Last one for this week!
Have you guys been trying out these basslines?
Bass by Keni Burke
Have you guys been trying out these basslines?
Bass by Keni Burke
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It’s Disco Friday :)
- Thread starter Helix
- Start date
Form probably the best disco-album ever (see also page 90 of this topic).
That is some funky disco right there! I wasn't aware of Crown Heights Affair back in the day, but I'll be checking out their discography now.
"Let Me Take You Dancing" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian artist Bryan Adams. It was written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and was later remixed by John Luongo. It is notable for being Adams' first solo single and his first ever release as a solo artist when he was 19.
Click here to listen:
en.wikipedia.org
As of 2016, Web Sheriff, which Bryan Adams is a client of, actively blocks any attempts to upload this song digitally, especially on YouTube.
Producer and co-writer Jim Vallance discusses the song on his website:
"The original version of "Let Me Take You Dancing" was recorded by Geoff Turner at Pinewood Studios in Vancouver. I played keyboards, bass and drums, and Bryan sang lead vocal. Joani Taylor and Rosalyn Keene (and possibly Nancy Nash or Mary Saxton?) provided backing vocals. Wayne Kozak played tenor and baritone sax and Don Clark played trumpet. Don also happened to be Bryan's landlord (Bryan, his mom and his brother Bruce rented a house from Don on Creelman Street, in Vancouver ... now demolished).
As I recall, "Let Me Take You Dancing" (in its original form) had already enjoyed some minor radio success as a single in Canada before John Luongo, a respected New York re-mixer, was brought in to add colour to the track and turn it into a "real" disco record for release in the USA.
Luongo flew up to Vancouver where we'd booked an evening at Little Mountain Sound. I don't remember who engineered the session -- perhaps Roger Monk or Dave Slagter -- however the assistants on the session were Pat Glover and Ron "Obvious" Vermeulen (twenty years later Ron would become the technical manager at Bryan's Warehouse Studios, as well as designing Mutt Lange's studio in Switzerland and my studio, The Armoury, in Vancouver).
The original version was recorded on a 16-track machine. Luongo needed twenty-four tracks to do the additional recording he had in mind.
This required a 16-to-24-track transfer. So ... the morning before our session, assistant engineer Pat Glover arranged for two rooms at Little Mountain Studio to be available: Studio A, with its 16-track Scully recorder, and Studio B with a 24-track Studer .
The 2-inch master tape of "Let Me Take You Dancing" was placed on the Scully machine. Using "tie lines" between the two studios, the audio would then be transferred onto the Studer machine, leaving an additional eight tracks for John's overdubs.
The transfer was a disaster... but I didn't hear about until 25 years later, when I ran into Pat Glover at a mutual friend's 60th birthday party.
Pat told me how he had pressed "Play" on the Scully machine in Studio A, then he ran over to Studio B to monitor the audio as it was being transferred to the Studer. He waited, but no audio appeared. Pat ran back to Studio B, just in time to witness the Scully "eating" the first part of our master tape (the Scully's fault ... not theirs). He hit "Stop", but it was too late, the 2-inch "master tape" was mangled beyond recovery.
Pat managed to find technician Ron Obvious elsewhere in the building. Together they determined -- quite brilliantly -- that the damaged section of music appeared in near identical form later in the song. By doing a double transfer and some creative editing, they managed to re-create the lost section.
John Luongo and I arrived at the studio a few hours later, completely unaware anything was amiss.
John had asked me to bring a variety of percussion instruments, which I did ... shakers, maracas, tambourines and a set of vibes (electric vibraphone). I also invited my friend, the famous drum designer Ray Ayotte, to play congas.
The session was completed in three or four hours. I remember John being a pleasant, energetic, upbeat guy. He kept "pumping us up", telling us how much he loved our song.
Following the Vancouver session, John took the master tape to New York where he completed a number of re-mixes. "Let Me Take You Dancing" went to #1 on several New York disco charts and enjoyed significant success at retail. However, despite the positive outcome, Bryan was bitterly disappointed with the sped-up sound of his vocal.
John, on the other hand, believed it was of critical importance to achieve a certain tempo, even if the vocal was somewhat compromised.
Bryan was still not officially signed to A&M Canada at this point. Instead, the recording of "Let Me Take You Dancing" (and the b-side "[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]") was financed by Brian Chater, head of A&M's publishing wing. I don't doubt the single's success contributed to Bryan eventually being signed directly to the label.
After "Let Me Take You Dancing" had run its course, Bryan quickly distanced himself from the "Nick Gilder" sound in favour of the Don Henley/Rod Stewart style that would become his trademark."
Click here to listen:
Bryan Adams - Let Me Take You Dancin'
Songwriter Jim Vallance offers his personal perspective on several hundred songs and albums from his catalogue of work. Selections range from Aerosmith to Zucchero!
www.jimvallance.com
Let Me Take You Dancing - Wikipedia
Adams' disavowing
According to Vallance, Adams has since distanced himself from the higher octave vocal style used in the original recording, which was a holdover from the period when he was lead singer for Sweeney Todd. As for the remix, Luongo chose to increase the tempo of the song, but there was no time-compression technology at that time so this increased the pitch of Adams' vocals. Adams was disappointed with the sped-up sound making him sound like a woman, according to many listeners. Adams has only performed it live on a handful of occasions. Despite being a single, neither "Let Me Take You Dancing" (except for the 12" disco mix) or its B Side, "Don't Turn Me Away", has appeared on an official CD release as of 2014, nor has been available for purchase online.As of 2016, Web Sheriff, which Bryan Adams is a client of, actively blocks any attempts to upload this song digitally, especially on YouTube.
Producer and co-writer Jim Vallance discusses the song on his website:
"The original version of "Let Me Take You Dancing" was recorded by Geoff Turner at Pinewood Studios in Vancouver. I played keyboards, bass and drums, and Bryan sang lead vocal. Joani Taylor and Rosalyn Keene (and possibly Nancy Nash or Mary Saxton?) provided backing vocals. Wayne Kozak played tenor and baritone sax and Don Clark played trumpet. Don also happened to be Bryan's landlord (Bryan, his mom and his brother Bruce rented a house from Don on Creelman Street, in Vancouver ... now demolished).
As I recall, "Let Me Take You Dancing" (in its original form) had already enjoyed some minor radio success as a single in Canada before John Luongo, a respected New York re-mixer, was brought in to add colour to the track and turn it into a "real" disco record for release in the USA.
Luongo flew up to Vancouver where we'd booked an evening at Little Mountain Sound. I don't remember who engineered the session -- perhaps Roger Monk or Dave Slagter -- however the assistants on the session were Pat Glover and Ron "Obvious" Vermeulen (twenty years later Ron would become the technical manager at Bryan's Warehouse Studios, as well as designing Mutt Lange's studio in Switzerland and my studio, The Armoury, in Vancouver).
The original version was recorded on a 16-track machine. Luongo needed twenty-four tracks to do the additional recording he had in mind.
This required a 16-to-24-track transfer. So ... the morning before our session, assistant engineer Pat Glover arranged for two rooms at Little Mountain Studio to be available: Studio A, with its 16-track Scully recorder, and Studio B with a 24-track Studer .
The 2-inch master tape of "Let Me Take You Dancing" was placed on the Scully machine. Using "tie lines" between the two studios, the audio would then be transferred onto the Studer machine, leaving an additional eight tracks for John's overdubs.
The transfer was a disaster... but I didn't hear about until 25 years later, when I ran into Pat Glover at a mutual friend's 60th birthday party.
Pat told me how he had pressed "Play" on the Scully machine in Studio A, then he ran over to Studio B to monitor the audio as it was being transferred to the Studer. He waited, but no audio appeared. Pat ran back to Studio B, just in time to witness the Scully "eating" the first part of our master tape (the Scully's fault ... not theirs). He hit "Stop", but it was too late, the 2-inch "master tape" was mangled beyond recovery.
Pat managed to find technician Ron Obvious elsewhere in the building. Together they determined -- quite brilliantly -- that the damaged section of music appeared in near identical form later in the song. By doing a double transfer and some creative editing, they managed to re-create the lost section.
John Luongo and I arrived at the studio a few hours later, completely unaware anything was amiss.
John had asked me to bring a variety of percussion instruments, which I did ... shakers, maracas, tambourines and a set of vibes (electric vibraphone). I also invited my friend, the famous drum designer Ray Ayotte, to play congas.
The session was completed in three or four hours. I remember John being a pleasant, energetic, upbeat guy. He kept "pumping us up", telling us how much he loved our song.
Following the Vancouver session, John took the master tape to New York where he completed a number of re-mixes. "Let Me Take You Dancing" went to #1 on several New York disco charts and enjoyed significant success at retail. However, despite the positive outcome, Bryan was bitterly disappointed with the sped-up sound of his vocal.
John, on the other hand, believed it was of critical importance to achieve a certain tempo, even if the vocal was somewhat compromised.
Bryan was still not officially signed to A&M Canada at this point. Instead, the recording of "Let Me Take You Dancing" (and the b-side "[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]") was financed by Brian Chater, head of A&M's publishing wing. I don't doubt the single's success contributed to Bryan eventually being signed directly to the label.
After "Let Me Take You Dancing" had run its course, Bryan quickly distanced himself from the "Nick Gilder" sound in favour of the Don Henley/Rod Stewart style that would become his trademark."
Last edited:
In honor of Walter Scott, co-lead singer of The Whispers with identical twin Wallace Scott (Walter passed away yesterday) - "And the Beat Goes On" and "Rock Steady":
Bass: Will Lee
Drums: Steve Gadd (monster drum break in the middle)
Drums: Steve Gadd (monster drum break in the middle)
Just for fun.
Black Sabbath if They Were a 1970s Disco Funk Band | Boogie Sabbath
Black Sabbath if They Were a 1970s Disco Funk Band | Boogie Sabbath
This arrangement reminded me of "Jump the Gun" by The Three Degrees. Maybe the same producing team?
I found a CD version of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that I purchased at some point but forgot - I had my mom's vinyl copy of the double-gatefold LP from the '70s that we danced to when I was in college in the '90s - drove people crazy with it in my car (not necessarily in a good way) but also recognized it as a goldmine of bass and groove! Just trying to play this stuff now, this is one attempt:
