disco not disco

Nik Cohn did eventually admit that he fabricated Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night , his article for New York Magazine in 1975. The article went on to become the basis of the film Saturday Night Fever and in the process created the persisting perception that still rankles the true disco fans. Of course, he wasn't the first to ruin a musical movement by "reinterpreting" it for mass consumption, but it's still important to highlight the point, 'cos misconceptions linger. Walter Gibbons was probably the most respected DJ amongst DJ's in the seventies. He was famous for his flawless beat mixing of two copies of the same record, creating extended versions of tracks, live. Gibbons made history when he remixed Double Exposure's Ten Percent due to his radical approach. He was, according to Tom Moulton, the first person to extend the intro, so as to increase the impact of the vocals when they finally hit. He took remixing to a new level, where the experience of being on the dancefloor became the inspiration, as opposed to instant "radio-friendly" gratification. Walter did not believe in quickies, he extended tracks to lengths previously unheard of. These two mixes are amongst of his first, displaying just how much of a natural Walter was right from the beginning. The next track on the list was mixed by Shep Pettibone, a man that was too much for even Tom Moulton, who found Shep's style to be unmusical. These dudes were pioneers of a new way, which developed into the Garage sound of New York and the House sound of Chicago. Which influenced some cats in France, who ended up becoming world famous as Daft Punk. This version of One More Time is the eight minute, far superior, club mix (with obligatory extended intro) . When this track was released some of the dance music journalists didn't really get it. Perhaps they'll listen now. Last of all is the lesser known remix of Tina Moore's classic from '97. This track was huge on the UK speed "garridge" scene, but it's the faster Kelly G Bump N Go Mix that was more popular at the time. I was just thinking the other day that this version seems more "now". Ironically at the time it probably would have been old fashioned. So that:


Double Exposure - Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons Mix)
The Salsoul Orchestra - Nice & Nasty (Walter Gibbons Mix)
Loleatta Holloway - Love Sensation (Shep Pettibone Mix)
Daft Punk - One More Time (Club Mix)
Tina Moore - Never Gonna Let You Go (Warehouse Junkie Mix)

(btw: Love Sensation was the song that famously got ripped of by Italians Black Box on the '89 track Ride On Time)

The picture is of Walter Gibbons.