Kraftwerk - Robotronik

THE innovators of the electronic sound, Kraftwerk, formed in Dusseldorf Germany in 1971, consisted of Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider, Klaus Roeder And Wolfgang Flur. The Kraftwerk sound combines a driving rhythm section with catchy, synthesized melodies and harmony; mainly following a classical style of arrangement accompanied by simple lyrics which are sometimes sung through a vocoder or generated by computer speech software. The Moog Synthesizer is heavily present in the majority of the group's works, adding to their signature sound creations. In the mid to late 70's & early 80's, the Kraftwerk sound was revolutionary for its time, and it has had a lasting impact across nearly all genres of modern pop music.

In 1991 the band released The Mix which featured newly arranged, re-recorded versions of a selection of songs which had originally appeared on the albums Autobahn through Electric Cafe. Hütter stated in interviews that he regarded this album as a kind of "live album", as it captured the results of the band's continual digital improvisations in their Kling Klang studio. The track sequence mostly followed the same order as they were performed in concerts.

The album met with a rather mixed reception on its release. Many were disappointed at the lack of new compositions and, moreover, the production values of the re-recorded tracks did not strike many listeners as particularly cutting edge, something which Kraftwerk had previously been renowned for. The Mix was created entirely digitally, albeit during a period when the technology had yet to reach its maturity, and thus featured a sound which many listeners tend to find somewhat "sterile" compared to the analogue electronics employed on most of Kraftwerk's previous recordings of these songs.

The album sleeve was somewhat obtuse in the information it offered. However, the reality was that longstanding members Wolfgang Flur & Karl Bartos had now left the band (although Bartos claimed in later interviews that much of his programming work was still featured on The Mix, uncredited).

All songs taken from the original 12" single on Elektra 66526
Purchase the original 12" single here

Kraftwerk - Robotnik (Kling Klang Extended Mix) 7:40
Kraftwerk - Robotronik (Kling Klang Mix) 4:52
Kraftwerk - Robots (Single Edit) 3:43
Song charted on Augus 17, 1991. Spent 4 weeks on the chart and reached #42

Check out the video for the remix....

Heavy D & The Boys - Mr. Big Stuff

Born In Queens, New York in 1967, Dwight Meyers is a rapper who was the former president of Uptown Records. What hasn't this guy done...read futher.

In 1987, Heavy D & The Boyz released their debut Living Large, which was a commercial success. It wasn't until 1989, when Big Tyme was released, that they really broke through to commercial sucess. That LP produced 4 hits including We Got Our Own Thing.

He also appeared in the movies Life & Cider House Rules. He was also in the TV show Boston Public and the sit com Tracy Morgan Show.

Today's post was taken from Heavy D & The Boys debut LP. This was the lead off single for that LP. On the dance chart, it faired OK with a respectable peak position of #26.

Song taken from the original 12" single on MCA 23691
Purchase the original 12" single here

Mr. Big Stuff (Extended Version) 4:57
Song charted on January 10, 1987. Spent 6 weeks on the chart and reached #26

Karen Young - Deetour

Karen Young was a disco singer best known for her dance floor smash "Hot Shot" from 1978. Born in Philadelphia on March 23, 1951. She met a shocking end in January 1991 when she died at age 39 from a bleeding ulser.

In the early 70's she performed with a group named "Sandd." Featuring local musicians Frank Gilckin on lead guitar, George Emertz on rythym guitar, Frank Ferraro on bass and Dennis Westman on drums. They had no recordings but were popular in clubs in the Philly and NJ area. One of their last gigs was at the Spectrum supporting The Rascals.

Today's post was the last time that Karen saw one of her songs make the Dance/Disco chart. It didn't fair too well with the clubbers at the time and only reached #34 in the summer of '82.

This song took me a long time to find and now the world won't have to wait to have it. Here is the promotional 12" Party Mix for Deetour

Song taken from the Original 12" Promo on Atlantic 333
Purchase the original 12" single here

Deetour (Party Mix) 8:22
Song charted on June 12, 1982. Spent 13 weeks on the chart and reached #34

Perfect Phase - Horny Horns

Another one hit wonder from the late 90's. Perfect Phase consisted of Freek Fontein & Willem Faber. They also recorded under the aliases Freak & Mac Zimms, Freespirit and Those 2.

This song was their only appearance on any of the Billboard charts. Peaking at #4 in 2000, it is a great dance song for those of you who love instrumental dance songs.

This song was taken from the original 12" single on Groovilicious 204

Purchace the original 12" single here

Horny Horns (Club Mix) 6:35
Song charted on December 25, 1999. Spent 14 weeks on the chart and peaked at #4

Avant Garde - Get Down

"Get down, get all the way down. Get your feet back on the ground. That was Avant Garde's slogan at the end of the 90's.

Not much is know about this group. The only thing I could find anywhere was at Discogs.com. From that web site, Avant Garde consisted of DJ Maui, Jerry Ropero & Terri Bjerre.

This song was their only appearance on Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco chart. I'm suprised at this since their sound is very similar to that of Daft Punk. Maybe it was so similar that people thought is was them. Anyway, it was released in 1999 and was one of the biggest dance songs of that year peaking at #12. If you like Daft Punk, be sure to check out this song. It's one of my favorites!

Taken from the original 12" single on Groovilicious 200
Purchase the original 12" single here

Get Down (Club X-Tended) - 6:56
Get Down (Klubbheads Mix) - 6:20
Song charted on November 6, 1999. Spent 13 weeks on the chart and peaked at #12

Check out the video for Get Down (Again)

Avantgarde - Get Down (Again) - kewego
One of the biggest club tracks ever. "Get Down Put Your Feed Back On The Ground".

Jaydee - Plastic Dreams

Jaydee is actually Robin Albers. He was born in 1958 in the Netherlands. He began his career as a DJ in 1978 at age 20. In 1984 Jan Steeman of AVRO Radio offered him a contract and started a long career on national radio. That same year he started the Dutch mixing championships which came many of the stars today (DJ Jean, DJ Gizmo, Michel de Hey and many others).

In 1991 he started his own dance club, Binnenplaats, but, because of the success of today's post, he could not be there all the time and the club closed in 1994. In 1992 he was the first DJ to perform in Moscow.

Today's post will always have it's place in history in the club scene. EVERYONE knows this tune. It all started in late 1992-Early 1993 and it has scene several yearly remakes, several bootlegs and several mashups. But this time, it's legit. It's the original "Plastic Dreams" that started it all. Can it get any more real than that? BTW it's the only time this song OFFICIALLY CHARTED and the only appearance from Jaydee on the charts

From the original 12" single on Epic 74992
Purchase the original 12" single here
Jaydee - Plastic Dreams (Original 12" Long Version) 10:11
Song charted on May 22, 1993. Spent 12 weeks on the chart and peaked at #1

Prince - Let's Go Crazy / Erotic City

Prince sure was one in the eighties. Everything he seemed to touch turned to gold. If it was acting, writing songs, production work or releasing his own music, it was a sure hit. This post is no different.

Taken from one of the best movies of 1984, the second single from Purple Rain, spent a whopping 20 weeks on the chart and eventually peaking in the #1 spot. The flip side, a single only release until the A-side B-side greatest hits package, is still a dance floor filler to this day and one that people will be requesting for many years to come. A true party song.

You can check out the video for Let's Go Crazy here

Billboard listed both songs as one listing and I'm posting both today.

Taken from the original 12" single on Warner Bros. 20228
Purchase the original 12" single here

Let's Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) - 7:35
Erotic City (Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive) 7:24

Both songs charted on August 18, 1984. Spent 20 weeks on the chart and peaked at #1