The 2nd Poussez album - Leave That Boy Alone!

[neonlights]

I had no idea there was a second album until I came across a listing on eBay recently. Judging from the cover I saw, it doesn't look like quite the same sexy, stylish affair that the first one was..

Just wondering what people here think of this album compared to the first one..

pic and info link here: http://www.discogs.com/release/349345

[BrunoRepublic]

I had no idea there was a second album until I came across a listing on eBay recently. Judging from the cover I saw, it doesn't look like quite the same sexy, stylish affair that the first one was..

Just wondering what people here think of this album compared to the first one..

pic and info link here: http://www.discogs.com/release/349345

It's very weak IMO.

[discokicks]

Yeah...it was quite a disappointment.

It followed the same approach as other artists within the disco genre did at the end of the 70's and into 1980...conforming the music to blend in more with a commercial, rock flavour. Sweet violins were replaced with boring ol' guitars and the length of songs were cut to more 'acceptable' lengths.

The tunes of the 2nd Poussez album focus more on lyrics (as simple as they were) rather than a good groove and added electric guitars throughout (there is a nice flamenco guitar on 'Do It For The Sake Of Love' however). The song "Leave That Boy Alone" doesn't live up to it's interesting title...it is so lacklustre! Perhaps a remix of this without the guitars would have helped...the break being the only good thing about it: "He's mine...leave him alone...he's mine...leave him alone" in typical Poussez style.

There is also "Let's Rollerskate"...less said about this one the better. :roll: The only cut that's worthy of anything is "Don't Stop, Keep Movin" which is pretty damn good...a nice, sleazy 120 bpm rhythm with some incredible guitar work!

I remember being quite heartbroken with hearing albums like this along with others like Gary Gang's "Gangbusters", Donna Summer's "The Wanderer" and even Gino Soccio's "S-Beat" to a certain degree (although I warmed up to S-Beat's own special, creative quality). All of their previous albums were just so classic disco-wonderful but in those early months of 1980, things were evident that a major change had taken place. :(

[remicks]

*****

I remember being quite heartbroken with hearing albums like this along with others like Gary Gang's "Gangbusters", Donna Summer's "The Wanderer" and even Gino Soccio's "S-Beat" to a certain degree (although I warmed up to S-Beat's own special, creative quality). All of their previous albums were just so classic disco-wonderful but in those early months of 1980, things were evident that a major change had taken place. :(

I recall that same reaction to all your examples as well .... :cry: :cry:

*****

[neonlights]

It followed the same approach as other artists within the disco genre did at the end of the 70's and into 1980...conforming the music to blend in more with a commercial, rock flavour. Sweet violins were replaced with boring ol' guitars and the length of songs were cut to more 'acceptable' lengths.........

........I remember being quite heartbroken with hearing albums like this along with others like Gary Gang's "Gangbusters", Donna Summer's "The Wanderer" and even Gino Soccio's "S-Beat" to a certain degree (although I warmed up to S-Beat's own special, creative quality). All of their previous albums were just so classic disco-wonderful but in those early months of 1980, things were evident that a major change had taken place. :(

I should have figured as much I guess, with the number of songs and that awkward cover shot. It looks like they put Alphonse (I'm assuming that's him) with a couple of stiff models to make them look more like a "real" group..

I can imagine "The Wanderer" must have been a bit disheartening. Though for me, listening now, it's not a bad album. I like most of it, but even now hearing her sing "I Believe In Jesus" is a bit strange to say the least.. You're probably the first one I've heard say anything good about Gino Soccio's "S-Beat" album. I don't have Gino's album yet, but "I Wanna Take You There (Now)" isn't bad at all..

[discokicks]

I can imagine "The Wanderer" must have been a bit disheartening. Though for me, listening now, it's not a bad album. I like most of it, but even now hearing her sing "I Believe In Jesus" is a bit strange to say the least.. You're probably the first one I've heard say anything good about Gino Soccio's "S-Beat" album. I don't have Gino's album yet, but "I Wanna Take You There (Now)" isn't bad at all..

I think "The Wanderer" album really disturbed me the most. At that time, I knew there was this transition happening in music...a steering away from anything disco-like. I was still too young to get into the bars so I didn't have many resources for information on the music I liked (this city that I'm in isn't the most cosmopolitan... :lol:...no internet back then either!)

Upon listening to this new Donna Summer album, I remember feeling somewhat dismayed, pissed off and bewildered (sorry to sound so melodramatic but it really was a turning point). I just couldn't believe those magnificent, segued concept albums that I depended upon from her had ended.

And looking back at it all, I could say it really was very symbolic of the oncoming, sanitized, marketing-dependent society that all started in the '80s. No longer was music (seemingly) made to satisfy the music lover's cravings. There was more thought put into what would sell, how to satisfy the overall tastes rather than a specific market....basically taming the sound...removing the spiciness and creating a new world of bland, formulaic music. Perhaps it was just the age I was at the time but the realities of consumerist society started to have an impact personally. The music that was so popular only a few months ago was stifled and I didn't quite understand how easily public opinion could be swayed.

Oooh boy...look at the can of worms you open with the innocent topic of Poussez's 2nd album. :lol:

Oh, about that S-Beat album....it's very good as long as you don't look at it as a dance album. Soccio was a very talented, creative artist. I think he took a chance and let loose experimenting with different sounds and rhythms. The third cut "Rhythms Of The World" is fantastic! Again, not for the dancefloor but cool listening material.

[neonlights]

Upon listening to this new Donna Summer album, I remember feeling somewhat dismayed, pissed off and bewildered (sorry to sound so melodramatic but it really was a turning point). I just couldn't believe those magnificent, segued concept albums that I depended upon from her had ended.

And looking back at it all, I could say it really was very symbolic of the oncoming, sanitized, marketing-dependent society that all started in the '80s. No longer was music (seemingly) made to satisfy the music lover's cravings. There was more thought put into what would sell, how to satisfy the overall tastes rather than a specific market....basically taming the sound...removing the spiciness and creating a new world of bland, formulaic music. Perhaps it was just the age I was at the time but the realities of consumerist society started to have an impact personally. The music that was so popular only a few months ago was stifled and I didn't quite understand how easily public opinion could be swayed.

Oooh boy...look at the can of worms you open with the innocent topic of Poussez's 2nd album. :lol:

lol no problem, I don't mind the discussion

I guess it's hard for me to really gauge the real impact of it in 1980, since I was introduced to all this way after the fact, but I can understand what you mean.. When the Queen of Disco herself seems to be moving away from the very genre that made her, and that just reinforcing the whole backlash under way, I'd also be dismayed to say the least..

Also, It's kind of ironic, but many of your criticisms are probably some of the same things many critics said about disco. I don't agree with those critics, because however formulaic etc.. some disco was, it certainly didn't begin with disco and is nothing compared to what came after, just have look around today really..

Even though I don't believe disco really "died," "The Wanderer" seems like it was a sign of the end of an era..

[discokicks]

Also, It's kind of ironic, but many of your criticisms are probably some of the same things many critics said about disco. I don't agree with those critics, because however formulaic etc.. some disco was, it certainly didn't begin with disco and is nothing compared to what came after, just have look around today really..

Even though I don't believe disco really "died," "The Wanderer" seems like it was a sign of the end of an era..

I could never understand those criticisms of disco at the time. I was in my teens...the naive one who didn't quite know disco's gay roots. I was drawn to the feel-good rhythms and overall joyous vibe and figured people were just not aware of what was out there. It took me awhile before I was aware of the prejudices surrounding the music that I loved.

The disco song and disco-oriented album was anything but formulaic...songs that spanned a whole album side, tracks that segued cleverly into the next cut, cutting edge album cover designs, groups of unknown talented musicians from all around given the opportunity to take part...just thinking of it right now makes me disgusted that it was stomped on like it was. It was music for crying out loud!

I think of the album format that we've endured over these last couple of decades...usually ten cuts lasting anywhere between three to four minutes...that's a formula. Make your songs fit into that mold ten times and promote the hell out of it. When was the last time you saw a cd from an artist, pop or dance, with ten plus minute cuts let alone an artist creating a fifteen minute masterpiece.

I realize that this is all crying over spilled milk but dance music still gets shunned as talentless and meaningless...never mind that gay aspect. Thankfully there are a bunch of us who clued into the fact that life is much more enjoyable when you take time to dance.

[neonlights]

Very well said.. Totally agree about how supposedly "formulaic" disco was.. I don't think it was any more/less formulaic than any other genre. Any genre will have it's formulaic and innovative elements. There are still those who don't really recognize that there was a high degree of musicianship and innovation in a lot of disco music. I think a lot of it was just people who just plain didn't like the genre and who pointed to general criticisms like it being "formulaic" and "producer driven" without really going into how it was such..

For example, I never understood the idea of producer-driven=bad; that a producer being the driver somehow makes it less than genuine. If that were true, you might as well put Motown in the dustbin, because AFAIK many of the Motown classics were producer driven, yet are still tried and true classics.

That said, there was some legitimate criticism of disco, the fact that many artists felt pressured by the labels to do disco. The majors, from what I gather were lukewarm at first, yet seemed to go overboard in their marketing of disco especially towards 1979.. Disco's popular image seemed to be more one-dimensional than it actually was (sort of similar to hip-hop today)..

I realize that this is all crying over spilled milk but dance music still gets shunned as talentless and meaningless...never mind that gay aspect.

haha I understand what you mean. I don't think it's lamenting as much as analyzing though. It's interesting to look back at disco and understand why it evolved the way it did. IMO, the disco era is interesting both musically and sociologically (WRT the gay community and the black community as well)..

Thankfully there are a bunch of us who clued into the fact that life is much more enjoyable when you take time to dance.

Amen to that!