Disco Lab #43: The Salsoul Orchestra, ‘New Year’s Medley’ (1976) As George Harrison memorably sang, “Ring out the old, ring in the new.” So let’s ring out the end of ten months of obsessive dance record reviews from the still-sparkling … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #42: Charo, ‘(Mamacita) ¿Donde Está Santa Claus?'(1978) It’s Christmas Eve in the Disco Lab! We’ve got tinsel on the turntables, spangles on the speakers, and poinsettias on the playback gear. There’s only one thing missing, the fat man … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #41: Kurtis Blow, ‘Christmas Rappin’’ (1979) It’s the Christmas season, and what better time of year to celebrate the birth of… hip hop? Today’s Disco Lab treatise looks into “Christmas Rappin’,” the second major hip hop record ever … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #40: Universal Robot Band, ‘Disco Christmas’ (1977) Disco meets comedy! Or rather, they meet again. The great part about disco was that you could overlay those long sections of dance beats with just about anything: sound effects (Meco’s … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #39: Santa’s Disco Band – ‘Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town’ (1977) Lights! Glitter! Music! Excitement! Alcohol! If you think about it, the happy and productive marriage of disco and the holiday season was inevitable. The formula was … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #38: Donna Summer – ‘I Feel Love’ (1977) If you’d told my teenaged self, weaned on respectable rock and pop, that my favorite record of all time would be a Donna Summer song, I’d have laughed cynically. Yet … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #37: Ohio Players – ‘Jive Turkey’ (1974) Thanks for heading over the river and through the woods to the Disco Lab this week! With Thanksgiving on the way, it’s time to put some turkey in the oven. Though … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #36: Sister Sledge – ‘Lost In Music’ (1979) Regardless of the results, good news: the election’s over! (At least I hope it is, hanging chads notwithstanding.) I think all of us could use some therapy at this point. … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #35: Gloria Gaynor – ‘I Will Survive’ (1978) In case you haven’t heard, it’s election day on Tuesday. No matter who wins, a lot of people will be bummed out that their candidate lost. And given the unpopularity … Continue reading →
Disco Lab #34 (Halloween Edition): Menage – ‘Alien’ (1979) Here’s a curious trend in disco music: dance remakes of science-fiction movie themes. In 1977 Meco had a hit single (and album) with the theme from Star Wars (or Star Wars: … Continue reading →