The Pointer Sisters released this 12" in 1978 on Planet Records. It has a stunning intro and is simply a solid track start to finish. Production by Richard Perry. "Happiness" isn't a pricey record by any means, but it is one that moves the floor.

Happiness

Trilark was the cloud city steazed vocal trio brainchild of Crown Heights Affair masterminds Ray Reid and William Anderson. Another treasure from 1982, (I know I keep harping on this year, next week promise I will be on some 1979 heat) the quite rare Trilark LP was a collection of mid tempo modern soul jams. The more accessible single "Love Never Looked Better" is a decent track but not up to par with some of the other material on the record in my opinion. My favorite joint is "Check It Out". I just picture an early 80's beach front soul porno shot with some dusted old film stock whenever I hear this one. This shit is just too smooth. Check It Out:

Trilark - Check It Out

Partytime records was a spin off label of the legendary Streetwise record label, Arthur Baker's brain child where he served as chief a&r and talent scout. He had a good ear and always heeded my advice and for this he was rewarded loot and immortality. Partytime was a reasonably self descriptive name for the sublabel, it's output was exclusively dance floor heavey although varying from synthy modern soul to electro hip hop in genre.

These are my two favorite cuts from Partytime. Pushe's Don't Take Your Love Away, and Citispeak's I Don't Need Your Handouts. Both are synth laden uptempo boogie, of the sort which has tended to make up the lion's share of my set recently, one female vocal led and the other male. I heard the Jeanne Harris vocal described as 'sour', but thats part of it's charm:

Citispeak - I Don't Need Your Handouts
Pushe - Don't Take Your Love Away

One of disco music's eternal questions may soon be answered. The Rover's sole mission is to answer this question. While The Mars Rover is an amazing feat of engineering, it is full of aesthetic deficiencies. Although I like the Johnny #5 head, the body looks a lot more like an insect than a vehicle. I also think the rover would probably be more functional with a robot sidekick that has arms and legs. The new moon rover that has the ill conceived name "Chariot" got it right with gold leaf trim. All we can wish for is some 12" triple gold Daytons on that sucker.

Life On Mars was a concept album that was written an produced by Philadelphia native Dexter Wansel in 1976. He was a Philly Sound pioneer and produced for such acts as: Teddy Pendergrass, Phyllis Hyman, The Jacksons, and Patti Labelle. Dexter produced several albums in the Jazz Funk genre with a sound that is equally split between Herbie Hankock's Thrust album and disco floor burners of the era.

Dexter Wansel - Life On Mars

A man of many talents, Lalo Schifrin covers this 1951 Les Baxter original bringing it to new heights with a touch of exotic funk.

Lalo Schifrin: Quiet Village

First off, let me introduce my column for BE which will be called Raw Boogie. This is micro genre I've been cultivating for the last 5 years or so, consisting of self released and usually self produced boogie joints made by local artists from all around the world. Most of the popular music from the post disco era (1982 - 1989) is notorious for having skin tight session players and uber slick production. Bands such as Slave, The Whispers, Evelyn Champagne King, etc fall into this category.

In stark contrast to the sound of the major label's elite comes the unsigned & under paid suitors seeking their claims to the boogie throne. Writing, recording, and releasing their own funk upon the world, the unisigned artists would often record in home or homie studios, with little to no budget. Most of the Raw Boogie tunes I've found were completely ignored and/or shunned by the music industry, creating a vast underground of obscure and dope funk only to be appreciated by future generations.

Raw Boogie Vol 1:

SUMY "Soul With Milk" - (taken from the LP Trying To Survive, Galaxy records 1983)




Most of the groups we'll bring up in this micro genre will be hailing from the USA, however Sumy was self releasing his music in Amsterdam. Sumy was born in Surinam, a country known largely for being one of four non spanish speaking nations in S. America, and for having a population 1/2 the size of myself and BT Magnum's hometown of Milwaukee, WI.

The young, arrogant Sumy started his own scene quickly after relocating to Amsterdam. There he created his own band, The Freaky Thangs. Mainly white dudes who wore star trek gear and porno hair. Sumy himself liked to wear leg warmers on his arms. With this crew he released two singles which were released by Phillips. After these two releases Sumy began preparing his full length LP, "Trying To Survive. Low funds and lack of equipment led Sumy to record most of the LP in his home, using a barrage of funky synths and his own wit to complete the project. He also enlisted a few friends, including a couple members of the group American Gipsy, aka the band who made the break beat classic "Inside Out".

"Trying To Survive" eventually saw release on Sumy's own imprint, Galaxy Records. An album safely 30 years ahead of it's time, "Trying To Survive" included many nice jams such as "Bitch, We Danced A Lot", "Where Were You Last Night (Sexy Lady)", and the tour de force in "Soul With Milk".

Not sure what the saying "Soul With Milk" is supposed to stand for or suggest, but the lyrics are all about clubbing and chasing girls. The beat floats in and out of open high hat disco and hard hitting funk, and the bass is pure synth. The home made acoustics, low budget mixing and dub effects truly make this standout as a low fi masterpiece when compared to other tunes which were seeing release in 1982. On top of the music, the album cover is also very home made and iconic in it's own way. The art layout is also credited to Fuck You Inc, and to this day it is the only LP I've ever seen in which the producer humbly apologizes for the recording quality in the liner notes.

Sumy is currently living in Amsterdam and plays out on a regular basis.

- Disco Tom Noble

Sumy - Soul With Milk

I found all these old Chicago party flyers on Devastating Dennis's myspace page, I must have downloaded about twenty or so. They are reminiscent of that time around the mid or late eighties when I first started to notice aesthetic, or soak it in at least, and the DIY style of the time reminds me of the cheaper small skateboard company ad's I would cut out and collect. I couldn't afford imported new wavey skateboard gear, and I didn't go to late eighties house raves and the tune I'm posting isn't even from Chicago (I think it originates from Michigan) but the spirit is still the same, so with that fine segue...on to Carmen's Time To Move!

I now share with you one of my most favorite 7"s that I own.  It fills me with happiness and I can pretend I am in a different place and time, maybe with the potentially fictitious female named Lori....and chameleons too (I had one once named Charlie).

Lori & The Chameleons - Touch

In the dawn of the 80's the sound and culture of dance music shifted much as it had in the mid 70's. Just as disco grew out of funk, boogie morphed out of the disco sound. Boogie really was the perfect blend of the two genres. Much like disco it was more oriented towards the dancefloor and like funk it was a touch more raw and soulful. 1982 was the year it all gained cohesion, the pinnacle of dance music. This track is a prime example of Boogie's sublime evolution. 


The brainchild of producer/songwriter Donald "Dee Dee" Burnside, First Love were a 4 piece female vocal group formed in 1979. The group released their first single on Dakar in 1980 and switched over to the tiny CBS sub label Chycago International Music for 1981's excellent "It's a Mystery to Me". "Party Lights" would follow in '82 and prove to be the group's finest lazer soul entry. The reverb drenched vocals sit nicely over the gated snare hits, wicked synth lines and an out of order guitar break. I included an edit by Liquid Pegasus. Obviously he had a lot of strong material to work with, but he manages to make an edit thats pretty enjoyable to listen to on its own accord.

First Love - Party Lights

First Love - Party Lights (Liquid Pegasus Edit)

Fonda Rae, the Deputy of Love sang this track for Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band in 1979. She later sang on hits by Kid Creole and the Coconuts and Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael's group Wish before putting out releases under her own name. This is a soulful, funky jam that has a tongue and cheek vocal delivery and a classic disco stomp. David sent us a housy remixfor you to enjoy as well.

Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band - Deputy Of Love
BC Crew - The Deputy

"For The Same Man" is simply an excellent release from 1983 on 25 West Records. Written by Libby McLaren, Matt Noble and Rebecca Rifkin, this song is made for dancing.

For The Same Man (Nasty Version)