Shock - Shock (1981)

Classic electro-funk from Portland, OR, baby! Synths on synths on synths, distorted synth-bass aimed directly at your ass, horn stabs, a million different backing vocalists, wailing sax solos, an irresistibly fun vibe. Bangers from top to bottom. Features Marlon McClain (of the great Pleasure) on guitar.

Track listing:

1. Let Your Body Do the Talkin'

2. I Think I Love You

3. Stand Up

4. Shock

5. Let's Get Crackin'

6. Got to Have Your Love

7. Each and Every Day

8. Shock Talk

Shock is what you need right now

If you like this, take these for a spin:

Wayne Henderson - Emphasized (1979)

Don Blackman - Don Blackman (1982)

Booker Newberry - Love Town (1984)

A great set of soulful disco/boogie from the largely unsung Booker Newberry III. There's even a little new jack in there. The title track is the only hit record Newberry had a solo artist, but the entire record's a funky, synth-y joy to behold.

One caveat: digitally speaking, I've only ever been able to find the 2005 CD reissue version, which omits two tracks and adds a whole bunch of others. It's cool because the bonus tracks are almost all total bangers, but there are some questionable sequencing choices -- for instance, slow-jam "Island" is the second damn track, killing the album's momentum just as it gets going -- and with 6 original album tracks intermingled with 9 bonus tracks, it plays more like a greatest hits collection than an album. So basically what I'm saying is, don't download this. Sike, get it, you won't regret it.

Track listing:

1. Love Town

2. Island

3. I Get Romantic

4. Handle with Care

5. Attitude

6. Shadows

7. Love Drums

8. Teddy Bear

9. Shower of Love

10. Lovin' on Borrowed Time

11. The Way You Do It

12. You and I

13. Doin' What Comes Naturally

14. Love Town (Foggy Mix)

15. Shadows (12" Mix)

A midnight madness

A moonlight gladness

Also listen to:

Shadow - Love Lite (1979)

Alexander O'Neal - Alexander O'Neal (1985)

Psychic Mirrors - Nature of Evil (2016)

Deluxe 80s boogie throwback done as well as it can possibly be done. Thick-ass robo-synths, slap bass, super-tight grooves, and wavering falsetto vocals. Everything that made the original sound, but shot through with punchier, shinier production.

Track listing:

1. The Bells of Saint Christopher

2. Island Girl

3. Foreign Affair / Criminal Intent

4. Stormy Weather

5. Obatala (Souls on Fire)

6. Head of the Class

7. Rated X

8. Draw Me Your Favorite Funk

9. In My Eyes

10. Science Fiction

11. Shock Treatment

12. Veronica's House of Tarot

Come find me

You'd probably also like:

Don Blackman - Don Blackman (1982)

Nile Rodgers - B-Movie Matinee (1985)

Was (Not Was) - Are You O.K.? (1990)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Was (Not Was) - Was (Not Was) (1981)

Brilliant fourth album by art-funk iconoclasts Was (Not Was). Crafting pop-rooted songs whose true genius only reveals itself upon close listening was always this band's specialty, and they never did it better than they do here -- if you're not paying attention, "In K-Mart Wardrobe" pretty much sounds like an impeccably produced ad jingle.

Track listing:
1. Are You Okay?
2. Papa Was a Rolling Stone
3. I Feel Better Than James Brown
4. How the Heart Behaves
5. Maria Navarro
6. I Blew Up the United States
7. In K-Mart Wardrobe
8. Elvis' Rolls Royce
9. Dressed to Be Killed
10. Just Another Couple Broken Hearts
11. You! You! You!
12. Look What's Back (Out Come the Freaks)

Broiled chickens sang us love songs from the skewer
Have you ever been this close to going down the sewer?

You should also hear:

Nile Rodgers -
B-Movie Matinee (1985)

Che -
Narcotic (1985)

Alexander O'Neal - Alexander O'Neal (1985)

Bulletproof debut LP from Minneapolis soul great Alexander O'Neal. A seven-song sequence of sleek, late-night slow jams with just a whiff of electro-funk, and endless replay value.

Track listing:
1. A Broken Heart Can Mend
2. If You Were Here Tonight
3. Do You Wanna Like I Do
4. Look at Us Now
5. Medley: Innocent/Alex 900/Innocent II
6. What's Missing
7. You Were Meant to Be My Lady (Not My Girl)

I was yours and you were mine

You'll probably also enjoy:

George Howard -
Asphalt Gardens (1982)

Kimiko Kasai -
Kimiko (1982)

Don Blackman - Don Blackman (1982)

Heaven-sent boogie with sweet jazz undertones that shine through in the form of unorthodox, dissonant chords and some sick-ass piano work.

Track listing:
1. Yabba Dabba Doo
2. Heart's Desire
3. Holding You, Loving You
4. Deaf Hook-Up Connection
5. You Ain't Hip
6. Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
7. Since You've Been Away So Long
8. Never Miss a Thing

Dooby-dooby-doo-wee!

If you like this, you should hear:

Bernard Wright -
'Nard (1981)

Roger -
The Saga Continues (1984)

Bernard Wright - 'Nard (1981)

Funky jazz and jazzy funk led by keyboardist Bernard Wright, who at the time was just 18. Slick, synth-y arrangements counter-balanced by a sharp, hard-hitting rhythm section. Some of you will instantly recognize "Haboglabotribin'" as the source of a sample from a deep cut off of a certain 90s G-funk classic.

Track listing:
1. Haboglabotrin'
2. Firebolt Hustle
3. Music Is the Key
4. Spinnin'
5. Just Chillin' Out
6. Bread Sandwiches
7. Master Rocker
8. We're Just the Band
9. Solar

All other rides are chicken feed

You should also listen to:

Ronnie Laws -
Pressure Sensitive (1975)

Wayne Henderson -
Emphasized (1979)

T-Connection - Totally Connected (1979)

Some joyful, smooth, disco-tinged funk to help you boogie your way through whatever bullshit you have to deal with today. I also want to encourage you to spend some time with that album cover, as it just gets better and better the more you look at it.

Track listing:
1. Totally Connected
2. Ecstasy
3. Let's Do It Today
4. I Like Funkin' with You
5. Choosing
6. That's Love
7. Danger Zone
8. Born to Boogie

We are lights in the night

You must also listen to:

Shadow -
Love Lite (1979)

Fantasy -
Fantasy (1981)

Change - The Glow of Love (1980)

Immaculately-produced debut by Italian disco greats Change. So funky, so smooth. I'm on a disco kick and I'm taking y'all with me. Synth-lovers, be sure to listen through to the end.

Track listing:
1. A Lover's Holiday
2. It's a Girl's Affair
3. Angel in My Pocket
4. The Glow of Love
5. Searching
6. The End

Flowers blooming

You should also hear:

Adrian Gurvitz -
Il Assassino (1980)

London Aircraaft -
Rockets (1984)

Fantasy - Fantasy (1981)

A sweet slice o' disco-funk excellence that's guaranteed to put that boogie in your butt. Put this LP on at my work yesterday and had to fend off two separate attempts at buying it. While it downloads, please enjoy the back cover.

Track listing:
1. You're Too Late
2. Too Much Too Soon
3. (Hey Who's Gotta) Funky Song
4. Love Explosion
5. You Can't Lose What You Never Had
6. Now I Have Everything
7. Read Between the Lines

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doodoo-doo

Further butt-boogying:

THP - THP #2: Tender
Is the Night (1978)

Shadow -
Love Lite (1979)

Paul Hardcastle - Rainforest (1985)

Dance-y, synth-tastic, instrumental hip-hop and disco. To hear this album while gazing upon the above album cover is to know not just that there is a god, but that he loves us and wants us to be happy. And he may or may not wear windbreakers and play synthesizer.

Track listing:
1. Rainforest (Remix)
2. King Tut
3. Panic
4. Forest Fire
5. Loitering with Intent
6. A.M.
7. Sound Chaser
8. Rain Forest (Original Mix)

Ready ready go

More along these lines:

RAH Band -
Going Up (1983)

Nile Rodgers -
B-Movie Matinee (1985)

Shadow - Love Lite (1979)

Driving, funky disco workouts and soulful slow-burners courtesy of this relatively obscure trio, all three of whom were members of the Ohio Players. Music for falling in love by the light of a mirror ball.

Track listing:
1. I Need Love
2. No Better Love
3. I Enjoy Ya
4. Love Lite
5. Say It Again
6. Get It

You'll never find no better love than mine

You would also like:

Kilo -
Kilo (1979)

Teena Marie -
Starchild (1984)

THP - THP #2: Tender Is the Night (1978)

Immaculate, relentless, coked-out disco grooves courtesy of Toronto-based duo THP. Pretty much the chic, cocaine-driven equivalent of a hippy jam band.

Track listing:
1. Weekend Two-Step
2. Tender Is the Night
3. Half as Nice
4. Music Is All You Need

Watch us

Keep riding that high with:

Black Devil -
Disco Club (1978)

London Aircraaft -
Rockets (1984)

The Deele - Eyes of a Stranger (1987)

Smooth, synth-y, slow-burning R&B from a group that included Babyface. Def some Prince influence at work here. "Two Occasions" is one of the all-time great slow jams, and the rest of the album isn't far behind.

Track listing:
1. Two Occasions
2. Shoot 'Em Up Movies
3. Let No One Separate Us
4. Eyes of a Stranger
5. Can-U-Dance
6. She Wanted
7. Hip Chic
8. So Many Thangz
9. Eyes of a Stranger (Reprise)

I only think of you on two occasions
That's day and night

Also listen to:

Roger -
The Saga Continues (1984)

Mazarati -
Mazarati (1987)

Nile Rodgers - B-Movie Matinee (1985)

Ring in the New Year with some old-school electro-funk and synthpop. In addition to founding Chic, Rodgers was David Bowie's chief collaborator for Let's Dance -- according to Rodgers, Bowie described to him the sound he was aiming for by showing him a picture of Little Richard dressed in red and climbing into a red Cadillac. B-Movie Matinee doesn't attain the same level of boogie-nirvana as Rodgers' first record, but it's hella fun nonetheless. Have some MDMA, it's New Years!

Track listing:
1. Plan-9
2. State Your Mind
3. The Face in the Window
4. Doll Squad
5. Let's Go Out Tonight
6. Groove Master
7. Wavelength
8. Stay Out of the Light

Ooh, ooh, ooh
Me and you

Listen to these, too:

Niteflyte -
Niteflyte (1979)

Teena Marie -
Starchild (1984)

Kilo - Kilo (1979)

An obscure gem of smooth, lean 70s funk. Slap bass, sweet-as-honey vocal harmonies, a lil' bit of sexy sax, and plenty of sweet, sweet synth. Be easy, baby.

Track listing:
1. Days
2. Devil's Eye
3. Be Mine
4. You, You, You
5. Satisfy Your Lovin'
6. Interlude
7. All in a Song
8. Fire, Fire, Fire
9. Love So Nice

Lovin' you is all I want to do

If you like this, check out:

Niteflyte -
Niteflyte (1979)

Oliver Cheatham -
The Boss (1982)

London Aircraaft - Rockets (1984)

Related:
Supermax - World of Today (1977)

First and only album from little-known German disco group London Aircraaft. It's more or less a solo album by Supermax bassist Larry London that's produced and largely written by Supermax bandleader/mastermind Kurt Hauenstein, and though it's more straightforward than their main project, it'll still put the boogie in your butt.

Track listing:
1. Island Feeling
2. Brighter Day
3. Changes
4. Angie
5. Supergirls
6. Rocket in My Pocket
7. Calculator
8. Dancing on a High Wire
9. Watch Out
10. No More Tears
11. Soldiers of the Night [bonus]
12. Boulevard [bonus]
13. We Are the Highlights [bonus]

In my book, you're number one

You should also listen to:

Adrian Gurvitz -
Sweet Vendetta (1979)

RAH Band -
Going Up (1983)