Journey into Paradise...the Larry Levan Story CD

[ashley_k]

Journey into Paradise...the Larry Levan Story 2CD
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I just noticed this as forthcoming Rhino release April 11th, did a search and found this track listing, no big surprises in the choice of tracks, but looks good.


JOURNEY INTO PARADISE...THE LARRY LEVAN STORY focuses on the early days of a different musical movement, the club/dance genre Garage. Featuring 22 songs on two discs, the collection contains more than 140 minutes of Levan remixes, songs he produced for others and tracks that he helped break to a wider audience by including them into his DJ set.

The genre of dance music Levan invented - Garage - takes its name from Paradise Garage, the illustrious New York City club where his decade-long residency was legendary for its soulful DJ mixes. Using the turntables like a musical atom smasher, Levan gracefully slammed together eclectic genres - Philadelphia soul, punk, classic rock and Afro-Cuban disco to name a few - to create rapture on the dance floor.

JOURNEY INTO PARADISE...THE LARRY LEVAN STORY contains some of the influential Paradise Garage DJ's most famous remixes including Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat," Inner Life's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)" by David Joseph and "It Should Have Been You" by Gwen Guthrie. The album also features "Don't Make Me Wait," one of many songs Levan produced for the Peech Boys. Three months after completing a tour in 1992, Levan died from a heart condition. His legend lives on between the grooves.

JOURNEY INTO PARADISE...THE LARRY LEVAN STORY
Track Listing
Disc 1
1. "Paradise" - Change
2. "Weekend" - (12" Extended Version) - Phreek
3. "Clouds" - Chaka Khan
4. "Haven't You Heard" - Patrice Rushen
5. "We Got The Funk" - (12" U.S. Re-edit Version) - Positive Force
6. "Smack Dab In The Middle" - Janice McClain *
7. "Bad For Me" - (12" Long Version) - Dee Dee Bridgewater *
8. "Heartbeat" - (Club Version) - Taana Gardner *
9. "You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)" - David Joseph *
10. "Love Honey, Love Heartache" - (12" Vocal Version) - Man Friday *
11. "Don't Make Me Wait" - (12" Extended Version) - Peech Boys

Disc 2
1. "Baby I'm Scared Of You" - Womack & Womack
2. "Lost In Music" - (Special 1984 Nile Rodgers Remix) - Sister Sledge
3. "Why Leave Us Alone" - (12" Long Version) - Five Special
4. "Love Injection" - Trussel
5. "Can't Play Around" - (12" Vocal Version) - Lace *
6. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - (The Garage Version) - Inner Life *
7. "It Should Have Been You" - (12" Vocal Version) - Gwen Guthrie *
8. "A Lover's Holiday" - (12" Version) - Change
9. "Situation" - Yaz
10. "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads
11. "Love Has Come Around" - (12" Version) - Donald Byrd & 125th Street, N.Y.C.

* Mixed by Larry Levan

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[neonlights]

Thanks for the update!
Looks like a lot of them have been on CD already, but still an interesting tracklist..

Some of those Larry Levan mixes maybe on CD for the first time though like Lace, Gwen Guthrie, David Joseph and Man Friday.. I'm not 100 % sure though.. In any case, good to have them in one place..

[eddie]

Is part of this Cd a mix? A really want Janice McClain's Smack dab in the middle but not in a mix.

[jam master jay]

Looks like an interesting tracklist - I look forward to getting a copy. If I had to guess, this is probably not a mix CD, rather a compilation of all of his best mixes and remixes.

[Westwood]

Smack Dab In The Middle, and even Weekend (fab tracks really) are also on Disco Connection Vol.1, which you should have bought already, a must-have!

[Zef]

'Smack dab in the middle' on the Disco Connection CD I think is an edited version. It will be nice to have the full 12" on a good quality CD, I have got it on a promo version of the David Mancuso LOFT CD but it did not finish up on the final version (as well as Lamont Dozier Roots) and the promo CD is not mastered well.

Anybody out there listening, it would be nice to have a CD of Larrys more obscure mixes/productions, ie Peech Boys (C'mon,C'mon etc..), Black Mamba, Bert Reid, Man Friday(Jump, winners).
In the meantime it's always good to have a Levan CD out there, even though I have a lot of the tracks already, even on CD.

[QUINNY]

I'm surprised the the words 'Larry Levan' still has such pulling power, especially as IMO he did some of the absolute worst Disco remixes ever.

In fact, what is most evident from reading published track listings from various 'name' jocks or hearing mixes, is that all of them were human and subject to poor judgement at times and they were therefore fallible, in some cases incredibly so.

As for this CD.....it's cashing in on Larry Levan's name and doing little else to open up the canon of Disco material that's out there.

[eddie]

Two tracks Mr Levan didn't mess up was Central Line's "Walking into sunshine" and Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat". Amazing how simple it was just to stop the music for Heartbeat and use a cadance as a pedal point.

[Jeff H]

I just read a (very favorable!) review of this CD in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.

So for those of you who have it or have heard it: Are these all individual (and hopefully full-length) tracks, or are the songs presented in a non-stop mix?

Thanks

[Disco Funk]

I was also wondering if Levan mixed the songs together himself in a live performance, like that Larry Levan Paradise Garage CD with Sun Sun Sun?

Disco Funk

[keefelc]

Hi Jeff - I'm happy to report the 2 disc set is comprised of individual tracks - all 12 inch versions (per the liner notes). Sounds pretty clean although I haven't listened with headphones yet. BTW, the set is a combination of tracks that Larry Levan mixed and tracks that were popular at the Garage.

Finally, some domestic product releasing the versions we want. Hope there are more!!!

[eddie]

I actually found it in my local record store about 1 week after street date. Played it all and it's not a mix and is superb. I give it 8.5 out of 10 rating. I was not too crazy about some of the '80s pop that was there but overall clean sound.

[markydefad]

I found this last night; not mixed--but mostly Long versions--Here are the timings:


JOURNEY INTO PARADISE...THE LARRY LEVAN STORY
Track Listing
Disc 1
1. "Paradise" - Change (5:11)
2. "Weekend" - (12" Extended Version) - Phreek (8:13)
3. "Clouds" - Chaka Khan (4:27)
4. "Haven't You Heard" - Patrice Rushen (6:44)
5. "We Got The Funk" - (12" U.S. Re-edit Version) - Positive Force (7:15)
6. "Smack Dab In The Middle" - Janice McClain * (6:48.)
7. "Bad For Me" - (12" Long Version) - Dee Dee Bridgewater *(8:31)
8. "Heartbeat" - (Club Version) - Taana Gardner *(9:50)
9. "You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)" - David Joseph * (6:43)
10. "Love Honey, Love Heartache" - (12" Vocal Version) - Man Friday * (5:16) I LIKED THIS ONE A LOT-NEW TO ME!!!
11. "Don't Make Me Wait" - (12" Extended Version) - Peech Boys(7:25)

Disc 2
1. "Baby I'm Scared Of You" - Womack & Womack (5:38.)
2. "Lost In Music" - (Special 1984 Nile Rodgers Remix) - Sister Sledge (6:35)
3. "Why Leave Us Alone" - (12" Long Version) - Five Special (10:09)
4. "Love Injection" - Trussel (7:50)
5. "Can't Play Around" - (12" Vocal Version) - Lace * (5:27)
6. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - (The Garage Version) - Inner Life * (10:28.)
7. "It Should Have Been You" - (12" Vocal Version) - Gwen Guthrie * (7:05)
8. "A Lover's Holiday" - (12" Version) - Change(6:25)
9. "Situation" - Yaz (5:43)
10. "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads (4:17)
11. "Love Has Come Around" - (12" Version) - Donald Byrd & 125th Street, N.Y.C. (7:52)

* Mixed by Larry Levan

Journey into Paradise...the Larry Levan Story 2CD
Amazon-U.S. | Amazon-U.K. | Amazon-Germany | Amazon-France