September 25,1978 GAYSWEEK 16

Freaking Out; Good Vibrations

BRIAN CHIN

f you thought that "Push, push, in the bush" was an outrageous chant, you haven't heard Freak In the Light of the Moon, the album by the Universal Robot Band, on Red Greg. In it, Patrick Adams (who wrote and produced the Musique album) and Greg Carmichael have assembled some of the hottest, craziest chants yet heard. "Freak With Me" is an obvious hit, breaking out all over; it careens by with party noises, aimless synthesizer jamming and the most explicit moans. The strings conspicuously absent on that cut can be heard on "Doing Anything Tonight," which recalls "Express" with short, talky horn lines. Both cuts include heavy, multi-faceted percussion work. "Dancin' Disco Party" follows the sound of Musique most closely, with unison vocals and a clean, snappy sound. Not thinker's music; it just moves.

Such decadence may make you look for more soul-satisfying sounds, such as Sweet Cream's "Do a Dance For Love" from Sweet Cream and Other Delights (Shadybrook). The Ridgeway Sisters sound as if they're jumping for joy on this cut, which boasts a riveting synthesizerbass break, where a wah-wah pans from channel to channel. Bright horns and multi-tracked harmonies fill out this jiving, supple track. Even more directly gospel-based is the New York Community Choir's "Keep a Light In My Window," remixed by Al Garrison and Warren Schatz for an RCA disco disc. A solid piano groove is overlaid with handclaps so hot they sound like firecrackers. The imaginative remix fades the arrangement occasionally to bass and drums and ends on a hot break. The inspirational lyrics are put across with a soul shout that's not likely to get lost among the tambourines. Already known for gospelflavored R&B, the Staples have recorded their new Unlock Your Mind album (Warner Bros.) with the crack Muscle

DISCO

Midsong. It easily matches the flair and infectiousness of Midnight Love Affair with two very melodic cuts, "I Fell In Love for the First Time Today" and "Burnin'," which are connected by a rhythm break of shaker and synthesizer. The metallic snap of bass guitar strings also unifies the songs through their shifts of instrumentation. Carolyne Bernier (Private Stock) also includes a long cut that sustains interest well (in addition to the hit, "Hold Me, Touch Me"): the 16-minute "Secret Agent Love." Vocals, string synthesizer and percussion are echoed into a swirling mass, with bits of flute and piano ornamentation. Further along, wah-wah and strobe synthesizer emerge and recede in the arrangement.

Y

ou gotta hear it in a club: I've been surprised recently by a few cuts that didn't impress me at home on the turntable, but which came across very forcefully indeed on the dance floor. Boney M's Nightflight to Venus leads off with a title cut featuring military drumming accented by a set of rapid handclaps: powpow-pow. The feeling of offbalance achieved here is heightened by the droning synthesizer and voices. The song segues into "Rasputin," whose more recognizably German sound features bleated answering vocals highlighted by shouts and mandolin. I especially like the hookline: "Rah, rah, Rasputin," probably an unwitting Americanism. Simple and punchy: these are the virtues of "Stand Up," from the Atlantic Starr album (A&M). Muted horns accompany a strutting street funk arrangement and there's a nifty harmony break near the end of the cut. "Stubborn Kind of Fella," by Buffalo Smoke, has been newly remixed for an RCA disco disc, and it begins with an elaboration on the original; quite a head of steam is built up in a piano and harmony passage where the song is barely hinted at. Handclaps have been hottened, and the congás, which sometimes sound like woodblock on the original mix (included on the flip) have been sharpened.

Skin Heat, the Larry Page Orchestra's

album on London, like their Erotic Soul,

has a slightly exotic feel that creates a

Shoals Rhythm Section. Strong candistrong atmosphere in addition to being an

dates for lengthened remix are two smashing covers; Swamp Dogg's "Love Being Your Fool," with a raw guitar and organ sound and Jeff Lynne's "Showdown," which contrasts strutting horns and a screaming guitar solo with the unexpected brush of a windchime.

Carol Douglas has reverted to a harder soul style on Burnin', her new album on

Carol Douglas

effective dance album. Several notable

cuts: "Restless Señorita," features Latin

climbing and descending clavinet figure. Bob McGilpin's Superstar album has a "hard" side whose rock-flavored sound could vary programs without sacrificing the flow of rhythm. Butterfly has released a promotional disco disc of the title cut and "Go for the Money." "Superstar" has a groove close to "Disco Inferno," adding rhythm guitar and sweeping, complex strings. The mixdown of the arrangement to a very effective break is quite a lifting moment. Also on Butterfly, a remix of Tuxedo Junction's "Rainy Night In Rio," on a promotional disco disc, with sweet, melting harmonies, a saxophone ensemble and the recognizable smooth tempo of El Coco sides, also produced by Rinder and Lewis.

This week's disco hymns are Laura This We Dancin' In My Feet," a TK

disco disc and "New York Is My Kind of Town," from Metropolis's The Greatest Show On Earth (Salsoul). Taylor's record has chirping high pop harmonies and nice variations in mood, creditable to Jim Burgess's remix and is generally a cool, rather elegant cut. Metropolis, composed of a German rhythm section and Philadelphian vocalists (the Sweethearts of Sigma), lead off their album with a Broadway-style arrangement of strings and horns and an expansive pep-talk jingle much on order of their version of "I Love New York," also appearing on the album. Both are the sort of good-timey record that could turn into a dance-for-your-life affirmation. with that right moment.

and "Who Do Ya Love," the latter of which may be KC's most .melodic, naively touching song ever. Steppin' Out (Polydor) is another sensitively put-together collection of disco hits (compiled by Vince Aletti and Richie Rivera) which includes material as old as Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye" and as recent as Don Ray's "Got to Have Loving." The hard-to-find "Crystal World" by Crystal Grass and previously unavailable mixes of Bionic Boogie's "Risky Changes" and "Dance Little Dreamer" are included as well on this double album, as are Aletti's informative liner notes. Panama's Fire, now available domestically on Peters International, has a funky, hard edge to it; a very small band plays very hard on a set of remakes including "What'd I Say" and very superior versions indeed of "Nights In White Satin" and "Fire," with a deep, deep pulse and jerky string arrangements. Their originals have an extremely high standard, especially "No Superman," and the second side could sustain uninterrupted play. Also a collection of remakes, I Get Around (Millennium) by the Good Vibrations is an interesting and possibly suggestive reworking of Beach Boys standards. The title cut is transformed by allusion to Etta James's "All the Way Down," hardening Brian Wilson's original lyric with a street-hip overtone. "Good Vibrations" itself acquires an allusive, abstract quality as Paul Riser's string carry the melody and the male chorus (including Luther Vandross) sings only key phrases. A chant of "Do it good, do it to

Better late than never comments on again, I like it!" gives enormous lifted

columns. Who Do Ya (Love), KC and the Sunshine Band's long-awaited album on TK, wisely avoids the party-party chants that dominated Part 3 and substitutes a ballad-like quality on cuts like "So Glad"

with respectful readings of "Darlin'" and "God Only Knows" that glow with a moody warmth, smoldering like a lingering love affair. Perhaps the Good Vibrations are trying to tell us something.

MEDIA

New Spot for Women Has Charm, Warmth and Lace Curtains

backdrop and snowy white bar stools was attended by waitresses who were outfitted in the same costume the maitre dame was wearing. The bar was surrounded by stylishly dressed women and a few handsome men, but despite the crowd the service was prompt and the drinks ($1.50 to $4) were well mixed. At the tables across from the bar, people were either playing y date and I came rushing down backgammon and cards, or conversing

Percussion and trumpet touches and a processed high-hat sound. "Let's Keep MARLENE P. WILLIAMS Dancin'" has a mindless, driven feel with a tom-tom nagging and pushing at you. "Ecstasy In You" is a smoker with clavinet and phased high-hat in front and "Try Me," a vocal, has a fascinating

My date and I came rus onto 81st quietly.

Avenue block. We were supposed to meet Street and quickly turned into the Second a friend in front of the new gay nightspot at 10:30 pm, and we were already ten minutes late. The block was a quiet residential area and we were beginning to wonder how a gay disco could ever fit into this homey environment. Then we saw the light and uttered an "Oh" that had "breathtaking" written all over it.

We were about 15 feet from the club, and what was immediately apparent was the brightly lit artistically embroidered canopy with the name of the establishment: Dapper and Friends. The front doors were curtained in white lace, and an immediate association flashed in my mind: this elegant entrance looked like the entrance of a stylish restaurant. (I later discovered the building had in fact. housed one when Dapper and Friends purchased it.) The doorman opened the door for us, and we eagerly entered to see what other treats were inside.

The entrance was richly done in walnut, and there, at the maitre d's reservation stand, sat a beautiful young woman clad in a red Danskin (a versatile leotard, which in this case was complemented by the additions of a white collar with a black bow-tie, and white wrist cuffs). She welcomed us, gingerly took our $5 cover charge, and beckoned us into the bar and game room.

The long walnut bar with its mirrored

Since the sounds coming from the disco room were very "hot," we decided to join the dancing bodies on the floor and at the same time take in the rest of the ambiance. Intimate lace-curtained booths, a fabulous twirling chandelier producing a sensuous light show, and mirrored walls were all alluring features of the disco room. The room also contained a raised stage and two beautiful white pianos that were used on Thursday nights--Cabaret Night-when performers like Pamela Stanley, The Step Sisters, and Nanette Natale appeared..

Later during the evening, the hosts, Dapper and Sandra, personally served each of their guests a silver cocktail cup filled with generous portions of sweet melon and strawberries.

It was a most enjoyable experience. Style, class and elegance seem to be synonymous with Dapper and Friends; charm and warmth are the specialties of the house.

The future looks bright for Dapper and Friends, which holds such diversions as Sunday Night Fever Dance Contests with cash prizes; sumptuous buffet feasts on Wednesday nights; weekly cabaret nights; and free admission on Sunday and Monday nights. Dapper and Friends, 350 East 81st Street (between First and Second Avenues). $5 cover Wednesday through Saturday; proper dress required. (212) 535-9260.☐