Love or Las Vegas

I'm off for vacation to visit Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon so I will leave you with a mix that has inspired me for this trip.  You wont hear Elvis, Sinatra or Liberace on this one.  Nothing against them since I love them all; however,  I wanted to create an off beat feeling for this mix that would create a sort of sound scape that would capture an unexpected feeling of what I perceive to be the spirit of Sin City with its visceral and majestic nature that surrounds it.   I have never visited that area of the country so I am looking forward to that experience.  I am planning on doing a part two of this mix upon my return to see how my perception changes.  Enjoy

Love Or Las Vegas - DJ Glamjack

Track Listing:

 1.  Intro - Europe Endless - Kraftwerk

 2.  Go 'Way From My Window - Marlene Deitrich

 3.  Canadian Sunset - Lawrence Welk

 4.  We're Almost There - Michael Jackson

 5.  Fill My Life With Love - Saint Tropez

 6.  Space Bass - Slick

 7.  The Potatoe Fields - Bronski Beat/Marc Almond

 8.  Theme From Valley Of The Dolls (Junior's 7" Mix) -

      Katherine Dawn Lang

 9.  African Hustle - Mombasa

10.  Disco Africa - Ogyatanaa Show Band

11.  Angelitos Negros - Roberta Flack

12.  Sun King - The Beatles

13.  Cirandar - Seu Jorge and Almaz

14.  I've Got To Live - James Curd

15.  Driving Away From Home (Dead Men's Curve Version) -

       It's Immaterial

16.  Song For The Silent Age - Philip Glass

17.  Opening: Glassworks - Philip Glass

18.  Swoon (Lindstrom and Prins Thomas Remix) -

       The Chemical Brothers

Willowman

Here is an amazing Latin Disco/Soul track that has been growing on me lately.  It is called "Willowman" by The Willow Band.  I recently first heard it on a live mix on the Beats In Space website by DJ Balearic Mike.  Mike has been one of the dj's that created the term Balearic music which is basically music that sounds good on the dance floor.  The term originated in Ibiza at the famous Amnesia club 25 years ago.  "Willowman" song was released in 1976 as a 12" promotional only single.  Very little is known about this band except that it was composed of K. Guarino on strings and Richie Salgado on vocals. It was produced by Jesus Alvarez who was also involved in Shirley and Company and it was written by B. Bockhold and Alvarez.  There is a rumor that Joe Bataan was involved in this song. 

Willowman (Todd Terje Re-Edit) -The Willow Band

Sapphire Scavenger

Here is a song from "Gothic rock" band from the early '80s, Gene Loves Jezebel.  Jezebel was founded by identical twin  brothers, Michael and Jay Aston.  For this release they were joined by the great guitarist,  James Stevenson  who later joined The Cult.  Also with a fabulous drum machine, these androgynous Welsh brothers made some great tunes that strangely evoked the dark side of 70's rock and disco.  During the mid 80's they were the darlings of college and alternative radio and achieved greater success when they slowly turned their attention to dance music.  "Sapphire Scavenger" is a song that I  never get tired of hearing even today.  The simple hooks with a steady pounding beat makes think of D.C. LaRue's "Cathedrals" but with slower beats per minutes (BPR).  This song was featured on their LP Discover and also on the  B side of the 12" dance release of  their monster hit "Desire" which I happen own and love as well but not as much as this rare piece of '80s dance rock jewel of a song. Enjoy

Sapphire Scavenger - Gene Loves Jezebel

Give It One/McArthur Park

Undeniable one of the most amazing 70's jazz fusion records I never get tired of listening by the incredible Maynard Ferguson.  M.F. Horn Two was released in 1972 as a big band jazz album.  It features cover versions of many songs that were popular in the years leading up it's production, including  : "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, "Country Road by James Taylor, "Mother" by John Lennon and many others.  Maynard's trumpet is brilliant throughout this LP.  It is one of most prized possessions and it always put me in the mood, specially during those rainy Monday blues.  During my research, I was surprised to found out that most jazz purists at the time were not too thrilled by his rendition of popular songs.    So here is a balance of both of the worlds Maynard dabbled with musically in hope to give it justice.  "Give It One" is one of his great originals and I happen to think that this is a great dance track. And also, here is his own rendition of "McArthur Park" which is truly a brilliant one full of surprises.  Enjoy

Give It One - Maynard Ferguson

McArthur Park - Maynard Ferguson

Stay A Little While, Child

Here is a 12" mix of one of my favorite R&B/Dance bands from the 80's, the fabulous British band Loose Ends. Formed in 1980 initially comprising of vocalist and guitarist Carl McIntosh, vocalist Jane Eugene,and keyboard player, writer and founder Steve Nichol.  The latter two left the group in 1989 bringing an end to the band's most successful phase.  "Hanging On A String" and "Slow Down" became the bands trademark number one hits in America. Both songs still sound as fresh as back then.   "Stay A Little While, Child" was the second single release from their 1986 and third studio album called Zagora.  Upon my research, all of their Album releases have continued to sell pretty well over the years.  Even though most of Loose Ends productions are  slow on the beats per minute (BPM), they are considered indisputable dance classics among DJ's and dancers. 

Stay A Little While, Child - Loose Ends

100th Post!

Here is part two of the Blend series from DJ Glamjack to commemorate the 100th post on this blog. It is hard to believe it has been almost six months since I started this blog.  I want to  thank all of you my dear and darling readers, listeners and disco lovers for tuning in to Disco Monk.  As I was tallying up the most downloaded tunes, I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged to discover that the Glamjack Re-Entry mixes had the highest downloads.  Also, high on popularity where featured songs by Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, Stupid Human, The Revenge, Maynard Ferguson, The Hollies and Mad Mats to name a few.  A healthy dose of old and new I must say.  I will take those statistics into consideration and hope to continue bringing you more amazing disco and dance gems of yesterday, now and tomorrow.  "Blend II" was a very liberating mix to make since it incorporated many musical genres that I love and was inspired to experiment with many different styles to fit the mood of each segment and focused again on the transitions between songs.   Enjoy!

Track Listing

 1. Overture to Flame/Flame - Metro
  2.  Spend A Day Without You - Crue-L Grand Orchestra
  3.  The Softest Voice - Animal Collective
  4.  Long Ago (Rapson Re-Edit) - Carpenters  
  5.  I Want Your Love - James Mason 
  6.  Akoko Ba - Ghedu Blay Ambolley
  7.  Pipeline - Bruce Johnson
  8.  Dance To The Music - Frankie "Bones"
  9.  Blanket Level Aporouch #3 - The Halfer Trio  
10. The Orange Tree - Philip Glass
11. It Should Have Been Me - Ivonne Fair
12  Ghost In You - The Psychedelic Furs
13. Do It To The Max - 6th Borough Project
14. You Got To Be The One - Maryann Farra and Satin Soul  
15. Last Train to London (Blackjoy Re-Edit) - Electric Light Orchestra
16. Always The Sun (Long Side Sunny Side Up Mix) - The Stranglers  
17. Palace (Michael Celis It's Too Late Remix) - Courtney Tidwell  

Blend II by Jack Rivas on Mixcloud

Give it Up

Here is a song called "Give It Up" by R&B and Soul singer Heywood Cash.   Heywood didn't really released much music except for this song and "You're Messin' Up A Good Thing".  This song is considered a rare groove and sometimes it gets mistaken for a Marvin Gaye song at first listen.  However,  do not be mistaken because upon further listen one discovers great passion and a profound soul in his voice.  Released in 1976, this was Epic records first promotional disco release.  Aside from his voice, I simply love the breaks and production of this song.

Give It Up (12" Single) - Heywood Cash

Criminal World

Here is a song that I never seem to get out my mind.  It's hard to believe that this song is from 1977 with  lyrics and arrangements that sound so poignant and current. "Criminal World" is a song written by Duncan Browne, Peter Godwin and Sean Lyons of the band Metro from their debut self titled album in 1977.  David Bowie recorded it in 1983 for the album Let's Dance.  When first released it was banned from the Radio One play list for its "suggestive" lyrical content.  It is rumoured that the US military played it through a large PA system as a form of aural encouragement whilst trying to dislodge General Manuel Noriega from his office during their invasion of Panama in 1989.  "Criminal World" is not a disco or dance song per say but it has some great hooks and great melodies with some insane guitar solos.  

Criminal World - Metro

I Got Your Love

Here is a song from Stratavarious featuring Lady called "I Got Your Love".  Stratavarious was the brainchild of  Canadian producer and arranger Johnny Usry.  He released this LP in 1976 under the name Stratavarious.  The album is full of lush orchestra style disco and the main core is the concert harp with layers upon layers of lush strings, horn stabs, wacka-wacka guitars and driving bass.  There is also a jazzy funky element to compared to the disco that came up during this period.  Usry previously worked with First Choice, Three Degrees and Love Committee.  "I Got Your Love" was the single release and it  is the perfect cocktail hour disco for those hot summer nights. Enjoy

I Got Your Love - Stratavarious Feat. Lady

Ol' Dirty Vinyl (You Used To Know)

I'm in the "mood" to post something fairly new and this one goes to all of those old vinyl collectors out there.  I have been trying to find this song from the first time I've heard it a couple of months ago in bits and pieces from an on line mix and had no idea who they were until I came across the playlist.  I was taken by the conceptual and rough feel of this song.  Moody has been around since the late '90s or so and have been known to traverse a range of styles, from cracked jazz to his trademark low-slung house sound.  I have heard of them before but never like this.  This is from their latest Phonica Record's new limited edition 12" EP featuring five previously unreleased tracks from the vaults.  "Ol' Dirty Vinyl (U Used To Know)" is the lead track here and it was apparently recorded in three hours in Vienna in some hotel near a castle.  Enjoy!

Ol' Dirty Vinyl - Moodymann