Underground Hit [Level 5]
Recently I went to Darwin (which is in the Northern Territory, Australia) and on my last day there I visited a Crazy Clarks which is like a cheap shop there, wondering if Darwin might just happen to have any deleted disco cds hiding away...Darwin is best known for its searing heat and habitation of crocodiles...after flicking through crappy title after crappy title, I struck gold: Cissy Houston "Love Is Holding On" which is basically "Think It Over" with a couple of extra tracks.It was released in 1999 and also supposedly costars Whitney.Considering the crazy price for "Think It Over" this was a FIND at $5...it appears most of that album wasn't really disco except for the "Think It Over", "Somebody Should Have Told Me", which is diva disco brilliance and "Warning Danger"...I would like to know how Cissy teamed up with Michael Zager or if you like Cissy too. On a separate note, I found Double Exposure "Ten Percent" album on cd for 95 cents!!! I love when you find cheap disco cds in weird places...:cool. Tracks I like on Double Exposure: obv "Ten Percent" and "Everyman" but I already had those, so "My Love Is Free" is great and also I love "Baby I Need Your Loving"...
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Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Originally Written by boogienights
I do adore the tracks you mentioned but I have to admit that my fave Cissy track has always been 'It Doesnt Only Happen At Night' from 1980, also produced by Michael Zager. The same song was covered the year later by Geraldine Hunt but I prefer Cissy's version.
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Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Cissy performed vocals on several of Zager's productions, so it seems the two were well acquainted. He also produced her self-titled 1977 LP.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I recently found an obscure Double Exposure recording also...the album "Locker Room" but I haven't played it yet. One dollar in a used music store.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Yes I love the cover for "Locker Room"...what is the music like? According to their website, their relationship with Salsoul seemed to sour as Salsoul "had a one track mind with disco" when the band were actually more r and b orientated. I would like to hear more of disco Cissy guys. I LOVE "You're The Fire" which is on Disco Discharge Disco Fever USA.And I really dig Michael Zager too.Win win.
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Chart Hit [Level 6]
The album is actually quite good, even if I never understood its title (nor the back picture with the four guys in jocktraps ;-)
The best song is the opening one, "I got the hots (for ya)"; I also have it in a promo 12" -SG 304- with two vocal remixes (8:37 and 7:48) by Bobby Guttadaro and Ken Cayre (for the second one only). "Two exciting mixes" like says the sticker on the cover.The first mix was also released on a Mexican coloured vinyl (mine is green) with "Ten percent" on the B-side (oddly enough not the original 9:15 version but the 9:40 version released later on the cd "The original Salsoul classics" in 1998 and "Mixed with love - The Walter Gibbons Salsoul anthology" in 2004). I think Unidisc re-issued the album on cd with the two additional mixes. The song charted, #33 R&B and #37 disco. That is better than what happened with their previous album (= nothing) but I never heard it neither on the radio, nor in a disco and I just bought the album in the first place because it was 2,99$.
For two-thirds it's a disco album. "I got the hots (for ya)" [6:59]" has a nice chorus and hot guitars. "(Where Have You Been) All My Life" has a sound similar to the Trammps' songs; with almost 4 min. it's the shortest track of the album. "Can We Be In Love" is a 6 minute ballad. Each song on the B-side is also 6 minute long. "Ice cold love" which opens the B-side is my second preferred song of the lp; it's an up-tempo song. "I Wish That I Could Make Love To You", another up-tempo song but slower produced by Bunny Sigler, has nice harmonies. Both songs were mixed by Walter Gibbons. "Why Do We Have To Go Our Separate Ways" is a ballad and in my opinion ballads are their weak spot. The general sound of the album is very similar to the "BHY" album of the same year but it's a much better album ("BHY" disappointed me as a whole); it is very "Disco inferno"-like sounding which is a good thing but it doesn't open new perspectives. Anyway, personally I prefer this album to The Trammps' "The Whole World's Dancing" released basically at the same moment (June for the Trammps /August for Double Exposure).
Last edited by PierreConstantin; April 30th, 2011 at 09:54 AM.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
That track's from the same LP as the track I mentioned. It's quite a good LP & it's called 'Step Aside For a Lady'.
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Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
That 'Locker Room' Double Exposure LP's worth buying just for the back cover!
...ya gotta beat the street......
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Thank you for the info Pierre.I do own the "Whole Worlds Dancin" lp and it is a bit hit and miss, my fav tracks would be "Love Insurance Policy" and "My Love Its Never Been Better". It certainly is an interesting back cover! Perhaps unintentionally homo-erotic? So the second album wasn't a hit eh, it was called "Four Play" right? Well I'm not sure if I'll purchase either, though I'm glad they're available.If I find them cheap I will def get them! I did listen to "Ive Got The Hots" on Amazon music player..not bad.Maybe you didn't hear it cos it got lost in the disco glut of that year? I haven't found too many Salsoul ballads I have been fond of.As I mentioned it seemed Salsoul felt the same way according to Double Exposures website! I do like that they are still going.If I lived in America I would go to some of these reunion concerts....Sandra Dee yes I would really like that "Step Aside For A Lady" album.Is the rest of it quite disco? I couldn't believe I found orginal versions of songs from "Think It Over" for $5...I nearly didn't buy it too as I thought it would be trashy 90's remakes.I've become very weary of supposed disco compilations with this disclaimer "this cd may contain some tracks that have been re-recorded by the artist". Pass.
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Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
The other killer disco track is 'Gonna Take The Easy Way Out' which is the nearest the LP comes to 'Think It Over' IMO. The other 4 tracks are good but nothing special - the title track is quite fast & driving if a tad bland, 'What I Miss' is quite funky in that early 80s 'boogie' mode, while 'Break It To Me Gently' is a nice ballad (which was done by Angela Bofill a year later) & that leaves 'Just One Man' a rather formulaic ballad.
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Underground Hit [Level 5]
Yes Sandra, thats how I found the "Think It Over" album.Even though I technically own the "Love Is holding On'' album it has exactly the same tracks but for some reason they tagged on "Lifes A Party" without its appealing break. It really only has "Think it Over",
"Warning Danger" and "Somebody Should Have Told Me" as disco songs.The rest are so-so ballads.I hate "Umbrella Song".Guess that shows even Michael Zager can have his failures...however her disco songs are fantastic.Maybe a Cissy Houston Disco compilation should be compiled
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Underground Hit [Level 5]
Came across this on youtube its from 2004 but its a bunch of kids dancing to original disco and "Somebody Should Have Told Me" and "Think It Over" are played...I think its cool to see younger people realising that disco is really hot music to dance to!
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Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Those breakdancers are also dancing to other late 70s disco towards the end of the clip - I spotted 'You Got Me Dancing' by Inner Life & 'Love In A Sleeper' by Silver Convention. It reminded me of when I first saw clips of breakdancers in NYC 30 years ago & the were dancing/rapping to late 70s disco too, so it seems to have come full circle!
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Chart Hit [Level 6]
Isn't that Cissy Houston cd the one featuring "Think it over" in its 8:00 min. 1979 remixed form (even if it says 6:00 on the cover) and then the other eight songs of the lp in their 1978 original version and finally four 1977 tracks ?
More info here :
http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...-THINK-IT-OVER
In the case of "Think it over" it was first released on the album with the same name on Private Stock and it charted during Summer 1978. At the end of the year Columbia bought the rights and thought that "Warning-danger" had some disco potential and remixed it for a 12". Finally Columbia released a new album with extended versions of four songs from the original album, including the previous hit "Think it over". One outtake from 1978 wasn't on any of those albums, "Out of my hands", but it ended on 1979 Dionne Warwick's lp "Dionne". And finally a picture of Cissy Houston taken during the photo session for the 1979 album "Warning-danger" is on the back of her 1980 lp "Step aside for a lady". The art of recycling ...
The 1979 long mix of "Think it over"[8:00] is the version available on the cd releases but the rest of the album is in its original 1978 form.
Last edited by PierreConstantin; May 2nd, 2011 at 11:53 AM.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Yes Sandra Dee, I remember being suprised when I bought a Grandmaster Flash cd and it was full of disco. Although I think they're dancing is good, its not really my thing, but the music sounds terrific and its great to hear it in a contemporary context.Theres another good vid on youtube dancing to Gepy and Gepys "Body To Body" and they seem to know it...perhaps its become one of those cult like items? I really think if more young people heard some of the amazing disco stuff that wasn't so popular, they might be converted...maybe...:)...Pierre, I wish it was 8 mins but no it is definitely 5.49. I know how revered that song is, but I actually think "Somebody Should Have Told Me'' is better, much more aggressive and full of energy...I can't get it out of my head! It definitely has all of the other tracks from "Think It Over".In fact here is the track listing:
1.After You 4.29
2.Love Don't Hurt People 2.56
3.Think It Over 5.48
4.Somebody Should Have Told Me 4.18
5.Warning Danger 5.48
6.I Just Want To Be With You 4.56
7.An Umbrella Song 2.50
8.Sometimes 3.24
9.I Won't Be The One 2.52
10.Morning Much Better 3.58
11.Love Is Holding On 3.15
12.It Never Really Ended 2.47
13.Love Is Something That Leads You 2.47
14.Lifes A Party 5.51
Also the liner notes are pretty bad they don't have any factual notes about the actual tracks and seem to play up the Whitney part in the cd title..but really, I haven't even noticed her!
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Chart Hit [Level 6]
OK, so my cd is with "Think it over" [8:00] and yours with "Think it over" [6:00] + "Life's a party" (from a Michael Zager band lp). The rest is the same, same songs, same timings.
Don't be too disappointed for not having the long versions; personally I love the original songs "Think it over", "Somebody should have told me" and "Warning-danger" and I was very excited when I found the remixed album (done I think by Michael Barbiero) but the remixes were just fine. IMO, the strength of the songs is somehow diminished by instrumental parts a little bit too monotonous who are just reloops.
Here's the tracklisting of the 1979 lp:
Warning Danger (This Love Affair May Be Hazardous To You) 10:25
An Umbrella Song 5:52
Somebody Should Have Told Me 8:04
Think It Over 8:00
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Oh..so Warning Danger was just a REMIX album? Thats kinda cool. I have Michael Zager Band on my to buy cd list...there are 3 on Amazon one called the "Dance Collection", seems none of his original albums have been released.Alan Jones and Jussi rave about "Love Love Love/Using You'' medley and I still haven't heard it...his "Lets All Chant" album meant a lot to me when I found it in a record store on New Years Eve, 2003...I still think its a great album..
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Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I'm afraid you're gonna have to get the 'Lifes a Party' LP on vinyl as the 'Love Love Love/Still Not Over/On And On/Using You' medley isn't on CD at the moment, but you never know, it might get a release at some point as so much seems to be finding its way onto CD lately. The LP's worth getting for the tracks 'You Dont Know a Good Thing' & 'I Wish You Would Make Up Your Mind' anyway - both good examples of late 70s poppy disco.
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