Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story
Love disco, but burned out on "We Are Family" and theSaturday Night Feversoundtrack?Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Storywill satisfy your thirst for lost dance nuggets, with 22 lesser-known tracks from the likes of Chaka Khan, Sister Sledge, and many more. As DJ of NYC's Paradise Garage in the '70s and '80s, Larry Levan created a downtown alternative to the high gloss of Studio 54's exclusive celebrity scene, combining up-tempo R&B; dance music with a potpourri of other styles. TheJourney Into Paradisecollection honors the Garage vibe by focusing mainly on unstoppable disco-era jams--if Change's top 10 R&B; charting "Paradise" doesn't get your booty shaking, have a friend check your pulse--with a dose of the modern dance sounds of Yaz and Talking Heads thrown in for variety. The nine tracks included here mixed by Levan contain lush disco arrangements that break down into extended sections of beats and voice backed by minimal accompaniment, anticipating the distilled sound of the house music that would later come to rule the dance floors. On the turntable or in your car stereo, these songs paint the picture of a disco scene more focused on the music than the latest fashion, where feeling good was more important than looking good and a great beat washed away the cares of the world.--Ben Heege