval. Membership details of BADEM will be available shortly but meanwhile enquiries will be handled by Optikinetics, Project Electronics or FAI.
One of BADEM’s first aims will be to mount a disco trade show next year. But, stressed Dave Durie, “BADEM will be working closer with the DJF.”
New Spins
SONS OF CHAMPLIN: ‘Hold On’ (Ariola America AA 106) (Billboard chart debut 6/5/76)
Great whomping blue-eyed funker, powered by the beat of the moment. An import fave of mine for some time.
MANHATTAN TRANSFER: ‘Chanson D’Amour’ (from LP ‘Coming Out’, Atlantic K 50291)
Art and Dotty Todd’s dreamy romancer from ’58 is the album’s high point, an MoR must, but there are also more mundane disco dancers and a good Latin track.
James Hamilton's Disco Page 