Various Artists - The Disco Years , Vol. 4: Lost In Music (1992)

I sold some property yesterday and that understandably put me in a good mood. If there's better "feel-good" music than disco, I've never found it and I'm not sure I want to. So I pulled out this Rhino compilation I recently discovered in a used bin. (If you're new to the blog, our motto around here regarding Rhino CD's is: buy it when you see it because they weren't in print for long. So I did.) This is volume 4 of a 7 CD series. It is subtitled Lost In Music, which is taken from the Sister Sledge track that closes the disc. It might as well have been sub-titled "Lost in Chic" because there's a whole bunch of Nile Rodgers-Bernard Edwards tracks on this one, including the first six tracks as well as the aforementioned Lost In Music. Plus, the two tracks from Change try their hardest to sound like Chic joints and almost succeed; they just need some Nile Rodgers guitar. (I'll confess to listening to A Lover's Holiday a bit more than the other tracks as of late.) There's some titles here from the 1982-83, a time when disco had left the pop charts. I'd rather have late '70s tunes, but I'm not about to turn down some Kool & The Gang.

Mostly single edits, which isn't a big deal to this guy since I've got the extended cuts elsewhere and single edits mean more tracks per disc. I'd mention the outstanding packaging and liner notes, but that's a given when you buy a Rhino product.

The greatest disco CD remains the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, but this series offers up some strong contenders. This volume starts strong, weakens with tracks 13-15, then bounces back nicely. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go turn on my office mirror ball (don't judge me) and dance.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, including Billboard chart peaks:

Title	Artist	Disco	Pop
Good Times	Chic	3	1
High Society	Norma Jean	92
He's the Greatest Dancer	Sister Sledge	1	9
Spacer	Sheila & B. Devotion	44
I'm Coming Out	Diana Ross	1	5
I Like Love	Norma Jean	10
I Love You More	René & Angela	31
Keep It Comin' Love	KC & The Sunshine Band	9	2
Fresh	Kool & The Gang	1	9
In the Bush	Musique	1	58
I'm Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)	Inner Life	7
A Lover's Holiday	Change	1	40
Don't Make Me Wait	Peech Boys
One More Shot	C-Bank feat. Jenny Burton	5
I.O.U.	Freeez	1
Hot Stuff	Donna Summer	1	1
Paradise	Change	1	80
Lost in Music	Sister Sledge

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Disco music never fails to take me right back to junior high. Over the past 40 years, my selective memory has almost erased any bad memories of that time and I just remember it as a fun time of new friends and new music. And disco dancing, natch.

Regarding the Musique track, what 7th grader wouldn't embrace those lyrics and repeat them endlessly?!? Not to mention it's a killer track (or "banger" as the kids say).

Exclusive CD longbox photo courtesy of
Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Various Artists - The Disco Box (1999)