The Breaks (1983) S/T (LP) RCA 4675

January 21, 2017January 22, 2017 / Winch / Leave a comment

The Breaks

The Breaks

1983

RCA 4675

produced by Vini Poncia

***

This one’s only for fans with a huge penchant for 80s pop-rock fronted by female vocalists, but if that’s your bag, this set is worth a listen, features an LA new-wave sound with the band’s Tennessee roots showing–especially in Susanne’s vocals. This Memphis outfit was fronted by the Taylor siblings, Susanne Jerome the cutie on vocals (and made into a new wave southern belle sexpot on the “She Wants You” video.)

img_9172-1

While she has her right hand firmly planted in the pocket of her cute 80s skirt on the album sleeve, she appears to be flipping the bird. That about says it all, LA trying to make her into a 80s pop tart, but this Memphis girl showing her roots with that twang and attitude in her voice, that grin on her face and that middle finger firmly planted in her pocket.

Most of the songs are written by the Taylor siblings, the set produced by Vini Poncia (Ringo’s songwriting partner through most of the 70s). Apparently the rest of the band is made up of siblings, Rob and Russ Caudill providing the rhythm section, and keyboardist Tom Ward showing up on song credits with a D. Ward. The first side stays upbeat and fairly cute and enjoyable with an 80s power-pop sound, and then after the opener “Wishy Washy,” Side Two–for better or worse depending on the listener–sticks with the ballads and sounds like the party’s over. And likely the party was over because this is apparently the only album by this outfit.

— winch (author of

links to sellers:

Bleached (2013) Ride Your Heart (LP) Dead Oceans Records (DOC082)

January 9, 2017January 9, 2017 / Winch / Leave a comment

Bleached

Ride Your Heart

Dead Oceans Records (DOC082)

Produced by Rob Barbato

**** recommended

Debut long player from this LA outfit, the band described at this point as sisters Jennifer and Jessica Calvin, all songs and most of the playing credited to the pair.

The sound clearly has a California feel, mixing many styles from the past: the garage, surf, and dreamy girl group of the sixties, the power pop and lots of Blondie of the 70s, the sonic of punk and the 90s mixed with a bit of the girl-group revival and pop rock of the 80s, even a bit of exotica (and maybe the hillbilly) of the 50s–for example Jessica adding lap steel to the Bo Diddley beat on “Guy Like You.”

For fans of sonic pop music, this debut set is worth a listen.

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— winch (author of

Beatles (1967) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (LP) Capitol

August 16, 2016 / Winch / Leave a comment

Beatles

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

1967

noteworthy ***

Overplayed and overrated Beatles set, the second time the Beatles helped ruin American music. The first time was in 1964 when they arrived with their watered-down version of American R&B, lame covers or lame originals. They were like the Osmonds of the 60s.

The Osmonds were a white version of Motown’s The Jackson Five. We couldn’t have our white girls creaming in their jeans over a bunch of colored brothers from Gary, Indiana, or any of those colored folks from Motown so along came the Osmonds.

Things were much more serious in 1964. For the first time, white people were buying black music by the truck load. So they brought over the Beatles who almost single-handedly managed to destroy one of the greatest times in American Music. In the post-Beatles world, we’ve never had anything that has come close to the early 60s.

In ’64, we not only had the blacks, but we had white folks playing black music with gesto, classic garage that actually rocked, folks like Dick Dale and Link Wray, a bunch of punk kids having a blast, and the black folks fusing hard bop with the grooves of R&B and world influences (long before the Beatles), and then you had the real R&B.

I was just listening to Shorty Long do his 1964 original “Devil in a Blue Dress.” Now that’s a classic. Like so many others, that should have been a hit.

But the Beatles arrived with crap like “Love Me Do,”…then years later “And in the end / the love you take / is equal to the love / you make,” or something like that. Barf-O-rama. That makes me want to punch someone in the face. That is so dated and dimwitted. And in between that, we got this set, just when we were getting the groove going again in ’66.

Sure, this is a decent set, and the Osmonds comment was mostly to make a point and piss people off, stir up the pot, to start some conversations. I put Pepper in the Good Shit inventory, called it noteworthy, but it’s not that great, and the influence it had on American music wasn’t all good. Since the Beatles couldn’t even put on a decent show, this marked the time when they gave up even trying. It’s one thing to steal American black music and call it your own; it’s another thing to dress it up in a uniform and send it to private school. This album took the wild abandonment of R&B, and made it tame and educated. You can do that with a lot of things and I won’t cause a stink.

But you shouldn’t do that to rock ‘n roll.

— winch

“I wish Sgt. Pepper had never taught the band to play.” –the Dictators

Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band Meets King Penett (1978) RCA (AFL1-2402)

August 1, 2016 / Winch / 5 Comments

Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band

Meets King Penett

RCA (AFL1-2402)

1978

Producer: Stony Browder, Jr.

Rating: **** (Recommended)

This NYC outfit was primed for continued success but with this second album, they pulled further back into their own thing and offered more focus on acoustic instrumentation. This is quite similar to the debut, except with less of the blatant disco elements. All this didn’t help this group commercially, but it certainly helped create another timeless set.

While this again mixes all kinds of styles from the past and takes plenty of risks, it’s also quite cohesive. Some have pointed out an experimental quality to this album, but the songs are also accessible pop music. This blending of pop styles must have had an influence on other artists.

While the instrumentations come from many sources, Cory Daye’s wonderful vocals are at the front of much of the material, and the influence this band had on vocalist Sade is especially clear on this album. Of course, this is a bit more playful and considerably more interesting.

And the influences go beyond the obvious.

While Quincy Jones likely had an influence on this music, this band probably also inspired Mr. Jones. And I can’t help wonder if we would have had Purple Rain without albums such as this one. Rain is a completely different album, but both sets have an ambitious and adventurous quality, and both run through a variety of sounds while still sounding cohesive.

While this didn’t sell well, and even today some might find this set a disappointment after their classic debut, this still has plenty of charm. In fact, it has charm to spare.

It’s a set you could play for your great-grandma or your teenage daughter, and you’d probably get grins from both of them. It’s another fine example of their neo-retro pop music.

— winch

Stoney Browder, Jr.: production, music, vocals, guitar, piano

August Darnell: lyrics, vocals, bass

Cory Daye: vocals

Mickey Sevilla: drums

Andy Hernandez: vibes, marimba, accordion

Orchestrations: Jimmy Haskell & Van Alexander

Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band (1976) RCA (AFL1-1504)

August 1, 2016 / Winch / Leave a comment

Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band

Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band

RCA (AFL1-1504)

1976

Producer: Sandy Linzer

Rating: **** (Recommended)

Probably the most charming group of the disco era, this outfit formed in the Bronx and fused 30s dance-band music with the disco sound of the 70s. Others attempted to take disco in similar directions, but nobody pulled it off like this band. While some songs clearly fit into the disco category, elements of the older styles are dominant in others. It’s definitely one of a kind.

— winch

Stony Browder Jr. wrote much of the music, helped with the vocals, played guitar and piano. August Darnell wrote most of the lyrics, helped with vocals and played bass. Cory Daye was the lead female vocalist. Other members included Mickey Sevilla (drums), Andy Hernandez (vibes), and Don Armando Bonilla (percussion).

Martha: Courting Strong (LP) 2014

April 26, 2015August 1, 2016 / Winch / Leave a comment

2014
Salinas Records (Detroit)
**** (Recommended)

UK anarcho pop, self-described straight-edge, which makes sense, not because this has a HC SE sound, but rather because it has a refreshing bright-eyed non-stoner clarity. I like it.

— winch

http://www.eight-track.com

Mark & Suzann Farmer: We’ve Been There (LP) 1978

February 19, 2015February 19, 2015 / Winch / 1 Comment

Mark & Suzann Farmer

We’ve Been There

MSJ Records
1978
Produced and arranged by Mark Farmer

Rating: *** (Noteworthy)

This has plenty of variety and a few enjoyable cuts (even a homosexual version of Frankie & Johnny that out of place and that gays will likely find offensive or endearing), but the centerpiece is clearly the dreamy version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”

After listening to thousands and thousands of songs, I’d place this album’s version of “Dreams” in the top 100.

— winch

http://www.amazon.com/Winch/e/B00MGBTVLU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1424322302&sr=8-1

http://www.eight-track.com/Eight_Track_Publishing.php

The Best of Bacharach

June 15, 2014June 15, 2014 / Winch / Leave a comment

the best of bacharach

The three greatest things about the swingin’ 60s:
miniskirts, 2-piece bathing suits, and Burt Bacharach.

(Hats off to Hal as well. Hal David went with Burt Bacharach like a smack on your honey’s rump.)

The marriage of pop and lounge had never sounded like this before. And it would never sound this good again. If you’re going to leave me on an island with only three things, leave me something to eat, someone to love and this collection of Bacharach songs.

selective discography
selected by winch

CHRONOLOGICAL

“Baby, It’s You“(Bacharach-David-Williams)
The Shirelles (New Jersey) Scepter 1227A (1961)

“Outside My Window” (Hal David-Sherman Edwards)

The Fleetwoods (Olympia, Washington)

Dolton 15B (1961)

“Please Stay” (Hilliard- Bacharach)
The Drifters (NYC) Atlantic 2105 (1961)

“Any Day Now” (B. Hilliard – B. Bacharach)
Chuck Jackson (South Carolina/Pittsburgh)
Wand 122 (1962)

“Waiting For Charlie to Come Home”
(Hilliard-Bacharach)
Etta James (L.A.) Argo 5409B (1962)

“It’s Love That Really Counts” (Bacharach-David)
The Shirelles (New Jersey) Scepter 1237B (1962)

“Make It Easy on Yourself” (Bacharach-David)
Jerry Butler (Chicago) VeeJay 451A (1962)

“(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” (Bacharach-David)
Sandie Shaw (England) Reprise 0320A (1964)

“In the Land of Make Believe” (Bacharach-David)
“Let the Music Play” (Bacharach-David)
The Drifters (NYC)
Under the Boardwalk Atlantic 8099 (1964)

“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
“Wishin’ and Hopin’” (Bacharach-David)
“I Smiled Yesterday” (Bacharach-David)
Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Make Way For… Scepter (1964)

“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
Aretha Franklin (Detroit) Columbia (1964)

“Wishin’ and Hopin’” (Bacharach-David)
Dusty Springfield (London)
Phillips 40207A (1964)

“Trains & Boats & Planes” (Bacharach-David)
“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
Burt Bacharach (Kansas City/NYC)
Plays the Hits Kapp 3577 (1965)

“Trains & Boats & Planes” (Bacharach-David) /
“Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” (Bacharach-David)Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Scepter 12153A (1966)

“The Last One to Be Loved” (Bacharach-David)
“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
Gabor Szabo (Budapest, Hungary)
Gypsy ’66 Impulse 9105 (1966)

“What the World Needs Now” (Bacharach-David)
Wes Montgomery (Indianapolis)
Tequila Verve (1966)

“My Little Red Book” (Bacharach-David)
Love (L.A.) Elektra 45603 (1966)

“My Little Red Book” (Bacharach-David)
The Standells (L.A.)
Why Pick on Me New Tower 5044 (1966)

“A Message to Michael” (Bacharach-David)
Les McCann (Kentucky)
Plays the Hits Limelight 86041 (1966)

“They Don’t Give Medals (To Yesterday’s Heroes)”(Bacharach – David)
sandwiched with monologues (Rawls)
Lou Rawls (Chicago)
That’s Lou Capital 2756 (1967)

“Any Day Now” (B. Hilliard – B. Bacharach)
Carla Thomas (Memphis)
The Queen Alone Stax (1967)

“Trains & Boats & Planes” (Bacharach-David)
The Box Tops (Memphis) The Letter Mala (1967)

“What the World Needs Now” (Bacharach-David)
The Chamber Brothers (Mississippi)
The Time Has Come Columbia (1967)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
Dusty Springfield
“The Look of Love” (Bacharach)
instrumental
Casino Royale sdtk Colgems (1967)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
Nina Simone (North Carolina)
Silk & Soul RCA (1967)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
Ramsey Lewis (Chicago)
Up Pops Cadet 799 (1967)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
Gabor Szabo (Budapest, Hungary)
Bacchannal Skye 3 (1968)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
The Delphonics (Philly)
La La Means I Love You
Philly Groove 1150 (1968)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
“Say a Little Prayer for Me” (Bacharach-David)
Ahmad Jamal (Pittsburgh)
Tranquility ABC 91526 (1968)

“This Girl’s in Love with You” (Bacharach-David)
Dusty Springfield (London)
Dusty…Definitely Phillips 7864 (1968)

“What the World Needs Now” (Bacharach-David)
The Staple Singers (Chicago)
What the World Needs Now is Love Epic 26373 (1968)

“Do You Know the Way to San Jose” (Bacharach-David) Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Scepter 12216A (1968)

“This Guy’s in Love with You” (Bacharach-David)
Jimmy Smith (PA)
The Boss Verve (1968)

“What the World Needs Now” (Bacharach-David)
“Don’t Make Me Over” (Bacharach-David)
“A Message to Michael” (Bacharach-David)
“My Little Red Book” (Bacharach-David)
“I Say a Little Prayer” (Bacharach-David)
“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
“You’ll Never Get to Heaven” (Bacharach-David)
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)

“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
Mitch Ryder (Detroit)
Sings the Hits New Voice 2005 (1968)

“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
Earl Grant (Oklahoma)
Gently Swingin’ Decca 74937 (1968)

“The Look of Love” (Bacharach-David)
“A Message to Michael” (Bacharach-David)
“What the World Needs Now” (Bacharach-David))
Earl Grant (Oklahoma)
In Motion Decca 75052 (1968)

“Walk On By” (Bacharach-David)
Isaac Hayes (Memphis)
Hot Buttered Soul Enterprise 1001 (1969)

“I’ll Never Fall in Love Again“(Bacharach-David)
Bobbie Gentry (Mississippi) Fancy Capitol (1969)

“Baby, It’s You“(Bacharach-David-Williams)
Smith (L.A.) A Band Called Smith Dunhill (1969)

“Alfie“(Bacharach-David)
Dick Hyman (NYC)
The Age of Electronicus Command 946 (1969)

“Any Day Now” (B. Hilliard – B. Bacharach)
Percy Sledge (Alabama) Atlantic 2616A (1969)

“Any Day Now” (B. Hilliard – B. Bacharach)
Elvis Presley (Memphis) RCA 447-0671B (1969)

“Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets” (Bacharach-David) Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Scepter 12276B (1970)

“(They Long to Be) Close to You” (Bacharach-David) with monologue Bobby Womack (Cleveland)
Communication United Artists (1971)

“All Kinds of People” (Bacharach-David)
“(They Long to Be) Close to You” (Bacharach-David) Jerry Butler (Chicago)
Spice of Life Mercury (1972)

“One Less Bell to Answer” (Bacharach-David)
Gladys Knight & the Pips (Atlanta)
If I Were Your Woman Motown (Soul 731) 1971

“You’ll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)” (Bacharach-David)
The Stylistics (Philly) Avco 4618 (1973)

“A House is Not a Home” (Bacharach-David)
The Bill Evans Trio
I Will Say Goodbye Fantasy (1977)

“(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” (Bacharach-David)
Naked Eyes (England) Burning Bridges EMI (1983)

_____________

THE SONGS

(Bacharach-David)

“Baby, It’s You”
(Bacharach-David-Williams)Classic Versions

The Shirelles (New Jersey)
Scepter 1227A (1961)
Smith (L.A.)
A Band Called Smith Dunhill (1969)

“It’s Love That Really Counts”
(Bacharach-David) Classic Version

The Shirelles (New Jersey)
Scepter 1237B (1962)

Jerry Butler (Chicago)
VeeJay 451A (1962)

“Don’t Make Me Over“

“Wishin’ and Hopin’”

(Bacharach-David ©1963)Classic Versions
Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Make Way For… Scepter (1964)
Dusty Springfield (London)
Phillips 40207A (1964)

Classic Versions
Bobby Womack (Cleveland)
Communication United Artists (1971)
Jerry Butler (Chicago)
Spice of Life Mercury (1972)

“A Message to Michael”
(Bacharach-David ©1963)

Classic Versions
Les McCann (Kentucky)
Plays the Hits Limelight 86041 (1966)
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)
Earl Grant (Oklahoma)
In Motion Decca 75052 (1968)

“The Last One to Be Loved”
(Bacharach-David)

Classic Version
Gabor Szabo (Budapest, Hungary)
Gypsy ’66 Impulse 9105 (1966)

Sandie Shaw (England)
Reprise 0320A (1964)
Naked Eyes (England)
Burning Bridges EMI (1983)

“In the Land of Make Believe”
(Bacharach-David)Classic Version
The Drifters (NYC)
Under the Boardwalk Atlantic 8099 (1964)

“Let the Music Play”
(Bacharach-David)Classic Version The Drifters (NYC)
Under the Boardwalk Atlantic 8099 (1964)

“Walk On By”
(Bacharach-David ©1964)Classic Versions Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Make Way For…  Scepter (1964)
Aretha Franklin (Detroit)
Columbia (1964)
  Burt Bacharach (Kansas City/NYC)
Play the Hits  Kapp 3577 (1965)
Gabor Szabo (Budapest, Hungary)
Gypsy ’66 Impulse 9105 (1966)
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)
Earl Grant (Oklahoma)
Gently Swingin’ Decca 74937 (1968)
Isaac Hayes (Memphis)
Hot Buttered Soul Enterprise 1001 (1969)

“I Smiled Yesterday”
(Bacharach-David)Classic Version
Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Make Way For… Scepter (1964)

Classic Versions
Burt Bacharach (Kansas City/NYC)
Play the Hits Kapp 3577 (1965)
Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Scepter 12153A (1966)
The Box Tops (Memphis)
The Letter Mala (1967)

Classic Versions
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)
The Stylistics (Philly)
Avco 4618 (1973)

Classic Versions
Wes Montgomery (Indianapolis)
Tequila Verve (1966)
The Chamber Brothers (Mississippi)
The Time Has Come Columbia (1967)
The Staple Singers (Chicago)
What the World Needs Now is Love Epic (1968)
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)
Earl Grant (Oklahoma)
In Motion Decca 75052 (1968)

“Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart”
(Bacharach-David ©1965)

Classic Version
Dionne Warwick
(New Jersey)
Scepter 12153A (1966)

Classic Versions
Love (L.A.)
Love Elektra 45603 (1966)
The Standells (L.A.)
Why Pick on Me New Tower 5044 (1966)
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)

Classic Version
Lou Rawls (Chicago)
That’s Lou Capital 2756 (1967)

Classic Versions
Dusty Springfield (London)
Casino Royale sdtk Colgems (1967)
Nina Simone (North Carolina)
Silk & Soul RCA (1967)
Ramsey Lewis (Chicago)
Up Pops Cadet 799 (1967)
Gabor Szabo (Budapest, Hungary)
Bacchannal Skye 3 (1968)
The Delphonics (Philly)
La La Means I Love You Philly Groove (1968)
Ahmad Jamal (Pittsburgh)
Tranquility ABC 91526 (1968)
Earl Grant (Oklahoma)
In Motion Decca 75052 (1968)

Classic Version
Ahmad Jamal (Pittsburgh)
Tranquility ABC 91526 (1968)
Cal Tjader (St. Louis / California)
Sounds Out Burt Bacharach Skye 6 (1968)

Classic Version
Gladys Knight & the Pips (Atlanta)
If I Were Your Woman Motown (Soul 731) 1971

Classic Versions
Dusty Springfield (London)
Dusty…Definitely Phillips 7864 (1968)
Jimmy Smith (PA)
The Boss Verve (1968)

Classic Versions
Dionne Warwick (New Jersey)
Scepter 12216A (1968)

Classic Version
Bobbie Gentry (Mississippi)
Fancy Capitol (1969)

B o n e y M . ( 1 9 7 7 ) Love For Sale (LP)

May 16, 2014August 16, 2016 / Winch / Leave a comment

Boney M.
Love For Sale

Produced by Frank Farian

Noteworthy ***

1977

While disco lasted about as long as a light bulb, for a few years it shined like a bright neon sign on a dark city street. Kids like myself found that sign quite annoying, in need of a rock, but in different ways disco influenced most forms of music that followed those years. Many artists simply invented new names, but clearly continued playing disco. Others continued with the disco-sucks ideal, purposely staying in the shadows away from the artificial lighting of disco.Punk reared its head around the same time as disco and was just as influential, but in the 70s punk was mostly ignored in the States. The few people that even took notice mostly thought it a fad so minor that it made disco seem like a major movement. If you counted the U.S. sales of all punk albums of the era, the numbers would be miniscule compared to the sales of just one disco album such as Saturday Night Fever. Dozens of discos were opening each week across America, but punk clubs were extremely rare. For example in Michigan, the first venue dedicated to punk opened late in 1979. Shortly before, it had been a gay bar.In many ways, punk was the opposite of disco, and punks typically joined the disco-sucks movement, but there were some similarities. Both were calling for change in the music scene, both called for audience involvement, and both typically trimmed both the size of band and the number of chords, reducing the music down to a repetitive rhythm. And even more so than disco fans, punks were often considered gay. Of course, while disco went from the gay community to the mainstream, punk was confined to small communities in California and New York City.Meanwhile in the UK, punk was making its mark, but one simply has to look at the sales of this band to understand that even in Europe, punk was likely small compared to disco. Commercially speaking, punk bands rarely even came close to the success of Boney M.

The success of Boney in Europe didn’t translate to sales in the States. It’s not that America didn’t embrace some Euro-disco, but Americans didn’t show much interest in this band. This album wasn’t ignored, but its U.S. sales didn’t come close to the sales in Europe.The sleeve artwork probably helped the sales elsewhere, but Americans weren’t ready for this artwork. While some aspects of social norms in the 70s might seem quite daring (or narrow-minded) in retrospect, the decade was not the time for taking lightly the issues of women’s lib. (One simply has to look at the reaction to Andy Kaufman’s 1979 comments to realize how Americans had no tolerance for anyone making fun of women’s lib.) The Ohio Players pushed the envelope with their sleeves, and got considerable bad press for doing that, but this sleeve was something else, likely too much for American audiences. Both the liberals and the conservatives would have taken issue with this one. So the album was repacked for U.S. distribution, using the back photo as the front.

The content of this album perhaps reveals some of the reasons it didn’t do well in the States. Here, Boney M. covers such sacred cows as “Motherless Child,” Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale, and CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” While fans of the first two were likely too old to even take notice, messing with CCR was asking for trouble.As part of the disco-sucks movement, Americans were rediscovering CCR in the late 70s, with mail-order CCR albums commonplace on primetime TV, and the idea of a European disco band covering a CCR song likely didn’t sit well with many. Meanwhile, the folks arguing that disco was making rock obsolete likely didn’t want to embrace a band that was using the music of some outdated rockers sporting old jeans and flanneled shirts.Of course, a California band doing Southern swamp music was perhaps as silly as a disco band doing the same thing in Munich, and Boney M. was actually made up of singers from the West Indies–a place closer to the swamp than California. While this version is a disco song, the island sounds come through, and one could argue that this band was actually bringing the swamp back closer to home. It wasn’t exactly like Ike and Tina doing “Proud Mary,” but perhaps it’s not completely different. It’s worth discussing because this version is quite lovable.

The rest of the set explores a variety of subject matter, and this might have had something to do with why this didn’t land well in the States. American disco focused on love, sex and escapism, and this set tackles such subjects as the conflict in Ireland. And for this American, the social commentary sounds odd next to the title track–a song about under-aged prostitutes. While some of the original intent of the song perhaps shows in this version, the sad undercurrents seem quite masked. Mostly, it seems a celebration of young sex sold on the street.

While this album is only for fans of disco, those fans should give this set a listen. The synth swatches wave across the groove like a magic wand over a boiling pot of bass and drums, horns and electric piano, guitars and vocals. The female voices are spiced with island accents and this helps make some of this set clearly a few notches above much of the competition. The sound clearly comes out of Munich, but the vocals are more earthy than the somewhat similar Silver Convention. The voices aren’t earthy like Southern gospel, but semi-innocent like island girls.

The album closes with a cover of “Still I’m Sad,” which surprisingly remains relatively faithful to the original Yardbirds’ version. For this listener, the covers of rock songs are the most enjoyable cuts, but disco fans will likely enjoy dance-floor favorites such as “Ma Baker” and the title track. This is certainly part of the story, a chapter that most Americans missed at the time of its release.