Sorry for the lack of post action this month, my neck has been a right pain in the ne-…oh. Alongside the ice packs and chiropractor appointments, the sweet sounds of Curtis Mayfield’s forgotten disco track  Tell Me, Tell Me have been aiding my recovery rather nicely.

This rather rare track from The Gentle Genius was released in 1979 and was produced by Ron Tyson and Norman Harris. The former Salsoul and MFSB duo provide a soft funk backdrop to Mayfield’s easy and sumptuous vocals, wiping away any neck aches and worries. Ahhh… That’s the stuff.

Curtis Mayfield – Tell Me Tell Me (How Ya Like To Be Loved)

“How do you make a duck sing? Put it in the oven till it’s Bill Withers”. Ah yes, we’ll never get sick of hearing that genius of a joke. Anyway, enjoy the wonderful sunshine with Bill’s 1979 hard-to-find funky disco classic, You Got The Stuff. Recently re-released on a limited vinyl run, original copies go for silly amounts and is still a massive favourite with all those DJ disco types out there (Sarcastic Disco supremo DJ Alex chopped and sampled the track on the opener for his Free Range EP back in the early 90s). Cosmic, deep and damn well funky, it’s certainly got the stuff. Ahem.

Bill Withers – You Got The Stuff

Legendary reggae producer Joe Gibbs is one of most important figures in Jamaica’s musical history. From rocksteady to ’80s dancehall, Gibbs can lay claim to being one of the most important of Jamaica’s musical giants. Responsible for one of the most influential reggae albums of all time – Culture’s 1977 record ‘Two Sevens Clash’, his work with artists such as Dennis Brown, Althea & Donna (he produced Uptown Top Ranking!!), The Mighty Diamonds – amongst many others, has ensured a rich and outstanding legacy. So if you haven’t heard any of Gibbs’ work, I recommend you check out this and this. You won’t regret it!

Taken from his classic 1979 album Majestic Dub, ‘Bionic Encounter’ is in fact an off the wall yet admirable interpretation of the Salsoul Orchestra’s 1977 smash ‘Runaway’ and is not a cover of ‘Getaway’, as many people tend to think (I listened to both on loop for about an hour and I conclusively say that it is ‘Runaway’). Not a dub or special ‘reggae disco’ version, the track is a soft and stripped back disco song that is strongly reminiscent of the works of producer Patrick Adams (the wigged-out, stoned keyboards, heavy breathing – that sort of thing).

Gibbs was a true musical visionary and, as this track demonstrates, he also had a fantastic sense of humour.

Joe Gibbs – Bionic Encounter

Bionic Boogie was a disco studio group produced by Gregg Diamond in the late 70s. Featuring a certain Luther Vandross on vocals, the group only released a few singles and albums. Diamond is probably best known for writing and producing Andrea True Connection’s saucy disco smash ‘More, More, More’, but he also contributed to David Bowie’s Young Americans album in 1975.

The ‘Boogie (as I like to call them), recorded slick, soulful, groove-led disco. With sublime production and arrangement from Diamond, the band’s output still sounds sparkling and fresh today.

Released in 1979, Tiger Tiger (Feel Good For A While) is a purring disco stomper. With big drums, grooving guitar licks and a really fruity bassline, the track is a secret weapon of DJ and crate-digger extraordinaire Mark Seven, who included it on his much lauded mix for Oki-Ni.

So good, it will get you growling. Grrr… or something.

Bionic Boogie – Tiger Tiger (Feel Good For A While)

Start your week with a grandiose slice of  disco from German synth pioneer Harry Thumann. Released in 1979, Underwater is a cult favourite amongst disco aficionados due to it’s bombastic and quite wacky nature. Huge Salsoul-style horns and strings blend seamlessly with the icy simplicity of Moroder-esque synths, resulting in a prime cinematic disco number (also, it also kinda sounds like all those Stars Wars disco songs that you can find in charity shops but better). With so many sounds seemingly coming from every disco sub-genre, Thumann maintains the song’s individuality and funkiness with genuine aplomb.

‘Arry’s liberal use of revolutionary synths and other crazy stuff (ahem), still makes this track, taken from his debut album American Express, sound remarkably fresh and perfectly demonstrates how flexible and experimental disco could be.

Harry Thumann – Underwater

This swirling ZE disco gem from the Garcons, was released in 1979 and is currently included on the new Strut compilation ‘Zevolution -  ZE Records Re-edited’ in the form of a Leo Zero mix. But nevermind that, have a listen to the original in all it’s effervescent disco glory.

I wrote about the Garcons in my ZE Records Piece (yes, that piece AGAIN. Read it here), so check that out of you fancy knowing a bit more about the Garcons. Sorry if it seems that I’m rushing, but I am. I cannot lie. We’re planning our End of Year/Christmas/Decade specials for the next few weeks, so make sure you come back read about how me and Alan didn’t really like anything this year or this decade. Not really!!! Re-issues count, right?

Garcons – Encore l’amore

Hang on, there’s a spelling mistake in the audio. It should be ‘amour’ rather than ‘amore’. Bollocks! Sorry!

I had a Halloween party last year and when I was a little bit worse for wear, I spent roughly thirty minutes looking for this song. Needless to say, I found it the next day on top my CD deck. Bloody Halloween punch. Why was I so desperate to play this particular song to my friends? Well my internet friends, Bob Blank’s crazy masterpiece is the perfect Halloween party song.  A surreal piano-rattlin’ funk jam about strange things that live in the television, it has an incredible madcap charm (it even sends up the Shirelles’ ‘Mama Said’ in its intro). A ZE masterpiece, you should never start your Halloween party without it.

Now, who wants some punch?

Who’d have  thought that Janis ‘At Seventeen’ Ian recorded a sexy disco song?  Well she did and she did it with the one and only Giorgio Moroder. The pair teamed up in 1979 to record a song for the Jodie Foster-starred movie ‘Foxes’ (no, me neither but its got Jodie in it so it might be good) and ‘Fly Too High’  was the result.

Slinky and quite seductive, Moroder plays to Janis’ strengths (vocals and lyrics) and produces a sophisticated disco song (it even has a smooth and sexy sax or ‘saxy’ bit!). The soundtrack actually contains some good stuff. From long-term collaborator Donna Summer (‘On The Radio) to Moroder’s own compositions, its worth checking out. Especially for Cher’s stinker of an effort (‘Bad Love’). Saxy stuff indeed!

Janis Ian – Fly Too High

Janis Ian – Fly Too High

Not many bands would take creative inspiration from the Jewish Mourners’ Prayer – The Kaddish, but cult avant-garde electro-disco pioneers Gina X Performance did just that with their 1981 song ‘Kaddish’.

Led by the charismatic Gina Kikoine and probably best known for their cult 1979 Quentin Crisp-inspired hit ‘No G.D.M’. This curious oddity ranks as one of my favourite records of all time – and I’m not just saying that to get your attention.

‘Kaddish’ is one of the undisputed highlights from the band’s third album ‘Voyeur’. A mesmerizing, slow-mo disco track with ice cold Teutonic vocals, this is a radical and wonderfully peculiar record that still impresses to this day. It was even featured on Lindstrom’s 2007 Late Night Tales Mix, which only furthers the song’s enduring appeal. Track down a copy of the album if you can. I think LTM re-issued it in 2005 with added bonus tracks, it’s definitely worth splashing your cash on.

I mean, who’d have thought religion could be so bloody cool? Well, apart from the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and my mate Rich but who else, eh?

Gina X Performance – Kaddish

Taken from The Stranglers’ 1979 album ‘The Raven’, this genuinely strange offering shows off the surprising  creative diversity and ingenuity from one of Britain’s most misunderstood and maligned punk/new wave bands. From the accusations of misogyny and pub-rock oafishness to concept albums about aliens and songs about heroin, no one can accuse Hugh Cornwell and Jean Jacques Brunel’s Guildford Outlaws of being boring.

‘Meninblack’ was primarily Cornwell’s concept, and introduced the idea of extra-terrestrial hit-men who silence individuals that have witness UFO landings (yeah i know, crazy or what?!).  Along side ‘Duchess’, the track is the highlight of the album. With the idea being so unusual and extraordinary, the band used it for the subsequent 1981 concept album of the same name.

This period of the Stranglers history is often overlooked (FACT: I was only introduced to it last year by a friend. Shocking I know, but true), so I urge you to go and seek the aforementioned albums and you’ll be richly rewarded with songs about crazy-ass aliens done in a pulsating, experimental punk/new wave stylee and let’s face it, who doesn’t want that?

The Stranglers- Meninblack

The Stranglers- Meninblack