Best 1200 Disco [Limited Edition] [Import]

Track Listings

1. Hot Stuff

2. Oop Upside Your Head

3. Car Wash

4. Upside Down

5. (Get Up I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine

6. Get Down On It

7. Stomp!

8. Funkytown

9. Contact

10. I Will Survive

11. Super Freak

12. Let The Music Play

13. I Want You Back

14. If I Can't Have You

15. Night Birds

16. Let's Get Serious

17. Hang On In There Baby

18. Shake Your Groove Thing

19. Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent

20. Mama Used To Say

Best 1200 Disco,Various Artists,Universal,R&B/Soul

Tracks:

Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Upside Down
I'm Coming Out
Remember Me
Reach Out And Touch
It's My Turn
Reflections
It's My House
My Old Piano
Friend To Friend
No One Gets The Prize
I'm In The World
Love Hangover
Touch Me In The Morning
Endless Love

Average customer rating:

No superlative good enough for this found in my thesaurus

Best 1200 - Classic: Jackson 5
Jackson 5
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Disco | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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Motown | R&B | Styles | Music

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R&B | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0009N2UYM

Tracks:

I Want You Back
Who's Lovin You
Reach In
Honey Love
Got To Be There
Pride And Joy
Eternal Light
Touch
Corner Of The Sky
Boogie Man
Love Scenes
Money Honey
Coming Home
Skywriter
Mama's Pearl
She's Good
Maybe Tomorrow

Customer Reviews:

No superlative good enough for this found in my thesaurus.......2006-03-16

Below you will find a lengthy analysis of one song on this record "I want you back." If a single song can generate this kind of response, imagine the musical content of the entire 21 song record.

This song obliterates me. All the performances are incredible, including, to quote a friend, Michael's astounding, dumbfounding lead vocal.

The bass part sounds to me as if it came straight from the composer and arranger, but in any matter it's stuffed full with inventive ideas and super fonky! Given the calculated nature of this recording I would expect the arranger to have worked out the bass part note for note. The recording is a careful tapestry of many sounds that blend together to give the overall effect. The intro is a good example. The melody played by the bass is wonderful, but that melody is doubled by other instruments plus other things are woven around that melody, all indicating that the arranger wrote it all out note for note, the bass player serving to faithfully play the arrangement.

(Un)fortunately, any excellence in other portions of this song is obscured by Michael's unbelievable vocal. So much stuff, so much soul, so much range and flexibility. This vocal is way in the unbelievable range for any artist. But to come from a brand new 11 year old is, as my friend put it so well, "dumbfounding." (If this selection does not feature sound clips, look at other Jackson 5 records here on Amazon to hear the mentioned snippets.)
*He sounds a little hoarse and that increases the authority.
*The way he uses subtle, rhythmic vibrato on the word "me" in the phrase "won't you please let me back in your heart." (Hear this on the Amazon snippet.)
*The pause and surprise attack on the word "back" in the same phrase. (Hear this on the Amazon snippet.)
*The screaming with 100% authority.
*The drifting out of tune on the words "now, baby, yeah" in the phrase "Yes I do now, Oh oh baby, yeah yeah yeah yeah, Nah Nah no no." (Is there a technical term for this "drifting out of tune" vocal technique?) (Hear this on the Amazon snippet.)
*The authority and inventiveness and soul of the scatting on that same phrase and other scats in the song, including the various fun "Huh"s.
*The natural way he does the call and response sections with his brothers.
*The perfect timing all over the place, including jumping on some of the responses a little early.
*The exciting vocal build on the phrase "All I want, all I need, all I want, all I need!" with the fantastic atonal exclamation on the second "all I want."
And on and on. You could almost analyze every single note the guy sings. The fact that this guy could do this at 11 years old shows beyond any question that singing at this level requires talent given to you directly by God. You can't get it and you can't learn it. God either gave it to you or He didn't. My guess is that some genius worked out most of this stuff and recorded a track for Michael to sing along with during the session. I mean God given talent or not, Michael could not have come up with that stuff on his own, atonal, drifting out of tune, etc. But to even sing along and get these results....incredible. Plus, who was that singing genius that came up with all that stuff?

Other great parts of the song are the pervasive background vocals, the excellent call and response, the subtle, almost inaudible use of strings and background vocalizing, and the various guitar parts that weave an interesting tapestry.

One thing that I think is ground breaking but at the same time takes away from this arrangement is the calculated, restrained drum part. The drum part sounds completely canned, written out and played note for note. It's not exuberant; instead it's carefully restrained. To my ears it sounds too mellow for this joyous, raucous romp. But it's groundbreaking because this style of drumming became prevalent later and today in the 2000s you rarely hear any drum pyrotechnics in favor of a steady drum beat that does not break the flow of the song.

I wonder if all the vocals on this recording are Jacksons? I assume they are and that shows the talent of this family and the quality of this product.

Excellence and analysis of each individual part aside, the real value of this song, besides Michael's vocal which you simply can not retire to the background, is the overall sound. Each part is carefully calculated and blended to create a unique, exuberant, joyful, new, and instantly recognizable sound that's unlike anything that had been heard before. Though each part is worthy of study, perhaps the best way to listen to this song is with a 6 inch speaker through an AM radio in your car. And isn't that the way it was meant to be?

Larry Brown

Average customer rating:

Best 1200
Diana Ross
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Disco | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Motown | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0009N2UZQ
Release Date: 2005-07-04

Tracks:

Old Heart Of Mine
Love Is Like A Heatwave
Composer
What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted
Someday We'll Be Together
Hey Western Union Man
Nothing But Heartaches
You Can't Hurry Love
Some Things You Never Get Used To
Reflections
No Matter What Sign You Are
Forever Came Today
Ode To Billie Joe
Get Ready
Wonderful World
Stranger In Paradise
Unchained Melody
With A Song In My Heart

Average customer rating:

Classic music

Best 1200
Grace Jones
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Disco | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Jamaica | Caribbean & Cuba | International | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0009N2UNS
Release Date: 2005-07-04

Tracks:

Private Life
Inspiration
Warm Leatherette
Pull Up To The Bumper
Love Is The Drug
Nightclubbing
Nipple To The Bottle
Breakdown
Demolition Man
La Vie En Rose
My Jamaican Guy
Walking In The Rain
I've Seen That Face Before

Customer Reviews:

Classic music.......2005-07-03

Universal Masters Collection may just be the most extensive Grace Jones collection there is.
All of the songs are in their original album lenghts; no radio edits or shortage, a wonderful sampler of this truly unique performer - Grace Jones. 13 tracks included, I'll go through each song in my review.

1. "Private Life" - One of her absolute best song to date. The original was by Chrissie Hynde; but the song belongs to Grace - there's no doubt about it. The style is reggae/ rock; Grace doesn't do a whole lot of singing, she growls through the lyrics, but that's style and not lack of a singing voice. A great song, indeed.

2. "Inspiration" - Taken from her 1982 album "Living My Life". The song is a beautiful ballad and Grace delivers a beautiful vocal performance. The song is often overlooked (it wasn't included on the 1998 retrospective two disc "Compass Point Sessions") and has not been compiled anywhere else. For Grace Jones fans who doesn't own the album "Living My Life" makes this compilation a necessity.

3. "Warm Leatherette" - What a bizarre song indeed. The heavy beat is vicious and Grace sounds so damn sexy. Dare I even say it? It's way better than Miller's ominous club legend. "Quick let's make love - before we die" what a great song. One of the highlights of Grace's musical career.

3. "Pull Up to the Bumper" - Is Grace's best known and most successful song to date. The jungle beat mixed with the continuous hint at sex "Drive it in between" makes this one a classic. The song is so catchy; the beat; the lyrics; and most of all, Grace's devotion to this cut. Grace knows it's her most successful song to date - and she gets it to work. Slave to the Rhythm is the only song that rivals it's chart success.

4. "Love Is the Drug" - Finally we have the original album edition compiled. The edition that appears on "Island Life" is the Thorngren Mix and the other editions found are the radio edits. This is the best edition; it's definitive and one of Grace's best songs - great cover of Roxy Music's classic rock tune. The song runs on 8:42 minutes, 8:42 minutes people! Classic I tell you, classic.

5. "Nightclubbing" - What a scary cover of Iggy Pop's club tune. The mood is very dark; the beat is heavy and the rhythm runs along on a very grotesque tempo. Her vocal performance is damned, the voice is slow and very sexy - she really knows how to breathe life into a song and make it her own, what a great tune. The Universal Masters Collection is the only compilation on which "Nightclubbing" appears on.

6. "Nipple to the Bottle" - Taken from the album "Living My Life". Nipple to the Bottle is so rhythmically compelling; true it bares a faint resemblance to "Pull Up to the Bumper" - the jungle beats and detached vocal performance. As great as the song is; I prefer the 12" version of the song - that being said; it's still a very great song, Grace Jones really knows how to adapt herself and become one with the song.

7. "Breakdown" - Originally by Tom Petty. The faint voice is stunning and the aggressive demand, burries the original completely. The vocals in "Breakdown" are stunning; the range is three-octave - Grace manages to rise her voice above the usual two-octave range. A great song, but hardly a song I'd compiled on a greatest hits. Let's be frank; Breakdown is not one of Grace Jones' greatest hits - what's it doing here?

8. "Demolition Man" - Is one of my personal favourites off Grace's music catalogue. The song is so fierce and suits Grace Jones so well. The song was originally done by "The Police" and was written by Sting; it was also used in the movie "Demolition Man" with Sly Stallone and Wesley Snipes. At the end of the day "Demolition Man" belongs to Grace; she's the one who made the song popular - not The Police.

10. "La Vie En Rose" - Is my absolute favourite Grace Jones song to date. She recorded the song in 1976 and was included on her debut album "Portfolio". While most of that album had crackling disco tunes; La Vie En Rose blossomed as the prettiest rose right in the middle of the frenzy. Grace delivers her most affectionate vocal performance to date; she perseveres and but knows her limit. The song was originally by the legendary French chanteuse "Edith Piaf" - Grace's edition has been called one of the finest of the bunch.

11. "My Jamaican Guy" - I first saw Grace Jones perform this song live in 1987 on the show "Reggae Session" and I was floored. The beat is obviously Jamaican reggae; the tribal feel of this song is amazing - she truly is an Amazon warrior. Great song and definitely one of her greatest hits - of all time.

12. "Walking in the Rain" - Is an incredible tough song, but she gets it to work. Walking in the Rain suited "Nightclubbings" theme perfectly well. The song is dark - and Grace talks her way through it with such a conviction that it nearly leaves you strangled. Walking in the Rain has been included on each and every Grace Jones compilation there's ever been made - why comes as no surprise to me. It's one of her best.

13. "I've Seen That Face Before" - Quel est ton problème? It really is a terrific song. The theme is dark (a common theme used on Nightclubbing) but I wouldn't want it any other way. I've Seen That Face Before is one of Grace's greatest hit singles, it's widely recognized and people seem to love it - in spite of the dark tone. "Tu cherches quoi, rencontrer la mort, Tu te prends pour qui, toi aussi tu detestes la vie."

All in all: The Universal Masters Collection is perhaps (next after Island Life 2) the most extensive Grace Jones collection to date. Now all we can hope for is the ultimate collection or a new album release.
A live album is also very welcome - for god sakes (and ours) please release a new record Grace.

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