Today, Tomorrow, Forever - Today, Tomorrow, Forever (1979)

One of many records that I snagged out of crates that were headed for oblivion (a.k.a. the storage warehouse) at my old job. The A side is funkier, weirder, and arguably more interesting than the B side, which is still good but falls into a comparatively standard disco groove. It's not gonna change your life, but it's a super fun record, and the synth break in "Astro Boogie" alone is worth the price of admission.

Track listing:

1. It's a Groove (Keep On Dancin')

2. Astro Boogie

3. Mad House

4. Blipped (All Over Myself)

5. Taking Me Higher

6. I'm for You

7. It's Your Love

8. Get On Down

Yeah, I was at a hyperdrive party that was, uh, really jammin' back

You should also hear:

Kleeer - I Love to Dance (1979)

T-Connection - Totally Connected (1979)

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)

Gary Bartz - The Shadow Do! (1975)

Some of that sweet, that funky stuff from jazz saxophonist (and Baltimorean!) Gary Bartz. In addition to handling all vocals and playing synth, he brought in (among others) Michael Henderson, the Mizell brothers, and several members of Mtume, and the results are lush, smooth jazz-funk of the highest order.

Track listing:

1. Winding Roads

2. Mother Nature

3. Love Tones

4. Gentle Smiles (Saxy)

5. Make Me Feel Better

6. Sea Gypsy

7. For My Baby

8. Incident

I'm gonna get ya

More like this:

Dave Valentin - Land of the Third Eye (1980)

George Howard - Asphalt Gardens (1982)

Guitar Red - Hard Times (1976)

First and only solo album by Guitar Red, aka Chicagoan guitarist Paul Johnson. Hard Times rides the fine lines between soul, funk, and old-school rhythm and blues, with a lo-fi, synth-y, drum machine-driven twist. I get that Guitar Red was the man's stage name and that he had a career outside of making this album, but guitar really takes a backseat to synth here. The kind of record that was destined from day one to be ignored by the many and absolutely adored by the few, then reissued by some boutique label a few decades later. Wish I could remember which of the old mp3 blogs I got this from -- Mutant Sounds, maybe? 

(The title track is not to be confused with the classic Baby Huey track of the same name.)

Track listing:

1. Hard Times

2. Fantasy

3. Share Your Love

4. Space and Time

5. Sad Day

6. Disco from a Space Show

7. Love Walked In

8. Sad Day - Inst.

Today I saw the rat in the alley eating onions and crying

If you like this, try:

The Diddys Featuring Paige Douglas - Agony & Extasy (1977)

The Kaplan Brothers - Nightbird (1978)

Wally Badarou - Back to Scales To-Night (1980)

Related:

M - The Official Secrets Act (1980)

Debut solo record from synth/keyboard session man Wally Badarou; I'm not even going to try to start naming all the great artists he's played with. Laid-back, synth-fueled, reggae-tinged lite funk/pop-rock/R&B that's positively perfect for summer nights. Yes, his second album, Echoes, is his masterpiece, but DO NOT sleep on this record.

Track listing:

1. Back to Scales Tonight

2. Sing Me Your Song

3. One Day, Won't Give It Away

4. Dream on the Sand

5. London Town (Instrumental)

6. He Was a Rasta in London Town

7. She Turns Me On

8. Lady Finger Blue (Instrumental)

9. Preachin'

Leaving this place

If you like this, listen to:

Wayne Henderson - Emphasized (1979)

Kimiko Kasai - Kimiko (1982)

The Andrea True Connection - More, More, More (1976)

A nice, generous slice of disco nirvana. Airy, laid-back workouts full of big hooks, locked-in grooves, and extended solos. True got her start as a porno actress, which somehow eventually led to her being hired as commercial spokesperson for a Jamaican real estate firm. While she was in Jamaica, the government banned asset transfer to the US, meaning that in order to return to the States, she would have to either forfeit all of her earnings or spend them; she opted for the latter, demoed "More, More, More", the demo got remixed, the remix became a surprise hit, and she landed a record deal. I love that story.

Track listing:

1. Party Line

2. Keep It Up Longer

3. More, More, More

4. Fill Me Up (Heart to Heart)

5. Call Me

I'm always ready

If you like this, listen to:

France Joli - France Joli (1979)

Musique - Musique II (1979)

The New Birth - Comin' from All Ends (1974)

Soul/funk perfection from the great New Birth, a band formed via the fusion of multiple instrumental and vocal groups. Equal parts party-starters, baby-makers, and reflective space-out sessions.

Track listing:

1. End to End

2. Take This Train to Freedom

3. I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal

4. Lady Love

5. Pretty Music

6. Patiently

7. Echoes of My Mind

8. Do It Again

9. Comin' from All Ends

10. Epilog

Please don't stand still

If you like this, listen to:

Graham Central Station - Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It (1975)

Mandrill - Solid (1975)

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)

Kleeer - I Love to Dance (1979)

Super groovy, relentlessly fun NYC disco with a gritty funk edge and some more laid-back, buttery-smooth moments. Sounds like the kind of sexy, sweaty, coke-y party that we'd all rather be at.

Track listing:
1. Tonight's the Night (Good Time)
2. Keeep Your Body Workin'
3. Happy Me
4. I Love to Dance
5. It's Magic
6. To Groove You
7. Amour
8. Kleeer Sailin'

You make it easy for me to love you

You'd also like:

Brick -
Good High (1976)

Cerrone -
Love in C Minor (1976)

Taana Gardner - Taana Gardner (1979)

Sultry, hella-groovy disco. Gardner's a gifted, emotive vocalist, and her higher-register voice occasionally suggests what it might sound like if Kate Bush made a disco record. If the opening groove on "When You Touch Me" hasn't been sampled for a rap song, folks are seriously dropping the ball.

Track listing:
1. When You Touch Me
2. We Got to Work It Out
3. Just Be a Friend
4. Paradise Express
5. Work That Body

Ain't nothing above it
Oh, how I love it

Also listen to:

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

Musique -
Musique II (1979)

Dr. John - Babylon (1969)

Mind-melting second album from this New Orleans legend. A dense stew of bluesy guitar, hammond organ, clattering percussion, saxophone, soulful backup singers, and the man's own gravel-throated vocals over raw, buoyant grooves. Bursting with life but heavy with sorrow and anger, and rough around the edges, Babylon is a serious head-trip of an album, but it's definitely one worth taking.

Track listing:
1. Babylon
2. Glowin'
3. Black Widow Spider
4. Barefoot Lady
5. The Patriotic Flag-Waver
6. The Lonesome Guitar Strangler

This is not the land of milk and honey
This is a place where people sell their souls out for money

You might also like:

Aum -
Resurrection (1969)

Larry Coryell -
Coryell (1969)

James Clarke - Mystery Movie (1974)

Breezy, quietly haunting, jazz-funk-rooted sounds from keyboardist/composer James Clarke. Sweet-ass grooves, breakbeats galore, fuzzed-out guitars -- essentially, a brilliant soundtrack for a blaxploitation or giallo film that never existed. And it looks like it got reissued just a few months ago and there are still copies available -- get yours here.

Track listing:
1. Mystery Prelude
2. Car Patrol (Title Sequence)
3. Breathless
4. Breathless (Short Version)
5. Waiting Game
6. Mystery Moll
7. Mystery Movement
8. The Heavies
9. Dirty Scene
10. Study in Fear
11. Empty Streets
12. Night Watch
13. Foot Patrol
14. Quiet Girl
15. Relaxed Scene
16. Routine Procedure
17. Quietness Sustained

Long burn the fire

You should also hear:

Stone Alliance -
Stone Alliance (1976)

Various Artists -
The Films of Jean Rollin (1994)

Jerry Peters - Blueprint for Discovery (1972)

A gloriously sprawling soul-funk odyssey courtesy of New Orleans composer/producer/singer/multi-instrumentalist Jerry Peters. How such a wonderful song cycle slips between the cracks is anyone's guess -- it certainly doesn't help that's it's never been reissued -- but do your part and get hip to it, then help spread the gospel.

Track listing:
1. If You Leave Me Now (Prologue)
2. If You Leave Me Now
3. Long Before You and I
4. Did I Step on Your Heart
5. Going in Circles
6. Love Song
7. White Shutters
8. Kuri Monga Nuie (Big Black Dog)
9. Lest We Forget

Wherever I am
Yes, I love it

You should also hear:

Billy Paul -
War of the Gods (1973)

Angelo Bond -
Bondage (1975)

Ava Cherry & The Astronettes - People from Bad Homes (1995)

Related:
David Bowie - Liveandwell.com (2000)

Raw, unfinished, early 70s studio sessions for a David Bowie-produced project, featuring then-girlfriend and backing singer Ava Cherry, that never got off the ground. In retrospect, it comes off as a dry run of Young Americans. And though there are some scratch vocal tracks strewn about, there's really a lot to love here, including a majestic version of "God Only Knows" that absolutely buries Bowie's version, as well as songs that he ended up rewriting and putting on his own albums, including "I Am a Laser" (which became "Scream Like a Baby") and "I Am Divine" ("Somebody Up There Likes Me".)

Note: "I Am Divine" was actually one of those super-secret songs that you had to rewind from the beginning of the first track to hear.

Track listing:
1. I Am Divine
2. I Am a Laser
3. Seven Days
4. God Only Knows
5. Having a Good Time
6. People from Bad Homes
7. Highway Blues
8. Only Me
9. Things to Do
10. How Could I Be Such a Fool
11. I'm in the Mood for Love
12. Spirit in the Night

And she looks like a magnet
And she comes like a warm rain

You should also hear:

The Diddys Featuring Paige Douglas -
Agony and Extasy (1975)

Daryl Hall -
Sacred Songs (1980)

Musique - Musique II (1979)

Airy, buoyant NYC disco that's helping me to see the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel that is finals week. If "Squirt your warm juices/On my back and neck" is your idea of double entendre, then "Love Massage" is the song for you. Better times and year-end lists are on their way.

Track listing:
1. Glide
2. Love Massage
3. Good and Plenty Lover
4. Number One

Make it hot and juicy

You'd also enjoy:

Cerrone -
Love in C Minor (1976)

The Players' Association -
The Players' Association (1977)

Mandré - Mandré Two (1978)

Related:
Maxayn - Maxayn (1972)

Phenomenal, synth-tastic funk excellence from Andre Lewis, who's known more for his work as a Motown producer than for the two amazing albums he made under the Mandré pseudonym. The A side is all bangers, then the B side drifts into the outer reaches of the cosmos. Yet another record that I saved from possible burial in an unmarked grave (i.e. getting put in a box in a dusty warehouse) then selflessly brought home. I'm a model human being. But who the fuck would box up an LP that looks like that?? Raises serious concerns about my coworkers' taste levels.

Track listing:
1. Love Comes Rushin' In
2. I Like Your Freaky Ways
3. Fair Game
4. Code Name: MM3
5. Maxymus Lyte (Opus III)
6. Iles dans l'Espace
7. Light Years (Opus IV)
8. Doing Nothing, Nothing Doing

Just relax
Enjoy the ride

More along these lines:

T-Connection -
Totally Connected (1979)

Don Blackman -
Don Blackman (1982)

George Howard - Asphalt Gardens (1982)

Smooth AF debut LP from soprano saxophonist George Howard. Laid-back, smoky nocturnes and funky, uptempo grooves, with some vocals from the man himself.

Track listing:
1. Asphalt Gardens
2. Brand New (And All Made Over)
3. Rocket Love
4. Bright Eyes
5. The Preacher
6. Is This Commercial Enough for You?
7. As We Grow

I bet you won't sleep tonight
'Cause you're way too busy riding clouds of white

You'll also enjoy:

Caldera -
Time and Chance (1978)

Bernard Wright -
'Nard (1981)

Cerrone - Love in C Minor (1976)

God-tier, moderately pornographic French disco. For getting high in the bathroom, getting horny on the dance floor, and getting busy back at the pad.

Track listing:
1. Love in C Minor
2. Black Is Black
3. Midnite Lady

Love me

You'd also enjoy:

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

Change -
The Glow of Love (1980)

Brick - Good High (1976)

Supreme Atlanta funk with strong disco vibes and an ever so slightly jazz-y aftertaste. Starts off strong, then just gets better and better. Get in the groove.

Track listing:
1. Here We Come
2. Music Matic
3. Dazz
4. Can't Wait
5. Southern Sunset
6. Good High
7. Brick City
8. Sister Twister
9. That's What It's All About

Make it super cool

You'd also enjoy:

Alphonso Johnson -
Yesterday's Dream (1976)

T-Connection -
Totally Connected (1978)