they weren't disco but they went disco s/d

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the best of these miscreats?

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:18 (twenty years ago)

like, what do you think of curtis mayfields disco records?

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:18 (twenty years ago)

better than barbra streisand's and ethel merman's disco records. not to mention rod stewart, the beach boys, cher, dolly parton, engelbert humperdinck, andy williams, shirley bassey, helen reddy.
but not as good as james brown's disco records or johnnie taylor's "disco lady."

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:26 (twenty years ago)

LOVE FUCKING HANGOVER. BEST THING DIANA ROSS EVER DID AND THE BEST DISCO SONG EVER BITCHES.

― Mr. Snrub, Friday, 1 October 2004 12:29 (twenty years ago)

you don't like here comes the night lovebug?

but, yeah. what ARE the good ones?

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:34 (twenty years ago)

of course Snrub! I the rest of her period work of equal quality? recommend me some other Diana disco i should catch.

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:36 (twenty years ago)

That's the only one I know by her.

― Mr. Snrub, Friday, 1 October 2004 12:39 (twenty years ago)

Nah, The Only One I Know is by The Charlatans.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:44 (twenty years ago)

For fun: Going Disco: S&D?

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:45 (twenty years ago)

wow neither this thread nor the other mentioned the BeeGees...

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:48 (twenty years ago)

Smokey Robinson's Big Time theme, from the movie Big Time (he did the soundtrack), is one of my favorite disco tracks of all time. It's an amazing track. 10 minutes (or thereabouts) of bliss.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:50 (twenty years ago)

No one's mentioned The Bee Gees yet.

― Wooden (Wooden), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:52 (twenty years ago)

whoah. yes! shit! I must hear that.

& yes (?) the beegees and what beegees?

(haha sorry mark. yes)

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 October 2004 12:52 (twenty years ago)

I don't really care for the Stones, but "Emotional Rescue" was good white disco.

Also, wasn't Alicia "I Love The Nightlife" Bridges originally a country act?

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Friday, 1 October 2004 13:15 (twenty years ago)

The Rolling Stones
ZZ Top
Olivia Newton-John
Sparks

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 1 October 2004 13:25 (twenty years ago)

the kinks, "(wish i could fly like) superman." haven't heard it in so long, not sure if it's an S or a D.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 1 October 2004 13:40 (twenty years ago)

Cab Calloway did a disco versio of you-know-what, wow

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 1 October 2004 13:45 (twenty years ago)

Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up'

― Graeme (Graeme), Friday, 1 October 2004 13:47 (twenty years ago)

Kiss - "I Was Made for Loving You"

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:12 (twenty years ago)

isn't there a disco version of Pink Floyd's "Another brick in the wall"? or is that a remix?

Queen : "Another one bites the dust"

― phil jones (interstar), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:17 (twenty years ago)

isn't there a disco version of Pink Floyd's "Another brick in the wall"? or is that a remix?

Well, "part two" has a "disco beat". There was a radio-remixed medley floating around in the late `70s, as I remember....but parts 1 and 3 are particularly discoey/danceable.

Rod Stewart - "Do You Think I'm Sexy?"

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago)

Beach Boys - Here Comes the Night (12" Version)

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago)

Blondie (arguably, I'm sure.)

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago)

Blondie (arguably, I'm sure.)

Hmmm. Why would this be arguable? They certainly didn't start off as a disco act.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:22 (twenty years ago)

blondie totally!!!

i find it fascinating that bowie DIDN'T go disco.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:24 (twenty years ago)

i dont think got to give it up is a disco record, per se. i know marvin wanted to make a record for the disco clubs but its not a disco record like get up offa that thing for instance.

anyway, some artists that went or rather 'did' some disco and went pretty shit when they did:

isley brothers
curtis mayfield
herbie hancock
james brown
sly stone
EWF

there's tons.

i find it funny that so many rockers at the time were allegedly anti disco but a million post punks and new wavers integrated disco into their sound and nobody seemed to mind.

bowie did toy with disco rhythms on several songs.

― splooge (thesplooge), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:25 (twenty years ago)

Petula Clark did a full-on discofied version of Downtown which is called "Downtown '77" or something like that. There's a "Downtown '88" too but I haven't heard it. I hope it's either a stripped back Acid House jam or a jangly pop thing produced by Ian Broudie, but most likely it's firmly in Stock, Aitken & Waterman land.

― everything, Friday, 1 October 2004 14:29 (twenty years ago)

bowie did toy with disco rhythms on several songs.

but he never came close to making an "emotional rescue" or a "do ya think i'm sexy" or a "heart of glass." he never made an actual disco song. at least not that i can think of.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:29 (twenty years ago)

Bowie's "DJ" counts as disco, it's got that bon-bow-bon-bow bass line thingy and lyrics about "dancin".

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:33 (twenty years ago)

im trying to think onf any disco-y songs on station to station (does stay count at all?), lodger or scary monsters. i think he incorporated disco into his music seamlessly. he didnt need to do a full on miss you or heart of glass or do ya think im sexy.

― splooge (thesplooge), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:36 (twenty years ago)

Can: I Want More - CLASSIC
Kraftwerk: Trans Europe Express onwards - CLASSIC

― Jedermann sein eigener Fussball (Dada), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:39 (twenty years ago)

isley brothers
curtis mayfield
herbie hancock
james brown
sly stone
EWF

so where there ANY good tracks on these guys disco records?
i mean standouts?

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:40 (twenty years ago)

Bowie snuck electro into "Let's Dance" and you never even noticed it, dude.

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:40 (twenty years ago)

Going disco in reverse: Bryan Adams's first single, "Let Me Take You Dancing," was supposedly created by the record company, who lifted his vocal from his original ballad version, sped it up to helium-inflated proportions and slid a disco track underneath it, all supposedly without his knowledge.
It stunk, but I imagine a ballad version of that song would be even worse.

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:41 (twenty years ago)

People...."Fame"? "Young Americans"? "1984"? Listen to the strings and wah-wah on that last track? Bowie totally discoed out.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:48 (twenty years ago)

"Fame" = more funk, obv., but close enough.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:50 (twenty years ago)

funk, soul, and torch song

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:50 (twenty years ago)

i think "stay" may be closer than either "dj" or "let's dance." but, yeah, bowie definitely incorporated disco and electro and lots and lots of other things seamlessly into his music. but that's not the same as going disco.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:51 (twenty years ago)

Abba - CLASSIC
PiL - CLASSIC

― Didoismus (Dada), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:53 (twenty years ago)

sorry for the late reply: blondie, arguably - because I assumed someone would argue, although I couldn't think of a sound reason why.

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:53 (twenty years ago)

"1984" is completely a disco track, my friends. Gloomy, paranoid and apocalyptic? Sure, but it's still disco. And it's magnificent.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:54 (twenty years ago)

re: "Fame" - the odd slicing hi-hat does not disco make.

"Young Americans" - soul song, not disco.

"1984" - yep! first thing i thought when i heard it. its got shaft like wah wah, which i actually hate, and wish werent there, but the hi hat rhythm is all the way disco.

― splooge (thesplooge), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:54 (twenty years ago)

i dont hate shaft like guitar lines on principle, i just think it sounds wrong on 1984.

― splooge (thesplooge), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:55 (twenty years ago)

dammit, must go and listen to "1984" when i get home tonight.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:56 (twenty years ago)

re: "Fame" - the odd slicing hi-hat does not disco make.

"Young Americans" - soul song, not disco.

Yeah, both true....but surely soul and funk aren't that far a reach from disco. And Bowie was definetely dressing the polyester part circa those numbers.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:57 (twenty years ago)

"isley brothers
curtis mayfield
herbie hancock
james brown
sly stone
EWF
so where there ANY good tracks on these guys disco records?
i mean standouts?"

hmmmm, i dunno. i mean i like boogie wonderland, i think EWF pulled it off pretty well. but for everyone of those, you get the awful body heat or get up offa that thing by JB, which were just horrid. even parliament-funkadelic did some bad disco-y things, whether it was under their own names or their offshoots. i wish i could think of some song titles right now but im not at home so cant look (or remember, really).

― splooge (thesplooge), Friday, 1 October 2004 14:58 (twenty years ago)

Search- Bruce Johnston's Pipeline

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 1 October 2004 15:01 (twenty years ago)

"Yeah, both true....but surely soul and funk aren't that far a reach from disco. And Bowie was definetely dressing the polyester part circa those numbers."

well over the course of the 70s, you can see how soul and funk (partic. the philly soul sound which bowie was so fond of) ended up mutating into disco. lots of people think disco was simplified, watered down, or horrificallly slicked out funk, but it was also or more so, like massively overblown soul. but soul is as different from disco in my mind as say, punk is from new wave.

the polyester thing does not make bowie a disco don!

― splooge (thesplooge), Friday, 1 October 2004 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Did anyone mention ELO yet?

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 1 October 2004 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Goblin

― Didoismus (Dada), Friday, 1 October 2004 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 17 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Candi Staton's "Victim" even better than "Young Hearts Run Free."

Diana Ross's "Swept Away" is even better than "Love Hangover," if you're willing to count '80s Arthur Baker wet-dream disco as disco, which you damn well should. But I'd dispute Diana's not-disco-but-went-disco status, since disco somewhat starts as a bunch of guys dancing all night to the Supremes on Fire Island, so her "going disco" is just like riding the Missouri into the Mississippi, flowing with the flow.

Presumably whatever the nondisco that Manu Dibangu was doing pre-"Soul Makossa" would qualify him.

And if you'll count neo-'80s-Flashdance-DOR dance wailers as disco, then LeAnn Rimes scores for a whole bunch of stuff, "Tic Toc" and "Can't Fight the Moonlight" (remix, obv.) better than "How Do I Live." (And "No Way Out" better than any of those, but too slow a dance to be disco, I suppose.)

And Streisand for "Enough Is Enough" (which is actually called "No More Tears," which in this sentence is rightly demoted to parens while the previous parenthetical "Enough Is Enough" becomes the fundamental while parodoxically remaining parenthetical as well), and actually I prefer the Gibby "What Kind of Fool," but that's only disco by association. (Speaking of whom, did the Butthole Surfers ever go disco? If not, that was surely only because they forgot to.)

― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:54 (twenty years ago)

And though I love "Emotional Rescue" and like "Miss You," I think the Stones are in disco more by way of the Afro drums in "Sympathy for the Devil" and the cowbell in "Honky Tonk Woman," both of which I'm sure were played by a lot of DJs way back in both the disco and hip-hop whens. Possible future thread: bands that went disco without meaning to. Or has that already been done?

― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:59 (twenty years ago)

The Buttholes went industrial/goth/EBM on "Rembrandt Pussyhorse" but that doesn't count so much, but then again, I haven't bought any of their records past "Pioughed" so what do I know?

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:05 (twenty years ago)

how many jazz musicians did the disco-instrumental! i don't mean just as session players. i feel like i've seen a few long-forgotten 1970s lps by jazz stars going disco...

"miss you" sounds like a bar band playing disco (not that i dislike it).

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:06 (twenty years ago)

Frank, the Buttholes had a dancey side-project called the Jack Officers who had an album called Digital Dump in about 1990. Never felt the urge to hear it though.

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:07 (twenty years ago)

Possible future thread: bands that went disco without meaning to.

This almost counts: Information Society were Devo-esque performance artists when they unexpectedly had a club hit with "Running", at which point they transformed themselves into a slick synth-pop act.

An alternate thread (if it hasn't been done yet) could be: Bands and/or songs that are funky without trying to be. (i.e. "Tom Sawyer" - Rush)

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:08 (twenty years ago)

"Enough Is Enough" (which is actually called "No More Tears," which in this sentence is rightly demoted to parens while the previous parenthetical "Enough Is Enough" becomes the fundamental while parodoxically remaining parenthetical as well)

Couldn't agree more. That's one of those song titles where someone needed to make a decision, damnit. No more waffling!

― Bimble (bimble), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:10 (twenty years ago)

what about "get up (i feel like being a) sex machine"?!?!?!

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:11 (twenty years ago)

"Miss You" (especially the 12-inch version) tops "Emotional Rescue," which I also love.

A terrific JB track that isn't getting enough attention on this thread is "It's Too Funky in Here." "A little air freshener under the drums!"

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 1 October 2004 22:32 (twenty years ago)

Does the Grateful Dead's "Shakedown Street" count?

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 1 October 2004 22:36 (twenty years ago)

(which I like, btw)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 1 October 2004 22:36 (twenty years ago)

disco=dance is a fallacy statement.

― baronzen (cs appleby), Saturday, 2 October 2004 05:34 (twenty years ago)

Donovan has a song called "Earth Sign Man" from the album Cosmic Wheels that is sortof like country music for about half the song and then suddenly, BLAM! He goes Disco. Surprisingly it works out just fine, ass shakin' mirror ball groove and all that. But the odd thing is the album is from 1973. How did he end up doing disco in 1973?!?!

― Bimble (bimble), Saturday, 2 October 2004 07:05 (twenty years ago)

visionary donovan, wannee?

― gaz (gaz), Saturday, 2 October 2004 07:08 (twenty years ago)

"Dancin' Fool"

― weather1ngda1eson (Brian), Saturday, 2 October 2004 07:33 (twenty years ago)

how many jazz musicians did the disco-instrumental! i don't mean just as session players. i feel like i've seen a few long-forgotten 1970s lps by jazz stars going disco...

Lalo Schifrin! His "Black Widow" is a great jazz-disco LP, especially his version of theme from "Jaws", complete with massive strings and a killer flute solo from Hubert Laws.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Saturday, 2 October 2004 09:16 (twenty years ago)

the rapture

― ana (ana), Saturday, 2 October 2004 11:27 (twenty years ago)

astrid gilberto went disco - there's a painful disco version of the girl from ipanema on a 'best of' cd that my brother picked up in orlando.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Saturday, 2 October 2004 13:05 (twenty years ago)

The only reason the Streisand song used "No More Tears" as the main title and "Enough Is Enough" as the parenthetical was that she wanted every song title on the album to have a water reference. That whole first stanza ("it's raining, it's pouring ...") was kind of an afterthought to the song IIRC.

And since I can't go three posts without mentioning the Jefferson Starship, I'll throw their bizarre "Love Lovely Love" into the mix. The backing vox are downright spooky on that one. Just as well that Marty Balin never dipped back into that pool again.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Saturday, 2 October 2004 14:31 (twenty years ago)

The Ventures went from cool surf rock and the Hawaii 5-O theme to performing disco versions of "Suicide Is Painless".

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Saturday, 2 October 2004 15:24 (twenty years ago)

astrid gilberto went disco - there's a painful disco version of the girl from ipanema on a 'best of' cd that my brother picked up in orlando.

I have that version, and I kinda like it. It's proven to be great for my DJ gigs, because I love to play "The Girl from Ipanema", but the original versions by Mr. and Mrs. Gilberto are too bossa nova to work on the dancefloor.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 3 October 2004 12:29 (twenty years ago)

what counts as Curtis Mayfield's disco records? Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here (fave Mayfield track after If There's A Hell Below)? Soul Music (which i also love)?

― stevie (stevie), Sunday, 3 October 2004 13:21 (twenty years ago)

mayfield didnt do any disco songs until the late 70s if i remember right. he did some not very nice disco records with linda clifford too. i dont think soul music counts.

― splooge (thesplooge), Sunday, 3 October 2004 13:52 (twenty years ago)

yeah those mayfield/clifford things are total snoozers

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 3 October 2004 22:51 (twenty years ago)

Wings' "Goodnight Tonight", and then later, McCartney dueting with Michael Jackson on "Say Say Say" (but that latter one may have been a bit too late to be truly disco)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 October 2004 00:05 (twenty years ago)

say say say is not disco by 1,000 miles (ok, maybe 876 miles)

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Monday, 4 October 2004 00:21 (twenty years ago)

id say this is curtis disco record

http://www.damacmusic.com/acatalog/curtis-mayfield-do-it-all-night.jpg

and maybe this

http://ubl.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/drd300/d356/d3569119gjk.jpg

fuck i like that cover

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 4 October 2004 04:31 (twenty years ago)

definitely NOT short eyes

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 4 October 2004 04:32 (twenty years ago)

But do they really sound disco those records? I haven't heard or seen them until now. Neato to look at.

― Bimble (bimble), Monday, 4 October 2004 06:28 (twenty years ago)

yes indeed.

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 4 October 2004 06:29 (twenty years ago)

he made a record with bunny sigler i think...i haven't heard it.

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 4 October 2004 06:30 (twenty years ago)

i'm kind of interested in how "serious" black artists went disco. and the critical reception.

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 4 October 2004 06:34 (twenty years ago)

also:
arthur russell.

jumped from minimalist comp to disco extravagence.

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 4 October 2004 06:35 (twenty years ago)

Paul Anka!

― Jacob (Jacob), Monday, 4 October 2004 10:48 (twenty years ago)

Interpol with Length of Love. Didn't take them long to get there. And not just disco; line dancing too!

― Stephen Stockwell (Stephen Stockwell), Monday, 4 October 2004 11:46 (twenty years ago)

How about The Clash' "Magnificent Seven" and later "This Is Radio Clash" (plus several "Sandinista" tracks)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 October 2004 12:09 (twenty years ago)

you have a very very broad notion of "disco," geir.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Monday, 4 October 2004 17:42 (twenty years ago)

Magnificent Seven, esp the remix the Magnificent Dance is "leftfield" disco. This is Radio Clash is electro/hip-hop.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 4 October 2004 17:46 (twenty years ago)

Disco had a pretty broad definition of itself, actually.

Those Clash songs fit as well as lots of other stuff on this thread.

― chuck, Monday, 4 October 2004 17:48 (twenty years ago)

chuck do you have disco's number? i think i lost it.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Monday, 4 October 2004 17:50 (twenty years ago)

I mean, you could argue for "Train in Vain" or "Ivan Meets GI Joe" or "Rock the Casbah," too, if you really wanted to, probably. (I'd call them all "dance oriented rock" myself, I guess, but it's not like these categories have objective black-or-white definitions.)

― chuck, Monday, 4 October 2004 17:52 (twenty years ago)

The Call Up is pretty disco-fied.

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 4 October 2004 18:13 (twenty years ago)

what counts as Curtis Mayfield's disco records?

Love Me, Love Me Now -- off Something to Believe In -- is basically a disco tune. It's probably one of my ten favorite Mayfield songs. No social value, very very steamy.

i feel like i've seen a few long-forgotten 1970s lps by jazz stars going disco...

Of course there have been scads (even if they were more funk or weren't explicitly disco, anything remotely club oriented from the era has at least a little connection to it)... first one that comes to mind is Herbie Mann's Super Mann, produced (exclusively?) by Patrick Adams. Unsurprisingly, it would be a lot better without the flute. (Mann was mentioned above.) David Matthews & Whirlwind's Shoogie Wanna Boogie (w/ sunglasses-wearing rhino on cover) has some really silly disco stuff on it. One of the oddest Kudu/CTI records I've heard.

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 4 October 2004 18:29 (twenty years ago)

Lene Lovich actually went disco (on Cerrone and Chi Chi Faveles albums) before she even put out her debut new wave album!

Patrick Adams (= Musique, Freek, etc.) was a genius.

― chuck, Monday, 4 October 2004 18:38 (twenty years ago)

I now love Chuck

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 4 October 2004 18:42 (twenty years ago)

Magnificent Seven is completely a disco song by any definition.

in re chuck's comment of disco having a broad definition of itself, i really enjoyed the section at the end of "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" that listed the playlists at all the different clubs that had been discussed in the book. the range of stuff being played was so much wider than what people exepect than when thinking abt disco.

― H (Heruy), Monday, 4 October 2004 19:50 (twenty years ago)

"played in disco clubs" /= "went disco"

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Monday, 4 October 2004 19:52 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, well, disco had a broad definition of itself on records played at home, too.

― chuck, Monday, 4 October 2004 20:06 (twenty years ago)

i agree, but just want to make sure we don't expand the definition of disco to include anything played at a disco club. i mean, you can if you wanna, but i'm not following you.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 00:31 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

Listening to James Brown's The Original Disco Man on Spotify right now. Most of it's not even disco at all, but the title track is disco'ed the fuck out and ridiculous fun.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 20 October 2014 20:05 (ten years ago)

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