All Things Deep - Reviews - Various Artists: Super Rare Disco Volumes 1 and 2

Various - Super Rare Disco

Disco fans, rejoice! Cory Robbins, who started Profile Records in the 80s, has issued these two discs celebrating the best in underground disco. Don't expect to find any Bee Gees, Donna Summer, or Village People here, as the emphasis is squarely on tracks that were popular in their day but largely forgotten.

Volume 1 is focused on the early period of disco, roughly 1972-76. In the beginning, disco drew equally from funk, soul, and orchestrated music, and Super Rare Disco 1 gives respect to funk classics by Jimmy Castor, Bohannon and Lyn Collins as well as the light and airy feel of Faith Hope and Charity, Don Downing and Jimmy Ruffin. On a CD full of revelatory moments, the most impressive is "My Baby's Got ESP" by Four Below Zero, an early Patrick Adams production that has never been reissued.

Volume 2 has more established classics, such as "Mainline" by Black Ivory, "Down to Love Town" by the Originals, and Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle," all of which are available on other collections. They are balanced out with delightful curiosities by the Notations and Jerry Knight, but "Somebody's Gotta Go" by Mike and Bill alone justifies its purchase. The reggae-inflected harmonies soar over a gritty, twisted rhythm track that immediately captures your attention. How that song slipped through the cracks of previous disco compilations is a wonder to me.

From the trainspotter back in the days of Sanctuary to the novice producer looking for a hot sample, either of these discs will get the party started.

Released 1997 on Robbins Entertainment

Selected Tracks:

Volume 1
Four Below Zero - My Baby's Got ESP
Don Downing - Dream World
First Choice - The Player
Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun
Crown Heights Affair - Dreaming A Dream

Volume 2
Mike and Bill - Somebody's Gotta Go
Jerry Knight - Overnight Sensation
Front Page - Love Insurance
Notations - Think Before You Stop