Susan Wells - Nightmare (1979)


Tracklist

Nightmare
It Must An Ambush
Turn The Key In The Lock
Keep On Heading In My Direction
Victim Of Jealousy

This is what should have been released as disco/soul album in 1979 to prevent the disco backlash.

Here is the story:

British record producer Ian Levine had burst onto the scene in 1975, producing the hit single Reaching For The Best with The Exciters. Several more productions followed over the following years with the likes of Evelyn Thomas, Barbara Pennington, L. J. Johnson, Tyrone Ashley, Doris Jones, James Wells, Eastbound Expressway and Seventh Avenue, until 1979 saw him produce 4 disco albums, none of which would be released at the time, the cost of producing them leaving him indebted and unable to record for four long years until he bounced back with Miquel Brown's million-selling single So Many Men, So Little Time in 1983.

One of them was this album by Chicago-based Susan Wells, sister of James Wells, which had been supposed to be released on United Artists in 1979 before the deal fell through. Some songs saw the light of day in 1987 on Levine's Nightmare Gold label and in 1995 a compilation album with Wells' Hi-NRG singles from the 80s was released on Hot Productions. I have expanded the original 5 track album with three US mixes by Rick Gianatos.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Donna Summer - I Feel Love (1977) - Roller Disco Skating Version

Image
Not only one of the landmark records of the disco era, Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" also anticipated the emergence of techno -- sleek, pulsating, and sensual, its signature galloping bass line and sequencer-driven rhythm established the sonic blueprint for virtually all of the dance music to follow in its wake. Written by Summer in tandem with her longtime production team of Giorgio Moroder and Peter Bellotte, upon its 1977 release "I Feel Love" heralded a massive shift from the lushly orchestral disco records popular during the middle of the decade toward a harder-edged, electronic approach -- completely computer-generated, the song's futuristic sheen combines with its dreamily orgasmic vocal to create an experience that's both clinically remote and primally erotic. Summer's second Top Ten hit, "I Feel Love" ranks alongside Brian Eno's Another Green World and Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express among the era's seminal electronic r
Read more

The Manhattan Transfer - Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone (1979) - Nightlife Dancefloor Disco Version - with Janis Siegel on lead vocals

Image
 When I heard this song on the radio, I thought it was sung by a black African-American queen of the disco, named, Catherine Russell , then I thought Dianne Marie Harvey , then Ednah Holt from Ednah Holt & Starluv , next thing I thought "Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone" was sung by a black American disco queen, Melba Moore , then I thought Suzi Lane, then I also thought Diva Gray . I wish this song, "Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone" would have been sung by Miquel Brown , Joyce Cobb or Debbie Jacobs , but none of those black disco queens wanted to sing it, so instead Janis Siegel wanted to sing this disco tune in a powerhouse disco style. I like this shorter version better without the Halloween sci-fi spoken narrations from "The Twilight Zone" , plus it's more nightlife disco than the full original that's too experimental. Manhattan Transfer "Twilight tone" Lyrics and composition: Jay Graydon, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Paul Here's wh
Read more

Ellie Hope and Liquid Gold

Image
Ellie Hope and Liquid Gold     Two of the "disco-era's" biggest hits came from a group that  never  appeared in America. The U.K. based  Liquid Gold  consisted of Wally Rothe (drums), Ray Knott (bass), Syd Twynham (lead guitar) and Ellie Hope (vocals).          Ray met Ellie in 1976 when both auditioned as replacements for  Babe Ruth.  Babe Ruth had four albums between 1972-1975. Ray and Ellie contributed to  Babe Ruth's  last album  "Kid Stuff,"  before it disbanded.      Ray and Ellie then recruited Syd and Wally to form the  Dream Coupe.  The four played local bars and pubs doing mainly cover tunes while continuing to write there own material and seeking out a recording contract. Producer Adrian Baker happened to catch the group and was so intrigued by Ellie's vocals that he signed the group to Creole records and a one year contract.      As the newly christened  Liquid Gold  they played a few shows in London until their first record was released in O
Read more