UK Only Releases Of Disco Albums And Finding A Jimmy Ruffin Treat...

[Disco Funk]

First of all, I have to say that I've noticed that there were a number of disco era LPs that were only released in the UK. There wasn't any corresponding releases Stateside. One of the more expensive examples is by the Philly group Executive Suite. They had an LP in the UK put out by Polydor. The rare track on the LP (and also on 45) is the instrumental mix of When The Fuel Runs out. That wasn't released on this side of the Atlantic for some reason.

Anyway, I discovered that there were a number of UK only releases of Jimmy Ruffin's material, specifically two LPs - a self-titled from '73 and 'Love Is All We Need' from '75. I haven't heard the first one, but the second one I found recently and discovered it's a mix of Philly, LA and Detroit productions. Amongst the Philly tracks, there are some okay songs. But the treat was coming across a track titled 'Jimmy's Theme', which when played, is revealed to be 'Tell Me What You Want'. It's completely instrumental, not even any female vocals. So, it definitely wasn't the source of portions of the extended mix on the Disco Gold CD, but it does show there probably was alternate mixes of that track sitting in the can.

So, have any of you guys come across UK-only releases by US disco/dance artists like the ones I mentioned above? Or are the Executive Suite and Jimmy Ruffin LPs of this unusual practise?

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Disco Funk

[Disco Funk]

I just got my hands on the 1973 self-titled album, which was only pressed in the UK, as far as I can tell. There are only four philly tracks, the rest being tracks featuring some detroit guys like Dennis Coffey on guitar and Andrew Smith on drums.

I was disappointed at the lack of philly cuts, but there were a couple of nice surprises on this LP. A track called Walk Down The Road Of Life Together, which is a fast tempo philly disco number (fast like Anthony White's I Can't Turn You Loose/Block Party).

The LP also features yet another mix of Tell Me What You Want! This time the mix is such that there seems to be more echo, which is most noticeable on the vocals. If you've heard the single release on Chess, there is little or no echo on the track. Also, the strings are almost completely mixed out! You can sort of faintly hear them in the back, but they are extremely quiet, almost non-existent. The horns are the same volume as on the chess version.

So it looks like in total, Tell Me What You Want had 4 mixes - the chess single, this LP mix, the instrumental on Love Is All We Need, and the extended mix on Disco Gold.

Disco Funk