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Various Artists
TWISTED DISCO
(Hed Kandi)
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If the tracks on this two-CD British import could fill the airwaves of an American station, oh what a station it would be, full of headstrong beats (Sandy Rivera’s "Changes," Bob Sinclair’s "The Beat Goes On"), showy melodies, gals preening (Andrea Doria’s "Bucci Bag"), clubgoers gossiping (Eddie Amador’s "Psycho X Girlfriend"), and guys primping (ATFC’s "Transparent") while not neglecting political message (Cassius’s "The Sound of Violence") or social observation (Sono’s "Blame," the follow-up track to this British duo’s huge hit "Keep Control"). The rhythmic basis for these pop songs is house music, which in Britain reigns supreme but in America scarcely gets the slightest cultural notice outside of dance clubs, though it hardly lacks for American fans. The house tracks, moreover, are classic in their soulfulness — for example, the message and the singing in Eclipse’s "Take Me Down," Pure Orange’s "Feel Afire," and Syntax’s "Pray." Most soulful of all is Cassius’s "The Sound of Violence," a Paris-made song in which the male vocalist, beset by the war going on outside, turns to sex to affirm life. In US pop, sexual lyrics exist for their own sake; it’s realism with plenty of heft but not the slightest significance. "The Sound of Violence" takes the opposite approach; to Cassius, sexual contact is barely still possible but nonetheless overflowing with significance. It’s a statement of purpose that sums up house music as well as defining the song. Small wonder that house’s pop-music triumphs lack provenance on American radio.
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