British Import
"The hidden sound of black America is boogie. A funk meets soul hybrid that dominated US clubs at the start of the 1980s." - from the liner notes
Here we have a compilation of dance club hits from the years 1981-83 from the vaults of the Fantasy, Vanguard, and Posse labels. A popular term for these sorts of songs is "garage classics." An enjoyable look at the transition of dance/funk music from the string-filled '70s to the synth-filled '80s. Don't worry, there's still plenty of Latin percussion, silly lyrics, hand claps, and danceable beats. In other words, disco music with synth bass and Linndrum. Most of these were 12" single-only releases; the liner notes claim that most of these tracks have never been available on CD before now. With detailed track-by-track annotations, this joint has an academic/historical feel to its packaging, but playing the CD is a 78 minute party.
I was completely unfamiliar with every last one of these songs until I recently purchased this disc. Regrettably, none of these songs were played on radio stations I was listening to and they only charted on the Billboard Disco chart if they charted at all (see below). More info and samples available on the Ace Records website. I'm currently drooling over some of the offerings at said website. Future purchases are imminent.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks (chart info from the Billboard Disco charts; links to YouTube clips provided for some of my favorite tracks):
| Year | Title | Artist | Chart | |
| 1981 | Get Up An' Dance (Dance With Me) | Mynk | ||
| 1982 | Can't Get Away (From Your Love) | Carol Williams | 38 | |
| 1982 | Dance So Fine | Nijel | ||
| 1981 | That's A Lady | Shock | ||
| 1982 | Sweet Thing | Convertion | ||
| 1983 | I Love Music | J.T. | ||
| 1981 | Give It Up (Don't Make Me Wait) | Sylvester | 20 | |
| 1981 | Pastel | Marlon McClain | ||
| 1982 | Sureyoureright | Steptoe | ||
| 1981 | I Wanna Get With You | Ritz | 40 | |
| 1981 | Project Funk | Eazy | ||
| 1982 | Body Moves | Rare Essence | ||
| 1981 | Electrophonic Phunk | Shock | ||
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
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