...AND THE BEAT GOES ON! The GRAND ILM DISCO POLL results are revealed!

It begins.

I really regret not finding the time to submit a ballot, but this is gonna be fun!

Didn't vote, but looking forward to an education!

http://leblow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Groove-is-in-the-Heart.gif

Whoop!

My ballot was a shambles but it's good to still have some sort of stake in the results. Makes it more interesting.

Oo-wa oo-wa! Oo-wa oo-wa!

99.(tie) KC & The Sunshine Band - Keep It Comin' Love (1976)
169 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/keepitcominlove_zpsacff709d.jpeg

http://youtu.be/hFnRqkax44Q

Love the guitar sound on a lot of KC songs... "Keep It Comin' Love" gets my vote for, if nothing else, the bit where the chorus breaks down and KC goes "ohhhh yeaaah."

It's the little things, you know.

― Kent Burt, 2. maaliskuuta 2011 21:27

the one I've always had a special, separate place in my heart for is "Keep It Comin' Love," for being some ultimate bubblegum disco epitome.

― xhuxk, 4. maaliskuuta 2011 16:23

another vote for Keep It Comin' Love. what a fucking great tune

― NI, 13. maaliskuuta 2011 19:40

Wasn't really familiar with this tune before this poll, but I think Chuck is right there.

Looking forward to this. I like or love so much disco but I only have a superficial familiarity with it.

Oh yeah, I know this song, but didn't know it by title.

Don't know this one, not a huge fan of KC but will check it out.

how many ballots did u get in the end tuomas?

Looking forward to this.
Yes - and to learning the Finnish for all the months of the year apparently :)

Bubblegum disco seems right, I actually dig this.

99.(tie) Bumblebee Unlimited - Lady Bug (Disco Mix) (1978)
169 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/32XMCUO1bz_zps9c4558a1.png

http://youtu.be/K4ClcX14K7g

I LOVE Ladybug, beyond most other things, ever.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), 19. lokakuuta 2005 23:26

I LOVE Lady Bug, one of my top 5 disco.

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), 12. helmikuuta 2013

Patrick Adams deserves his own thread.

That's more like it! Killer Patrick Adams tune, I've grown to love the goofy lyrics too. "Let's smoke the flowers!"

how many ballots did u get in the end tuomas?

In the end there were exactly 40 ballots.

98. Giorgio - From Here to Eternity (1977)
171 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2317287-1292030788_zpsf2b69a44.jpeg

http://youtu.be/qTFEyFEu1Fk

From Here To Eternity is Perfection

― I know, right?, 8. syyskuuta 2007 14:40

the title track = glorious.

― s1ocki (slutsky), 3. heinäkuuta 2005 23:56

For better or worse trance is Moroder's From here to Eternity LP remodelled 20 years on.

― Billy Dods, 20. marraskuuta 2001 3:00

the title track from 'from here to eternity' is so awesome

― latebloomer (latebloomer), 22. kesäkuuta 2006 6:49

96.(tie) Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm a Wonderful Thing (Baby) (1982)
172 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-191571-1247929919_zps6e9f019b.jpeg

http://youtu.be/yRCvMDLdbxs

they're such a wonderful thing, baby.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, 24. elokuuta 2008 15:32

15 May Kid Creole & the Coconuts I'm a Wonderful Thing Baby (4) - Or "Wherever I Lay My Hat" without the guilt and 20 times the easy swagger. Again they SHOULD have had the big hit 12 months previously with "Maladie D'Amour" but it was good to have them around.

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 17:42

Kid Creole & The Coconuts- "I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby" never fails.

― Chantilly Bass (ChantillyBass), 4. maaliskuuta 2006 10:49

96.(tie) Imagination - Just an Illusion (1982)
172 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-575804-1285176487_zps96fdb5fe.jpeg

http://youtu.be/xDs_aRRdp2o

Didn't Imagination do "Just an Illusion"? That was such a cool song.

― dog latin (dog latin), 12. toukokuuta 2005 20:11

I only heard it (Just an Illusion) for the first time last year when someone posted it on facebook. Great great song.

― Johnny Fever, 5. toukokuuta 2011 6:42

6 Mar Imagination Just An Illusion (2) - Their first two albums are CLASSIQUE and this was their biggest hit; Swain and Jolley's finest moment (including subsequent Spandau and Bananarama work).

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 14:29

synths in Imagination - "Just an Illusion"

Has there ever been a proper Imagination revival? Their first two albums are soooo good, synth disco smooth as silk... And "Burnin' Up" from the first one sounds like they practically invented piano house.

I ditched "Just An Illusion" from my ballot, on stickler-for-purist-definitions-of-genre grounds, but it's still A+++ Total Classic.

fantastic song, and first from my ballot to show up! i like their less successful single "flashback" even more, same great sound but more high-energy. glad "keep it coming love" made it in, haven't heard any of the others but i'll enjoy checking them out.

Love the Kid Creole but I was v. strict with my ballot and all Darnell, Mutant Disco and the like was deliberately excluded. We should probably have a separate poll on that whole sub genre.

two of mine already. I always think of "Just And Illusion" as the greatest British disco track ever. can someone prove me wrong?

so basically both Imagination (11. on my ballot) and Kid Creole (21.) are too low. as pretty much every track on a top 100 disco list must be.

I didn't post it above, because I wanted to include the original video, but there's also a nice 8 minute extended remix of the tune; don't know who's the remixer.

Love the Kid Creole but I was v. strict with my ballot and all Darnell, Mutant Disco and the like was deliberately excluded. We should probably have a separate poll on that whole sub genre.

I don't really count Kid Creole as disco either, and didn't vote for it, but IMO Machine is almost as disco as it can get.

Can't wait, thanks for putting it together!

let's just pretend it's 100 joint #1s.

(had i voted lady bug would've had a significant boost.)

95. The Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else (1979)
173 points, 4 votes.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/73532022/The+Jones+Girls.jpg

http://youtu.be/t8lkVb_oM-o

The Jones Girls, "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" <---- totally hypnotic! why did I ever sleep on this one?!

― Eric H., 30. syyskuuta 2008 7:39

13. Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else

like this one a lot too -- i spent a decent portion of my childhood dancing to shit like this at bar mitzvahs

― wee-based god (J0rdan S.), 22. tammikuuta 2011 10:12

Those two seem to be the only posts ever on ILM about this tune. :(

I spent my Jones Girls vote on "Nights Over Egypt", but I love this one too. Beautiful mid-tempo disco groove with classic "woman scorned" lyrics, that's instant success for me!

delighted this made it, but I assumed it was going to be hiigh

94. Chic - At Last I Am Free (1978)
175 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/cest-chic_zps24edd7e7.jpg

http://youtu.be/ZIl4odSpAfg

I like Wyatt's version (and have never heard Liz Fraser's), but Chic's is such a masterful production: the strings and vocals sound like they were on Qualudes.

― I'm crossing over into enterprise (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), 25. huhtikuuta 2009 20:32

A nice man made a mix tape full of weird avant garde stuff and stuck 'at last i am free' on the end as some light relief which was nice.

― Leigh, 13. maaliskuuta 2002 3:00

Disco bands could be serious - very few late-70s rock songs are as fraught as "At Last I Am Free". Try telling the tens of thousands of women who've belted it out at karaoke that "I Will Survive" is not serious and fun both at once.

― Tom, 29. huhtikuuta 2002 3:00

2. At Last I Am Free - at around 3 and a half minutes everything turns staccato for the third chorus, leaving the strings gliding along below the melody before Luci lifts an octave, reaching and bending the melody as an intro to Bernard's bass solo.

There may be nothing better than this music.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), 21. huhtikuuta 2004 13:42

At Last I Am Free: Choose Your Version: Liz Fraser, Robert Wyatt or Chic?

This is one of the few non-singles in this poll... I wonder if its popularity is because of the cover versions mentioned in the thread above (I've never heard them)? It's a great tune anyway, so nice that it made it to the top 100.

That cover, haha. One of the first albums I ever bought.

"You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" is better than almost any slow disco song evah.

― Nurse Detrius (Eric H.), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:58 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah that bassline is godly

― pussy spread like the rainbow (The Brainwasher), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 11:00 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark

here's two more posts

I didn't vote in this poll because my knowledge of disco is awful but i've been very into the Jones Girls and this tune in particular of late

Yeah, I've never understoof the cover for "C'est Chic". Is it supposed to be a parody of some lifestyle magazine photo, or what...?

Personally, I like the Monade version of "At Last I Am Free" best (but then I would).

C'est Chic album cover is great

I voted for "Changes " but otherwise can't get enough of Imagination.

Spotify playlist:
http://open.spotify.com/user/miketd/playlist/4za5ZvxZ6pUQZrcmhkbJja

93. KC & The Sunshine Band - That's the Way (I Like It) (1975)
175 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-407013-1324580312_zps41df1a0a.jpeg

http://youtu.be/XlOpLyTIKKA

Like Chic, the Sunshine Band was one of the few truly great BANDS of disco, with a very identifiable groove and sound. Surely as important to the Miami sound & scene as Chic was to NYC. The horns, the Caribbean percussion -- even the silliest KC song would almost always have this hypnotic boil bubbling underneath. Plus, they achieved massive, superstar-level popularity, and were a red-hit live act (if I remember my Midnight Special correctly). Bet they sold more records than Chic. In other words, uh-huh, I like it.

― briania (briania), 22. lokakuuta 2004 14:46

KC and co. were easily my faves when I was like 5 years old. I never new that my lack-of-a-music-career would cause a run in with Rick Finch in 1991 when I shopped a demo to Hot Productions and he was working A&R.

The thing most interesting about KC's and Rick's careers is how they stole the thunder from Clarence Reid and Willie Clark -- who were the cheif songwriters/producers for Henry Stone before them.

At the time, Rick was an engineer and KC worked in the warehouse. Henry just let them use the studio after hours, which is where "Rock Your Baby" came to life, and changed the direction of Miami (the Allman's once LIVED in that studio).

Also notable that Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly) hired The Oceanliners to play his wedding, which is when and where KC discovered Junkanoo...causing him to fuse it with the soul/funk they were previously working on.

That Junkanoo sound ran deep in the Miami sound during the 70's.

― PappaWheelie (PappaWheelie), 1. elokuuta 2005 17:57

I'm pretty sure I haven't heard any KC&tSB since the Jock Jams era. If memory serves me right, they should probably be pretty cool.

― The Reverend, 19. toukokuuta 2007 12:00

I've never liked the chorus of this tune, but my god that wordless vocal/horn riff that precedes it is glorious! What was the 90s club tune that sampled it?

Nile is quite open that Roxy Music are the source for the whole Chic aesthetic, which is totally otm until you realise Roxy never had a sleeve remotely like that one

KC are magnificent of course. more of them to come I hope

I left off 'just an illusion' for definition of disco reasons but if I hadn't have been as strict it would've joined 'stop bajon' in a top 5. 'At last I'm free' my number 2 ;_;

nice work tuomas

92. Village People - Y.M.C.A. (1978)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1424926-1260808978_zps47fa6de0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/CS9OO0S5w2k

The Macarana back lash put that song and craze out of its misery while millions of people still try to spell out YMCA.

Without the Village People (or Frankie Goes To Hollywood) karoke would only be half as fun.

― zacko, 22. elokuuta 2001 3:00

SexyBack" is likely a time capsule joke in a decade or two-- our very own "Y.M.C.A."

^^^whaaaaaaaaa?

― Samuel (a hoy hoy)
____________________________________________

i think he might be right about that tbh

― rather shipped (J0rdan S.)

Yep. Y.M.C.A. --> Ring My Bell --> Achy Breaky Heart --> The Macarena --> SexyBack.

― Daniel, Esq., 30. syyskuuta 2009 13:47

You want my honest opinion?

THEY ARE THE BEST BAND EVER.

That's all there is to it. I mean, who is better? Iggy Pop? The Beatles? No, they all suck next to the greatness that is the Leather Man. I mean, YMCA gets played at sporting events, total homophobes sing along with it like morons led to the slaughter, I'm all for that kind of subversion. Plus, Go West is the best song ever made.

― Ally, 21. elokuuta 2001 3:00

Things that it's fun to do at the YMCA poll!

I couldn't sensibly evaluate this one - it is wonderful, it's just too much of wonderful

Supernature is more less sexy and more geeky than "Love in C Minor", plus it has that Moroder/Italo synth vibe, I think that's the reason ILM loves it more. ("Love to Love You Baby" also placed well below "I Feel Love", you could argue that these two have a similar relationship with each other as the two Cerrone tracks.) Don't get me wrong though, I think "Supernature" is a great and unique tune exactly because it is so weird and geeky. (Though I probably would've voted for "Love in C Minor" myself, if I had had any room left for Cerrone in my ballot.)

"Supernature is more less sexy"

such a great thread.
a classic.
bravo tuomas
love the fact its full of big chart hits, and more underground stuff.
i've learnt loads.
for various reasons, i did not take part.
just a shame this one did not get some love as i think its just perfect both in its original form, and tom moulton mix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EbkGyWTKZg

I was listening to that Tom Moulton remix box set the other day, and when The Three Degrees' "Year of Decision" played, I was like, damn! this is such a gorgeous and uplifting tune, why didn't I vote for it?! Ah well, too late now...

http://youtu.be/ZqWaxrv0QDE

Yep. Worst post of the entire thread.

Like you, I call it as I see it. The song is dreadful.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see "I Want Your Love" ahead of the rest of Chic. It's my favorite, beating out, oh, maybe "Everybody Dance" by a nose probably, but I don't think it's a universal pick, and may not even score as high if this poll were done on a different day. And maybe it has gotten a boost in recent years by Moodyman and Terje, but the thing about it is it's melancholy vibe and perfect chord construction just propel it and rip your heart out. Such a killer. And I think that moody vibe may make it the most timeless of Chic tracks for me because it sits so well in with my favorite dance music in general, which tends to be run through with huge streaks of melancholy.

I didn't have time to put together a ballot for this one, unfortunately, but I like how it's turned out and look forward to looking at everyone's lists and digging for tunes I don't know.

thx tuomas <3<3<3

Thanks Tuomas! Really appreciated the slooooow rollout, able to savor the buildup that way.

Yes indeed, thanks Tuomas! I didn't vote, but it's been fun discovering new tracks. I'm a big Kid Creole fan, but had somehow never heard the Machine version of "There But..."

didn't vote but have really enjoyed the consistently excellent results. mix of some of my all time favourites & new discoveries which are just as good, so thanks v much everyone especially tuomas

i need flopson to post itt: Post your disco poll ballots here

k 1 sec

it's not that good tho i threw it together in like 10 secs + i am a disco neophyte

ok nm then

yr ballot is super dope tho, listening thru those links now

thanks man i'm very proud of it

i think "that's the kind of love i got for you" was on a mix u posted to ilm and that's how i know it. all-time track

the source of immense learning :

2012 - the jazz poll/thread.
2013 - the disco poll/thread.

i still love ilm.

thanks tuomas (sp?)

yr ballot is super dope tho, listening thru those links now

Seconded. It's how I've been spending my workday.

What's happened to the spotify list? Three-quarters of it seems to have vanished.

Yep,some bright spark has managed to delete most of the playlist.

I did a non-collaborative backup playlist here, with track selections that are only guaranteed to work for UK subscribers:

http://open.spotify.com/user/miketd/playlist/0fajo4hMikuUoXgaFCEwx5

OK, I've restored from my backup playlist. US folk can add tracks that aren't showing up; a small number aren't available at all.

Thanks! That always seems to happen - I've seen other collaborative lists decimated when a poll concludes. I suspect mischief.

must read for disco lovers http://dalstonsuperstore.com/features/daniel-wang/

nice, thanks for posting

Link doesn't seem to be working anymore?

daniel wang
Posted / December 19th, 2013
(This article originally appeared in QX Magazine)

By Cliff Joannou

Tell us in one juicy sentence who Daniel Wang is…

Daniel Wang is a possibly typical California-born gay Chinese-American guy whose ten years in New York and ten years of living in Berlin have added up to a rather open-minded and musically entertaining DJ who plays mostly (but not exclusively) classic disco records – for the DJ world. Maybe not unlike what Margaret Cho is for the stand-up comedy circuit.

Well, that’s a mighty long sentence, but we’ll allow it. Now, finish this sentence: “Disco is divine because…”

Its classic incarnations from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, truly the meeting of the genius of jazz and classical forms with the rhythmic richness of diverse African rhythms, played and often mixed down by musicians and studio engineers who knew their trade, unlike the majority of laptop-based DJ/producers today who know little about either proper music-making or sound production.

Woah, tiger! Don’t hold back. You’re also quoted as saying, “The whole of house music can be summed up in 200 pieces of vinyl.” Like, wow. Please explain…

I still feel that way: most of house can be summed up in about 200 pieces of vinyl because the rules of the genre are extremely self-limiting. House is defined overwhelmingly as a machine beat with a mechanical repetitive bassline with some samples or vocals on top. Any real guitar, string or brass section, or real live drumming would be another territory. There are almost NEVER any proper chord changes or musical ideas, only jamming over a single non-changing groove. The best and strongest house records rely on their raw power and simplicity and the natural groove in the drum machines and synthesizers, like the Roland 909 and 303. And the rest is pretty forgettable. It doesn’t have to be a hit or even memorable to be good, but as a DJ and music lover, I would say, there aren’t a fraction of house records which have truly stood the test of time the way the great disco classics have. Not that I want to play only Salsoul classics or Dan Hartman’s Relight My Fire over and over again, but…!

DANIEL WANG’S HORSE MEAT DISCO @ DALSTON SUPERSTORE TOP 10

1. MFSB - Old San Juan

I just got this CD reissue of my favourite MFSB album, their last from 1980. The album was apparently a commercial failure, this classic jazz and orchestral disco sound was no competition against Donna Summer or the Bee Gees. Because it was too beautiful and maybe too sophisticated, not suited for AM radios, more for stereophile dancing…

2. Jean Carn - My Love Don’t Come Easy

A new remix from 2011 by master Tom Moulton, reissued on CD, just found it at a local electronics market near my home in Berlin! Actually it’s a 4 CD set, truly fantastic, 11 minute version!

3. Ben Cenak + Dream 2 Science - Dream2Science

A classic late night acid 303 track with hypnotic pads and jazz piano solo. One of a kind. Not disco. Simply gorgeous.

4. Ritchie Family, 1976 - Baby I’m On Fire

Album cut on Arabian Nights LP. I don’t like most of their songs really, too kitschy. But this one has a killer 106 BPM swinging groove and great arrangements!

5. Fancy - Slice Me Nice

Eurotrash disco 1984 just for fun! It’s a cheesy take on Passion by The Flirts. But the sound production is awesome. And the lyrics about wanting to be a piece of cake…

6. Maynard Ferguson - Invitation/ Pagliacci

Massive fusion-funk workout 1978-style with ARP synths, flute solos, and a classic jazz motif strangely reminiscent of the Theme From Star Trek.

7. Karen Carpenter - Slow Dance

That early ’80s slick production! Fat tinkly Fender Rhodes piano and a groove which is almost… danceable. Who cares when Karen’s voice is cooing so gorgeously like that…

8. Jeanne Shy - Night Dancer

Big orchestral 1978 disco 12″ clocking in at about 128 BPM, produced by Bob Esty who also did Cher’s Take Me Home among others. A bit over the top, but I love the instrumental break at the end.

9. Blaze - Can’t Win For Losing

The best of New Jersey soulful house music circa 1989. I love the instrumental version without the slightly rough vocals. This track seems a precursor to their successful later remix of Lisa Stansfield’s first club hit with Coldcut, People Hold On.

10. Ron Trent - JourneyN2U

It makes me wanna dance! I think this is from year 2005 or so? A loopy trippy pretty house music jam! Just so we don’t get stuck in a 1979 disco time warp, you understand. Say goodbye to screaming divas and say hello to the trancey hypnotic spiritual groove of contemporary electronic whatever!

Join Daniel Wang at HORSE MEAT EAST this Friday 20th December at Dalston Superstore from 9pm – 4.30am

Visit QX Magazine’s website: WWW.QXMAGAZINE.COM or pick up a copy here at Dalston Superstore.

am i crazy for being surprised that amii stewart knock on wood didnt even rank

I don't think I've ever heard of that song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ztZ7WFo3nw

srsly still can't believe no bohannon

http://youtu.be/FLCHN7gIT8Q

that song rips

"Let's Start the Dance" would've been the most likely candidate, but man, "Foot Stompin Music" is a Cosby Show credits sequence waiting to happen.

yeah on top of being fantastic "knock on wood" was also a huge hit! i thought for sure it would break the top 50 at least

i was expecting top 10 placing lol

all i want for christmas is this book

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-raunch-the-rollerskates-the-rampaging-bears-patrick-lejeune-reveals-why-he-became-obsessed-with-disco-album-sleeves-9829903.html

crown heights affair didnt even crack the top 250, and this song wasnt even nominated, such a pity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HelkIPwOIdI

I gave my vote to "You Gave Me Love", but pretty much all of their singles from 1975 to 1980 are über-classic.

'dancin' is magic

i'm pretty sure i nominated that song gr80

well no one voted for it :(

this is a very good edit that is faithful to the origianl while also playing with it in a way that is just fresh enough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIou_SfiXwE

and flopson, i feel like you'd dig the b-side of that bootleg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKsPwSHHwxg

I checked the nomination thread, no one nominated "Say a Prayer for Two".

re-poll

I dunno, there were 3 CHA tracks in the nom list, I guess there just isn't enough love in here?

I'm not sure if I voted for any CHA, but I sure as hell love them more than a good few dozen from the actual listees.

My favorite Crown Heights Affair track. The bassline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urIj5e99RzM

^OTM

We have a new thing going on:

Su-POLL-stition: It's the ~~~ 70s SOUL/FUNK/DISCO TRACKS POLL ~~~ voting & campaigning thread