Disco Discharge: Disco Boogie (Deluxe Edition)

Boogie (often pronounced with a heavy emphasis on “boo”), as it pertains to post-disco, R&B-rooted dance music, tends to favor relaxed tempos, thick basslines (whether electric or synthetic), and loads of flashy (even when played simply) keyboard work. That’s the focus of this volume, part of the second round of four releases in the Harmless label's Disco Discharge series. Most of these cuts have appeared on no more than a handful of compilations -- ones that weren’t put together with nearly as much care. Cashmere’s System-like “Inner Feelings,” Maxine Singleton's “You Can’t Run from Love,” D Train's “Keep On,” and Sybil Thomas' “Rescue Me” all fall squarely within the realm of boogie. A handful of selections -- Average White Band's more or less straight disco “Let’s Go Round Again,” Toto’s soul-rock hybrid “Georgy Porgy” (featuring Cheryl Lynn), Illusion Orchestra's charmingly easy listening-ish “Autumn Leaves,” and Alisha’s closer-to-freestyle “Baby Talk” (a close relative of Madonna's "Into the Groove") -- don’t sound much like boogie, but they hardly detract from the compilation’s value. Like the other Disco Discharge comps, this features in-depth liner notes and plenty of other evidence that a great deal of passion went into its making. ~ Andy Kellman