It’s truly unfortunate that disco carries such an negative connotation nowadays, even when most electronic and dance music is at it’s best today when it borrows heavily from it. Mock it for all you want, but it’s hard not to dance and have a good time. Enter Chic, a band known for it’s two solid disco anthems “Good Times” and “Le Freak”. On Real People, their 1980 release, the common cry was disco was dead and synth-dominated music would usher in a new era in pop. Listen to “Open Up” an instrumental jam that opens up the album, the production is huge and the strings counter-melody is on point, tighter than anything ELO ever did. It’s just begging to be rediscovered by some DJ out there. Check out the bonus track “You Can’t Do It Alone” which pulls off a daring arrangement of disco sheen and Spanish nylon accompaniment. It doesn’t hurt that they have a damn good singer either.
Real People was released on Atlantic Records in 1980. You can find the digital version on iTunes here
The Art of the Mixtape 