Roll The Videotape

Not much to add to today's tracks - nothing but smooth solid funk culled from Dan Hartman's 1978 disco explosion Instant Replay, an album which features not only Saturday Night Live / Hall and Oates guitar hero G. E. Smith:


but also Vinnie Vincent:


This was the man briefly brought on by Kiss to wear Ankh warrior makeup and replace Ace Frehley only to be fired for 'unethical behavior'. Not enough notes in a single song for these three plus more you say? Check out this unethical behavior:




Good to see whether on guitar or bass, G. E. Smith has kept up the same video standards throughout his career. Oh yeah and now for some music:



Dan Hartman - Double-O-Love (1978) (buy)



Dan Hartman - Instant Replay (1978) (buy)



Dan Hartman - Countdown / This Is It (1978) (buy)

Country Clubbin

So a few months ago I people may or may not remember I shared a couple of tracks from a mean little mixtape one or more of my parents has a hand in around the time I was kickin it in diapers. My favorite song of that post was the one on which I had the least info, as in no artist or song title. Check the comments there, however, and you'll find that a buddy of mine correctly identified it as a 'It's Only Me' by one Bob James.

I can scarcely convey to you fair reader, the ecstasy I found in the cold of Montreal just after New Years, when what did I come across but a copy of Hands Down, the album from which that track was culled a couple of decades back. It is with that jubilation that today I bring you not only a fresh vinyl rip of 'It's Only Me', but also a couple of other Bob cuts. If you've ever in your life caught a second or two of professional golf coverage, imagine the ideal hole panorama / flyover / commercial break intro / outro music, and you'll be in just the right mindset for the funkier parts to hook you in:



Bob James - It's Only Me (1982) (buy)



Bob James - Janus (1982) (buy)



Bob James - Shamboozie (1982) (buy)

Now go get to work on your short game.

Dark Matter

A couple of years back, a little compilation called 'Disco Not Disco' found its way not only into the mailbox of a certain campus radio station, but onto my iPod, under my skin (in a good way) and all up in my sets (it was actually the third volume in the series under that name). It's one of those can't miss kind of compilations, the kind stock full of tracks that people will always come up and ask about.

Cutting to the chase, a week or so in Montreal I came across a copy of Material's 1982 album One Down, whose last track 'Don't Lose Control' happens to be one of the (not) disco jams I still haven't gotten tired of. The album itself, like countless others from around that 77 - 82 ish era is tough to pigeon hole as this or that, or not this or not that. I will say most of the songs are funkier than average, and a lot of them usually throw some sort of crazy curveball sound at you sooner or later. One of them even features an up and coming Whitney Houston. But don't take my word for it:



Material - I'm The One (1982) (buy)



Material - Don't Lose Control (1982) (buy)



Material - Memories (1982) (buy)

If that wasn't enough Material for you, and if you especially liked 'I'm The One', there's a little more to be found here.

MKS YR BDY WRK

Rolling forward with the hit parade we move from Hot Butter to Hot Streak, the alias under which Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens operated throughout the 80's and into the 90's. If you can recall back to the first half of the aughts we just left behind, Missy Elliott snatched up the intro to today's track, along with that unmistakable synth line from Cybotron's 'Clear' in her 2005 tour de force 'Lose Control':



Hot Streak - Body Work (Vocal) (1983) (buy)



Hot Streak - Body Work (Instrumental) (1983) (buy)

Welcome to the working week everybody.

I Can't Believe It's Hot Butter

Thought you could escape, I know, but the holidays gave me a chance to get up and out, this time up to Montreal and I've got a nice stack of records here, each individually hand inspected and certified safe for use by the Montreal-Trudeau airport security force.

Gonna start 2010 off nice and light - back in the 70's Hot Butter was keyboardist Stan Free's moogcentric instrumental band. Of all the tracks found on their two LP's, only two were original compositions (the second song posted today is one), and indeed the group is best known for their cover of 'Popcorn', originally composed and recorded by Gershon Kingsley. I didn't think I knew it, but you will probably will too.

This pair of tunes goes out to the guys at the X-ray machine who saw my Ozone and vinyl and asked if I do sampling:



Hot Butter - Slag Solution (1973) (buy)



Hot Butter - Space Walk (1973) (buy)

Just in case you deduced 'Slag Solution' must be a cover and were curious as to the original - step right this way. Happy New Year people.