What WAS the deal with violins in Disco Music???

[QUINNY]

Paul C: It's like this, and this will answer two questions at once. E Funk adelic asked me whether it was just violins in Euro Disco that I didn't like, then he asked specifically about McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now.

I'd answer like this. As a DJ I loved this record 'cos it filled the floor for me whenever it was spun, but did I like the record per se.....no. I Personally felt it was overrated and was rather too downkey for a record with such an uplifting message in the lyrics. The harmonies and lead vocal just didn't sound joyful enough for me and almost the whole record sounded a little 'safe' and 'wooden' in its execution. That's my take on it, nothing more, nothing less. So I'm negative (in your opinion)....so what!

What made me write this thread title originally was Peter Brown's 'Dance With Me'. I played it the other day and I thought what the f**k are the strings doing in it. To my ears they are really superfluous and the only interesting string parts are the little pizzicato stabs, the tails of which sound like a shimmering wine glass or a tape that's been deliberately made to record at an erratic speed. Otherwise the track is full of guitars and would work just as effectively without them.

Just expect me to throw a curve ball almost every time and you won't be disappointed, eh? :lol:
P.S. I hate being segregated, so your kindly offered advice would be difficult for me to follow.

[paul]

Keep tossing them curve balls Quinny. I as you already know, like it.
Now I'm going to have to listen to "Dance With Me" again, assuming I have it. I wasn't that excited by that song so I'll have to check to see if your theory hoplds for me.
As for "ANSUN", I love it. I can definitely see how perhaps McFadden & Whitehead sounds wooden as compared oh...Teddy Pendergrass. That however is more than overcome by every thing else that made this song great including yes, the string arrangement. :D

PS - As I type this I just thought of another reason for it's great appeal. That was the reason you cited. McFadden & Whitehead as singers may come closer to the common joe that the more polished singers. It was easy for everyone on the dance floor to sing this song because no one was out there trying to sound like they were subbing for Ashford & Simpson.

[discodoc]

Quinny;

When you said that "strings don't belong in rock music," I think that you nailed it. Disco is NOT rock music; it is the CURE for rock music. Think about what was going on in the 70's. A national depression, lines at the gas pump, Watergate, Vietnam ending, unemployment... there was enough to bring someone down and (like hip hop today) rock music was nothing but negative and so damn "serious." Here comes fun-lovin disco music and all of the culture with it. Disco music was (and is) a way to escape reality, which is not always so bright. We enter the 80's and there's an economic boom. Everyone's got everything they want; the perfect timing for spoiled whiney rockers to stand up and say "disco sucks." Who could blame them? Suddenly there was a sound that was stealing their thunder (& $$$). So while Europe held on to the good time music, America shifted back toward negative "rebellious" rock music. Believe it or not, everything in this world is cyclical. 40 years earlier the same thing happened when America was rebuilding from depression, and at war with Japan and Germany. Dance music (swing) offered escapism. I hope we don't need more very bad times in order to have another explosion of dance music, but we just may... Anyway, I LOVE the strings, the lush orchestration, etc. Disco music truly WAS unique in that kids for a brief time in history really did like EXCELLENT music! Usually, it's not "cool" to be classy, but disco really bucked the trend. I'm really glad that you've noticed this and created a very good discussion on it!

[QUINNY]

DiscoDoc: Yeah, what you've written largely makes sense and is a theory I've heard before. 'Hedonism is a direct response to tough times'. I guess the reason to include strings was to add a perceived touch of class and gain 'respectability' from a wider audience (especially from black producers, but maybe white guys were just showing their classically trained roots). Of course, I just look upon them as being slightly pretentious 'cos that's the way I think.

In Europe, Glam Rock immediately preceded Disco with Punk right in the middle of it, so although we had the fuel shortages and civil strife, the Rock music didn't totally reflect that. Punk was more of an anti-establisment thing than ever before with deep political overtones, something reflected by many Soul & Funk records of the era too. I guess it was obviously a little different in the US.