Al Kent

Review: It's been a hot minute since Al Kent dropped some of his sweet and soulful dancefloor instinct on us, but he's back in style on his reanimated Million Dollar Disco label. "Pick Me Up (Say Goodbye)" takes Gladys Knight & The Pips' tender "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Say Goodbye)" and gives it a supremely pitched dancefloor injection. Upping the tempo and rolling out an organic disco beat, Knight's vocal gets a whole new backdrop without losing the emotional heft of the track. A truly heart-melting cut for that sentimental, cut loose, late end of the party.

Review: As someone who briefly escaped 70's Glasgow and got a taste of the golden age of NYC Disco, Al Kent is a perfect choice to lead you through a classy selection of some choice and rare Disco treats. Having used his huge collection in the past for re-edits and originals, he also took the bold step of forming his own band in 2007 under the name The Million Dollar Orchestra.

The selections here reflect the point at which Funk and Soul mutated into Disco, with most of the tracks capturing that pre-Moroder organic sound. Lee Alfred's Rockin-Poppin Full Tilting for example has a laid back vibe similar to Curtis Mayfield's more uptempo tunes. New Ghetto Express's version of Standing On The Verge of Getting It On (originally by Funkadelic) up's the tempo on the wigged-out classic, again combing the Funk with a Disco groove.

Lypso Disco by Smile Street People, as you'd guess from the title, has a playful Calypso lilt and bounce to it. Cosmic Disco by Patricia White on the other hand doesn't sound like something that Todd Terje or Lindstrom got their cues from, but it is a fun song with some brilliantly random thumb-piano playing in the background!

Anyone looking for samples will have a field day among these tracks, Sweet Daddy Floyd's I Just Can't Help Myself for example has a break in the middle to die for. You could loop up 4 bars practically anywhere and have something pretty damn funky to work with. For that reason alone, it's well worth having a listen and broadening your horizons.

Review: In recent years we've become accustomed to disco compilations appearing at a furious rate. While many of these compilations are undoubtedly worthy of attention, the volume of releases can sometimes be bewildering. This eight track selection from Al Kent, the second in his Disco Love series, ticks all the right boxes, however. Even by the highest crate digging standards, these tracks are pretty obscure; many won't have had much of an airing since their original release. Those into the rich, soulful side of disco - that brand of string-laden dancefloor material most associated with the Philadelphia International label and studio -will find much to enjoy. Perhaps the most noteworthy is Scarborough's delightfully sweet "Make Love To You", an epic of biblical proportions that lasts longer than most drunken one night stands. See also Valerie Simmons' super sweet "I Can't Make It On My Own" and the rousing orchestral manoeuvres of "I've Got The Need". This luxurious gatefold double album also comes replete with extensive track notes from compiler Al Kent.