John Florez: The Fifth Dimension - 2019 Creating "Harlem's" New Dance Mix [[Arista)

[dylan]

Hi all,
Producer John Florez has recently added some new clips to his YouTube channel.

In this clip, he updates his thoughts on "Harlem" and why he wanted to give it a new mix:
INSIDE THE STUDIO: The Fifth Dimension - 2019 Creating "Harlem's" New Dance Mix [[Arista)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEQYvWGL768

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And here's his labor of love:
NEW RE-MASTER - 5th Dimension - 2019 "Harlem" Dance Mix [[Arista)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBvUeNeW330 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBvUeNeW330)

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Also, of interest:
Record Production Insights - The 5th Dimension - A Comparison of Styles: Bones Howe & John Florez:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaAWidQ82KA
[[For some reason, I couldn't make this link clickable. Sorry)

[drlorne]

Great Stuff. Love this. Thanks,

[Boogiedown]

I love listening to John Florez as he recollects his adventures in the music world and its also pleasing to see even to this day his music brings him pleasure in revisiting.

However


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBvUeNeW330

Just as his ROCK THE BOAT was not conceived as a "disco" song per say , even though its sound would help guide the unfolding genre, neither was HARLEM, and just having a driving drum does not a disco record make. As a general rule , a dance record's appeal starts with an uplifting vibe. Each time HARLEM briefly tries to revel in Saturday night partying , it quickly slips back into stern commentary on the miseries of Harlem life. It's too much of a downer from the perspective of a dance record. I'd suggest for a more successful stab at reinventing this into a dance version, for starters, about four- fifths [[the heavier) of the lyrics need to be edited out, something that a Walter Gibbons remix surely would've done BITD.

[marv2]

That was a great record. I remember when they performed it on Soul Train.

[RTA6226]

They performed it at a concert I went to back in the day also. It was awesome "live".