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Buyer Rating: 100.0% positive (3 ratings)

DomCasual's groups (2)

• Early Electro Rap
• Vinyl Hospital And Sleeve Restoration

Galactic Life Force, The - Loosing Control - 03-Nov-09 06:09 AM
Admittedly a very good electro record, this is almost certainly a modern production from Europe perpetrating to be a "lost" or extremely obscure 1984 US electro record. Lets look at some of the hints that make this track extremely questionable:

1) "Loosing" is a very common spelling mistake for Europeans/non-native English speakers who cannot discern between "lose" and "loose". The correct spelling should of course be "losing control". An American would not be likely to make such an obvious mistake, especially if they wanted their record to be taken seriously. In 1984, people did.

2) "Made In USA". How many US records from the era actually say this? Most local productions would have an address on them, and the producers often were unlikely to imagine a small record with limited distro ever getting outside of the US. This is a ploy to make it seem also like this is a genuine 1984 article.

3) Promotional use only. Why? Only because it might support a fake back story to cover why no one had heard of this track back in the 80s, would anyone put this on a record. The idea seems to be that if it were ONLY promotional, then it would be extra-rare, and thus even be worth more. Again, it does not make sense in regards to records that came out back then. You would have to be a larger label to produce promotional product that said promo, and this is clearly not on a larger label.

4) The general look of the label. Labels properly printed back in the 80s look more professional and do not often have as much miscellaneous print, such as the print around the center label perimeter. The cheap look of the text not only does not appear printed, but appears like a modern computer graphic that was made to look as if it were "low-tech". If this was such a low-budget independent release, why would it have so much info (unclear info at that) on it? How many records from the 80s read "NYC" and not New York, NY. Why no address? The label name "TIMELESS" is also a clue towards this being a modern production-- perhaps an in-joke as well. The song title also boasts too many ideas. People wrote songs about one concept that people could follow; here, you are losing control, you got the "future shock" in the lyrics, you have "b-boys" in the title, and "rocking"--- how many electo/rap cliches do they use? This is overkill, and reflects a modern day concept of what 84 electro was.

Just my thoughts. Still a great record, but one that I have no doubt is a modern record produced in limited quantities likely by some Europeans looking to emulate classic electro of the era.

Various - Volume 11 Program 11 - 09-Oct-09 01:00 PM
This particular Disconet is huge, if only for one reason. And no, that reason has nothing to do with Grace Jones or Paul Lekakis. The Rich Buono edit of "Walk The Night" by the Skatt Brothers is probably the best version of it available on wax. Its longer, laden with aggressive vocal samples from a Jeff Stryker gay porn flick (as the story goes), and if that isnt enough to really maximize the dark, gay sado tone of the track-- the hook from Frankie Goes To Hollywoods "Relax" just pops up at the exact right time. To think that Casablanca allegedly sold the Skatt Bros as "the straight Canadian Village People"! This version of the track is amazingly dark and high on the sleaze meter, but all the better for it. Amazing track and very tough to find.

Elly Brown - Don't Hang Up - 23-Sep-09 01:14 PM
Leave it to italodisco to really confound your way of receiving music sonically. Of course, this track is pretty late italo, which means it could also dually lie in multiple synth/dance subgenres. Produced by the leader of US group Grace Pool, and sung by another Grace Pool member, this record mixes Italian-style mid80s italo melodic synths with freestyle-fashioned vocals, hard-programmed beats, synth stabs, and even a bit of a guitar riff is thrown into the main melody. Brown can do the "little-girl" freestyle-ish high vocals but is talented enough to really belt the tune out. Its over-the-top enough to call italo, but sounds like it could have been a synth-freestyle hit all over US radio in the middle 80s. Is it amazing? After 15 listens, I still dont know. But it sure is fascinating, and that vocal hook is super effective as well. A keeper.

Ice-T - Ya Don't Quit - 16-Sep-09 06:54 PM
Released right on the cusp of his massive stylistic change, this might be the best record of early Ice T. As he mentioned in later tracks, this was the period when most of the West Coast was aiming for more of a NY style, but also embraced rapid, uptempo electro--Techno Hop and Electrobeat being two of the major labels of the time and genre. Ice later rhymed that he was trying to sound line someone else. His more laid-back gangsta style really came about with "6 In The Mornin", issued the same year as this record. But the very street "6 In The Mornin" sounds almost relaxed compared to this track. "Ya Dont Quit" is rapid-fire hard rhymes with a firm grip on the electro sound that dominated both the left coast and the Radio scene in LA that Ice came out of. The sound seems like a cross between Marley Marl on the drum machine, and the California electro rap sound. Evil E has a scratching portion, and Ice just raps the hell out of the track, in a breathless lyrical style that he only utilized in rare spots later on in his career. The sparsely programmed style uses very hard drums, and a few samples. Its an outstanding document, not only in that it shows how aggressive and varied Ice T could be, but in that it shows a period of time when a West Coast rapper struggled to find a style between East Coast rap, rock beats, electro beats, fast and verbose rapping style, and laid-back crime story/gangsta. As a big Ice T fan, this is unusual to be sure, but just as good as anything on "Original Gangster."

"This beat is crushin, end of discussion.."
"But the squares wont dance cause they just all fakes/ they cant understand the command of the breaks!"

Underdog (2) - The Vanishing Point - 28-Aug-09 04:50 AM
This, the sole Underdog full-length album, has gotten something of an undeserved and underrated legend. For many years, the opinion in hardcore circles on Underdog could largely be summed up as: "their 7" is great, and their album is lousy". Indeed, the Revelation "Demos" LP was, upon its 90s release, far more popular among hardcore fans (and hardcore purists) than "The Vanishing Point." However, not only was Underdog never a typical band, but the album and label who released it were also atypical. Caroline was considered to be a major label by the strident hardcore community, and even Warzone was criticized for signing with them after their Revelation 7" release, in an interesting parallel. Underdog, like period NYC bands such as Lifes Blood or Token Entry, was not a simplistic or purist hardcore band; their experimentation with slower tempos and reggae (they were great, but no Bad Brains) proves that. And with the inclusion of great skater/McRad alum Chuck Treece on guitar, whose talent made him an in-demand session artist, Underdog was looking to push the envelope.

In addition, 1989 was a time of evolution for certain parts of the hardcore scene, and it could be said that Underdog was part of that. Between the production and the sound they chose, Underdog was clearly looking to carve their own niche. Years before the stomp/"groovecore" sound became popular in hardcore, Underdog was utilizing slow building tempos to highlight Richie Birkenheads distinct and often anguished vocals. The opening "From Now On" and "A Lot To Learn" set the album up for this bands powerful messages driven by very tight musicianship. While hardcore purists will decry this as too much production, the album sounds like a cohesive whole and even a well-thought-out document. Underdog was a unique hardcore band, and one that fascinatingly, never really broke up. This NJ-based act still plays out sporadically, and this album was reissued by Go-Kart in 1998 with bonus tracks.

Underdog is well worth another visit by grown up hardcore kids whod passed them by, and by fans of hard and spiritual music overall.

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