Disco Discharge Presents More Sin

Two years on from Disco Discharge Presents Box of Sin, the Disco Discharge label returned with a sequel of similar scope and quality, another five-disc CD set preserving the music that soundtracked gay dancefloors in the U.K. throughout the 1980s. The selections were drawn from Record Mirrors assorted disco charts that surveyed DJs across the land. Although Box of Sin 2 goes all the way back to Jean Carns "Was That All It Was," a 1979 Philadelphia International classic that achieved impact at the dawn of the 80s, the inclusions again favor the more electronic sounds of the middle and latter years of the decade. They roam through post-disco R&B, alternative dance, Hi-NRG, and house while touching upon other subgenres such as Italo disco, freestyle, and even Balearic. Little was strictly the domain of gay clubs, and in some cases -- Laura Branigans "Self Control," Exposes "Come Go with Me" -- these sounds traveled to the upper reaches of pop charts in the U.K., U.S., and elsewhere. As with the first box, this is more like a book that, ironically, fits neatly beside 7" singles despite the all-12" source material. The tracks are fully annotated with eye-popping accompanying graphics, and the discs are likewise themed with thoughtful sequencing. Sylvester is at home on the otherwise woman-powered first disc, present with the elegant, Harvey Fuqua-era "I Need You," situated between "Was That All It Was" and Donna Summers "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)." Joanne Daniels rarely compiled Dutch nugget "After the Rainbow" leads the second disc with a bassline that owes much to Summers "I Feel Love" (and a vocal performance that is not among the best here, however charming). Appropriately enough, Bronski Beat and Marc Almonds romping 11-minute cover version of "I Feel Love" is on the third disc, what also features extensions and remixes of tracks by the likes of Visage ("The Anvil," the club-birthed groups most thrilling moment), Pete Shelley, Blancmange, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also, Pet Shop Boys relent by allowing the use of "Paninaro [Italian Remix]" and, on the house-centric fifth disc, "Heart [Disco Mix]," an ideal bridge from Sueno Latinos eponymous Balearic delight (based on Manuel Gottschings proto-techno epic E2-E4) to Malcolm McLarens "Deep in Vogue [Banjie Realness]." The placement of Raquel Welch beside Lisa Stansfield on disc four reflects that the DJs thrived on strange and amusing juxtapositions and cared not a wit about authenticity. Rightly so. ~ Andy Kellman