The QH Blend's Ten Dance LPs

What is a dance record? Is it molded and refined by an ambitious DJ or an assemblage of shrewd music industry insiders? Are its origins drawn from pre-disco Motown? Or has it transformed into something else? The answer is an amalgam of yes and no when it comes to what a dance record is or isn't. The inspiration for this piece came from being someone who enjoys music that makes me move. This motley crew of artists and their albums are what I'd want to be tripping the light fantastic to if out for a night on the town.

The choices were difficult to make as many records easily deserved to make this list. I based my selections on my requirements of what makes a dance long player for me. Requirements include a relentless energy that propels one section of the album and a necessary "cool down" area for refreshment. Additionally, albums like these cross genres because dance is not just an electronic medium. I hope you enjoy what I have picked.



#10 Emerald City
Circa 1986, as performed by Teena Marie

Hot off the win of 1984's Starchild, that record was rendered tame next to the dark, steamy brew Marie served on Emerald City. Still bearing all of Marie's hallmarks, a shift toward guitar and heavier beats lined the first half of the album. The caustic pull of "Lips to Find You" and the explicit grind of "Shangri-La" had Teena Marie in full effect.





#9 Secrets
Circa 2001, as performed by The Human League

The nucleic trio of Phillip Oakey, Susan Sulley, and Joanne Catherall behind the era definer "Don't You Want Me?" have had trouble escaping the reach of that song. A look at their last effort of original material, Secrets proved as ingenious as any Human League '80's effort. With delectable instrumental vignettes tying together the other nine vocal tracks, Secrets was cool, British musical art.





#8 I Feel For You
Circa 1984, as performed by Chaka Khan

One of the records to highlight the oncoming onslaught of hip-hop's influence on overall popular music, I Feel For You was a pre-New Jack Swing collision of hip-hop & R&B production techniques. Bold, exciting, sometimes jarring, I Feel For You had Khan steering her unmistakable voice through the interesting curves and bends on the album.





#7 Bring Ya to the Brink
Circa 2008, as performed by Cyndi Lauper

Lauper's first journey into the glitterati realm of dance music wasn't an exercise in creative contentment. Enlisting a group of reputable collaborators in the fields of electronica and dance, Lauper built shimmering sonic structures. Dense and daring, Brink remains a staunch strike of genius for Lauper.






#6 A Funk Odyssey
Circa 2001, as performed by Jamiroquai

Resisting the notion of disco's bastardization at the hands of crueler critics, Jay Kay & Co. pulled out all the tricks that made groups like Tavares and Earth, Wind & Fire great. Equally symphonic ("Corner of the World") and electronic ("Twenty Zero One"), Jay Kay pumped vocal vitality into A Funk Odyssey.





#5 Gloria!
Circa 1998, as performed by Gloria Estefan

Estefan's first two major international crossover hits "Dr. Beat" (1984) and "Conga" (1985) professed Estefan's love of dancefloor phonics despite her later Spanish language and adult contemporary forays. Marketed as her official return to dance music, Gloria! brilliantly embraced classic disco, nu-disco, and Latin styles.





#4 Off the Wall
Circa 1979, as performed by Michael Jackson

Seminal black dance record of all time or appetizer to the all-conquering Thriller (1982)? Most would say, I'd hope, the former over the latter. Off the Wall was Michael Jackson at the peak and joy of his power. Split into two movements, footloose funk ("Rock With You," "Get on the Floor") and handsome chill ("I Can't Help It," "Burn This Disco Out"), Jackson's Off the Wall remains his definitive statement.



#3 Night Work
Circa 2010, as performed by Scissor Sisters

These New York pop hedonists and culprits returned with glam fists swinging on Night Work. Through a wealth of influences, Night Work is a glowing, smutty mess that had the group dividing between current European and vintage American dance music.






#2 Four Seasons of Love
Circa 1976, as performed by Donna Summer

One of many masterpieces in Donna Summer's vast discography, Four Seasons of Love is a special record due to its sheer scope. Based on the idea of the four seasons, the songs glide by in various moods. Summer occupied desire ("Spring Affair," "Summer Fever") alongside regret ("Autumn Changes," "Winter Melody") believably on all four sides of the record.




#1 Neon Nights
Circa 2003, as performed by Dannii Minogue

No record in the last 10 years dealt in early '80's dance music mixed with all the now European and American toppings. Dannii Minogue, Kylie Minogue's sister, did just that with Neon Nights. It carried the boundless energy of dance music without effort.

Kylie Minogue: A Study in Pop Perfection

The heir apparent to Madonna's throne, Kylie Minogue has unleashed her 11th affair Aphrodite to applause since its July release. The year of 2010 is an important milestone for Minogue in other ways. It marks two anniversaries in her discography: 1990's Rhythm of Love and 2000's Light Years. Minogue's power has been her pop purity, the full on froth that springs her that musical exhibitionism. Three records, three decades, one woman, each connected by the need to keep pop  changeable and creatively charged.

Rhythm of Love
Minogue's first big step, Rhythm of Love held a defined sonic that acknowledged an edgy, dance tone. With clubby pulses moving underneath them, Rhythm produced four staples: "Better the Devil You Know," "Step Back in Time," "Shocked," & "What Do I Have to Do." The album tracks also boasted gold on the bouncy "Secrets" and flirty title track. A marked vocal improvement made Minogue an unmistakable presence on Rhythm and she tried her hand at songwriting here as well. Not bad for the Stock-Aitken-Waterman doll many were writing off three years prior to Rhythm's release.



Light Years
Emerging from the exploratory deConstruction epoch, Light Years was Minogue's debut for her new home Parlophone Records. Decked out in mainstream and underground disco motifs, Light Years was equally credible and camp. The surging rushes of "Disco Down" and "Butterfly" were daises for the savant Minogue became during her deConstruction years. Minogue occupied boogie down brilliance on "Spinning Around"  and "Under the Influence," the latter a cover of the Love Unlimited classic. The pool party of the millennium started here.




Aphrodite
Partnering with Stuart Price who led projects for Madonna (Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005), Seal (System, 2007), and the Scissor Sisters (Night Work, 2010), Aphrodite is Minogue at her most European. At first listen, one dismisses the high gloss as perfunctory, but by the second listen "Get Outta My Way," "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)," and "Cupid Boy" are beyond enjoyable, they're euphoric. There are surprises in the baroque  "Closer" and the saucy switch of "Better Than Today." Within the lead single "All the Lovers" and "Aphrodite," we find thematic spirit of the album.


Eleven albums deep into a career that has seen Minogue dominate the globe, barring America which houses a loyal, cult following, Kylie Minogue is more than a mere "princess" to Madonna's "Queen Mother" stature. In reality, as the new album proclaims, she is above such human monikers, she is one of the few goddesses of the pop realm.-QH

[Editor's Note: Like majority of Kylie Minogue's pre-Fever work, both Rhythm of Love & Light Years are available as affordable imports, or within larger, music specialty shops. Visit http://www.kylie.com for more information.-QH]

Madonna: Still "Breathless" 20 Years On

Alongside Michael Jackson, Madonna was without question one of the biggest music figures at the close of the 1980's. Paying attention to the trajectories of established pop figureheads Cher and Donna Summer, Madonna's blend of music and image was pushed to new and unthinkable heights in the birth of the MTV age. Important to understand is that as rapidly as Madonna's image changed and caused conversation, her music did the same.

By the time 1990 arrived, Madonna was riding high on the across the board success of her fourth album Like a Prayer (1989), which elevated Madonna's artistry further. With a  new decade spread before her, how would the lady who defined the 1980's move into the 1990's?

The History
Madonna's fifth long player I'm Breathless was an ambitious tie-in album/soundtrack of original material inspired by her feature film endeavor Dick Tracy. Alongside (then lover) Warren Beatty, the stunning send-up to the beloved comic strip of the 1940's, Dick Tracy starred Madonna as the anti-heroine Breathless Mahoney, a New York nightclub vocalist. It echoed a gesture by fellow decade defining artist-in-arms Prince the year before on his acclaimed Batman recording. Interestingly, Madonna took the idea of her soundtrack/album deeper by incorporating the pop music elements of the '40's period the comic book film from into the album itself.

The Record
Madonna and three men worked over the ambitious I'm Breathless: house music maestro Shep Pettibone, the illustrious Stephen Sondheim, and longtime collaborator Patrick Leonard. Leonard had been an integral cog in previous (and future) stylistic turning points in Madonna's musical paths (True Blue, Like a Prayer, Ray of Light).

Reconstructing portions of big band pop and swing wasn't an easy task, but hardly as difficult as one assumed. Removing several kitsch blunders ("I'm Going Bananas," "Back In Business," and "Now I'm Following You Pts. 1 & 2") I'm Breathless remains one of Madonna's most alluring albums.

In excellent form, pre-Evita/Ray of Light eras respectively, Madonna's voice shined as never before. On the Sondheim sizzlers "Sooner or Later" and "More," Madonna vocally stood toe-to-toe with the music on these pristine pop constructs Sondheim had built. "Sooner or Later" a downtempo, brushed drums, upright bass, brass touched love song evoked jazz-pop in tone and texture. "More" cleverly delivered a paean to materialism over a snazzy rhythm section, think "Material Girl" in '40's glam attire.

Other beauties like the tense tearjerker "Something to Remember" (later featured and used as the title for her 1995 ballads collection), and the darker "He's a Man" had Madonna lyrically explore the pathos of Breathless Mahoney. "Vogue" set at the end of the record, at first, seemed out of place. The classy, sexy, and modern house-pop music creation was intended to be the flip side to the Like a Prayer single "Keep It Together." The title was a nod to the black gay dance styles of whacking and voguing that emerged in the Harlem ballroom scenes of the '80's whose roots dated back as far as the '60's. Lyrically, "Vogue" spoke to the freedoms of self-expression and delivered an amazing tribute listing of various screen gods and goddesses of the period that the Dick Tracy strip was from. That lone thread instantly tied "Vogue" into the retro cool of I'm Breathless thematically.

The Impact
The lead single from I'm Breathless, "Vogue," was released on 3/20/90. It rocketed to number one in 30 countries around the world, including the U.S. and the U.K.
 It was Madonna's largest selling global single to date until the ABBA sampled brilliance of "Hung Up," from her Confessions on a Dance Floor LP, surpassed it in 2005. The David Fincher directed video for "Vogue" received an outstanding nine nominations at the MTV Music Video Awards. Recently, the video was paid loving tribute to on the Fox series Glee.

The album prepared for launch during a period rife with publicity for Madonna. Between the Dick Tracy film release a month later, her iconic Blonde Ambition Tour, and "Vogue's" success, when I'm Breathless dropped on 5/22/90 (6/19/90 in Japan) it promised to be a juggernaut.
The record charted at #2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and the U.K. Album Chart. Breathless certified double platinum in the U.S. and Canada, platinum in the U.K., and gold in many European markets (Germany, France, Austria, etc.). A second single, "Hanky Panky" was released on 6/30/90, landing safely within the reaches of the U.S. Hot 100 (#10) without the push of a music video. The single proved even more popular in the U.K. where it sailed to the #2 position. Planned singles included "Sooner or Later" and "Now I'm Following You, Part 2" but were scrapped with the unveiling of Madonna's first hits compilation The Immaculate Collection later in 1990. Its subsequent singles were pushed instead.

"Vogue"
Directed by: David Fincher


At the time I'm Breathless was a commercial disappointment, it sits at six million units sold worldwide currently. The critical reception it received also varied from the positive praise of Village Voice guru Robert Christgau:
  

But with its pedigree of wit and musicality, show-tune pop-schlock sure beats the direct-to-Vegas power ballads with which she's heretofore betrayed her dance-rock roots. Especially when she writes it herself--except for the "Material Girl"-inspired "More," the Sondheim tunes are fussy and genteel (with Mandy Patinkin's "well-sung" cameo the nadir), but such fake period pieces as "Cry Baby," "He's a Man," and the risque s&m-lite "Hanky Panky" are all her. This is a woman whose great gift is for the mask. Camp isn't everything she can do, but she sure knows how to do it right.

Some weren't as enthused with the material and direction, but acknowledged Madonna's new found vocal presence, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide remarked:

"Although her singing shows a surprising amount of range, the material tends to be nothing more than cutesy novelty numbers, like the double entendre-laden hit "Hanky Panky."

 Madonna once stated in an interview around the Ray of Light period that she loved every song on this album. It's easy to see why she'd make that statement. Out of all the albums in Madonna's discography, this curiosity radiates the affection of an artist who was entering a creatively fertile time. It took Madonna another try with the muddled Erotica (1992) before she scored her first "album's album" with 1994's Bedtime Stories. I'm Breathless is a record that platformed Madonna's knack for musical reinvention at its most transitional, fun, and uninhibited. Three and a half out of five stars.-QH