Archive for the ‘Patrick Cowley’ Category

A Gay Disco Deep Cut by Beckie Bell

Sunday, August 19th, 2018

Sorry for the lack of posts for the past two weeks. I place blame on a variety of factors, including a heavy work load, heat-induced malaise, and various other minor health annoyances. Although I guess most of those would be bullshit reasons next to my recent obsessive playing of Dead Cells. I could’ve written a novel with the time I sunk into that game last week. I guess I’m saying that recommend it if you want a really good excuse to procrastinate and accomplish literally nothing with your life.

But I thought I would take a back from the procedurally-generated nonsense and give you some gay disco.

Beckie Bell
Super Queen
Johnnie’s Home
Saw this 12″ single in a record store a few weeks back and was about to pass it up when I noticed that “PATRICK COWLEY” was written on the label in all caps, followed by a bunch of kanji I couldn’t even begin to read.

From what I found online, “Super Queen” features synthesizer work by the Hi-NRG master, although with the caveat of it being uncredited. I’m liable to believe it, why would someone make that up after all, but how do we know it was him? Anyone out there care to present corroboration to back up this claim?

The b-side is “Johnnie’s Home,” which is a radically different tune to “Super Queen.” While the A-side is a marvel of Hi-ENRG sequences and beats, “Johnie’s Home” is just weird. It’s part doo-wop and part reggae almost, with a strong synthesizer bent. It’s like if The Shrielles, The Ronettes, and UB40 did a mash-up. Does that make it sound bad? Because it’s not, it’s just a little out there.

I bought this track because of Cowley, but the songs are by Beckie Bell, who released her first album back in 1980, and put out a follow-up some 14 years later. That original album must have a following, as vinyl copies can seemingly go for over $100. CDs are much cheaper, if you’re interested. I’ve never heard of Bell before I bought this single, but it turns out that I have heard her voice since she worked as a session player throughout a good chunk of the 80s and 90s. She’s one Duran Duran’s Big Thing, The One by Elton John, and even shows up on a few records by Celine Dion. The career paths of incredibly talented sessions players will never cease to amaze me.

Posted in Patrick Cowley, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Mistaken U2 Remixes and More

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

I took a week off work to recover from my excursion to America and that gave me time to go on an honest to goodness record recording bender, something I don’t think I’ve really done since I moved here. Felt good to sit in front of my computer all day and just listen to one 12″ single after another and then play a video game for three hours in a row. I need to dedicate one day a month to being a lazy anti-social bastard. I think it’s good for my psyche.

No more than one day though, I can’t spend that much time in my own head anymore without getting really upset about some of the stupid shit my head thinks up. My head is really stupid FYI.

Oh, speaking of my stupid head, I’m cataloging every version of every Madonna single. Check that out if you suffer from 80s remix OCD.

U2
Vertigo (Jacknife Lee 12″)
Vertigo (Jacknife Lee 7″)
Vertigo (Jacknife Lee 12″ Instrumental)
I’m gonna be real here and admit I bought this single because I mis-remembered “Vertigo” (a song I am impartial to) for “Elevation” (probably one of the few U2 songs I actually love. My stupidity is your gain I suppose! Enjoy – if you’re into this kind of thing.

Utah Saints
I Want You (New Orleans Edit)
What Can You Do For Me (Drill Mix)
What Can You Do For Me (Hard Mix)
What Can You Do For Me (Momo Beats)
What Can You Do For Me (Klub Mix)
No, Utah Saints, what can you do for me? I mean, I give and I give and I give and I get nothing in return. No love, no respect, nothing. You just won’t look away from your samplers for one minute and love me goddammit.

I don’t know what brought that on. Probably the fact that I have absolutely nothing to say about these remixes, which I actually do like quite a bit by the way. I should write more accusatory diatribes inspired by song titles.

No, you asshole, today is not the greatest day of them all, how dare you…

Okay maybe not.

Patrick Cowley
Megaton Man (Remix)
There are many different versions of this excellent electronic dance track, and I don’t know if this remix has an official name. I got it off of a French 12″ single, and I know it’s different than the version on Cowley’s album of the same name, and it’s also not the same version that’s on various Cowley or Megatone Records compilations, the running times don’t match up. Regardless, any version of this one is a good version, and worth hearing. It’s so unlike any disco that was coming out at the time, a perfect halfway point between the burgeoning electronic dance music of the late-70s and the synthpop that would dominate the better part of the 80s. No wonder the man was such an influence on acts like Erasure and Pet Shop Boys.

Posted in Patrick Cowley, remixes, U2, Utah Saints | 1 Comment »

Cowley Disco Funtimes

Monday, June 9th, 2014

I’ts been an on my feet for 10 hours while getting backhanded compliments kind of day. Time for disco.

Sylvester
I (Who Have Nothing) (Short Version)
Take Me To Heaven (12″ Mix)
Lovin’ Is Really My Game (12″ Remix)
Living For The City (12″ Remix)
Sylvester is dope. Sylvester is dope. Sylvester is motherfucking dope. I don’t know how many times I can say that. Y’all know Sylvester right? You should. Cuz he’s dope.

I’ve posted Sylvester tracks more times than I can count at this point (okay, it’s been like five times or something) but I somehow never got around to posting these banging remixes, which I snagged from various Megatone Records boxsets and a random 12″ single.

Of these, the 10+ minute mix of “Take Me To Heaven” is the clear standout, but the 12″ mix of “Lovin’ Is Really My Game” is also killer. Shit, they’re all great. You need them in your life.

And in case you were wondering, the “long” version of “I (Who Have Nothing)” is the album version. It’s 10 minutes long. The “short” version is a far more conservative six minutes.

Paul Parker
Shot In The Night
Paul Parker was another one of Patrick Cowley’s cohorts, and while I expected to find out that he had passed away like most in the early-80s disco scene, I’m happy to report that he’s still keeping this fab torch going, releasing Hi-NRG music on his own label and everything! Way to go dude.

“Shot In The Night” is not “Lovin’ Is Really My Game” but it’s still a satisfactory tune that should generate a moderate amount of booty-shaking.

By the way the mega Depeche Mode post is coming soon.

Posted in Patrick Cowley, Paul Parker, remixes, Sylvester | 5 Comments »

I Feel Lovely

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO BEFORE I MOVE I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE WRITING THIS!

I certainly shouldn’t have taken the time out of my day to review the new re-release of David Bowie’s Earthling LP either!

I’m incredibly irresponsible!

DISCO!

Donna Summer
I Feel Love (Patrick Cowley Mix)
So, I’m moving to Japan (AND IT’S MAKING ME REALLY BUSY – AND YELL) and most “normal person” preparation for a move like that would be things like “find an apartment,” “buy the clothes you need,” “get your finances in order.” And yeah, I’m doing all that important stuff, but I’m also making sure I buy certain things that I’ve been putting off for years that I know I won’t be able to easily get once I move to Japan. Case in point – I’ve had the 2CD out-of-print edition of Journey: The Best Of Donna Summer bookmarked in my browser for over a year now, and I finally went ahead and bought it last week. Because it’s important. Also because I just thought of it again after getting both a Patrick Cowley compilation and a Donna Summer album in the course of two weeks.

Why is it important? Because it’s the only way to get a digital version of this amazing mix of the most important dance song of all-time (that is not hyperbole!). With this mix Patrick Cowley, a genius who I have repeatedly talked about here, and on Mostly-Retro, took a song that was perfect and made it better. He made a perfect thing…more perfect.

Look, I can’t explain it, and like I said, I really don’t have the time to be eloquent right now, so you’re going to have to take what you can get. I just know that this mix, this sensational, amazing, I’m-out-of-superlatives mix might just be the greatest dance track ever. I have literally listened to this all day. Holy shit.

Sylvester
Rock The Box (Dance Version)
Rock The Box (Drum Box)
Rock The Box (Dub Box)
“Rock The Box” came out after Patrick Cowley died, but it certainly carries on his spirit with its catchy synth melodies and heavy electronic sound. The track is from Sylvester’s album M-1015. I haven’t found many positive reviews of that record, but I feel like it’s ripe for rediscovery. When it came out it was probably dated thanks to its heavy disco sound, but today I think it holds up quite well, like a magical combination of the best of early 80s disco and mid-80s synthpop. “Lovin’ Is Really My Game” is straight-up one of Sylvester’s best tunes, with both “Sex” and “Take Me To Heaven” also rocking it hard. The album also features backup vocals by Martha Walsh (“It’s Raining Men,” every C+C Music Factory track worth a damn) and Jeanie Tracy, an underrated vocalist whose awesomeness I’ve covered previously.

I have a ton of other Sylvester and other Megatone (Cowley’s labe) stuff I plan on putting up at a later date, so if this post leaves you hankering for some Hi-NRG bangers, you’ll be in luck! If not, um…sorry?

I also plan on posting an Alien Ant Farm rarity soon too, maybe you’ll like that?

Posted in Donna Summer, Patrick Cowley, remixes, Sylvester | 3 Comments »

Last Night A DJ Saved My Blog

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

I wrote review of Rolling Thunder, a crazy movie you can watch on Netflix if you like disgusting-yet-oddly-satisfying revenge flicks with questionable moral lessons.

And I got a ton of stuff on eBay, in case you might have forgotten.

Trying to get some money together for something big, if you were wondering why I was unloading so much stuff. That, and I came upon the realization that there’s too much stupid shit in my house, and I got to make room for the good shit, like my Japanese import copy of Styx’s Kilroy Was Here.

Y’know, the real gangsta shit.

As for what the “something big” is, you’ll just have to wait and find out.

Linda Imperial & Patrick Cowley
Diehard Lover
Diehard Lover (Instrumental)
More rare Cowley classics. Linda Imperial is no Sylvester, but she has a hell of a voice. Found these from a random 12″ single I bought in a budget bin.

Sylk 130
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Last Night The S-Man Saved The Mix)
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (DJ Saves The Dub)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix with Rap)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix Instrumental)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix A Cappella)
Sylk 130 is apparently someone named King Britt, whose real life actual name is…wow, it’s King Britt. Damn, his parents sure felt highly of him.

Anyways, I know little about King Britt. Apparently he’s released a ton of stuff, served as a producer on a ton more stuff, and remixed tons and tons of stuff. I didn’t buy these two separate 12″ singles of this song because of him, I bought them because “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” is one of the ultimate late-era disco club bangers of all time, regardless of who’s performing it. We need more songs about DJs. There’s this, that weird David Bowie song and…”Request Line” by The Black Eyed Peas, and that’s it? Well, at least all of them are fucking fantastic.

Yes, that Black Eyed Peas song is fucking fantastic. I will not hear anyone say otherwise. The Black Eyed Peas used to be good, and don’t forget it.

Well, maybe forget it, it’s just easier that way.

Posted in King Britt, Linda Imperial, Patrick Cowley, remixes | 7 Comments »

Gay Acid

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

In case you missed my last post, I finally launched that new site of mine. It’s called Mostly-Retro and it’s going to be a clearinghouse of reviews, essays and other stuff I’ve always wanted to write but couldn’t find the venue for. I plan on updating it two to three times a week if all works out. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on shutting down Lost Turntable anytime soon, but until I get things going at a steady pace over at Mostly-Retro, I might slow down to a post a week here for a month or so. Of course, now that I’ve said that I’m probably going to end up being more productive than ever and post shit nonstop. That’s always how that works.

Anyways, check out the new site! Tell me what you think! Keep it mind it’s still a work in progress, so be nice if you think it looks like butt.

Psychic TV
Joy (credited to DJ Doktor Megatrip with Luv Bass)
Thee Politics Ov Ecstasy (credited to Psychic TV & Jack The Tab)
These are from a 12″ single. I bought it because I thought it was some crazy weird bootleg acid house single. I had no idea that both tracks were actually by Psychic TV and that in the late 80s they released two full albums of acid house under the guise of them being compilation albums, complete with fake artist names for each track. That’s weird. But from what little I know of Psychic TV, weird is par for the course so I’m not even going to try and analyze it.

Seriously, I know next to nothing about Psychic TV aside from the fact that they’ve released, like, a billion albums and that they’re really weird. I don’t know how this stuff compares to the rest of their discography or if they’ve released better acid house music. I just like acid house. And as acid house goes, this is pretty damn great. And really fucking trippy.

Patrick Cowley
Menergy (12″ Remix)
I Wanna Take You Home
Tommy Williams’ Megamedley
I’ve posted some Patrick Cowley before. For those who missed those posts and might not know who he is; Cowley was a legend of late-era disco, and one of the first producers who followed in Moroder’s footsteps, taking disco into the realm of electronica. While Moroder was the original innovator of electronic disco, Cowley took it a whole other level during his brief career (he passed away in 1982), and pretty much laid the foundation for HI-NRG dance music and synthpop along the way. If you like the Pet Shop boys and New Order’s dancier stuff, then you should really dig Cowley.

I posted a mix of “Menergy” a few months ago, but this version is longer, clocking in at about eight and a half minutes, making it even gayer than the original. The b-side “I Wanna Take You Home,” while not as fabulous as “Menergy” is still an excellent example of the type of music that Cowley created. I don’t know who is singing on it though, the 12″ gave no credit. If you have any idea let me know.

Finally, there’s the “Tommy Williams’ Megamedley,” which starts with “Menergy” before going into a mostly instrumental mix of Cowley’s greatest tracks. It’s amazing. This shit is better than 99% of the “EDM” you hear on the radio these days, of course that’s really not saying that much is it?

Posted in B-sides, Patrick Cowley, Psychic TV, remixes | 2 Comments »

Slyvester Goes To Hollywood

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013

I’m on my new hosting service! But stuff is still kind of on fire. That’s why there’s no logo at the top of the screen. Hopefully that will get worked out soon. Double hopefully now that everything is moved I can finally start getting that other site in a state where I can unveil it to the masses. I think it’ll be relatively dope.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Two Tribes (Fluke Magimix)
Two Tribes (Olav Basoski’s Tiberium Power Mix)
Two Tribes (Rob Searle’s Club Dub)
While in Japan I picked up the Frankie Said, a  2CD compilation that assembles a rather bizarre combination of Frankie b-sides, remixes and outtakes. It’s an awesome collection, with multiple versions of classics like “Relax,” “Weclome The The Pleasuredome” and “Two Tribes.”

One of the most interesting things about the album is its sequence and editing. It has many interludes, 30-second to one-minute tracks that contain spoken word bits and song fragments. Many of them work to seamlessly segue into the next track. In doing so, it kind of transforms the hodgepodge collection into a concept album of sorts , and not just because parts of it sound like one big song mixed together, I mean thematically too. The compilation focuses on what Frankie knew best, hedonism, sex, drugs, and the constant threat of World War III. If that doesn’t have the makings of a concept album about life in the early 80s, I don’t know what does.

If you can find a copy of that 2CD set, I recommend picking it up. None of these remixes are from the said set though, they’re from a 2×12″ single that I also bought in Japan. The Fluke mix is the best of the bunch. And I love the fact that Fluke did a Frankie Goes To Hollywood remix.

Sylvester
Band Of Gold
Band Of Gold (Dub Mix)
Band Of Gold (Radio Edit)
Does the original version of “Band of Gold” by Freda Payne count as disco? It came out in 1970, which I guess predates disco by a few years, but it sure sounds like something that could have torn up a disco club in the 70s. It’s certainly one of my favorite pop songs of the decade, and has turned into a surprising recurring track here on The Lost Turntable. First I put up a cover by Modern Romance that was featured on the wonderfully horrid Party Party soundtrack. Then I shared it again years later, this time being Belinda Carlisle’s version. Those versions were good, but they can’t hold a candle to this one. I mean, c’mon, Sylvester? Patrick Cowley? Can’t top that.

Listening to this track got me on a disco kick, and I searched to see if Sylvester ever did a cover of my favorite classic disco track “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” Turns out he didn’t. However, I did find a cover of the song by his friend and fellow disco diva Jeanie Tracy. That cover has a remix called “A Sylvester Mix.” I don’t know if he had anything to do with the mix, or it if was a tribute to him and/or his boyfriend who had just succumbed to AIDS that year. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was a rallying cry for the AIDS-affected gay community of the early 80s, so that wouldn’t surprise me. It’s awesome though, so now I have a new 12″ single to track down.

Posted in Fluke, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Patrick Cowley, remixes, Sylvester | 2 Comments »

A Gay Disco Protest

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

Congratulations North Carolina! You passed an amendment to ban gay marriage, making it the second amendment in your state to limit marriage rights. In case you were wondering, the first was in the 187s0, when you banned interracial marriage.

I don’t know about you, but news like that makes me want to dance to some incredibly gay disco as an act of defiance. I hope this post can serve as a soundtrack to a giant gay dance party in North Carolina, preferably one outside a church run by closet-case homophobes who all secretly want to drop the bibles and vamp out to “It’s Raining Men.” Specifically, I’m posting tracks from an album called 12 x 12. It’s a compilation of dance tunes that were produced by Patrick Cowley, a dance legend who passed away from AIDS in 1982, leaving behind a brief but vitally important legacy of amazing electronic disco that served as a huge influence for synthpop. Even if you don’t like disco, give this stuff a chance, you might be surprised.

And if you did, or would, vote to ban gay marriage, I hope you get outed as the closet case hatemonger you are. Fuckers.

Sylvester
Sex
Don’t Stop (Remix)
 Be With You (Holland Remix)
 Sylvester was one of the absolute queens of disco, never mind the fact that he was a man. My only experience with him before I bought this LP was his megahit “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” and he’s downright manly on that tune compared to his vocal delivery on these tracks. His voice caught me so off guard on “Sex” that I double-checked the linear notes to make sure I was listening to the right song and that it was indeed a man singing. If you like these tunes, then be sure to check out “Do You Wanna Funk” on iTunes or Amazon, the greatest track that Cowley and Sylvester made together. It’s epic.

Patrick Cowley
Megatron Man (Remix)
 Menergy
Want to know where the Pet Shop Boys got their sound? Listen to this remix of  “Megatron Man” and you’ll find out. As for “Menergy,” that’s the second-gayest disco song of all-time, to find out about the first, keep reading.

Scherrie Payne
One Night Only
Scherrie Payne is Freda Payne’s little sister, and was in The Supremes for most of the 70s. This song is a remake of a track that was originally in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. That version is a torch song ballad (geez that musical has a ton of those doesn’t it?), this version is a disco-tastic bit of fabulousness, it’s way better. I wonder if Cowley ever crafted his own version of “I Am Telling You I Am Not Going”? That would have been intense.

Jolo
Last Call
Jolo were Jo-Carol Block Davidson and Lauren Carter. I think they primarily served as vocalists for Cowley, but they did get a writing credit for this song, so they were perhaps more involved in the creative process than a lot of other singers of the era. This track is a typical “I hope I can find someone to go home with before the bar closes” number, but it’s still fun and has a great beat. The synthesized string interlude is excellent.

Modern Rocketry & Jolo
Cuba Libre (Remix)
Modern Rocketry have another track on this compilation, a discofied cover of The Monkees’ “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” that really has to be heard to be believed. You can get it on Amazon. As for who Modern Rocketry is, I’ll let their Last.FM profile speak for them:

“They’re not very well known – in fact they’re downright obscure – but what little fame they enjoyed was probably due to their 1985 release, best described as the gayest disco song ever. ‘Homosexuality,’ with its b-side of ‘Thank God For Men.'”

Shocking that a song like that didn’t have crossover appeal.

Jeanie Tracy
Don’t Leave Me this Way
Thelma Houston’s version of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is one of the very few non-electronic disco tracks that I can appreciate at all, so finding this synthesizer-happy cover was a gift from the gods. Because if there’s anything the original version was missing, it was extraneous laser sound effects.

Jeanie Tracy was a big member of the Cowley camp, and she released several singles for Cowley’s Megatone record label, even after he passed away. She was also a very close friend of Sylvester’s, and reportedly cared for him as he lost his battle with AIDS in 1987.

Le Jeté
La Cage Aux Folles
Le Jeté released one single, and this is it. I know nothing about them, so if anyone wants to chime in that would be great.

Posted in Jeanie Tracy, Jolo, Le Jeté, Modern Rocketry, Patrick Cowley, Scherrie Payne, Sylvester, You Don't Have To Be Gay To Like Disco or Support Gay Rights | 5 Comments »