Alec Costandinos' Romeo & Juliet

Marcio** · December 24th, 2004, 06:00 PM

Alec Costandinos was the first disco producer to utilize 48 track recording to its fullest, and Romeo & Juliet, what I would unabashedly call his "signature" record, makes total use of that recording technology. Romeo & Juliet is a full orchestral suite set to a dance beat, something that was certainly groundbreaking and had never before been done in the genre. It was the one record I would always take to stereo stores to try out equipment, almost always blowing away the salespeople with its crystal-clear sound. Acts I & II, comprising all of side 1, are the best part of this record, with a rich, lush sound that's curiously absent from the remainder of the LP.

Richard Bauxbaum, writing for Stereo Review in June of 78 offered these opinions: "This is solid disco—the rich, romantic kind—from the guy who brought us Love and Kisses. Forget the Romeo and Juliet theme; the music is arbitrarily sectioned into "acts" and some of Shakespere's words are used (that's got to be a first for disco), but there is no real connection with the play, and the words don't really matter. What matters is the dancing rhythms and there Costandinos has his finger right on the pulse. The beat is hypnotic and the rich orchestration is so interestingly varied that one fairly flies through the whole album."

by Mark (PC Desktop Support Tech
& Disco lover)

http://www.vintagetechnics.com/about/top30/top30.htm

**Videoskooter** · December 24th, 2004, 07:30 PM

And still, Sir Alec doesn't want to release this stuff on cd :oops:

One of the best symphodisco-albums in history. Mr. Costandinos,pleeeezzzzz, come to Belgium and check the state of my vinyl. It won't last forever you know :evil:

(Okay, I COULD copy it to my PC but then this reply wouldn't sound so dramatic)

**DiscoMan** · December 24th, 2004, 10:38 PM

I bought a Unidisc cd about 2 years ago (haven't seen any for sale since) and I am so glad I did. "Romeo & Juliet" is my singular favorite piece of music. :D

**Editmaster JT** · December 25th, 2004, 12:14 AM

I've only heard the very short version on The Casablanca Records Story and I really don't care much for the song based on this. Is it worth seeking out the full version to fully appreciate? (Silly question, obviously you're gonna say yes) hehe

**Eurodancemix** · December 25th, 2004, 06:36 AM

DISCOMAN -- Lucky you! I didn't hear of that pressing until well after the fact. It seems to have only been in print for a couple of months or so. Anyone out there know why?

EDITMASTER JT -- Yes, it is well worth seeking out. The radio version is incredibly jarring compared to the full piece. They chopped off about 85% of the song, so it's understandable it's not going to really sound the way it should.

**rhessel** · December 25th, 2004, 08:32 AM

Merry Christmas to all:

Four years or so ago I was lucky enough to bought an almost unused Unidisc Love & Kisses + Costandinos "The best of" through "gemm.com". Some tracks in this CD are edit.

But I also bought a japanese release of Romeo & Juliet, which includes the full original album, plus complete liner notes (all written in japanese!!!!....... toooooo bad). The CD was released through the japanese Philips branch. I payed almost US$ 50,00 for this CD, but worthed each dollar.

Cheers,

rhessel

**DiscoMan** · December 25th, 2004, 04:20 PM

I may do what I can to make my copy "available" without gettin' my ass in trouble. Anyone got any ideas?

**usagi-san** · December 26th, 2004, 11:52 AM

I have the U.S. Casablanca release and the RCA Canadian version of this album. Any audio experts such as Graham Start or Paulo, know if there are sound differences between these two?

**BrunoRepublic** · December 26th, 2004, 12:03 PM

Most RCA Canada releases have a slightly grainy sound to them... I think the Casablanca one is a bit clearer. Best I've heard yet is the French pressing on Ibis; unfortunately my copy has uncurable skips.

**Jimmy-Michaels** · December 26th, 2004, 10:25 PM

Originally Written by DiscoMan

I may do what I can to make my copy "available" without gettin' my ass in trouble. Anyone got any ideas?

Email me :lol:

clubdisco1979@yahoo.com

**Jimmy-Michaels** · December 26th, 2004, 10:26 PM

I will say that the Unidisc version of this was not done very well and not to mention pitched too fast (think it was taken from cassette). The Jap CD is gr8!

**Spellbound** · December 26th, 2004, 10:58 PM

[img]It was the one record I would always take to stereo stores to try out equipment, almost always blowing away the salespeople with its crystal-clear sound[/img]

i really need to do that sometime

**Spellbound** · December 26th, 2004, 10:59 PM

It was the one record I would always take to stereo stores to try out equipment, almost always blowing away the salespeople with its crystal-clear sound

i really need to do that sometime