Episodes
Sunday Apr 15, 2018
Cha-Cha Allegro
Sunday Apr 15, 2018
Sunday Apr 15, 2018
I went record shopping in Canada. These days, I prefer supporting economies other than the United States whenever possible. So then a rousing “Bon Jour!” to Canucks Boulie Noire, New City Jam Band, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Baron Longfellow, Wall of Steel and Toulouse. I’ve featured the Quebec trio Toulouse before from their debut that was recorded first in French then again in English. This is from their last, and—no surprise, really—they’ve run out of gas. I do like the uninspiringly titled “Dancing Shoes” for its bluesy opening and its unabashed stealing from “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” a sound more people should have pilfered. Wall of Steel’s “Super Queen” is an undiscovered classic piece of existential disco. I find nothing about them, and I’d love to uncover more. Baron Longfellow entered the pop world as Andy Kim—he who scored with “Rock Me Gently” and who wrote “Sugar, Sugar”—and changed his name for a second try at pop success in his homeland. Ron Dante, the voice on the Archie’s version, also did a disco version of “Sugar, Sugar” that was produced by Barry Manilow. It’s disturbingly bad.
Another strain informing this set is disco pop—the aforementioned Longfellow serenade, as well as cuts from New City Jam Band and Chocoalt’s. I love them all, and it proves you can get just as funky at 3 minutes and under as you can at 9 and over. We also have hard rock disco provided by Pegasus (amazing album cover on that one) and Kid Brother. I knew nothing about them, and when I found the disc filed under disco, I thought it was a mistake. I took a chance, and I’m glad I did. Macho-boy misogyny aside (and how many records can you name where the lead singer in a histrionic fit threatens to slap a woman?), this is admirably hysterical—the missing link between “I Was Made for Loving You” and “Look What the Cat Dragged In.” The album tips its hand with a cut called “Rosco Music” (as in rock-disco). It’s no “Dazz” (or even “Dusic”), but it does go into a break that sounds like Giorgio Moroder having his way with Motley Crüe. Be on the lookout for it in a future podcast. I’ll toss French prog nutjobs (they shave their heads and spray themselves silver) Les Rockets in the hard rock bucket as well; fans of the podcast have already heard the album version of this (titled “Futur Woman,” which I prefer). This is the 12-inch version which I only recently uncovered (in Canada). It’s commercialized a bit for the dancefloor, but still a winner, even with the final E.
Which brings us to the truly weird stuff. “Dancing Free” is either brilliant or completely inept. I’ve been aware of it for a while, but only really listened to it as part of Al Kent’s essential The Men in the Glass Booth set. It’s growing on me, but man is it out there. Shirley Stringham (who?) tries to out Summer La Donna. She doesn’t win that match-up, but we do learn on “I Hate It” that she sucks at grammar (or at least syntax) and that at some point her man stopped eating asparagus. Finally, I am mad for Smokey, an L.A. musician who was so gay that he couldn’t get a record deal, even though his visionary self-released singles are as good as anything else out there. He played with a lot of top musicians, had a residency at Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco, and was championed by a closeted Elton John. “DTNA” sounds like the great lost Velvet Underground disco record. Amazing.
Why Can’t We Live Together? – Kongas ’82 π Dancing Free – Hot Ice ’76 π Il Me Faut Une Femme – Boulie Noir ’79 π I Hate It – Shirley Stringham ’76 π Super Queen – Wall of Steel ’75 π DTNA – Smokey ’78 π Tell Me Another One – Kid Brother ’79 π Fly – Pegasus ’77 π Sugar, Sugar – Baron Longfellow ’80 π Lazy Love – New City Jam Band ’75 π I Can’t Survive – Chocolat’s ’78 π Future Woman – Les Rockets ’76 π Dancing Shoes – Toulouse ’80 π Scorpion Flower – Lafayette Afro Rock Band ’75
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