A Few Awesome Disco Tracks

Just wanted to share a couple of rare/obscure disco songs I really like...
I plan to put together a compilation soon, but in the meantime here are a few youtube links...

Bonnie Boyer
Got To Give In To Love
1979
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Dana & Gene
Dario, Can You Get Me Into Studio 54?
1979
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USA-European Connection
Come Into My Heart
1978
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Love De Luxe
Here Comes That Sound Again
1979

African Music Sampler

Here I have collected 13 songs from Africa, from the 50s through the 90s, to create a sampler. Seven of the songs are from the Global Groove blog, two are from Likembe, two are from my CD collection.

This is mainly meant as an introduction for those who are not familiar with the music of Africa. The songs selected are my personal favourites, which means they may not necessarily give the fullest or broadest picture of African music, but hopefully they will whet your appetite.

Seven of the songs are from the Congo, and the other six are from six different countries. One last comment: Pamelo Mounk'a is perhaps my favourite African singer.

Now, for the track listing... If you click on the respective album titles, you will be linked to the blog sites that feature those albums. Many of the original download links are now dead, so I have only included those that are still active.

1. Siluvangi Wapi Accordeon

- Franco & L'OK Jazz

2. Monde Nouveau

- Itsiembu-Bi-Mbin

- From "L'ANPAC Présente, Vol. I" [1984]

3. Ce N'Est Que Ma Secrétaire

- Pamelo Mounk'a

- From "Samantha" [1982]

4. Amour Cherche Amour, Pts. 1 & 2

- Manana Antoine (Papa Disco)

- From a 1984 single

5. Soul Makossa

- Manu Dibango

- From "Soul Makossa" [1972]

6. Paulina Mineur

- Jeff Louna

- From "Sound D'Afrique II, 'Soukous'" [1982]

7. Dame La Que Tu La Tiennes

- Docteur Nico & L'African Fiesta

- From "African Party, Vol. I" [1968]

8. Brigitta

- The Melody Aces

- From "Favourite Melodies" [1963]

9. Ekassa, N°24 (Kirikisi)

- Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestros

- From "Talk Of The Town" [1973]

10. Les «On Dit»

- Franco, Baniel, Nana, & L'OK Jazz

- From "Le Grand Maître Franco, Baniel, Nana, Et Le T.P.O.K. Jazz Dans…" [1988]

11. La Fête Au Village

- African All-Stars

- From "Les Champions" [1977]

12. Mar Azul

- Cesaria Evora

- From "Mar Azul" [1991]

13. I Shall Sing [Live]

- Miriam Makeba

- From "Miriam Makeba: The Queen Of African Music" [1991]

Enjoy here!

Flashdance (1983): Expanded Edition

Tomorrow morning, I leave France to return to California for the summer. I likely won't be able to post anything for the next week or so, so I figured I should do one last post before I leave...
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Here is an expanded version of the Flashdance soundtrack. There isn't much I can think to say about it, other than the fact that it features a number of wonderful songs, including the title track ("Flashdance" by Irene Cara), "Maniac" (by Michael Sembello), "Gloria" (by Laura Branigan), "I Love Rock N' Roll" (by Joan Jett)  and "Romeo" (by the late Donna Summer). The songs that are in their original format are from my CD version of the soundtrack, and "Gloria" and the title track are also from my own CDs. "I Love Rock N' Roll" and the extended version of "Maniac" are from the internet.
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#	Title	Artist	Length	If Different From Original:
1	Flashdance…What A Feeling	Irene Cara	7:12	Extended Remix (1983)
2	Gloria	Laura Branigan	4:51	X
3	He’s A Dream	Shandi	3:29	X
4	Love Theme From Flashdance	Helen Saint John	3:28	X
5	Manhunt	Karen Kamon	2:38	X
6	Lady, Lady, Lady	Joe Esposito	4:10	X
7	Imagination	Laura Branigan	3:36	X
8	Romeo	Donna Summer	3:19	X
9	I Love Rock N’ Roll	Joan Jett & The Blackhearts	2:55	X
10	Seduce Me Tonight	Cycle V	3:33	X
11	I’ll Be Where The Heart Is	Kim Carnes	4:37	X
12	Maniac	Michael Sembello	5:47	Vocal Remix (1983)

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“Gloria” and “I Love Rock N’ Roll” were featured in the film, but not on the original soundtrack.

“Flashdance…What A Feeling” and “Maniac” are included here in their 12” remixed versions.

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Enjoy here!
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P.S. Feel free to leave a comment if you liked this post, or if you have any problems with the download.
P.P.S. There is a typo in the "Read-Me" file... The song "Maniac" is 5 mins 47 seconds, not the 4 min 18 second version.

Recommended mp3 Download Blogs

Here is a list of mp3 download blogs (most currently active) that I follow and regularly download from. In most cases, the albums featured are from vinyl (12," 10," 7," etc.) and are out-of-print; often the albums have some crackles, pops, and/or clicks, but rarely anything that detracts from the listening experience.

I cannot stress enough that, if you find something you like (and if it is available on CD), please try to support the artists in any way you can, whether by purchasing the album or by seeing them live, etc.

African music:
- Global Groove (http://globalgroovers.blogspot.fr/): My absolute favourite music blog, focusing on music from around the world, with a strong showing of music from the Congo, Nigeria, Ghana, and Brazil. A MUST!
- Electric Jive (http://electricjive.blogspot.fr/): Focuses primarily on South African vinyl albums.
- Dial Africa (http://dial-africa.blogspot.fr/), Likembe (http://likembe.blogspot.fr/), Sea Never Dry (http://seaneverdry.blogspot.fr/), Oro (http://orogod.blogspot.fr/), Worldservice (http://wrldsrv.blogspot.fr/): Lots of goodies.

Brazilian:
- Abracadabra LPs do Brasil (http://abracadabra-br2.blogspot.fr/): Lots of classic samba, bossa nova, etc.

Disco:
- Moimix (http://moimix.blogspot.fr/): Features many extended mixes, 12" singles, rare alternate versions, etc. of disco and dance classics, including quite a few Boney M treasures.
- Disco Funk 70 & 80 (http://discofunkmusic70e80.blogspot.fr/): A good selection of disco albums, 12" singles, and more.


Soul and R&B:
- All Soul and Funk (http://allsoulandfunk.blogspot.fr/): Full discographies for many classic soul/funk/jazz artists.
- Classic & Rare Soul Sisters 50s-70s (http://supersoulsisters.blogspot.fr/) & Soulful Divas (http://soulfuldivas.blogspot.fr/): No longer being updated, but FULL of treasures!

Classical:
- Big 10-Inch Record (http://big10inchrecord.blogspot.fr/):All kinds of goodies, including classical music, musical theatre EPs, actor and singer highlights, etc.
- 33 RPM Classics (http://satyrlp.blogspot.fr/) & 78 RPM Classics (http://satyr78lp.blogspot.fr/): Lots of absolutely wonderful classical music LPs (the page is in Dutch, but there is translation bar at the top that allows you to view everything in English).
- Quartier des Archives (http://quartier-des-archives.blogspot.fr/): In French; chock full of goodies.

Country:
- UPDATE: TJ's House of Country Music has been taken down.

Lounge:
- Lounge Legends (http://loungelegends.blogspot.fr/): Classic lounge, vocal, easy listening, etc. (AKA a lot of thoroughly enjoyable elevator music...)

Assorted Goodies:
- Snap, Crackle & Pop (http://snapcrackleandpops.blogspot.fr/): Lots of fun stuff, including African music, pop, disco, rap, soul, funk

Enjoy! And remember to always support artists whenever possible.
If you find this list helpful, please don't be a stranger; leave a "thank you" comment.
Thanks, Merci, Gracias.

Bee Gees Gold (1976)

Bee Gees Gold: I grew up on this album. The Bee Gees were my mom's favorite group, and this album was in regular rotation during my youth. To the best of my knowledge, this album has never been released on CD, which is a shame, as it is a great compilation of their pre-disco hits. In addition to the 12 songs originally on this compilation, I have added as bonus tracks five songs from the 1969 compilation Best of Bee Gees.
Bee Gees Gold was labelled as "Volume 1" but no further volumes were released.

I have assembled this album from CD albums, primarily Their Greatest Hits: The Record. The songs from that album are in 320kbps mp3, while the four other songs are in 263-264kbps Variable Bit-Rate mp3.
I previously posted this album in lower bit-rate and with mono versions of many of the songs. Now all songs are in stereo.

1. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?
2. Holiday
3. To Love Somebody
4. Massachusetts
5. Words
6. Lonely Days
7. Run To Me
8. I've Gotta Get A Message To You
9. My World (263kbps, VBR)
10. I Can't See Nobody (263kbps, VBR)
11. I Started A Joke
12. New York Mining Disaster 1941

BONUS TRACKS (From "Best of Bee Gees")
13. Spicks & Specks
14. Tomorrow, Tomorrow (264kbps, VBR)
15. First Of May
16. World
17. Every Christian Lionhearted Man Will Tell You (263kbps, VBR)

NEW LINK (June 5, 2013, ZIP, 115 MB)

Digression #2: To Come In The Next Few Weeks

In no particular order, blog posts to come in the next few weeks (many of them are music-related):
- An mp3 album of ABBA-esque songs (Brotherhood of Man, Boney M, Champagne, Maywood, etc.)
- Thank God It's Friday Expanded Soundtrack (mp3)
- Bee Gees Gold (mp3)
- A compilation of African songs (mp3)
- A list of recommended music download blogs
- More on France & French life

Random Facts/Observations about France and the French

Here are some random things I have noticed about France and the French, in no particular order:

- People eat tomatoes as if they were apples or oranges
- Both pedestrians and drivers are super aggressive, constantly battling it out for right-of-way
- People actually ride public transportation here
- You are expected to bring your own (re-usable) shopping bags to the store… Most chain stores charge 0.03€ per bag if you need disposable plastic bags, although most also sell re-usable shopping bags for 1-2€
- Milk is sterilised and sold at room temperature... You don't chill it until you are ready to use it... When at room temp, its shelf life is at least a couple of months...
- The university system is very different here (I will devote a full post on this at some point)
- The Post Office is also a bank
- Air conditioning is not nearly as common here as in the US, mainly because buildings tend to be much older… Air conditioned businesses will usually have a sign telling you they are “climatisé,” because it is pretty rare
- Cars here are tiny
- Wine and beer are super cheap here, as are cheeses
- Burgers here absolutely suck
- French people do not speak as loudly as Americans, not even on the phone… In fact, Americans have a (well-deserved) reputation of being extremely loud and unpolished
- Waiters and Shopkeepers are more than willing to argue with you or be catty/rude… The concept that the “customer is always right” does NOT exist here
- In many smaller restaurants or bakeries, you have to pay extra to eat at the restaurant rather than take food to go… However, once you have bought something, you may sit there as long as you want (until the place closes, of course), because you have essentially rented your seat
- Although many foods here are fatty and high in calories, food is less likely to be processed, and portions are much smaller, so people tend to be much healthier here (and obesity is much less common)
- Outlets/Plugs are quite a bit bigger here than in the USA, and you need an adaptor to use American stuff here
- The toilet is in a room separate from the shower and sink... This room is called a "WC" (short for "Water Closet")
- Most toilets have two buttons for flushing, depending on how much water is needed

OK, all for now…