Worst disco songs of the 70s

[jazz_pilgrim]

On 2002-08-12 17:35, markydefad wrote:
Uh, oh--the JAZZ DISCO Boys (Sam, Blax & Pilgrim) are gonna be on yer ass, Orangefunk.

Or, maybe they hate that stuff too???

Naaaaahhh. :lol:

Surprise, surprise, Marky, Orangefunk has got a point!!! :grin:

Just like anybody else, jazz musicians were tempted by the "Disco pot of gold" waiting at the end of the rainbow. (Poetic for 7:30 am in the morning, don't you think? :grin:)

Some of the more iffy records made by jazz musicians that I can remember include:

Idris Muhammed - Fox Huntin'
Herbie Mann - Supermann (truly dire)
Herb Albert - Rise
and a lot of Kenny G's stuff was pretty dire

and a lot of the "smooth jazz" played today on jazz radio (like Jazz FM) leaves a lot to be desired.

Orangefunk - I don't know if you remember Gilles Peterson when he was on Radio London and the Jazz FM, but he used to call the music he played jazz with ATTITUDE. Now that's what I like!! :grin: :grin:

There ya go, Marky. I wasn't too hard on him, was I?? :lol:

[Marcio**]

There's something worst in disco for me: "You Superstar/Moving like a Superstar", by Amedeo. It's a shit, nobody knows it (do you know???) and sometimes I hear it, why not???

[QUINNY]

Dear Jazz Pilgrim,
RISE - HERB ALPERT NOOOOO way was that a bummer. YES, SOME JAZZERS WERE GUILTY AS CHARGED. I listened to Herbie Mann's Dicotheque album the other day and after 25 years I was horified. How did I ever get fooled into playing that!!!
I'd personally nominate many of the lame Brit Funk tunes that came out in 79 - 80.Too many to remember, even if I wanted to. SHAKATAK must be about the most insidious, and dare I say it Atmosphere were really pretty hopeless. When you re-listen to Dancin'In Outa Space or whatever it is called, it's nothing much. The drumming is really awkward and drifts in and out of time chronically with the bass.AND is there any real tune or hook to speak of? Great if you were on Jazz Woodbines at the time, otherwise forget it and move on.
My own personal hates were mostly the lame 'Disco' acts such as El Coco, The Ritchie Family, Wilton Place Band ( I Love Lucy -Ughhhh) Andrea True Connection ( what's porn got to do with disco?), Disco Tex (he used to frighten me to death)etc. Give me the Theme to 'The Love Boat' and I'll show you El Coco et al. They had no balls whatsoever.
T.S.O.P had a lot to answer for; it's probably the one tune that gave everyone else a formula to work to. Gamble & Huff were content to make clones of it for some time after. I guess Thom Bell should take some of the blame too. Between them, they showed the waiting world how to make black music accessible, and more importantly, profitable, only many of their imitators weren't anywhere near as good as them. The rest is history
Lots of pure Disco Dross followed and ultimately the music that gave Disco a bad name ' cos the stuff was played to death especially in the U.S.A. and led to the Disco Sucks campaign.
A very personal view, but 'white sounding,sanitised,formulaic,beautiful music' was not what disco should have been all about. OTHERWISE DISCO RULES!!
FRESH MEAT EVERYBODY, from someone who was there, doing the business 7 days a week in long stretches.

[sirius]

Dear Friends!
How about a new "DiscoSucks"-Campaign???
Cosmic Love & Kisses From SIRIUS & DARKTUNES

[Blaxman]

On 2002-08-13 08:12, sirius wrote:

Dear Friends!
How about a new "DiscoSucks"-Campaign???
Cosmic Love & Kisses From SIRIUS & DARKTUNES

Great idea Sirius!!! It could be "BAD" DISCO SUCKS!! :lol:

[Blaxman]

On 2002-08-12 17:35, markydefad wrote:
Uh, oh--the JAZZ DISCO Boys (Sam, Blax & Pilgrim) are gonna be on yer ass, Orangefunk.

Or, maybe they hate that stuff too???

Naaaaahhh. :lol:

No problem Marky. No problem Orangefunk.

I think everybody have the right to do unsuccessful works, whatever if they are big stars or not. Also, I think everybody can like some crap music sometimes, it fits to myself. I like tons of crap songs and surely I hate many crap songs too. But I know that I hate many songs that could be consider good!! It is just a case of taste, bad or good.

Example: I consider Roy Ayers a great musician and I have a lot of songs from him, but I hate "Running Away" the "doo bee doo" song.

Peace

[Blaxman]

On 2002-08-13 03:57, QUINNY wrote:

.....dare I say it Atmosphere were really pretty hopeless. When you re-listen to Dancin'In Outa Space or whatever it is called, it's nothing much. The drumming is really awkward and drifts in and out of time chronically with the bass.

Whew!!! I think I was the only one to see that!!
The drums on this track are really weird!! It seems out of "tempo". Anyway, I love this song!!! It could be an example for what I said in my previous post, I like some bad tunes too!! :lol:

Peace

[markydefad]

On 2002-08-13 03:57, QUINNY wrote:
My own personal hates were mostly the lame 'Disco' acts such as El Coco...Give me the Theme to 'The Love Boat' and I'll show you El Coco et al. They had no balls whatsoever.
A very personal view, but 'white sounding,sanitised,formulaic,beautiful music' was not what disco should have been all about.

QUINNY,

I have to say I love ya for that El Coco quote. I've been trying to convey my lack of respect for that spun sugary stuff too--to NO AVAIL--they STILL LOVE EM here!!!!!

Watch for "Cocomotion" to make the TOP 10 of the new Disco 500!!!! :razz:

BUT, gawd, the rest of your commentary is WAAAY TOO HARSH. Trashing my beloved Gamble & Huff, Thom Bell, Barry White, & poor Shakatak???!!!!
I WON'T GO THERE. Those artists have my respect and undying loyalty.

_________________
Make My Feet Wanna Dance!

Markydefad

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: markydefad on 2002-08-13 13:34 ]</font>

[Jeff H]

On 2002-08-13 03:57, QUINNY wrote:
(what's porn got to do with disco?)

Uh, everything...?

Take away the sex from disco music and you're left with... polkas? :???:

[Blaxman]

Well, it's true. Everybody knows that Philly and Salsoul tunes were made like Henry Ford made his 'T' Model. We have several examples of that, but who cares? That tunes are great in most of cases!! The good examples must be followed.......or copied, right?

Peace

[jazz_pilgrim]

On 2002-08-13 08:37, Blaxman wrote:
[Example: I consider Roy Ayers a great musician and I have a lot of songs from him, but I hate "Running Away" the "doo bee doo" song.

pax, meu amigo!

[jazz_pilgrim]

On 2002-08-13 03:57, QUINNY wrote:
Dear Jazz Pilgrim,

A very personal view, but 'white sounding,sanitised,formulaic,beautiful music' was not what disco should have been all about. OTHERWISE DISCO RULES!!

Yes, I think you have a point there. There was a lot of bad disco music dross out there, cashing in on the music scene, and that had little to do with black music...

[QUINNY]

Dear Markydefad,
I think you slightly misinterpreted what I'd written and I was merely trying to put my own personal slant on history.
Undoubtedly T.S.O.P. was the blue print for mamy many imitators in Disco. Slurping hi hat instrumental, hustle rhythm at about 125 bpm?, orchestration, girlie chorus. Do they ring any bells? You have to imagine that many of their successors sat down, listened to that record and said "if that's what makes a hit, let's do it!"
IMHO I was merely try to express my view that that and some of the Thom Bell types of arrangements were copied wholesale once Disco got started. It was soul trying to do what Bennie Goodman did at the famous Carnegie Hall gig in the thirties with jazz. Trying to cross over more into the mainstream and become 'respectable' to a white audience. I don't really think that TSOP was made with just an R&B audience in mind. By then they were becoming a hit factory and the smell of the greenbacks became part of their ambition.

[DanceMan]

Leave Rinder and Lewis alone....they had so few things worthwhile that I feel was disco worthy (and that I liked. I just burned that wonderful 1978 musical orchestration into a new CD the day before I read these commentaries...everything cannot sound the same...I agree...too much Philly or Barry or disco jazz.....so you write a pretty string thing and play all the instruments yourself...gotta give 'em credit, boys....

Also, what was wrong with the Theme from the Love Boat...the show sucked ----but I da sung it had bin axed.

[markydefad]

I understand your point Quinny, but isn't that what Motown was accused of ten years earlier-- i.e. making "Black music" more palatable to whites? At least that was the criticism leveled at The Supremes, the most succesful "crossover" of all Motown acts at the time. Yet that music is still magical to me. The high level of world class-quality songs/records that emerged from Motown in that decade is astounding. The harder edged Stax/Volt/Atlantic music sounds great today--BUT black record executives were courting the "white market" long before "T.S.O.P.", I think.