British artist John Miles and "Slow Down" ....Opinions ?

[drlove]

Was looking at Marky's latest '77 disco chart and saw that John Miles' "Slow Down" debuted and was beginning its climb up the charts where it would eventually settle in the top 5 (!)

My question to ya'll is: What's your opinion of that tune ??? While I have great respect for Miles' musical talents .....I've never really warmed up to "Slow Down" and though it went top 10 in the UK and was a U.S. top 40 hit, I actually have a harder time imagining it being one of the nation's most popular dance tunes.

Do ya'll remember it getting much play in the clubs you went to or spun at, and to you personally, where's the appeal ? Just curious as to your opinions.

[SandraDee]

Well I agree that it's hardly perfect dancefloor material & not a personal fave,but it does have a disco sound with the strings & driving bass. I actually think that Miles' version is preferable to Le Pamplemousse's version, & I normally would choose Rinder & Lewis over John Miles any day!

[Bernie]

"Slow Down" was on constant rotation on New York Disco radio back in the day. Always seemed to garner a very favorable response as far as I can recall and I do like it very much.

[markydefad]

I'm kinda conflicted on this one---it's a harbinger of the hybrid disco rock that would become popular later in the Seventies so it's innovative--but I find the music kinda hyperactive and the vocal kinda harsh sounding; doesn't make me want to dance--yet I can see how a dj could work a crowd into a frenzy with this. Personally, I think I would take a bathroom break.

Also notable for the early use of vocoder [a' la' Peter Frampton].....maybe repeated listening will make it more endearing?

This does go to #2--albeit a "soft" #2--from the stats I've formulated--only have them up to its peak--but at #2 it only has 99 points on 4/30/77; that's as far as I've calculated--but that's relatively weak for a #2.

[boogienights]

I love "Slow Down"! Its a song I would play to a crowd coming to a 'disco night' who would appreciate its commerciality.I find it energetic.It peaked at US Disco #2, pop #34,andR&B#100 in April of 77.He was previously with the Alan Parsons Project and was thought to be a hot new talent when his debut album "Rebel" ,made UK No 9 (produced by Alan Parsons.His second album which contained the disco hit "Slowdown", "Stranger In The City", his success waned.Still, I like this track.

[remicks]

****

Sometimes it is a head scratcher as to why a certain song comes on so strong and gets maybe more immediate play than one would expect.

John Miles SLOW DOWN a case in point

27) (--) * SLOW DOWN - John Miles
(London LP: 4:46/ 12-inch: 4:18) P: Rupert Holmes // W: John Miles/B. Marshall
16 points/ 3 charts = Dallas+Houston/LA+SD/New Orleans
BDA: 1 week on chart // *DEBUT
DCC: 1 week on chart // *DEBUT

defad

Well, one thing for sure ... when DJs previewed a new song, one thing they listened for is its usability in connection with other popular songs in their clubs at the moment . If you could tie it in with something already hot it helped to bolster the already hit song .... and made it so much easier to get acceptance of the new one ....

So with John Miles SLOW DOWN all we have to do is review whats hot at the moment on Marky's chart

and wha-la ...............sho nuff ---- there it is ......

13) (13) TATTOO MAN - Denise McCann
(Polydor 12-inch: 5:27) P: Guy Sobell // W: Denise McCann
40 points / 7 charts = Baltimore+DC/Detroit/LA+SD/NYC/SF/Seattle + Montreal
BDA Top 40: 6 weeks on the chart // Last week: #13 (+/-0)
DCC chart: 9 weeks on chart

AND
often times an advantage could be had by a song's mixibility with other concurrent releases of the moment .

UP JUMPED THE DEVIL seems to be stalling this week ...

22) (19) UP JUMPED THE DEVIL - John Davis & The Monster Orchestra
(SAM 12-inch: 5:42) P/W: John Davis
18 points/2 charts = Baltimore+DC/Boston
BDA: 3 weeks on chart // Last week: #19 (-3)
DCC: 3 weeks on chart

BUT ......
it and SLOW DOWN will both benefit in popularity by the existence of the other .




*****

by the way if you look up TATTOO MAN on youtube these days .... you'll get lots of less than desirable results before this song ever comes up

[JussiK]

Keep looking at the fingers of the hipsters who stand close by the sound system or by the bar listening to the mixing, and then at the dancers who cannot stop: if their fingers suddenly stiffen the track works exceptionally well. The hipsters freeze mid-sentence, their eyes pop and their fingers stretch: "THIS is good!". Venus Gang: Dancing In The Stars, Witch Queen: Bang A Gong, Apman ost: My Body Has A Surging Fire, Hot Pepper: Cancion Ritual, John Miles: Slow Down, that's the reaction. The Miles tune is peak hour material. I've played it a lot this year. Quaranteed maximum clubbability.

[markydefad]

Remmy, could you really mix "Slow Down" (approx. 133 bpm) with "Tattoo Man" & "Up Jumped The Devil" (both around 121 bpm)????

"Slow Down" feels like an aerobics class tempo tune to me---more in the "Turn The Beat Around" [134-135 bpm approx.] category of mixability, I'd think. But then I never was a DJ.

[Cory Ander]

I love "Slow Down" but it sure sticks out on what is otherwise a good but pretty traditional rock album ("Stranger in the City"). By the way, Miles would go on to do a song with Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page on his album "OutRider". I had the same bad luck with the "Strangers in the City" album that I had with CJ and Company's "Devil's Gun". Bought the album 3 times and each copy skipped. I finally gave up. 12/1/2010

[remicks]

Keep looking at the fingers of the hipsters who stand close by the sound system or by the bar listening to the mixing, and then at the dancers who cannot stop: if their fingers suddenly stiffen the track works exceptionally well. The hipsters freeze mid-sentence, their eyes pop and their fingers stretch: "THIS is good!". Venus Gang: Dancing In The Stars, Witch Queen: Bang A Gong, Apman ost: My Body Has A Surging Fire, Hot Pepper: Cancion Ritual, John Miles: Slow Down, that's the reaction. The Miles tune is peak hour material. I've played it a lot this year. Quaranteed maximum clubbability.

Jussi - what songs are you mixing SLOW DOWN in and out of ??? (curious)

--- Just make sure none of these hipsters sneaks a copy of Joel Whitburn's book into the club. Once they disappointingly become aware that this was a hugely popular disco song back in the day (#2) - they'll be obliged to vacate the now suddenly very uncool dance floor!! (tongue out , sad eyes ) (The same for the Top Ten disco charting BANG A GONG )

markydefad:
Remmy, could you really mix "Slow Down" (approx. 133 bpm) with "Tattoo Man" & "Up Jumped The Devil" (both around 121 bpm)????

"Slow Down" feels like an aerobics class tempo tune to me---more in the "Turn The Beat Around" [134-135 bpm approx.] category of mixability, I'd think. But then I never was a DJ.

Yep , not based on BPM , rather because of their similar textures/structure. oh for the days when it wasn't only about BPMs ( yes that was always nice too , but not a prerequisite) I think the whole BPM thing is reason #20 that disco had to die .....once DJs became really focused on it (obsessed) ... as an artist, in order to have a hit during peak hours you were better positioned by having a song running at 128 or more ... and more and more songs catered to that and soon ....yep, as you say ... the aerobics class thing resulted. Fast BPMs ruined "dancing" .

Great vibe while you were personally racing inside though !! or so I've heard.



******

[JussiK]

Remicks, the Whitburn book is not known widely nor considered anything special, I believe the real connoisseurs among cool crowds read the Vince Aletti one. That's the book that pops up in the conversation when serious vinyl hunters gather around here. And would hipsters be placing anything as badly designed as the Whitburn next to their espresso macchiatos, to begin with?

You can play tracks that were big when they came out a) if they sound good b) if they have not been included in commercial comps, c) if they are not big well known classics of the Studio 54-sort and d) if your fellow djs have not already played them several times. For some reason, Bang A Gong has been ignored largely on this continent, and I've not heard anyone give the John Miles any spins recently either. I usually only program European stuff but do make exceptions of course if the tunes fit the bill.

It would perhaps make sense to play Donna Summer's Faster And Faster To Nowhere after Slow Down, but so far I've mixed it out of things like Ten Hertz by Steel Cream, and mixed it into We're Gonna Rock by Sabu or Getting On With The Thing by Madame.

[boogienights]

Keep looking at the fingers of the hipsters who stand close by the sound system or by the bar listening to the mixing, and then at the dancers who cannot stop: if their fingers suddenly stiffen the track works exceptionally well. The hipsters freeze mid-sentence, their eyes pop and their fingers stretch: "THIS is good!". Venus Gang: Dancing In The Stars, Witch Queen: Bang A Gong, Apman ost: My Body Has A Surging Fire, Hot Pepper: Cancion Ritual, John Miles: Slow Down, that's the reaction. The Miles tune is peak hour material. I've played it a lot this year. Quaranteed maximum clubbability.

Agreed Jussi :)

[twiceage]

I think the whole BPM thing is reason #20 that disco had to die .....once DJs became really focused on it (obsessed) ... as an artist, in order to have a hit during peak hours you were better positioned by having a song running at 128 or more ... and more and more songs catered to that

that's a very interesting analysis, thanks

[discokicks]

that's a very interesting analysis, thanks

twiceage....you might find this past topic interesting...

http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...death+of+disco

[drlove]

thanks everyone, for the detailed opinions received thus far ! MUCH appreciated !!!

[remicks]

It would perhaps make sense to play Donna Summer's Faster And Faster To Nowhere after Slow Down, but so far I've mixed it out of things like Ten Hertz by Steel Cream, and mixed it into We're Gonna Rock by Sabu or Getting On With The Thing by Madame.

The Ten Hertz mix sounds like a very winning combo. And yes - FASTER AND FASTER TO NOWHERE paired with SLOWDOWN ....Wow! very Bonham!!!

Remicks, the Whitburn book is not known widely nor considered anything special, I believe the real connoisseurs among cool crowds read the Vince Aletti one. That's the book that pops up in the conversation when serious vinyl hunters gather around here. And would hipsters be placing anything as badly designed as the Whitburn next to their espresso macchiatos, to begin with?

OK based on covers Jussi, ..... I'll admit that the Whitburn book is decidedly inferior ...and Vince's : perfect.

[but then, don't hipsters know better than to judge a book by its cover?? ]

I have to say that even though the Record World book is overall a more sexy presentation than the Billboard one , it never once occurred to me that I was supposed to for any reason choose or prefer one over the other ....!!!.... {surprised and confused}


Each book presents its content in different ways , yet both offer so much valuable info - I treasure them both equally and I literally bow-to-the-disco-gods in gratitude for the existence of each !!!

One big advantage with Whitburn's book : it provides quick referencing for any particular song/artist, so it's better for quickly determining the cold hard facts . (Like SLOWDOWN was a #3 song) Whereas using Vince's book, in order to look up anything specifically, you have to just basically rummage through it based on a song's release date (if known).

Oh they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

What makes them especially valuable resources in tandem is how much they verify each other's content - the charting and listings from both camps pretty much line up and week after week the two basically confirm the same songs getting played . Thus by comparing the two resources - we can feel comfortable they were really telling us how it was ... trying to .... the "truth" as best as could be obtained .

Without these historical documentations , I dread what myriad of misrepresentations of BITD would prevail...

I usually only program European stuff but do make exceptions of course if the tunes fit the bill.

This being the case --- neither book then is of much interest ... ???? .....??



*****

[JussiK]

This being the case --- neither book then is of much interest ... ???? .....??
*****

The Aletti one is, like Mario Giusti's staggering genre film epos "Stracult. Dizionario dei film italiani", something you cannot do without if you're into The Good Things In Life. I'm constantly writing down interesting titles from the Aletti and ordering them. And they're always good, either for club spins (the Euro stuff) or for home listening and house parties (American stuff).

Why just euro in the clubs? The kids don't go for technically precise, smooth, tasteful big budget American disco. It sounds old to them. I always loved Harold Melvin& Bluenotes, Boris Midney, Love UnLTD Ork, Salsoul Ork etc but just as much the European end of the spectrum. Only now, with my experiences in clubland, I see the true situation in a clear, accurate light and can hear the difference: the more underground Eurodisco is the best music ever for dancing. Paradoxically, technical imperfections and lisping vocalists are essential to the experience. I know many people of my generation do not share this view. When people come into my apartment for a serene, relaxed dinner party I no longer excitedly bring on The Caliente Orchestra or Tanya Hyde's Herr Wunderbar. The guests don't get music like that and lose their appetite, and my wife looks too embarrassed for words.
The Whitburn book is good of course in it's own, badly designed way. There are books on disco even more hideously designed that came out some 10 years ago, but those I don't want to mention - too personal, too painful...:-)