Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
******
Three come to mind :
Patrick Adams and Eddie Kendricks :
Van McCoy and Aretha Franklin:
TSOP and The Jacksons:
Others ????
******
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I found the George Mcrae LP produced by Gregg Diamond disappointing. The Phyllis Hyman material that Narada Michael Walden produced was naff too (& I love both of them so much). The Carol Douglas LP that Greg Carmichael & Fitch/Cross shared production credits on (Come Into My Life) was a let down for me too. I have to say that I'm a huge Nile Rodgers fan generally but his 80s collaborations with Grace Jones, David Bowie & Madonna all left me rather cold.
...ya gotta beat the street......
Indie Release [Level 4]
Giorgio Moroder:
France Joli "Attitude" LP
Janet Jackson "Dream Street" LP
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
*****
Good ones !
:icon_biggrin:
Here's another :
CHIC and BLONDIE:
******
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Indie Release [Level 4]
As well as duds, such collaborations can produce gems:
Chic producing Diana Ross: 'Upside Down' and 'I'm Coming Out'
Boogie down
Indie Release [Level 4]
I don't know if Pete Bellotte would qualify as a "Giant" without Giorgio but if so:
Pete Bellotte:
Melba Moore "Burn" LP
Elton John "Victim of Love" LP
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Originally Written by The Boogie Doctor
Good point!!! :icon_biggrin: :icon_mrgreen: :icon_biggrin:
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
Although it has a much harder sound than most Melba Moore albums, I like this album a lot. In fact, I like every song on it.
Indie Release [Level 4]
In retrospect, I remember seeing Melba Moore sing "Miss Thing" on the Bea Arthur TV special around 1980, and it was quite good.
Indie Release [Level 4]
The Diana Ross' LP produced by Chic had some compelling songs on it, yet the process through which some of those songs were constructed was occasionally fraught with tension. For instance, the initial recorded version of 'Upside Down' produced by Edwards and Rodgers was strongly oriented toward the dancefloor and thus duly possessed a pronounced rhythm section. However, after a close appraisal Ross and her engineers decided to remix the song, deeming it too 'bass heavy,' the comment obviously implying that Ross' vocals were submerged in the mix and not leaping out at the listener as she desired. Rodgers and Edwards gave their consent to the reconstruction, yet subsequently vowed never to work with Ross again. The brothers were devotees of the groove and may be worship them for that committment.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
re: Melba Moore "Burn".
Yeah, other than Miss Thing and the subtle Night People, this LP has very few strong cuts. They all feel washed out and lifeless-especially "Hot And Tasty".
And why is that Melba sounds so un-Melba here?
"I come from a world where there's nothing you can live for, except when day turns into night, I'm a star in neon lights..."
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I have this album and I'll have to give it a relisten one day. I know its not one of my fave Melba albums.
I know this wasn't one of Elton's big selling albums as I think this was recorded in the period referred to as his slump, but I love the entire side two mix.
Indie Release [Level 4]
What about the Human League and Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis? I was underwhelmed with this collaboration.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
And then Witch Of Love with George Duke.
: (
I thought the most disappointing collaboration was Nile Rodgers producing Nile Rodgers (did he run out of ideas for his solo work?)
"Because there's music in the air."
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
*****
Alec Costandinos & Tina Turner :
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Indie Release [Level 4]
As I mentioned on the Ike and Tina Turner Goes Disco thread, "Love Explosion" was an attempt to cash in on the craze but her voice was not suited for it. It was also a transitional period when she was black listed after leaving Ike and abandoning a tour they were on and legally liable for the lost revenue... she needed any kind of work she could get to pay it off with anyone who would give her a second chance.
The album cover is also one of the most unflattering pictures of Tina I've seen... makes her look like she is anemic and strung out.
Eric
Gold Record [Level 7]
I dunno... Her remake of Katia's "Party Lights" did pretty well for me. Of course, I had to use the DiscoNet extended edit, as there was no 12" mix. But it's an excellent restructuring of one of my favorite France Joli tracks.
And to quote KDavid13's write-up on the LP, on the Disco-Discography side of DiscoMusic.com; "PARTY LIGHTS also won the "Most outstanding performance award" at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo (1984)"
"MUSIC IS AN EMOTION, SEARCHING FOR IT'S VOICE"
...come with me, "BACK TO MUSIC", on DISCOTERIA
http://www.live365.com/stations/cdnbob2
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
OK that explains it for Tina ..... now what's Alec's excuse!!
When you think about it, isn't this one of the most unlikely pairings imaginable???
I wonder how in the world it ever came to be ?????
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Gold Record [Level 7]
Probably the way most studio pairings tend to occur...
Alec was on top as a Producer (or at least, had been, for a couple years) and Tina's label wanted to pair her with a Producer who'd probably guarantee a hit. The same situation as hiring Stock/Aitken/Waterman to Produce Kylie, or Donna, or The Three Degrees, or Divine, or Boney M, or Jackie Quartz, or...or...(I think you get the idea)
Unfortunately, by 1979 Alec's creative diversity (within the Disco genre), was on the wane (think "John & Arthur Simms", The Midnight Band", Phil & The Blanks", or "Bad News Travels Fast", etc...), and he and Khnenetsky just couldn't come up with material that sparked any interest.
It's also quite possible that Khnenetsky did most of it and Alec rubber-stamped it as Producer, like he did for Ray Jimenez, with the "Alirol & Jaquet" LP. (Or, as Moroder did with Bob Esty's Productions of "Once Upon A Time" and "Gettin' The Spirit".)
I'm certain, had this LP produced a hit (and, honestly, a decent remix of the title track could have garnered it some respectable club play), there would have been more independent artists produced by Alec.
Also, take into account that (as I was told by a friend of Alec's), by 1980 Alec was tiring of the whole Recording business grind. Keep in mind, that he was really a Pop-music writer, first. And was never truly comfortable within the confines of the "Disco Producer" tag*** considering he'd been writing, recording and producing (with considerable success) for over a decade, prior to even "Love In C Minor".
***I distinctly recall 2 things about his late 70's appearance on the Mike Douglas Show (almost a required gig for any Casablanca act)...
First: He corrected Douglas, upon being called Alex Costandinos...
"My name is ALEC"
Second: He corrected Douglas' question (in reference to "Romeo & Juliet" and "Love & Kisses"), regarding "making Disco records"...
"My recordings are not DISCO records..." (and I agree...to refer to "Judas", "Romeo & Juliet", or "Sumeria", his 3 most recent recordings at the time of the interview, simply as "Disco" is a bit of a diminution.)
POSTSCRIPT: I KNEW we'd covered most of this recently...
http://www.discomusic.com/forums/dis...ent-disco.html
"MUSIC IS AN EMOTION, SEARCHING FOR IT'S VOICE"
...come with me, "BACK TO MUSIC", on DISCOTERIA
http://www.live365.com/stations/cdnbob2
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Hey SD, I would have a 2nd listen to "Love In Motion"....love that song and it might entice you to give it a second chance..
V
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Yes, I get the idea , but I'm trying to imagine the scenario a little beyond that. Even in the examples you list .... there has to be a degree of a story within each of them ....besides SAW's track record. And unlike SAW, Costandinos didn't have an ongoing history of working around vocal acts , creating hits for them ....
This is to be Tina's second LP for United Artists...after her first for them fell flat. Someone there must have thought ...we need to hook Miss Turner up with someone really contemporary ....someone who can deliver in today's market . But even at that, its hard to fathom their coming up with "that guy over at Casablanca that does those epic disco productions" as their solution ... as the producer who could probably guarantee them a hit :icon_eek:
And I certainly can't imagine Tina Turner saying, "You know what I'm really into now? --- disco . In fact for this album, how about we try to get that cat that did that nice and rough THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY song?" -
... Now, thinking about it from Alec's side ....perhaps he had put the word out that he wanted to try his hand at producing a name. Maybe he felt ready to expand beyond his anonymous projects. Maybe he even had a personal interest in working with Tina Turner specifically .... maybe ...
Who knows how it came about .... Well , they each do ... I sure would've liked to have been a fly on the wall when these two got together for this ..
Hmmmm.... my ain't he just a bit of an ingrate . If he didn't want to be associated with disco, then "put your hand over your mouth when you cough , that'll help the solution" .....to quote Mavis .....OR ....better yet consider this short list of career "don'ts" :
***I distinctly recall 2 things about his late 70's appearance on the Mike Douglas Show (almost a required gig for any Casablanca act)...
First: He corrected Douglas, upon being called Alex Costandinos...
"My name is ALEC"
Second: He corrected Douglas' question (in reference to "Romeo & Juliet" and "Love & Kisses"), regarding "making Disco records"...
"My recordings are not DISCO records..." (and I agree...to refer to "Judas", "Romeo & Juliet", or "Sumeria", his 3 most recent recordings at the time of the interview, simply as "Disco" is a bit of a diminution.)
1) Don't release your recordings under the mega-disco label Casablanca ... the one that ships your promos alongside those by Donna Summer and The Village People to record pools.
2) Don't contribute to or write the title songs to any movies about disco.
and most importantly :
3) Don't underscore your compositions with an incessant thump-thump-thump.
*****
:icon_question:... er .... Jackie Quartz? :icon_question: :icon_redface:
Last edited by remicks; December 29th, 2008 at 10:23 AM.
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Evidently that song festival wasn't popular in the rest of the world.
I liked Party Lights. And the title track. But the Witch Of Love lp had a thin sound to it, especially compared to George Duke's other productions. Like he recorded a demo on a 4-track, and Epic released it as is.
"Because there's music in the air."
Chart Hit [Level 6]
You have to sometimes wonder if "disco artists" truly loved being associated with the genre they helped make strong contributions to. A long time ago, I remember reading either a Donna or Gloria interview and (paraphrasing here) she said something like, "I'm not a disco artist. I'm an artist who sings to disco music."
"Everyone knows the real reason why you got that part it was the time you spent on that casting couch"--Antoine Merriwether
"Excuse me, Miss Thing, but both of us spent time on that couch"--Blaine Edwards
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Moroder had nothing to do with Attitude (though he got an Exec Producer credit). It was all Pete Belotte.
As for Janet, she wasn't really a giant back then though Moroder has said he wished he realized she had more talent and had given her better material (he said all he saw was this scared girl who was forced to sing every note by her father).
While I actually really like the album I think most would put Costandinos' album for Tina Turner--Love Explosion here.
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