The Morning Music vs. Sleaze Debate

[nrgbeat]

This was posted on an internet group I belong to and thought some of you might find it interesting.

what's the difference between "morning music"
and "sleaze"? If you ask 100 people this question, you'll get
100
different answers. The term "sleaze" has been around since the 70's
and is most commonly used to describe the down tempo music that was
played toward the end of the night (or the end of the party). It's
usually very melodic and pretty. Most of the songs were vocal pieces
with a few notable exceptions. The lyrics tended to be very
emotional in one way or another, often describing the joys of love,
or the pain of losing it. Here's some examples of classic "sleaze"
music, first the joyful, happy songs...

Under The Influence Of Love - Love Unlimited
La Vie En Rose - Grace Jones
Be Thankful For What You Got - William DeVaughn
Take Off Your Makeup - Lamont Dozier
Dance Little Dreamer/Hot Butterfly - Bionic Boogie
Darling, That's Me - Judy Cheeks/Loose Change
Just Us - Two Tons Of Fun
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Somebody's Eyes - Viola Wills
Wrap Your Arms Around Me - Agnetha Faltskog
Take Me Down/Hang On In There Baby - Johnny Bristol
Music, Harmony & Rhythm - Brooklyn Dreams
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning - Thelma Houston
Most Of All - Gloria Gaynor/Saint Tropez

Here's some classic "rip yer heart out" sleaze (termed by some as
razorblade/slit your wrist music)...

Throwing It All Away - Rhetta Hughs
Stop (Your Tearing Out My Heart) - Bob-A-Rella
Loving You, Losing You - Phyllis Hyman
Don't Pity Me - Faith, Hope & Charity
Changin' - Sharon Ridley
Guardian Angel - Masquerade
Pull Yourself Together - Buddy Miles
Why Can't We Live Together - Timmy Thomas
Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
You'll Never Know - Hi Gloss
It's A Shame - Spinners

And, here's some of those notable instrumentals...

Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra (there's a fairly rare
vocal
version of this too)
Rise/Manhattan Melody - Herb Alpert
African Symphony - Henry Mancini
Anambra - Ozo (the vocal version of this song is called "Anambra
River")
Tubular Bells - Champs Boy Orchestra
Livin' In The Jungle - John Tropea

There's even some "sassy" sleaze classics...

I Ain't Been Licked - Diana Ross
Don't Give It Up/Runaway Love - Linda Clifford
I Hear Talk - Bucks Fizz
Like An Eagle - Dennis Parker
You Got The Stuff - Bill Withers

Somebody asked about "Walk The Night" by the Skatt Brothers, wanting
to know if that's sleaze. Well, technically, it's not. It could, and
is, played in morning sets, but it's an example of "sleazy" music,
not "sleaze". Sexual overtones in the lyrics don't automatically
classify a song as sleaze. Sleaze lyrics tended more toward love and
emotion rather than blatant sexuality. There are some exceptions to
that rule, let's not forget Donna Summer's nearly 14 minute long
orgasm in "Love To Love You Baby"! There were a few creative DJ's
who would take a song that wasn't sleaze and turn it into one by
playing a 45rpm pressing at 33 1/3. Two songs that come to mind,
that worked perfectly when played that way, were "Souvenirs" by
Voyage and "Magic Bird Of Fire" by The Salsoul Orchestra.
Unfortunately, true "sleaze" music is mostly a thing of the past.
The few new, or recent songs that could fit in that category are now
usually classified under the much broader term "morning music".

In the early to mid 80's the term "sleaze" started to fade out, to
be replaced with the much broader term of "morning music". While
this was still the music played toward the end of a club night or
party, "morning music" did not describe a specific genre of songs
like "sleaze" did. The term started describing the "type" of
music
that was played at a certain time or part of the night, rather than
describing the actual "sound" or "feeling" of an individual piece of
music. One way to put it is that all "sleaze" music can be
classified as "morning", but not all "morning" music can be
classified as "sleaze". While the term became much broader, it
started encompassing music with a faster beat and also music with a
darker, more electronic sound to it. This also coincided with the
demise of "live" instruments being used in making most dance music.
One thing that didn't change a whole lot was the use of vocals in a
majority of the music, but the lyrics often became lighter, with
less of an emotional punch to them. Here's a few examples of
classic
songs that were among the first to be classified with the brand
spanking new term of "morning music" ...

Close To Perfection - Miquel Brown
Some People - Cliff Richard
Survivor - Mike Francis
American Love - Rose Laurens
You're My Rainbow - Hazel Dean
Lessons In Love - Level 42
When Your Heart Is Weak/The Promise You Made - Cock Robin
No Promises - Icehouse

One interesting thing that started happening when "morning music"
became more and more popular was that older songs which were
originally classified as plain old "disco" when they came out, were
now being relabeled and refiled in people's "morning music"
sections. Songs like Foxy's "Party Boys", Lipps Inc. "How
Long", "Dancing In Paradise" by El Coco are all examples of this
reclassification.

Unfortunately, the quantity and quality of "morning music" has faded
drastically over the past few years. That's not to say there isn't
any current "morning" out there, but you really have to search to
find it and search even harder to find somewhere to dance to it...
outside of your own living room. I'll close this with a list of some
of my "morning music" favorites from then and now...

We Can Fall In Love - Aderna
Love In Your Eyes - Dan Hartman
Walkin - Dhuo
This Time - Chante Moore
Beat Of Love - Chris Thompson
Age Of Reason - John Farnham
Keep On Rocking - Hemyl
Masterpiece - Gazebo
High - Lighthouse Family
Look Me In The Heart - Tina Turner
Love, Thy Will Be Done - Martika
Into The Blue - Moby (Junior Vasquez Remix)
Shine A Light (Soul Inspiration) - Simon Climie
I'm Specialized In You/Endless Road - Time Bandits
Typical - Frazier Chorus
Heaven - Eurogliders
Wishful Thinking - China Crisis
Waves - Blancmange
What About This Love - Mr. Fingers
I'm Not At Home To Heartache - Perfect Alibi
Soldier/Love Of My Own - Thomas Anders
Love Is Energy - Joe Roberts
Your Eyes - Groove Corporation
Living Inside Me - Data
Love Is The Groove - Betsy Cook/Cher
One And One - Robert Miles
Let Us Dance Just A Little Bit More - Secret Service
Life Dance - Sonia Belolo
Sailing Away - Chris DeBurgh
Sweet, Soft & Lazy - Viktor Lazslo
Spiritual High/Rainsong/Wombtones - Moodswings
Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Mama Cass
Never Can Say Goodbye - Yazz
Unbreak My Heart/I Don't Want To (Frankie Knuckles Mixes) - Toni
Braxton
Tomorrow Is Too Late - Primitive Fire
Search For The Hero - M People
Why - Jackie Moore
You Are Not Alone (Frankie Knuckles Mix) - Michael Jackson

Lastly, here's a few current "morning" songs for ya...

Baby Of The Year/I Can't Believe It's Over - Bent
Sing It To Your Heart - Jimmy Sommerville
Home (David Harness Taboo Vocal) - Simply Red
Still (Kelly G Club Mix) - Tamia
Looks Like Heaven - Peas
Lotta Love 2005 - Nicolette Larson
Midnight At The Oasis 2005 - Maria Muldauar

[Davicillo]

Miquel Brown's 'Close to perfection' and Rose Laurens' 'American love' are sleeze records. Apparentley!!

[nrgbeat]

These records had substance compared to the "yo I'm your baby mama" crap that's around today.

[DISCODISK]

[/quote]
Your Eyes - Groove Corporation
[/quote]

awesome record NRGBEAT gotta find this and play tonight :P

[kari]

Absolutely great selection, nrgbeat!

I hadn't listened to "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" since... what, 1983? Well anyway, after reading your post I pulled the record from the shelf and am listening to it as I type...

Fantastic production (by Mike Chapman), lush strings by the Swedish Radio Symphony, and above all, Agnetha at her sweetest and sexiest. And what a break! Just listen to her whispering "...du och jag... bara du och jag... älska mig... älska mig" (you and I, just you and I... love me... love me).

Hmmm. Perhaps I should just go to bed (and sleep!). It's 3 am here in Finland...

Kari

[nrgbeat]

Actually, I didn't create the list. It was on another site and I just copied it.

[Davicillo]

Nrgbeat, where do you work in Jersey? I go there often to see my Uncle who lives near where the 'Inn on the park' used to be.

[Davicillo]

Sorry Nrgbeat, should be Discodisk.

[Energyguy]

Another great "sleaze" tarck that was popular in the 1980`s was "backtrack" by Shezwae Powell

[Houseman]

Interesting you guys started a thread about sleaze and early morning. Back in my disco days... the early morning was the best time of the night for me. I guess, the alcohol, drugs, and music kinda all mellowed (or meshed) into this groove mode thing that used to put me in a trance... I used to love it. It's also funny I played around with a Sleaze mix on my site. It may be a little out of character for the house crowd, but hey, disco started it all! If you'd like to listen, you can click
http://www.virgolounge.com/040705_Classic_I.ram

houseman

Like An Eagle - Dennis Parker
Special Agent (Female Vocal) - Gaznevada
Knights In White Satin - Giorgio Moroder
I.C. Love Affair (Italian version) - Gaz Nevada
The Night - Valerie Dore
Fade To Grey - Visage
Japanese War Games (Club Mix) - Koto
Hypnotic Tango - My Mine
The Visitors - Gino Soccio
Take Me To The Bridge - Vera
Because There's Music In The Air - Macho