No Longer Charting
I had very little to do today, so I thought I'd drag out a few more tracks to transfer to minidisc, partly with another radio demo in mind (this time more disco orientated).
Here'e the tracks I put onto MD today, for no other reason than they presented themselves in the first pile of 12"s I looked through.
LAVIAS - DO YOU WANNA DANCE (instrumental mix) - Golden Pyramid 1983 - I always loved this pulsating piece of funky, jazzy, disco rap (at c123 BPM no less). It really does truck along nicely.
LIBRA - RIDE THIS PONY - HCRC 1982 - I remember really getting into this track although to be frank it is a bit of a throwaway. Used to mix great with Rick James Superfreak (and lotsa others) to whom it makes a mention, but I can't decide whether or not this record was made by a minor porn star (Libra Lee) with its suggestive lyrics. c131 BPM
SUGAR - MANHATTAN FEVER - Power Exchange 1978 - If you look at Chicesque records thread you'll know that this was probably the same track as the Roundtree one. A strange record that is really good in places but really quite naff in others. c122 BPM? (as it was nicked from Chic's Dance, Dance, Dance).
LALO SCHIFRIN - NO ONE HOME Instrumental - Tabu 1979 - This track reminds me so much of Herbie Hancock's Just Around The Corner. I reckon Lalo must have been listening closely to Herbies stuff prior to the recording. Medium -fast tempo jazzy disco funk which is not quite in the first division. 116 - 114 BPM
JUICY - BEAT STREET STRUT - Atlantic 1984 - I really loved playing this record back in the day. It had such a fluid rolling bassline (@ 122 BPM) that made it a really hard track. A mixers dream with its long intro and interesting break.
AL HUDSON & THE SOUL PARTNERS - HOW DO YOU DO - ABC 1978 - This funky gem was tucked away as a B side to Dance, Get Down, which wasn'y half as good IMO. I still remember the glow this record used to give me whenever I gave it a spin.
ZULEMA - CHANGE - London 1979 - What a fantastic voice and a hurtling (132 BPM) piece of disco that was as good as say Francine McGee's Delerium and just as underground in the U.K. It certainly had many fans in the disco I played, at the time.
JOE THOMAS - PLATO'S RETREAT - TK 1978 - I doubt if there's anyone on these boards who doesn't know this track. I almost invariably played this from the break on , as I thought the second half was much better than the first. One thing that always puzzled me is why/how it was credited to Joe Thomas. Have I got some wires crossed somewhere or am I just plain dumb? 120 BPM on the label.
AFRO CUBAN BAND - RHYTHM OF LIFE - Arista 1978 - Typical cheesey disco from the era. A real hotch potch of ideas in this record, especially considering the band's name. There's even some early dub like sounds. I suppose one of Michael Zager's better days in the studio? I certainly played it. c121 BPM
THE BECK FAMILY - CAN'T SHAKE THE FEELING - London 1979 - What I'd call an almost record. Neither fish nor fowl. Just this side of funky disco that almost lapses into Gospel Charleston. Yeah I know that sounds stupid, but if you know the track maybe you'll understand what I mean. Were the woah, woah's necessary, I wonder?
THS (THE HORNE SECTION) - LADY SHINE - Fourth&Broadway 1984 - I absolutely loved the intro to this record, the instrumental sections and the choruses. I thought the verses rather let it down, which was a shame. This used to go down an absolute storm and the sound was really crisp (if a tad thin). With records like this I was really glad I was a DJ. c124 BPM
GARY BARTZ - SHAKE YOUR BODY - Capitol 1978 - This was an absolute gem that I never see mentioned anywhere these days. Great almost P Funkish lolloping funky, semi jazzy in places record (c101 BPM, but sounds faster) with Gary's Alto sax (or is it Soprano) bringing up the rear. Defies the assumption of what Gary Bartz was capable of making. Please check it out if you're into danceable funk.
MSO - COLUMBIA - Mainstreet 1981 - What can I say about this truly fantastic piece of Salsa disco? I've already written (in another non-thread, cos nobody knew anything about it I guess) that with the right crowd this really flew out the window. Get a crowd that's really up for it and this will leave them exhausted and deleriously happy. Such an uplifting, life affirming sound, but be warned, not to everybody's taste. c125 - 130 BPM
Hope you have some fond memories with some of these.
Gold Record [Level 7]
The Al Hudson track is the bomb, so rock-solid and funky, but mildly disappointing in the fact that it never actually went anywhere. Never knew many people who rated 'No One Home', I really liked it and thought that little middle 8 could have made a short track on its own, in a Roy Ayers-chord-sequence kinda way.
The THS was certainly 'fab' (no pun intended) and quite inspirational ('you-must, you-must, you-must always keep in mind, you can shine...' - what a lift!) - but did you ever hear the earlier version on Roebuck? The FAB 12" was mixed by Robert Wright(?) and had that professional, major label sheen but the first version was 'dry', less showy and more solid.
What would you do without your muesli...where would you be without a bowl?
No Longer Charting
No, can't say I ever saw or heard of it before now. Did you ever miss a record release? You must have a collection totalling tens of thousands!! :D :oOriginally Written by Forrrce
Gold Record [Level 7]
Unfortunately for me, I do! Appropos nothing, really, but you may (or not) be interested to know that Henry Horne's making a comeback:
http://w1.887.telia.com/~u88703496/horne.htm
What would you do without your muesli...where would you be without a bowl?
No Longer Charting
I read the article and quite interesting it was too! Just the one 12" deal eh? That explains why nothing else came to light back then.
I wouldn't be so confident that I could sell 5000 copies of a new record though, would you? Not in today's dance music climate, with hundreds of releases every damned week (in the UK at least). I wish him luck.
It would appear that THS was another Brit fave that bombed stateside. Anyone know any more?
Gold Record [Level 7]
Juicy's Beat street Strut - what a fine track was.
A definete highligt on the otherwise fairly dated "Beat Street" soundtrack album.
The song still holds up today, and in my opinion, it is one of the finest 80s productions by Eumir Deodato.
Gold Record [Level 7]
Speaking of Juicy I still play a song by them called Sugar Free anybody remember that track?
Gold Record [Level 7]
Quinny, you should put a show together for people to enjoy on .mp3. you really have an awesome taste in music. especially on the funk side...
No Longer Charting
:oops: Aw shucks, thanx EFunk, but somehow I don't think my taste is eccentric enough, now that almost everything is out there and available. I'd love to do a radio slot somewhere, so long as I got paid!!!! Once a DJ always a DJ. Only in it for the money. :lol:
Gold Record [Level 7]
omg Quinny, if you go any deeper to obscurity.... how is anybody gonna enjoy the show? As long as you throw in "Mighty Mighty" .... "Do It Anyway You Wanna" you'll make my day. :D
No Longer Charting
. 
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I know what you mean, but at least I did play all of these toons in anger, back in the day. So many radio shows I listen to just seem to pick tracks that no one ever played. That's what I'd call obscure (for obscure's sake).
Don't worry though, personally I'm a great believer in mixing obscure stuff with well known, 'cos yes, it could get boring otherwise. The above tracks would probably constitute about 40% of the demo, the rest would be better known. Now, IMO that's where taste comes in. It's knowing which well known tracks are still cool enough to play. That's probably where I'd fall down, heavily. :cry:
Anyone for Y.M.C.A? (I'm still waiting for my chance to sell my 10 sealed, one sided copies; perhaps I could start a buzz on it) :lol:
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