Greatest Performance Of Loleatta's Life

One of my all-time favorite Larry Levan edits is his remix of Loleatta Holloway's 1976 disco classic "Greatest Performance Of My Life". This was one of the many amazing cuts off of Suss'd Records Larry Levan: The Definitive Salsoul Mixes '78-'83 compilation which came out back in 2004. Now I've always been a fan of the original mix of the song which was featured on Holloway's Loleatta LP, however on Levan's edit, he draws out the dramtic acapella intro nicely as well as replacing the song's "at time's more annoying" bridge vocals with a nice instrumental groove that works better on a dancefloor. This edit is a perfect example of the geniusness of Larry Levan, remixing and rearranging a track to push a song to it's greatest heights, making an already classic original even better.

Loleatta Holloway - Greatest Performance Of My Life
(Lary Levan Edit)

Society Of Soul

It's Friday and sunny outside, so I'm going to allow myself to get lazy with this post and let the music do the talking. Here is Prins Thomas's re-edit of Matsubara's 1984 funky classic "S.O.S. (Society Of Soul)". This edit was originally included on the Rong Music released Diskomiks EP which features, in my opinion, some of Thomas's best edits. Can I just say that everytime I listen to this track it reminds me of a theme song to a 70's game show, which is probably why I love it so much. Anyways, Enjoy!

Matsubara - S.O.S. (Prins Thomas Re-edit)

The Real Thing

Recently, I've been getting into Brazilian conductor Sérgio Mendes' late 70's material. I've come across many Mendes' records here and there, however didn't really know much about the artist until recently. Even though I definitely can't vouch for all of his music, I can say that I'm a pretty big fan of both Sérgio Mendes & The New Brasil '77's 1977 self-titled LP and Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '88 1979 Magic Lady LP. Both albums, which I've picked up recently, are somewhat departures from Mendes earlier work with his Brasil '66. The New Brasil '77 record has a laid back, however funky latin-disco sound to it with standout tracks like "The Real Thing", "Why", and "Mozambique". Magic Lady, on the other hand, contains one of Mendes most high energy dance cuts with "I'll Tell You", as well as other funky disco numbers like "Lonely Woman" and "Let It Go". Overall, Sérgio Mendes is one of those complicated artist to get into because he touches so many musical genres with many of his releases being very unique to themselves, however for people who enjoy the more funky disco era stuff, like myself, I highly recommend checking out both The New Brasil '77 and Magic Lady albums.

Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '88 - I'll Tell You
Sérgio Mendes & The New Brasil '77 - The Real Thing

STUDIO! Tonight @ Havana Hot Bodies & Disco Fever

Join Pat les Stache and deejay H.M.A. again this week at Havana for another rendition of STUDIO!, the gay-ass disco party that keeps gettin' hotter by the week. We will be spinning rare disco, italo, cosmic, and mustache grooves all night long! The last few weeks the dancefloor has been packed with hot bodies right up until the last song, so don't miss out on the best disco party in town!

Two Tons Of Fun

This past weekend I flew back to my home town of Sacramento, Ca. for a friend's wedding. During that trip I decided to stop at a couple local record stores to see if I could find any hidden disco gems tucked away in the stacks. I always love going to a small city record store where there isn't a hint of a disco scene, you're bound to pick up at least a few classic records for a ridiculous cheap price. I found the same true when I made stops in Portland and Tacoma this past year. That being said, I did pick-up many great disco finds including Revanche's 1979 Music Man LP, John Davis & The Monster Orchestra's Up Jumped The Devil and Ain't That Enough For You LP's, Loleatta Holloway's classic "Loleatta" LP, Taka Boom's 1979 self-titled LP, as well as many others. However, maybe the overall best find of the weekend came when I picked Two Tons Of Fun's 1980 self-titled disco classic. Two Tons Of Fun where one of those groups I had heard about a lot, but unfortunitely hadn't checked out, so when I came across the record I thought I would give it a listen. From start to finish I was pretty blown away with a very reminiscent sound similiar to Sylvester, whom the two singers Izora Armstead and Martha Wash orginally sang back-up vocals for. Overall, the record is pretty solid with classic cuts like "I Got The Feeling", "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven", and "One-Sided Love Affair". I highly recommend the record if your a fan of Sylvester's early releases. That being said, it was a nice weekend of great finds in a small city.

Two Tons Of Fun - I Got The Feeling

Hot Jungle Drums And Voodoo Rhythm

One of my favorite disco cuts for quite sometime has been D.C. LaRue's 1979 classic "Hot Jungle Drums And Voodoo Rhythm" off of his album Forces Of The Night. Throughout LaRue's career, the American disco singer has released some solid disco classics including 1976's "Ca-The-Drals", 1978's "Let Them Dance", and "Do You Want The Real Thing ", among many others. However, I think with "Hot Jungle Drums..." LaRue really hits the "nail on the head" with this hi-energy disco classic. The song was also released as a twelve-inch single through Casablanca Records, which featured an extended version of the track. And on a side note, one of the biggest fans of the song at the time of release was movie star actress Jane Fonda, whom recommended having the song put on her first Jane Fonda Workout Book. Overall, "Hot Jungle Drums And Voodoo Rhythm" is an amazing track that can work nicely at those peek dancefloor moments and just another amazing classic produced and written by D.C. LaRue.

D.C. LaRue - Hot Jungle Drums And Voodoo Rhythm

I Can't Dance Without You

As time goes on and the more I continue to listen to his releases, Dutch disco singer Theo Vaness is becoming one of my all-time favorite artists. I know he has been mentioned before on this blog for his classic 1979 Bad Bad Boy LP, however that being said, you can't ignore his other two full-length records 1978's Back To Music and his self-titled LP in 1979. Both records contained some amazing disco gems including "Thank God There's Music", "Back To Music (the song)", "Star Fever", and my personal favorite "I Can't Dance Without You". Overall, if you come to STUDIO! on a Wednesday, you have a good chance of hearing a track or two by this artist whom in a very short time put together an impressive collection of disco classics.

Theo Vaness - I Can't Dance Without You

She is D.I.S.C.O.

Doing overtime today with multiple posts (thanks to my 'secret crush' on Carly Simon), I'm going to keep this post short and sweet with Ottawan's 1979 disco classic "D.I.S.C.O.". I really enjoying the overall "tropical disco" feel to the song, and it's definitely one of those tracks that really grows on you over time. I admit that it took me a little time to get into some of the song's vocals, however over the past few weeks I've started to warm up to them and really get into the entire production. This is probably one of those fun summertime anthem classics that works nicely in those "End of The Summer" disco mixes. ENJOY!

Ottawan - D.I.S.C.O.

An 'After-Dark' Classic

I'm going to use this 'sexy' photo shoot of Carly Simon in the 1980 November issue of After-Dark to reveal my favorite track by the Pop artist with her 1982 dance classic "Why" which was written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic.

And on a side note, vintage 1970's and early 1980's issues of After-Dark have easily become my favorite magazine to read since discovering them only a few months back.

Anyways, enjoy my guilty pleasure post.

Carly Simon - Why (12" Extended Mix)

Last Night STUDIO! Photos!!!

Last Night = Hot Bodies, Erotic Disco, & Lots of Love Dancin'!!!

See all the photos here

See You Next Wednesday!