Soulster:

I'd agree with that. There are other songs which fit the bill before the word "Disco" was used. As noted earlier, Date With The Rain & Zing Went The Strings were also from 1972 & if that's not the sound of Disco as we knew it, then I don't know what is. I'd also add "I'll Be Around" to that list, being more of a laid-back Disco sound.

The way that I see it, it was precisely those producers who took the emphasis off of the great vocals that we used to hear, ESPECIALLY the male Soul singers. They "Elvisized" the vocals [[sing-songy & soul-less, cloying unison vocals) & began to push their vision through various females, relegating many of the great male voices to the background, or out of the picture altogether.

A quick litmus test...name for me at least 20 songs that these folks produced between 1977 - 1979 that featured a ballsy, strong male lead vocal & I'll eat my copy of Munich Machine's "Whiter Shade Of Pale". The way that I see it is that they took our Dance music [[conveniently labelled "Disco") & through their particular point of view placed the emphasis on the female. As I said earlier, we can come up with a laundry list of great female Disco Divas, but how many great soulful Disco MALE voices can the majority of people name?

I find it funny that there are people who consider a group such a Lime to be a "great" Disco group & that cracks me up. I liked some of their music [[maybe 1 or 2 songs), but for anyone to attempt to put them up there with folks like The Trammps, First Choice, Tavares & the like is laughable & tantamount to cultural theft. They may have made Dance music, but with no disrespect intended I would never classify them as a "Great" Disco group, much less a Disco group...PERIOD.

Again, Disco was noting more than uptempo Soul music until it was co-opted & changed by others to fit into the neat little box that they created for it.

Ask Tom Moulton what TRUE Disco music was & I have a hunch that he won't think it was music with vocals that had no heart or soul, with a beat that sounded like a grandfather clock on steroids.

True Dance music a.k.a. "DISCO" music lived & breathed & damn near took on a life of its own. To be certain it had specific ingredients, but I believe that the musicians who created in were a little more spontaneous than some guy forcing his OWN vision of what that music should be on folks. For example, most of the musicians whom I've met from Philly International have always told me that while a Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff gave them a sketch or guideline, they were allowed, even encouraged to add their own thing to it.

Which is why trying to mix songs like Let No Man Put Asunder, My Love Is Free, Love Is the Message or Doctor Love requires a precise knowledge as to where to mix in, as well as when to mix out. Many of those songs, as well as many made by The Trammps went through so many tempo changes that your head could spin. Ain't no constant "four-on-the-floor" beats happening there.

In the final analysis, I've always noticed that the Eurodisco producers put a premium on TEMPO over RHYTHM.

And needless-to-say, there's a hell of a difference between the two!

Perhaps what's necessary is a differentiation between Disco & Eurodisco. As the various world wide opinions indicate, all "Disco" music IS NOT created equally, nor do they seem to consist of the same components or sensibilities.