Disco Giants, Vol. 1 in Bloomington, MN

Far less reliant upon obscurities and forgotten low-rung chart hits than
Masterpiece
and
Nighttime Lovers
, the
PTG
label's other long running series of '80s club-oriented R&B, the
Disco Giants
series contains several outright smashes, yet it's not close to novice-level, especially enticing for those who never made the transition from vinyl or have worn out copies of
Thump
's
Old School
series (and the like). Some of the bigger cuts on the first volume of
are
the System
"You Are in My System,"
Chaka Khan
"I Feel for You,"
Mary Jane Girls
'
"Candy Man,"
Five Star
"Love Take Over,"
Tramaine
"Fall Down,"
but the real gem here is
Yvonne Gage
"Garden of Eve,"
a prime slice of boogie released in 1981 on
Atlantic
(quite possibly its first time on CD). Later, lower-performing singles from
BB & Q Band
,
Con Funk Shun
, and
Aurra
aren't slouches, either. That some of these 12" mixes are mastered from vinyl could be problematic for some listeners, but they can't really expect pristine sound from independent label rarities. ~ Andy Kellman