Which Disco Records Are Long Overdue For Release On Cd?

[ashley]

If any wealthy record executives are reading this, what disco cuts are still awaiting release on CD? Is your favourite disco tune now available on CD? And do you care? Will you happily hustle & bump to the grave listening to scratchy old vinyl? Is there any need to purchase your record collection over again just for the convenience of having your favourite records on CD? .. .. Until recently my number 1 nomination for a CD release was the Jimmy Simpson 12" mix of Ashford & Simpson "It seems to hang on" .. possibly the best & most beautiful disco record of all time ( I cry when I hear it ) .. but at the end of Feb '08 Warner Bros will be releasing a double CD by Ashford & Simpson called "The Warner years / hits, remixes & rarities" which contains all their rare & extended promotional 12" singles ..

[SandraDee]

I would dearly love to see all the Rinder & Lewis LPs & all the Three Hats Productions LPs released on CDs, preferably in the format of those Italian reissues of JFP productions.

[ashley]

.. the most popular Rinder & Lewis tunes ( like "Cocomotion", "Le Spank" & "Lust" ) turn up on CD compilations occasionally .. but for fanatics like us, I agree, a box set of their complete work would be very nice .. would you be willing to pay good money for their entire output on CD? .. or would you rather own a CD compilation of greatest hits? Rinder & Lewis produced a large body of work .. perhaps not all of it brilliant ..

[MrMelody]

I would love to see Vicki Sue Robinson's work available on CD..She did so much more than "Turn The Beat Around"..and the general public has no idea!!
I do recall hearing before she passed,that there was going to be some sort of Anthology released, but nothing has come of it..

[ashley]

.. My God .. you're right MrMelody .. there are no Vicki Sue Robinson albums on CD .. Not even a greatest hits package .. that's criminal .. what are RCA doing? .. .. we should begin a petition ..

[ashley]

.. just back to Rinder & Lewis .. I notice the EL Coco album "Let's get it together" is available on CD from Japan .. but at almost 40 dollars it ain't cheap .. and that doesn't include their hit "Cocomotion"

[srg]

I've got one...

T-H-E-O V-A-N-N-E-S-S' "Bad Bad Boy" LP...classic!

[kdavid13]

So many come to mind but
FRANCE JOLI's 2 Epic Lps [WITCH OF LOVE and ATTITUDE]
A definite box set of ALEC COSTANDINOS' best tracks and also
THREE DEGREES' 2 Giorgio produced albums.

[Graham_Start]

At this point, I think we can forget about CD releases. The bottom is falling out of the CD market, and stores that sell them are vanishing like VHS. The only hope is digital (yes, I know CDs are digital, but when the hip kids say it they mean iTunes or other download shop).

Another problem you'll find is that the masters for many of these recordings have been misplaced, damaged, or discarded. Case in point, Ben Liebrand mentions on his web site that he's been trying to find the master tape to Amii Stewart's "Knock On Wood" for years to include on his "12 inches" compilations, without success... and that's for a record that was a massive hit!

[thommy2458]

Originally Posted by srg

I've got one...

T-H-E-O V-A-N-N-E-S-S' "Bad Bad Boy" LP...classic!

AMEN to that one SRG!
Another less known LP that is a personal fave Is "African Suite" and
some misc cuts that I have yet to find(12'" mixes)Brainstorms
"Lovin Is Really My Game",Melba Moore's "Good Love Makes Everything Allright",Faith Hope and Charity's "You're My Piece Of Mind/Life Goes On"
the 12" only mix of "Spanish Hustle" by the Fatback Band and a Polydor
disco compilation called "Steppin Out" off the top of my head...
thom

[Cory Ander]

I agree with Graham....CDs are rapidly losing their popularity and I've given up hope of many of my favorites ever being released on CD now. I personally would still be willing to buy long out of print disco favorites on CD, but not at sky high prices (the Costandinos catalogue would be number 1 on my list to go to CD). I just don't like not having choices anymore....either you can't find favorites at all, or when you find them the prices are ridiculous or the quality is bad.

[eddie]

Cds are going to be like vinyl and only available in special markets with more limited pressings. WEA has issued download only of original Ashford and Simpson and Blue Magic Lps (Mystic Dragon, Message) that were never on CD. I'm a notes and booklet guy but if these burned discs get mixed up, you'll have a mess. I also heard that you can't transfer some downloads to CD-R but to only Ipod.

Some expensive imports that didn't live up to expectations were
1 Maxine Nightingale-Lead me on CD (taken from a worn cassette on Razor and tie who usually are better than this)

2 New Birth-Love Potion (Acrobat) Missing atleast one track on original album with terrible sound

3 Temptations-Hear to tempt you (Japanese pressing of Atlantic Lp and I've heard through several sources it sounds terrible and $30 to boot.

4 Shades of Love-Hot productions were usually OK but this sounds like the tape is breaking! Yikes!

5 Some of the Vinylmasterpiece albums like Howard Johnson and Starpoint CDs have all tracks truncated and fade extremely quick. Again these are quit expensive.

As for something that was done right. I'd say I'm glad the Chic catalog was restored and made fully available including Norma Jean Wright's self entitled solo album which was only briefly available on Sequel from Britain.

[Graham_Start]

Originally Posted by eddie

Cds are going to be like vinyl and only available in special markets with more limited pressings. WEA has issued download only of original Ashford and Simpson and Blue Magic Lps (Mystic Dragon, Message) that were never on CD. I'm a notes and booklet guy but if these burned discs get mixed up, you'll have a mess. I also heard that you can't transfer some downloads to CD-R but to only Ipod.

If it's from the iTunes store, you can burn it to an audio CD. One thing I can say for Apple is that at least they're consistent.

I don't care for 128kbps AAC files though, and only get those as a last resort (like Jean Michel Jarre's Geometry of Love album, which is a download-only release). The iTunes Plus files are 256kbps AAC and have no DRM, and those I will choose if the CD is only available as an expensive import.

[ashley]

.. do you really believe the CD is about to disappear forever? Looking at the weekly Juno releases, there are still loads of dance CDs being released .. Downloads from i-tunes are relatively expensive, especially if you want an entire album .. and more so when you consider you ain't getting a jewel case, a disc or a nice booklet .. the i-tunes catalogue is fine if you simply want a 3 minute pop song .. but their choice of rare & extended 12" disco mixes is shockingly poor .. I agree, high street record stores are quickly going out of buisness .. but this is due to the convenience of on-line shopping .. Warners are heavily promoting this double CD by Ashford & Simpson & recently did the same with Sheila B. Devotion .. here is a major label willing to invest in the disco market .. and should get our support as a result .. there's also a small label in Florida called Get Disconnected which has recently issued all the Debbie Jacobs / Ann Margret / Sabu / Celi Bee albums on CD .. and even stuck their necks out & released the previously unissued "Dante's Inferno" project from Rice & Beans (which TK shelved in '79) .. some younger audiences are becoming jaded by formula trance & house music & are starting to discover the disco music enjoyed by their parent's generation .. considering that a CD costs only a few cents to produce, there's still money to be made from this small corner of the music market .. I have a friend who's entire music library was erased by a computer virus .. so maybe the CD has a few years of life yet ..

[ashley]

.. hello again SandraDee .. your reference to Three Hats Productions had me thinking there for a minute .. then last night, it struck me .. you are of course talking about the THP Orchestra .. their glorious 16 minute disco epic "Two hot for love" is long overdue for release on CD .. it's an absolute classic .. my LP from '77 is wearing thin after 30 years of abuse .. when the CD compilation "Disco Spectrum 2" was issued a few years back I got very excited .. imagine my bitter disappointment to discover they used a 6 minute instrumental edit instead .. the Disco Spectrum series was supposed to showcase prized disco delights shifting for big dollars on vinyl & therefore beyond the reach of the casual record buyer .. But I don't know anyone who wanted this butchered instrumental edit .. There is a better 6 minute vocal edit on "The best of Butterfly Records" compilation .. but even that cannot compare to the magnificent 16 minute LP side, which surely ranks alongside "Love in C Minor" & "Don't let me be misunderstood" for top-drawer disco brilliance ..