Like the preceding volume of
Harmless'
Disco Discharge series,
Disco Discharge: Mondo Disco,
Disco Discharge: Disco Fever USA is heavy on selections from 1977-1979 -- 18 of 22, to be precise. As a disco novice could likely discern from names like
Claudja Berry and titles like "Ritmo de Brazil," this volume isn't made of purely American disco. We get
Richard T. Bear's "Sunshine Hotel," fronted and produced by Canadians (the appropriately named
Bear himself resembles a
Dr. John of the Great White North) but released on
RCA in the U.S. Predatory cruising anthem "Like an Eagle" was produced by Frenchman
Jacques Morali but fronted by New Yorker
Dennis Parker (adult film turned soap actor
Wade Nichols). Another twist comes with Mississippi native
Fern Kinney's "Baby Let Me Kiss You," a
King Floyd (of New Orleans) cover produced by Hammond B-3 organ master
Carson Whitsett (of Mississippi); its undulating, sleaze-caked electro-disco is about as far from Southern soul as imaginable, easily mistaken for a European release. All that said, some of the biggest names in '70s R&B are here, including
Teddy Pendergrass ("Life Is a Song Worth Singing"),
Cissy Houston ("You're the Fire"),
Gloria Gaynor ("Love Is Just a Heartbeat Away"), and
Earth, Wind & Fire. The latter's "Boogie Wonderland," included in instrumental form, should give listeners a new appreciation for the song's phenomenal arrangements. ~ Andy Kellman
