Isaac Hayes Movement - Disco Connection

[neonlights]

As far as Isaac Hayes' albums go, I'm familiar mostly with his mid-late 70's stuff, less-so with his earlier stuff. That said, the Disco Connection LP has been one of my favourite Isaac Hayes albums for several years now..

He seemed to release a great deal of disco, or disco themed releases in 1976: "Disco Connection," "Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak)," "Groove-a-thon." If the charts on allmusic.com are to be believed, nothing really managed to stick.. Furthermore, reading the Isaac Hayes: Don't Shaft thread on the other forum, some said that Ike, with his 1976 releases, didn't exactly "get it" when it came to disco.. Perhaps one reason why it didn't exactly leave a mark..

Despite that, just wondering if there are any others here who like this album as much as I do..

Also, in case some of you haven't seen it, there's a great original video clip of Disco Connection on Dailymotion, complete with Ike playing conductor

[Videoskooter]

Neon, Isaac Hayes is one of my favourite artists. I like his orchestrations, his classic Soul outputs and his Discoworks. Always liked the Disco-Hayes too! "Disco Connection" is a well known tune over here since it was used as a jingle on many Television programs.

Maybe a lot of people won't connect it to Isaac Hayes but they immediately recognize that tune (same goes for Booker T's "Soul Limbo", which was used on BBC a lot).

"Don't let go" is another one of my faves and "Joy" is pretty Disco to me too!

Love that guy!

[discolady75]

Originally Posted by Videoskooter

"Don't let go" is another one of my faves and "Joy" is pretty Disco to me too!

Love that guy!

disco connection : philadelphia soul style
joy : i dont really consider it as disco, as barry white's ballads. But the Album is absolutely wonderful

He did a disco version of Fever (another one!) on "dont let go" LP and my fave is "New Horizons" LP with "menage à trois" inside....

[Disco Funk]

Originally Posted by discolady75

disco connection : philadelphia soul style
joy : i dont really consider it as disco, as barry white's ballads. But the Album is absolutely wonderful

I would agree with the assessment on Joy, but I have to disagree with Disco Connection being philly soul! To me DC sounds more like a soundtrack disco tune, like something Henry Mancini might have composed for a TV show or movie. I don't find it funky. It has various elements of a disco tune, like the strings and the consistent beat, but it's missing the funky bass line. The bass in that song is just driving straight ahead on the same line. It's not hitting on the '1'. Heck, all of the instruments seem to be driving in the same manner. No funky syncopation in there. So, while the track is a type of disco tune, I have to say that philly disco is a lot funkier than DC.

I would say the same thing about his earliest attempt at disco - 'Theme From The Men'. That track had various elements one finds in a disco tune, and it is a track that one could play in a disco, but it's not the best example of a good disco (as in the genre) track. Proto-disco, I guess you could say, and that's how DC sounds to me as well.

Disco Funk

[neonlights]

Originally Posted by Videoskooter

Neon, Isaac Hayes is one of my favourite artists. I like his orchestrations, his classic Soul outputs and his Discoworks. Always liked the Disco-Hayes too! "Disco Connection" is a well known tune over here since it was used as a jingle on many Television programs.

Maybe a lot of people won't connect it to Isaac Hayes but they immediately recognize that tune (same goes for Booker T's "Soul Limbo", which was used on BBC a lot).

Glad to know it's well known somewhere! I love his orchestrations too, at his best he had this wonderful classy, yet funky sound, which I love..

I probably shouldn't have judged from the Billboard charts reprinted on allmusic.com. I checked the 1976 Billboard Disco Chart thread, and it seems the title track peaked at #26, total of a 5 week run.. Good to know that it did get some club play. I guess you can't always trust allmusic.com..

Originally Posted by discolady75

my fave is "New Horizons" LP with "menage à trois" inside....

So far that's my favourite Isaac Hayes album too.. The very first one I picked up. IMO, great LP all the way.. "Out Of The Ghetto" is another fav. of mine off of it..

Originally Posted by Disco Funk

To me DC sounds more like a soundtrack disco tune, like something Henry Mancini might have composed for a TV show or movie. I don't find it funky. It has various elements of a disco tune, like the strings and the consistent beat, but it's missing the funky bass line. The bass in that song is just driving straight ahead on the same line. It's not hitting on the '1'. Heck, all of the instruments seem to be driving in the same manner. No funky syncopation in there. So, while the track is a type of disco tune, I have to say that philly disco is a lot funkier than DC.

Now that you mention it, it does remind me of something that could be from a movie.. Perhaps, as you say, not straight-ahead funk or what would be known as a typical disco sound, but whenever I hear a wah-wah somewhere in the mix, I just automatically think "funky". Kind of like the music from a chase scene in an old blaxploitation movie, I guess..

I suppose disco was a bit more diverse in 1976. Still, if it were considered proto-disco in 1976, I would understand why it probably didn't quite hit the way his previous efforts did.

[remicks]

*****


Here's a little interesting test :

Before going to Neon's link to hear DISCO CONNECTIION .....get the tune I FEEL LOVE by Donna Summer running in your head .
Now connect:
original video clip of Disco Connection

If you don't make a disco connection ..... while listening to Isaac's song from the top imagine Donna cooing .
....ooooo ... it's sooo good it's so good its so good its soooo good
on top of it. No it's not a perfect fit ... but works enough to show that this song in 1976 was several beats ahead of the rest in what would soon be commonly played as disco .

Nothing at the the time was this frantic ....this fast paced, which is partly why it didn't do so well in 1976.... what songs was the DJ to mix it with ?
Well the answer wouldn't come until later .... years later when Simon Soussan would provide us with similar frenetic tunes such as .... LOVE AND DESIRE .

Besides its high energy , another reason it didn't do so well is, as mentioned , this sort of soundtrack quality in its compostion ( understandable coming from Isaac Hayes though) .... it's rather muddy/flat in its mixing and the song needed some vocals ( of any degree) and it shouldn't repeatedly slip into that more funky Dennis Coffey SCORPIO like groove ... shifting into an almost entirely different song ...then back to the original ....back and forth between the two ... as if each part is needed to respond to changing scenes in a movie. One thing that Isaac hasn't learned yet is that people on the dance floor prefer a song that's consistent ... too many changes is confusing ... it interupts a smoother flow which is more inducing for dancing ....


******

[neonlights]

Originally Posted by remicks

If you don't make a disco connection ..... while listening to Isaac's song from the top imagine Donna cooing .
....ooooo ... it's sooo good it's so good its so good its soooo good
on top of it. No it's not a perfect fit ... but works enough to show that this song in 1976 was several beats ahead of the rest in what would soon be commonly played as disco .

Nothing at the the time was this frantic ....this fast paced, which is partly why it didn't do so well in 1976.... what songs was the DJ to mix it with ?
Well the answer wouldn't come until later .... years later when Simon Soussan would provide us with similar frenetic tunes such as .... LOVE AND DESIRE .

Besides its high energy , another reason it didn't do so well is, as mentioned , this sort of soundtrack quality in its compostion ( understandable coming from Isaac Hayes though) .... it's rather muddy/flat in its mixing and the song needed some vocals ( of any degree) and it shouldn't repeatedly slip into that more funky Dennis Coffey SCORPIO like groove ... shifting into an almost entirely different song ...then back to the original ....back and forth between the two ... as if each part is needed to respond to changing scenes in a movie. One thing that Isaac hasn't learned yet is that people on the dance floor prefer a song that's consistent ... too many changes is confusing ... it interupts a smoother flow which is more inducing for dancing ....


******

Thanks for offering a counterpoint remicks!

As far as the "I Feel Love" comparison, It's got to be that intro..

The changes are great from a listeners point of view, but yeah, unless one was a really good experienced dancer perhaps, they would probably be a bit of a challenge on the floor..

What you said about how this record stood out then kind of gives me an impression of what was happening around that time. Disco, for me has always been a rich, diverse genre; it seems 1976 was especially so in a way.. I might be wrong, but I guess the fact that things probably weren't yet "set in stone" as it were probably has something to do with that.

[QUINNY]

Were you guys around in '76, at the coal face, so to speak? I had already been DJing full-time for 4 years in discos by then.

Disco Connection was an instant smash which turned into an instantly forgotten record. Why?

1). Everyone got caught up in the excitement of the track.
2). It was Isaac Hayes sounding as if he were back on top form. We all wanted to like the record and Isaac to regain some of his past glory.
3). It was different to almost anything else at that time and funky as hell (in parts).

but then the rot set in............

1). It was TOO DISJOINTED.
2). It was 'OLD SOUNDING'. It sounded really stale, really quickly.
3). It had very few hooks.
4). Overall it was just felt like a thin veneer of his sound and was ultimately boring.

Yes, to some extent it did signal the beginnings of a change to mindless music, where the rhythm would dominate all other considerations and we weren't quite ready for that, especially the metronomic quality it had.

Sorry if this rains on your parade, but that's the way it was, IMO.

[Disco Funk]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

Were you guys around in '76, at the coal face, so to speak? I had already been DJing full-time for 4 years in discos by then.

Disco Connection was an instant smash which turned into an instantly forgotten record. Why?

1). Everyone got caught up in the excitement of the track.
2). It was Isaac Hayes sounding as if he were back on top form. We all wanted to like the record and Isaac to regain some of his past glory.
3). It was different to almost anything else at that time and funky as hell (in parts).

but then the rot set in............

1). It was TOO DISJOINTED.
2). It was 'OLD SOUNDING'. It sounded really stale, really quickly.
3). It had very few hooks.
4). Overall it was just felt like a thin veneer of his sound and was ultimately boring.

Yes, to some extent it did signal the beginnings of a change to mindless music, where the rhythm would dominate all other considerations and we weren't quite ready for that, especially the metronomic quality it had.

Sorry if this rains on your parade, but that's the way it was, IMO.

I'll buy that. I haven't listened to the full track for a while, but I do recall it just being the same throughout. It alternated between the dance parts and the break parts, but there was not stripped down instrument sections. It was like he just put the faders for all of the instruments/tracks at the same level and went off to the bathroom, only to come back when it was time to fade out the track. Its a 3 minute track trapped in a 5 minute plus body.

Disco Funk

[neonlights]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

Were you guys around in '76, at the coal face, so to speak? I had already been DJing full-time for 4 years in discos by then.

Disco Connection was an instant smash which turned into an instantly forgotten record. Why?

1). Everyone got caught up in the excitement of the track.
2). It was Isaac Hayes sounding as if he were back on top form. We all wanted to like the record and Isaac to regain some of his past glory.
3). It was different to almost anything else at that time and funky as hell (in parts).

but then the rot set in............

1). It was TOO DISJOINTED.
2). It was 'OLD SOUNDING'. It sounded really stale, really quickly.
3). It had very few hooks.
4). Overall it was just felt like a thin veneer of his sound and was ultimately boring.

Yes, to some extent it did signal the beginnings of a change to mindless music, where the rhythm would dominate all other considerations and we weren't quite ready for that, especially the metronomic quality it had.

Sorry if this rains on your parade, but that's the way it was, IMO.

Doesn't rain on my parade.. Thanks for the insight!

Obviously no, I wasn't around then. It's just interesting to me at least, to know how certain tracks were recieved back then and why. Doesn't really affect my enjoyment of it today too much, just helps put things in the broader context of the times: what was happening then, what people responded to and so on..

[remicks]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

Were you guys around in '76, at the coal face, so to speak? I had already been DJing full-time for 4 years in discos by then.

re: DISCO CONNECTION:
It was different to almost anything else at that time and funky as hell (in parts).

It was 'OLD SOUNDING'. It sounded really stale, really quickly.


Yes, to some extent it did signal the beginnings of a change to mindless music, where the rhythm would dominate all other considerations and we weren't quite ready for that, especially the metronomic quality it had.
.

I'd say it was the SCORPIO-like segments .. the funky parts... that were the song's stale aspect .... slowing down into this was the song's mistake ...... whereas the metronomic segments were a sound from the future .... if the song used only those parts ( and then its thinness corrected in a 12" remix ) ... it'd have been a wower !!

Listen here :
Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It? (Disc 2), MP3 Album Music Download at eMusic



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---- I wish I had been already DJing like you Quinny ... .what a great era to witness from that angle ... I was a full time student at this time ... 1976 ....did have my radio show .... but I was a self- supporting student who calculatingly ate in the dorm cafeteria using pre-bought ration coupons that had to last all term ! ... so there was little room for indulgence in my budget for music buying. A lot of this stuff , like Isaac Hayes never made it my way . I depended on the campus radio station's promos ( & remember this is in hippie-dippie, FM rock radio San Francisco )... so the promos provided were more in line for that crowd .....but by being the outsider ....the disco.... the jazz....the soul that did come in ...was mostly mine !

Oh I had one other source ....there was a record store near the campus and I set up a little deal with them ....they let me use , literally borrow 3 new 45's a week !! in exchange for my mentioning their store on my show .....

How did you get your music , Quinny ? Totally out of pocket ? Did clubs provide ? There wasn't a record pool or something of that nature .... ?




*****
Also ... being a struggling student in 1976 ... if a club had a cover charge ....forgetaboutit ...





post script : The reason I got off into this tangent was a roundabout way to say at the time of DISCO CONNECTION .... choices made by me for little money spent would never have been to check out someone of the "distant past " like Isaac Hayes on some chance he might be doing something hip in the way of disco.. The attention paid was focused on all things new .....