[mushymanrob]

found this the other day, thought it might be of interest...

compiled by a wide range of dj's past and present from america, uk and europe.

forget your cheesy comercial charts crap, this is the real mccoy.

heres the top 20

1 Love In C Minor - Cerrone
2 I've Found Love (Now That I've Found You) - Love And Kisses (Alec R Costandinos)
3 Souvenirs - Voyage
4 Dancer - Gino Soccio
5 Risky Changes - Gregg Diamond / Bionic Boogie
6 From East To West - Voyage
7 Romeo And Juliet (Acts 1 &2) - Alec R. Costandinos
8 Cher Chez La Femme - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
9 Make That Feeling Come Again - Beautiful Bend (Boris Midney)
10 Down To Love Town - Originals
11 This Time Baby - Jackie Moore
12 I Love Music - the O'Jays
13 Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
14 Good Times - Chic
15 Vertigo / Relight My Fire - Dan Hartman feat Loleatta 18 Holloway
16 Disco Nights (Rock Freak) - G.Q.
17 Love Hangover - Diana Ross
18 Mac Arthur Park Suite - Donna Summer
19 Got To Be Real - Cheryl Lynn
20 Love is the Message - M.F.S.B. (M. F. S. B. / MFSB)

the complete listing with the top 140 having youtube links plus all info... a very good list.

http://www.discomusic.com/charts-more/2664_0_8_0_C/

[mushymanrob]

what? no replies?

i thought the few people telling me that 'disco is where it was at, not punk', would have commented on these real disco tracks... oh but hold on, maybe those few were into pop disco, the wet crap material and not these 'real' disco tracks... lol.

[swingaleg]

I see my favourite makes it in at number 516

Brazil by The Ritchie Family

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei1IlXFUm7M

[Ms Katt]

I am rather fond of 147, 609 and 620 as I like the spacier, synthier side of disco.

[vauxhall1964]

I don't know about the list being 'the real mccoy' ('I Feel Love' obviously seen as too well known despite generally being seen as the best disco song of all time). It strikes me as being typical of any 'elite' (critics, top djs, etc) list whatever the genre: promote 'cool' obscure stuff at the expense of what was actually popular. Incidentally, can anyone actually dance to Diana Ross's 'Love Hangover'??

[scrilla]

After a quick glance, one of the things that is interesting to me is the amount of records on the list that I personally, wouldn't consider disco at all! Here are a few of them:


Never Too Much by Luther Vandross: disco?!
Running Away by Roy Ayers: disco?!
Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango: disco?!
Pull Up To the Bumper by Grace Jones: disco?!
Funkin' For Jamaica by Tom Brown: disco?!
Shaft by Isaac Hayes: disco?!
Fire by the Ohio Players: disco?!
Think (About It) by Lynn Collins: disco?!
Promised Land - Joe Smooth: disco?!
Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But the Rent by Gwen Guthrie: disco?!
Love Come Down by Evelyn King: disco?!
Just A Touch of Love by Slave: disco?!
I'll Be Good by Rene & Angela: disco?!
Always there by Side Effect: disco?!
Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross: disco?!
I'll Take You there by Staple Singers: disco?!
Baby Love by Diana Ross and the Supremes: disco?!
Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight: disco?!
Let the Music Play by Shannon: disco?!

Get outta here! Those aren't disco records. Awesome yes, disco? Really? I must like disco more than I thought!


As for this crud:
Together In Electric Dreams by Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey
Situation by Yazoo
In the Name of Love - Thompson Twins

Yeah, right!

Seven hundred records there and I notice a complete lack of anything by Amii Stewart. Also, of the top of my head, I can think of a few very credible tracks that I've discovered more recently (and still have to track down/ buy) which are from the right era and would be considered disco records which are nowhere to be seen on this list.

[mushymanrob]

im no fan of disco.... but this site appears to be pretty sound, and its these dj's who were asked for their opinions.

so to the critics, do you know more then these with their background?

Some of the DJs who contributed to this list are:

- Robbie Leslie (USA)
12 West, Studio 54, Palladium, Ice Palace, Pavilion, Copa, Epoch, Trocadero Transfer, Dreamland, Studio One, Factory, Axis, Probe, the Saint, the Saint At Large, Private Eyes, Sea Tea, Sea Monster, Twist, Salvation, Rudely Elegant, Phoenix, ClubOgunquit, Cyclorama, Villa Victoria, Tattoo, Club St. John, Vizcaya, Odyssey, Pavilion, Botel, Cherry's, Sandpiper, Metropolis, Numbers, Inferno, Universal Studios, Roxy, Octagon, Petrus, Eagle NYC, Eagle FLL, Eagle Pittsburgh
- Ron "Nicky" Nicholson (DJ Nicky Nicholson) (USA)
The Anvil, NYC Peter Rabbit, NYC Alex in Wondeland, NYC Les Mouches, NYC M&K Lounge/Disco - NJ Rainbow Room - NJ Atlantis - NJ
- Jimmy Yu (USA)
Widow McCoy's, Miami (1974 - 1977) The Mutiny, Miami (1975 - 1977) Elephas, NYC (1977 - 1982) La Plage, Hampton Bays, NY (1978 - 1983) Lemon Tree, NYC (1983 - 1986) La Shea, NYC (1986 - 1989) Taboo, Palm Beach (1996 - Present)
- Brian Milovich (Canada)
Stop33, Toronto, Canada-(1972-73) JoJo's, Toronto, Canada-(1973-75) Koutoubia, Toronto, Canada (1975-80) Greystones, Aurora, Canada (1980-84) Faces, Mississauga, Canada (1980-82) Secrets, Etobicoke, Canada (1984-86) Charade, Scarborough, Canada (1986-88)
- Greg Wilson (UK)
The Chelsea Reach, New Brighton, Merseyside, UK (1976) The Penny Farthing, New Brighton, Merseyside, UK (1976 - 1977) The Golden Guinea, New Brighton, Merseyside, UK (1977-1980) Wigan Pier, Wigan, Lancashire, UK (1980-1982)
- Jussi Kantonen (Finland)
DJ at various venues throughout Europe and author of the book: Saturday Night Forever.
- Art Figueroa (USA)
River Club (NY) Guest DJ 1982-1984 Alex in Wonderland (NY) Guest DJ 1982-1984
- Berta Fortes (USA)
Orpheus: Syracuse, NY (1978-79) Lost Horizon: Syracuse, NY (1978-79)
- Peter Schouten (DJ-Pir) (Holland)
Cosmopoliet - Den Bosch - '77~'81 La Cortical - Veghel - '81~'88 Lunenburg - Loosbroek - '82~'02 Rockefeller Plaza - Schaijk - '94~'95 Time Out - Gemert - '97~'01 Jayselings Royal Palace - Wernhout - '93~'97 Various Freelance gigs '85-'99
- Ernie Bumanglag (DJ Ernie B.) (USA)
Stratus (CA) 1980-1986 Cafe Vid (CA) 1986-1988
- Delmar Browne (The Lord of Flatbush) (USA)
the Brooklyn Warehouse (NY) 1982-1983 Smalls Paradise (NY) 1983-1984
- DJ Jimmy M (Jimmy Michaels) (USA)
the Boom Club, (AZ) (2002 - 2002)

[Grabid Rannies]

Hmm... being bombastically instructed to 'forget about cheesy commercial chart crap', when more than plenty of the songs on the list were sizeable chart hits, might have had something to do with the initial lack of reply... Lots of great songs here, well and/or lesser known, that's for sure as far as I'm concerned

[mushymanrob]

Originally Posted by Grabid Rannies

Hmm... being bombastically instructed to 'forget about cheesy commercial chart crap',

ha ha! maybe, but cheesy commercial chart crap imho doesnt reprisent any genre accurately, apart from pop.

[mushymanrob]

Originally Posted by scrilla

Seven hundred records there and I notice a complete lack of anything by Amii Stewart.

no mention on this list either, the top 100 disco artists...

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/page...o-artists.html

maybe ami stewart wasnt as good as you think

[Grabid Rannies]

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

ha ha! maybe, but cheesy commercial chart crap imho doesnt reprisent any genre accurately, apart from pop.

Cheers for taking that in good spirit

I guess I see what you mean, in that for every 'I Will Survive' there's probably a dozen or two 'underground' counterparts to compete with if not surpass it. But I do think in all genres that chart 'monster hits' and/or 'breakthroughs' have occasionally, usefully served to let what would have otherwise remained 'relegated to the few' examples to shine - in the 'exposure' and/or otherwise commercial sense - at least briefly in their wake.

[mushymanrob]

Originally Posted by Grabid Rannies

Cheers for taking that in good spirit

I guess I see what you mean, in that for every 'I Will Survive' there's probably a dozen or two 'underground' counterparts to compete with if not surpass it. But I do think in all genres that chart 'monster hits' and/or 'breakthroughs' have occasionally, usefully served to let what would have otherwise remained 'relegated to the few' examples to shine - in the 'exposure' and/or otherwise commercial sense - at least briefly in their wake.

of course i did, the original comment was meant to be somewhat levetous (is that a word?), levity anyway, joking about a more serious point.

oh dont get me wrong, i agree that 'i will survive' is a great disco track, and did very well in the commercial singles chart, but indeed for every 'i will survive' there wwas several piss poor disco pop imitation.

it irks me when people claim that 'disco was better then.... ' (usually punk) but then cite tina charles or the real thing (ha ha, the irony) as examples.... ok, they might be good disco flavoured pop, but thats it. its like citing 'better off alone' as 'trance', or 'jilted john' as 'punk'.

i guess im saying that if people want to champion the vitues of disco, then at least cite the real disco, not the disco-pop.

[Grabid Rannies]

I think I'm still with you... but just to say (and probably has already been said elsewhere lol), IMHO no-one should claim <genre> was 'better than' <genre> whatsoever, and that I would regard such folk as foolish anyway!! It's too much like the original chalk and cheese argument - not to mention hard work Just argue, if one must, about the virtues of what's within the same genre, surely!

[vauxhall1964]

Originally Posted by scrilla

As for this crud:
Together In Electric Dreams by Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey
Situation by Yazoo
In the Name of Love - Thompson Twins

Yeah, right!

Seven hundred records there and I notice a complete lack of anything by Amii Stewart. .

Situation most certainly isn't crud (nor is it disco) - it's been sampled endlessly and Yazoo (or Yaz as the Yanks called them) were quite influential on the US dance scene. As for Amii Stewart...was she famous for anything other than disco versions of old hits?

[scrilla]

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

forget your cheesy comercial charts crap, this is the real mccoy.

That'll be why Rod Stewart's "Do you Thing I'm Sexy" is on it.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

... a very good list.

If you'd looked at it for even as long as me you'd have noticed that it includes records that
1) aren't disco (!!!)
2) are from the period after-disco (ie. the early '80s and the very stuff you were arguing against being disco on your earlier thread)

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

what? no replies?

i thought the few people telling me that 'disco is where it was at, not punk', would have commented on these real disco tracks... oh but hold on, maybe those few were into pop disco, the wet crap material and not these 'real' disco tracks... lol.

Starting a thread about something you're not into and accusing others of having crap taste ... this is called TROLLING. Lol.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

im no fan of disco.... but this site appears to be pretty sound, and its these dj's who were asked for their opinions.

Wow. *DJ's compiled list.* I'm in awe and rendered opinionless! Actually no, I read that list of contributors and ... so what? "Industry professionals" contribute to list: big deal. You're impressed, having not really read it and not being much interested in the genre, I had a quick scan of it and found loads of records that don't fit.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

so to the critics, do you know more then these with their background?

Who even are half these guys?!

No idea what they know or don't and we've no idea who chose what, but I do know that the list includes some highly dubious selections and can think of some omissions that might well be on a list running to seven hundred.

What would be much more useful and interesting is to have say, a dozen top 50's or top 100's complied by a carefully selected pool of DJs who know their stuff.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

no mention on this list either, the top 100 disco artists...

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/page...o-artists.html

maybe ami stewart wasnt as good as you think

I'd have though her disco covers of "Light My Fire" or "Knock on Wood" might have made a seven-hundred long list of top disco records. Maybe her potential place was given to some of the non-disco tracks that are quite prevalent. Eruption don't make it either.

The main difference between a published list and an unpublished list, is that one of them will have been seen by others. The difference between a music journalist and an anorak is that a journalist is paid for articles they write, it doesn't mean they know more than an unpublished person.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

it irks me when people claim that 'disco was better then.... ' (usually punk) but then cite tina charles or the real thing (ha ha, the irony) as examples....

Not that the people who contributed to the threads you started on this site actually did this!

[vauxhall1964]

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

i guess im saying that if people want to champion the vitues of disco, then at least cite the real disco, not the disco-pop.

Ah, 'realness', 'authenticity',... maybe transferring 'rockist' concepts onto dance music is missing the point? The joy of disco was in many ways its artificiality... Best not to look for authenticity in a disco ball.

[scrilla]

Originally Posted by vauxhall1964

Situation most certainly isn't crud (nor is it disco) - it's been sampled endlessly and Yazoo (or Yaz as the Yanks called them) were quite influential on the US dance scene. As for Amii Stewart...was she famous for anything other than disco versions of old hits?

It doesn't really matter that I don't like it: the main issue is that it's not disco. Famous is relative, I guess. Amii Stewart is probably only known by many in the UK for her couple of big chart hits. Being covers or not doesn't seem relevant, they were disco and big tracks. Quite possibly they're little known in the US and most of the compilers of the list seem to be US jocks.

[Arcana]

'Heart Of Glass' is the greatest disco track.

Should be a lot higher than 388.

[lil lexie]

Originally Posted by vauxhall1964

Situation most certainly isn't crud (nor is it disco)

I totally agree.

and I can't see how Kraftwerk could be referred to as disco either.

I skimmed the list and didn't see (La) Belle Epoque anywhere (unless I missed them)....well, WTF indeed.

[ohglobbits]

Some great French disco mentions, Cerrone, Martin Circus and Baccara among others. Here are 5 more favourites of mine I don;t see there.

Earth and Fire - Weekend

Brothers Johnson - Stomp

Santana - One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)

Janis Ian - Fly Too High

Gene Chandler - Time is a thief

[tortfeasor]

Some of those tracks in the top 20 alone are definitely worthy of being called the greatest ever disco songs and they've certainly been sampled no end of times. GQ's 'Disco Nights' is without a doubt one of the best disco songs and it's great to see Jackie Moore's 'This Time Baby' in there too considering it's so overlooked despite being heavily reworked for 'Love on my Mind' by The Freemasons a few years ago.

However...

Originally Posted by scrilla

After a quick glance, one of the things that is interesting to me is the amount of records on the list that I personally, wouldn't consider disco at all! Here are a few of them:


Never Too Much by Luther Vandross: disco?!
Running Away by Roy Ayers: disco?!
Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango: disco?!
Pull Up To the Bumper by Grace Jones: disco?!
Funkin' For Jamaica by Tom Brown: disco?!
Shaft by Isaac Hayes: disco?!
Fire by the Ohio Players: disco?!
Think (About It) by Lynn Collins: disco?!
Promised Land - Joe Smooth: disco?!
Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But the Rent by Gwen Guthrie: disco?!
Love Come Down by Evelyn King: disco?!
Just A Touch of Love by Slave: disco?!
I'll Be Good by Rene & Angela: disco?!
Always there by Side Effect: disco?!
Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross: disco?!
I'll Take You there by Staple Singers: disco?!
Baby Love by Diana Ross and the Supremes: disco?!
Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight: disco?!
Let the Music Play by Shannon: disco?!

Get outta here! Those aren't disco records. Awesome yes, disco? ...

Very fair points made. None of those are 'disco' in its proper sense. It's part of the problem with the concept of 'disco.' I prefer to use it when talking about the music in quite a narrow sense. Ask a mobile disc jockey who knows their music about the problems with getting requests for 'Motown' when actually what the people want is things like 'Mustang Sally' and 'In The Midnight Hour,' which were recorded for the rival labels! It's a similar problem with the label 'disco.'

Most of those tracks above from the 1960s and early 1970s in that list are soul/funk records. Things like Slave, Luther Vandross, Rene & Angela and 'Love Come Down' are post-disco and either fall into the 80s soul/R&B category, though I guess you could argue 'Just a Touch of Love' has funk elements. Roy Ayers' stuff from the late 1970s and early 1980s doesn't sound too far away from some disco music admittedly but he's rightly regarded as one of the pioneers of jazz fusion and thus I'd call 'Running Away' either jazz or jazz fusion.

[jackbell]

Anything produced by Chic, Giorgio Moroder, Anthony Monn and Maurice White

[mushymanrob]

Originally Posted by scrilla

If you'd looked at it for even as long as me you'd have noticed that it includes records that
1) aren't disco (!!!)
2) are from the period after-disco (ie. the early '80s and the very stuff you were arguing against being disco on your earlier thread)

tbh id agree, wiki has a definition of what (real...lol) disco is and many of those dont fit.... but i didnt compile the list, i dont know much about disco because i didnt much care for it, so i listen to the opinions of those that do. however, disco officianados (sp?) would claim that disco is still going, much as 60's fans have their bands, punks are still going, etc albeit underground.

Starting a thread about something you're not into and accusing others of having crap taste ... this is called TROLLING. Lol.

no it isnt. in previous discussions ive always recognised that the real stuff was found in clubs, not the charts, i even agreed with 'unique' when he said as much. true, i do think that most disco that charted was cheesy crap and i do think that disco per se shouldnt be judged on its chart reprisentation.

Wow. *DJ's compiled list.* I'm in awe and rendered opinionless! Actually no, I read that list of contributors and ... so what? "Industry professionals" contribute to list: big deal. You're impressed, having not really read it and not being much interested in the genre, I had a quick scan of it and found loads of records that don't fit.


Who even are half these guys?!

dunno... this site appears to me to be a decent, dedicated site, the criteria for deciding what is what appears to me to be sound. the dj's list of credentials appear to be sound too.... but i dont know, i make no claims about that.

What would be much more useful and interesting is to have say, a dozen top 50's or top 100's complied by a carefully selected pool of DJs who know their stuff.

how do you know the guys on this list dont 'know their stuff'?

I'd have though her disco covers of "Light My Fire" or "Knock on Wood" might have made a seven-hundred long list of top disco records. Maybe her potential place was given to some of the non-disco tracks that are quite prevalent. Eruption don't make it either.

well out of 700 so would i... but then again, what do i know about it? lol

The main difference between a published list and an unpublished list, is that one of them will have been seen by others. The difference between a music journalist and an anorak is that a journalist is paid for articles they write, it doesn't mean they know more than an unpublished person.

agreed, but i dont know where this fits in the discusion...

Not that the people who contributed to the threads you started on this site actually did this!

they did... "forget punk, boney m, abba, the bee gees is where it was at" ...lol... and its THAT attitude that im against.

Originally Posted by vauxhall1964

Ah, 'realness', 'authenticity',... maybe transferring 'rockist' concepts onto dance music is missing the point? The joy of disco was in many ways its artificiality... Best not to look for authenticity in a disco ball.

ive been dance-centric for over ten years now, with dance music being my fav genre of new music.

apart from pop, i dont think the commercial singles chart accurately reprisented any genre of music since the mid 60's upto the mid 00's (at least). the purpose of this thread was to higlight the better disco and to compare it to what many chart followers think of as disco.

[EatitLosers]

Some of the songs on that list are fantastic. Much better than a lot of the shit they call music nowadays.

[scrilla]

I lost this thread and have just re-found it.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

dunno... this site appears to me to be a decent, dedicated site, the criteria for deciding what is what appears to me to be sound. the dj's list of credentials appear to be sound too.... but i dont know, i make no claims about that.

Yes, the DJs on the list probably are well-known from back in the day and on their own turf (this being an era which was pretty much before the phenomenon of the 'superstar DJ' who is internationally known and works everywhere) and maybe I was expecting some people who are more current names to be contributing.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

how do you know the guys on this list dont 'know their stuff'?

They probably do but at least some of them have an odd notion of what constitutes 'disco'. What I meant by this "What would be much more useful and interesting is to have say, a dozen top 50's or top 100's complied by a carefully selected pool of DJs who know their stuff" is that you then know who nominates what and you can see whose selections would be most akin to your own and check out the tracks they are recommending that you are unfamiliar with. Like with reviewers, it's good to have a feel for what they are into so you know whether to read their contributions or not.

Originally Posted by mushymanrob

they did... "forget punk, boney m, abba, the bee gees is where it was at" ...lol... and its THAT attitude that im against.

Fair enough, if that was the case, I didnt see any of that and wouldn't endorse it either. I was that weird kid who liked punk and disco but it was Donna Summer, Rose Royce, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang etc., not Kelly Marie and Boney M.