Various Artists - The Get Down Boogie Sound (2013)

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 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks (chart info from the Billboard Disco charts; my favorite tracks checked):

	Title	Artist	Year	Chart
1	Get Up An' Dance (Dance With Me)	Mynk	1981
2	Can't Get Away (From Your Love)	Carol Williams	1982	38	✔
3	Dance So Fine	Nijel	1982
4	That's A Lady	Shock	1981
5	Sweet Thing	Convertion	1982
6	I Love Music	J.T.	1983
7	Give It Up (Don't Make Me Wait)	Sylvester	1981	20	✔
8	Pastel	Marlon McClain	1981		✔
9	Sureyoureright	Steptoe	1982		✔
10	I Wanna Get With You	Ritz	1981	40
11	Project Funk	Eazy	1981
12	Body Moves	Rare Essence	1982
13	Electrophonic Phunk	Shock	1981

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None