prelude, salsoul, or west end?

[The Boogie Doctor]

Hey to all the party people out there!

A question concerning record labels:

Purely in terms of musical content (which I am aware is an eminently subjective phenomenon), which is the better record label out of Prelude, Salsoul, and West End?

Hold in mind the killer trax released on all of these labels:

Prelude: D-Train, Nick Straker, Secret Weapon, Sharon Redd etc.
Salsoul: Instant Funk, Salsoul Orchestra, Skyy, Candido
West End: Peech Boys, Taana Gardner, Raw Silk, Karen Young

Something to ponder....

The Boogie Oogie Ooogie Doctor

[Dayna]

I cant say one is better than the other but I can say That Salsoul is a favorite of mine..
With artists Like Loleatta Holloway,First Choice, Bunny Sigler,Skyy, Double Exposure,Bebu Silvetti,Instant Funk,Inner Life andThe Salsoul Orchestra itself ,etc..But I must say that Hot Shot by Karen Young and When You Touch Me by Taana Gardner..makes West End...HOT as well..
Prelude is great too..so this might be a hard choice for some people ,maybe not..

[paul]

Good topic. All 3 are really good but my taste would probably push me to play Prelude artist first. So many of there artist I remember being so popular at the clubs.

[VINYLLIFE]

NO WAY!!!!

That's a tuff one. I love all my babies equally. Gutsy question.....but I don't think I want to know my answer.

[disco-disc]

Salsoul :icon_smile:

[qdearl]

:icon_lol: I really don't think you're gonna get too many people to give you a definitive answer! One of the reasons for that, is the fact that several of the "heavyweights"(writers/producers/vocalists) during that time, did work for 2 or all 3 labels which helped keep all of their outputs on a higher level.
I tend to favor Salsoul & Prelude over West End, just in terms of amount of releases I personally like to play, ....but that changes with mood:icon_confused: and all 3 have legendary releases that will be played until the day people forget how to dance.

[kdavid13]

This one is VERY hard to answer...

I love all 3 labels for different reasons.

I've been an obsessive SALSOUL fan for years.As a huge FIRST CHOICE [and LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY] fan ; I would end up buying pretty much everything they released.

When FRANCE JOLI came on the scene ; I ended up buying all the stuff coming out on PRELUDE.I still love this sound a lot.

I was just reading an interview with label president MARV SCHLACHTER [in an old RECORD WORLD] and the label was very hands-on.They mentioned that VICKI SUE ROBINSON had just dropped by to pick up her new single [HOT SUMMER NIGHT] and SHARON REDD and her manager were trying to pitch some demos to Marv.
Back in 1981 - the merging of black music with disco/dance was all the rage.So the label was walking a fine line between both genre.

And what can I say about WEST END ; I listen a lot to their 25th ANNIVERSARY CD done by MASTERS AT WORK.They did produce so many classics.EDNAH HOLT's SERIOUS SIRIUS SPACE PARTY [a.k.a. HEARTBEAT #2 !!!] is blasting on the stereo as I'm typing !!!

So I would be tempted to say PRELUDE.
But I love the other 2...too.

[Disco Funk]

Like others have said it definitely is a difficult choice to make. I personally like Salsoul over the other two because I'm a philly disco fan. I know Salsoul also had non-philly productions they distributed, including remixes of European records by Tom Moulton, but it's the Philadelphia sound that gets me going.

Other factors that might determine which label to recommend include what era of music are you looking for? And what style of disco are you looking for. If you want gritty underground sounds, then you're looking at West End (they also had a few philly productions through that label - Michelle; Carl Bean; Philly USA; People's Choice). If you want good 80s dance (electro, not disco-retro), you'd probably prefer the Prelude and West End label stuff over the Salsoul label material. I haven't gotten into the Prelude stuff myself. The only record I really liked from them was Keep On Jumpin by Musique. Most of the stuff on that label seems to be more like euro or italo disco, I think.

If I was to rate these from favorite to least favorite I'd have to say:1. Salsoul (as explained above); 2. West End (in addition to the Philly stuff mentioned above, there are some other interesting productions like Taana Gardner's records); 3. Prelude (I'd have to browse a list of albums released through this label. As it stands, the Musique record is the only thing that I really enjoy).

Disco Funk

[Paulo]

TO me it is:

1 - A.V.I. - Rinder & Lewis / El Coco / Le Pamplemousse/ In Search Of Orchestra
2 - SALSOUL - Salsoul Orchestra / Lelleata Holloway / First Choice / Charo / Moment Of Truth / Montana
3 - BUTTERFLY RECORDS - Saint Tropez / Tuxedo Junction
4 - PRELUDE - Inner Life / Lax / France Jolly
5 - WEST END - 1980 to 1982 (Peech Boys, Raw Silk, Taana Gardner)

[Ian Rose]

Its like choosing between the three HOTTEST people in the land......But you know what, I like the nerds. TK DISCO!!!!! Big hits and underground favorites...funk and disco, and a cool 12" sleeve to boot....

-Ian

[efunk_adelic]

To hard of a question to be quite honest. I have a favorite song from each of those labels.

Unlimited Touch - I Hear Music In The Streets (Prelude)
Taana Gardner - Work That Body (West End)
Silvetti - Spring Rain (Salsoul)


I look at this short list of mine and i'm like hmmmmm????? which one am I going to take to the grave with me? Sorry man ALL OF THEM.

[wever]

i just can give my opinion but depending on my mood so there's no oficial favourite! all of them are sooo so good! with many good hits as u said! but hahaha do u wanna know what i'm listenin now? get it girl! anytime! tonight is fine!
i can't resist to SALSOUL. My reasons are more or less like Disco Funk ones, i'm also a philly disco lover....

but i'm still discovering it all!:icon_lol:

[garrybcoston]

In my own personal opinion (and I was there for the entire disco scene), at first (about circa 1976), it was Salsoul. But as disco evolved and changed, around 1978 it became Prelude. When Salsoul began to fizzle and weaken, Prelude came onto the scene and remained the best "content-wise" through to 1979 and a little into 1980 with West End making a "play" in 1979 but not overtaking it (Prelude).

You left out one label that could have also been added, Casablanca. Casablanca was there from about late 1975 through to 1979 and into disco's dying year, 1980 before dying itself. I believe Casablanca had more artists and content, not necessarily better, than the other three. If you remember correctly around 1979 Casablanca began to take on "trash disco artists," that is, those that never made the charts or were weak on the charts and their music sounded silly. I think they did this out of panic because of Disco's downward spiral during that period.

All in all out of the three that you listed, I would have to choose Prelude, though Salsoul, in my opinion, ran a little longer and during its reign had better content, but then began to fizzle. Remember, Salsoul began to fizzle out around late 1977 and then Prelude quickly took over with Casablanca, which was already established since day one, spinning out anything and everything they could and remaining firm to the end. West End had some great Disco Producers and Artists but really did not make a "firm play" as did Salsoul or Prelude.

Though you left out Casablanca, if you had added them, none of the other labels, though they were top-notch disco labels in their own right, could ever hold a candle to Casablanca.

Garry:icon_smile:

[Disco Funk]

I think when we talk about Salsoul, we also need to refer to Gold Mind. The Salsoul stuff by the late 70s did start to get really weak, especially with a lot of the non-Philly stuff they started putting out. But Gold Mind, a subsidiary to Salsoul, kept the good stuff going. Loleatta Holloway, The First Choice and Bunny Sigler are two good examples of the great disco that philly was still putting out via Gold Mind.

While we're mentioning labels with great disco, I've found a lot on RCA. Sure, they put out a lot of rock and pop music and weren't strictly disco based, but a lot of the disco they did put out was great, such as the Warren Schatz Sunbar productions. Or Lou Courtney and Buffalo Smoke's 'Stubborn Kinda Fellow', to name a very few. I've found a lot of great disco on RCA records.

Pyramid had DC LaRue, Jakki (Sun Sun Sun), and Pat Lundy. I think they were strictly a dance-oriented label.


Disco Funk

[osses]

I think the most forgotten label by a lot of people is Derby...

Derby

Just look what tracks they had...And the prices now:icon_rolleyes:

[freddyinptown]

Fathers have a way of talking about sons. You rarely hear of one turning out better than another. Then pride slipcues the damning details...


1) Prelude Records WAS New York. Brilliant, obnoxious, worldly beyond years, this child excited and worried the most, and would have conquered the world if only he had "Beat the Street." Instead, he danced B-Boy dreams with Francois K in an alternate universe of Harlem, Downtown, and Central Park (in the Bush, heh-heh), linked by the D Train to Village dungeons run by sinister masters with European accents. Amid manic episodes, Prelude took care of business: its DJ-ONLY 12" promos of 1978-79 are among the best-engineered records I've ever heard; and its "mastermix" promotions with KISS-FM, which began as pure marketing, evolved into an artistic sledgehammer to linear arrangements in dance music. Ironically, this accident helped do Prelude in as rap and electro was increasingly mastermixed; keeping up after 1982 was (except for Visual) laughable. No surprise that Prelude failed to reincarnate as a joyous tribute label, like West End and Salsoul. Such is the fate of a "Bad, Bad Boy."

Hard to like, but easy to love: thank you, son, for the deathless grooves of "Body Music," "Shake it Up" (Do The Boogaloo), "I Hear Music in the Street," "The Music's Got Me," and "Dyin' to Be Dancin." Ditto your Eurodisco thrills -- I'll forgive "Back To Music" and tooother gruesome examples, and cherish "Sentimentally It's You" and all else on Theo Vaness's second LP; "I'm a Man," "Disco Circus,"; even "If You Can Dance, You Can Do It," that weird attempt to cash in on the aerobics craze. Thanks for the brilliance of Patrick Adams, the charm of Sharon Redd, and the thrill of France Joli.

2) SALSOUL was Saturday's child, certainly Saturday night's, who worked hard for a living and won the world with talent and grace. Prelude and West End could only wish for Loleatta Holloway, First Choice, Double Exposure and Love Committee, and except for Prelude in the case of France Joli, never showed equal commitment to developing talent. The results would have showed even if not for this label's secret weapons, The Salsoul Orchestra, Walter Gibbons, and Vince Montana; and a knack for spinning equal genius out of hired guns like Tom Moulton and Dan Hartman. The label dripped with class and style from its Salsa start (no porn soundtracks, just one of the greatest of all disco LPs from its house band).

Salsoul scored the biggest-selling single of the three, Instant Funk's "Got My Mind Made Up," certified platinum in '79. Sure, Charo wore thin, and Salsoul released records it shouldn't have; yet its commercial instinct rarely left the whiff and worry of getting ripped off as with every Prelude record purchase. Salsoul Records was the most important and influential of New York's classic disco labels. Dance Your ASS off to Salsoul Classics, Amen.

3) And, finally, there is the little boy who cannot keep out of his mother's hats and pumps, West End records. My dearest -- and I know I'm not supposed to say -- that will always be my boy, the last-born waif with the most love to give. He's handsome little devil whose looks and wisdom will age well. His gifts have yet to be fully known: "ahead of his time" is the best anyone can seem to say right now. His sins, unlike Prelude's, will be few and quickly forgotten. He will heard, like the prophets, and followed without fail to every dance floor. He will lead men, and how. His son, who died and sits at his side, is Larry Levan. WEST END RECORDS is GOD.


4) Not my chilluns, but....

SAM was the good little boy down street, WEST END's best friend. Came from good folks and charted his own course. Some of his great deeds are scarcely known (Arthur Prysock, "When Love Is New," '77, K.I.D. (Lp), '81, "Begging For More," Monica Neal, '82), while others earned due praise (and big-label marketing, in the case of Gary's Gang). Sam's own kid, Nervous Records, was a chip off the old block, doing right by House music in the 90's in exactly the same way.

EMERGENCY was the thug who beat up my kids. That Shannon record, which outsold almost anything and outcharted everything from the bigger labels' heyday, was the death knell for the niche market artistry they represented. Two great Kano hits don't merit his parole from Death Row.

VANGUARD was a tramp who took off off her folky love beads for one night at the disco. The results were amusing at first (the first Poussez album, and the Frisky record) but generally tacky.

[Disco Funk]

I think the most forgotten label by a lot of people is Derby...

Derby

Just look what tracks they had...And the prices now:icon_rolleyes:

Just looking at the link, it appears that label was just a local Italian distributor of other US labels. All of those titles originated from labels like AVI, Salsoul, Marlin, etc... It's not even clear if they used original master tapes or made vinyl from imported vinyl sources.

Disco Funk

[osses]

Yeah,idon deny it.

But they had Cela-i'm in love for example..once saw it for 150 euro..

I have few records and the pressings are very very good....very unknown label in US i think.

[markydefad]

Fathers have a way of talking about sons. You rarely hear of one turning out better than another. Then pride slipcues the damning details...


1) Prelude Records WAS New York. Brilliant, obnoxious, worldly beyond years, this child excited and worried the most, and would have conquered the world if only he had "Beat the Street."

2) SALSOUL was Saturday's child, certainly Saturday night's, who worked hard for a living and won the world with talent and grace.

3) And, finally, there is the little boy who cannot keep out of his mother's hats and pumps, West End records. My dearest -- and I know I'm not supposed to say -- that will always be my boy, the last-born waif with the most love to give. He's handsome little devil whose looks and wisdom will age well. His gifts have yet to be fully known: "ahead of his time" is the best anyone can seem to say right now. His sins, unlike Prelude's, will be few and quickly forgotten. He will heard, like the prophets, and followed without fail to every dance floor. He will lead men, and how. His son, who died and sits at his side, is Larry Levan. WEST END RECORDS is GOD.


4) Not my chilluns, but....

SAM was the good little boy down street, WEST END's best friend. Came from good folks and charted his own course. Some of his great deeds are scarcely known (Arthur Prysock, "When Love Is New," '77, K.I.D. (Lp), '81, "Begging For More," Monica Neal, '82), while others earned due praise (and big-label marketing, in the case of Gary's Gang). Sam's own kid, Nervous Records, was a chip off the old block, doing right by House music in the 90's in exactly the same way.

EMERGENCY was the thug who beat up my kids. That Shannon record, which outsold almost anything and outcharted everything from the bigger labels' heyday, was the death knell for the niche market artistry they represented. Two great Kano hits don't merit his parole from Death Row.

VANGUARD was a tramp who took off off her folky love beads for one night at the disco. The results were amusing at first (the first Poussez album, and the Frisky record) but generally tacky.

freddyinptown!!!!

this is great stuff.!!!..you must be an insider in the NYC music business...fascinating critical appraisal... I'm in awe.

[The Boogie Doctor]

Yes, I am in complete concurrence with Marky; the way you expressed your ideas on the topic was quite simply eloquent. Bravo. As for my own personal opinion on the question, I would have to say that my favour definitely lies with Prelude. It seemed that this was the label that really pushed dance music forward in the early 80s with tracks by D-Train, Visual, Sharon Redd, and production and mixes by Francois K, Eric Matthew and Darryl Payne, et al.