Let No Man Put Asunder
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Love Having You Around
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Dr. Love (Tom Moulton 12″ Mix)
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Album: Delusions (1977)

The onset of spring makes disco bloom on my hi-fi. And though it has its place, I’m not talking about the commercial disco I wish I heard at Studio 54; I’m talking about the soulful proto-house disco I wish I heard at the Paradise Garage. One of the best examples of the latter is First Choice’s Delusions LP.

Annette Guest and Rochelle Fleming founded First Choice when they were still Philadelphia high school students. Rochelle reminisces:

Our success didn’t hit us until graduation night. We were marching down the aisle and the principal of the school said he wanted to congratulate First Choice… then the whole graduation class just stood up and hollered and screamed.

Five years later, as disco was starting to dominate the pop landscape, First Choice (Rochelle, Annette, and new member Ursula Herring) released Delusions. In hindsight, First Choice is perceived as more of a singles act rather than album artists. Delusions, however, is a fairly consistent collection of songs, thanks in part to the lush production from MFSB’s rhythm section: Ron Baker, Norman Harris, and Earl Young.

“Let No Man Put Asunder” wasn’t released as a single initially. But 10 years after it was recorded, Shep Pettibone remixed “Let No Man Put Asunder” to huge success at the clubs:

The remix is a big improvement, thanks to the airtight rhythm and masterful mixing. But it sounds like Rochelle Fleming re-recorded her vocals, and I miss the soulful idiosyncrasies she contributes to the original.

“Love Having You Around” is the rare Stevie Wonder cover that improves upon the original:

I feel sacrilegious admitting that I prefer the looser, more euphoric vibe in First Choice’s 5-star classic version — Stevie Wonder is as close as it gets to a spiritual figure in my life.

“Dr. Love” is über-disco: over-the-top orchestrations, hard-driving drums, and risqué lyrics. Wisely, for the 12″ remix, they handed the reels over to legendary producer/remixer Tom Moulton. Moulton was a pioneer of “mixing down” — stretching out and weaving together the musical building blocks of the recording to improve danceability, and facilitate blending between different records. His original “Dr. Love” remix proved to be a bit too much for First Choice, and a shorter, edited version was used for the official 12″. This version appeared on a compilation a few years back, and you can hear how much fun Moulton had in exploring the different movements of the song.

Thanks to the fervid remixing of their records, First Choice sailed through the disco era and continued to keep party people dancing as house music started to take shape. They’ve reformed a couple of times since then, and Rochelle Fleming continues to belt out First Choice classics.

Shame (12" Mix)
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Smooth Talk
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I Don’t Know If It’s Right
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The Show Is Over
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Album: Smooth Talk (1977)

Evelyn “Champagne” King was all of 17 years old when her debut record Smooth Talk was released. Discovered while accompanying her mother as she worked as a janitor at Philadelphia International Records (home to The O’Jays, Lou Rawls, and Teddy Pendergrass, among many others), Evelyn was successful from the get-go with her 5-star classic first single, “Shame,” presented here in its extended 12″ mix. In addition to lengthening some passages within the song, the producer trebelled out the mix a bit. Or maybe my 12″ of “Shame” is in better shape than my Smooth Talk LP.

The title track is a true rare groover — one of those tracks that’s been given new life over the years via a white label house record or two. I’m surprised the breakdown that starts at 3:57 hasn’t been sampled yet (or has it?).

“I Don’t Know If It’s Right” has one of those choruses that is instantly catchy. I wonder how America today would react to a 16-year old singing, “I dont know if it’s right to let you make love to me tonight… ‘Cause I don’t want you to be just another man.” Ah, the 70s.

“The Show Is Over” may be familiar to fans of Ice Cube, who sampled it in “You Know How We Do It.” It’s also a great example of an orchestrated R&B track that takes its time to build up emotionally and musically. I believe Evelyn’s record label made a mistake by not releasing this as a radio single; to these ears, it’s a 5-star classic.

Evelyn continued to make records throughout the 70s and 80s, peaking with the 1982 hit “Love Come Down.” After taking a break though most of the 90s and the 00s, Evelyn released a new album in 2007 and continues to tour.

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Don’t Leave Me This Way (Dim’s Re-Edit)
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Album: After The Playboy Mansion (Compilation, 2002)

Teddy Pendergrass
You Can’t Hide From Yourself
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Album: Teddy Pendergrass (1977)

This is part one of a two-part tribute to Teddy Pendergrass. part two

This week’s passing of soul legend Teddy Pendergrass hurts a little bit. Few can claim as much authority on the mic as Teddy. During his prime, even his ballads were turned up to 11.

Of course, I dove into the collection on a hunt for all things Teddy. Embarrassed to say, I only had a greatest hits collection and Life Is a Song Worth Singing, Teddy’s second LP. After listening to Life Is a Song Worth Singing from end to end, I decided that it is worthy of LP Classics designation; a full post is forthcoming.

I did have a few Teddy tracks on some compilations, plus Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes’ Wake Up Everybody, their landmark 1975 LP with Teddy on lead vocals. That record included a bunch of great tracks, chief among them the rousing 5-star classic "Don’t Leave Me This Way." Even though the LP version is a scorcher, I decided to digitize a 2002 “re-edit” from Dimitri From Paris that modestly improves upon the track’s mixability.

The other track I selected is “You Can’t Hide From Yourself,” from Teddy’s 1977 eponymous solo debut LP. As the title might indicate, this became an anthem in gay discos. Philly Soul architects Gamble & Huff threw it down yet again, combining a thomping beat, blaring Philly horns, and a positive message with one of Teddy’s most urgent vocals.

Some biographical notes upon Teddy’s passing:

• Read his NY Times obituary or his Wikipedia page.
• Everything changed for Teddy after a 1982 car accident made him a paraplegic. Though he rarely performed live after the accident, he did keep making commercially successful records. But he mostly dedicated his post-accident life towards advocating for the rights of those with spinal cord injuries.
• Teddy got his start as a replacement drummer for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Harold quickly figured out that Teddy could also sing, and reassigned him to lead singer. Get a taste of Teddy’s percussion skills in the clip below (he picks up the drumsticks starting at 3:40):

• The ladies loved them some Teddy, and he occasionally put on shows where only women were allowed in the audience as he passed around lollipops shaped like himself (R. Kelly, take note). In researching Teddy’s life, I was surprised to learn there may have been another side to his image as the consummate ladies’ man. Because I want this space to value musical drama over the real-life variety, I won’t go into the details here, but a quick search about the nature of Teddy’s car accident will clue you in.

Wishing On A Star
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Do Your Dance
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Album: In Full Bloom (1977)

About six months ago, the music world lost Norman Whitfield. Whitfield was one of the driving forces behind the Motown label, writing and producing a jaw-dropping litany of hits including “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” and “War (What Is It Good For).” After leaving Motown in the early 70s, Whitfield stole some of the label’s underused assets and started his own eponymous shingle.

Whitfield Records biggest success was the 1976 soundtrack album for Car Wash, with the title track, “I Can’t Get Next To You,” and “I’m Going Down” representing on the singles charts. Their follow-up record, In Full Bloom didn’t include a hit as infectious as “Car Wash,” but still produced a few memorable tracks.

Your high school girlfriend (or you) loved “Wishing On A Star”; if you’re a modern, liberated dude, you may have a soft spot for it too.

While Whitfield is primary thought of as a songwriter, “Do Your Dance” showcases his formidable production skills. It starts out as a high-energy disco/funk track, but as the track morphs in its final minutes, it feels like the birth of house music.

Whitfield fell onto tough financial times towards the end of his life, and was indicted for tax evasion in 2005. Why do so many musicians from the 50s and 60s have trouble finding an honest accountant?

New Feeling/A Clean Break (recorded in 1977)
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Air (recorded in 1979)
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The Great Curve
(recorded in 1980 or 1981)
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Album: The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982)

Though many are familiar with Stop Making Sense, the seminal 1984 concert film directed by Jonathan Demme, it only came a couple of years after Talking Heads released the concert diary The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads. This record chronicled 6 performances over a 5 year span over the course of 4 sides. Listening to the album from start to finish reveals the breathtaking evolution in Talking Heads’ songwriting and musicianship, as well as the explosion in the number of fans in the audience and musicians on stage.

It’s difficult to categorize Talking Heads, as evidenced in the selections from the record. They were associated with the CBGB punk scene, but didn’t really possess the anger or discord of their assumed peers. As the first selection, the two-track punch of “New Feeling” and “A Clean Break” (they transitioned so smoothly between the tracks that I just couldn’t split them up) demonstrates Talking Heads’ love for melody and bouncy groove. I guess the punk connection is in their rhythmic intensity and esoteric lyrics.

The band delves deeper into funky weirdness with their next song, “Air.” I love the contrast between the spastic verses and the touching, catchy chorus. You can hear how their sound is opening up, with ethereal harmonies and adventurous ad-libbing from the ever-game David Byrne.

The full blossoming of Talking Heads’ sound reveals itself in the final selection, “The Great Curve.” Talking Heads started touring with a bigger band (featuring backup singer Nona Hendryx and Parliament-Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell) after their career-redefining Remain In Light was released in 1980. The impact of their new bandmates is evident in the complex rhythms and layered vocals of this confident, ambitious track. Lyrically, I think it’s about the philosophical tug-of-war between divinity and earthly pleasures, but David can be quite inscrutable. To be honest, I could do without the screeching guitar work from King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, but I still enjoy this track.

P.S. Can you find the link to a secret bonus track?