The CBS Years (1975-1980)

Tina Charles was one of the first crossover disco acts in the U.K., first putting her considerable pipes behind the 5000 Volts song from 1975 "Im On Fire," then on her own smash single "I Love to Love" the next year. With its chugging beat, clicking guitars, and production from Biddu -- who had hit big with the Carl Douglas song "Kung Fu Fighting" -- the song was a perfect backdrop for Charles athletic vocals. It was a template she and Biddu went back to repeatedly, as a listen to the Cherry Red collection The CBS Years 1975-1980 proves. On her first three albums -- 1976s I Love to Love and Dance Little Lady, and 1977s Heart N Soul -- Charles sings her guts out on a series of near-novelty dance tracks that are light enough to blow away in a strong wind. When they work, the result is glitterball gold, when they stumble just a little, its still mostly bronze. The latter category is mostly filled with the sticky love ballads that gum up the works and keep the albums from being total frothy good times. In that regard, please skip her cover of "Amazing Grace," and dial up any one of the "I Love to Love" clones like "Hey Boy" or "Dr. Love" that are sure to spark impromptu dance parties. By the time of Heart N Soul, she had begun to steer away from disco in favor of oldies-inspired pop/rock. The occasional disco gem like "Ill Go Where Your Music Takes Me" withstanding, its more of a MOR/soft pop affair. Her fourth album, 1980s Just One Smile, is even more scattered as it juxtaposes the girl group bounce of "Go," the Blondie-style new wave of the title track, and "Dance with Me"s electrified reggae groove with her usual slick disco fare. She does try something unusual, and oddly successful, which is high-BPM covers of show tune standards like "Love Is a Many Splendoured Thing" and "Somewhere." Many artists who rose to fame during the disco era struggled to find their place when it began to miss the charts, and Charles was no different. The album is a valiant try to find a new way to exist in the new landscape, and its still fun to listen to decades later. Charles may not have been as talented, lucky, or visionary as the best artists of the era, but her spunky, funky, and lightweight music is first-rate disco bubblegum, and this collection is a good reminder of that fact. ~ Tim Sendra

ロンドン出身のセッション・シンガーから、ディスコ・ブームの時代にチャンスを掴んでブレイクしたポップ歌手のティナ・チャールズ。これはCBS在籍時に残したアルバム4タイトルをまとめた作品集です。全英No.1をマークした"I Love To Love(But My Baby Loves To Dance)"をはじめ、"Dance Little Lady Dance"など抜群の歌唱力でエレガントに披露される名曲揃い!
bounce (C)狛犬