Kickin' In (2024 Remaster)

Released simultaneously with Muscle Up, Dark Entries' second volume of Patrick Cowley's gay porn soundtracks from the '70s and early '80s, sister label HNYTRX also unearthed "Kickin' In," a 12-minute Hi-NRG disco odyssey more in line with the innovative producer's singles such as "Menergy" than the experimental material heard on the soundtracks. Recorded in 1978, "Kickin' In" is a thrilling, epic track loaded with drums, warped synth sounds, layers of vocal chants, and an insistent, hypnotic beat. Not surprisingly, it sounds a little rough (it was stashed in a vault for decades, after all), but it ranks among Cowley's best disco productions. The two tracks on the EP's B-side are slower and more experimental, and contain graphic spoken word content, particularly the outright vulgar "You Gotta Make It Loose," which probably would've been banned and gotten someone sued for obscenity charges had it been released at the time of its recording. ~ Paul Simpson