I’m not sure if Miss Broadway qualifies for Epic Tuesdays….but for my money it has all of the requirements for a great, and yes epic, disco track. First off it clocks in at around seven and a half minutes….which for a disco track is moderate…but it’s what happens in those 7:30 minutes that truly makes the track epic. Miss Broadway contains 4 elements that make it one of my favorite tracks ever. A) Ridiculously tight and funky rhythm section…oh that trotting bassline! B) BAD-ASS vocals! I mean come on…my girl is belting it out. She sings with this almost punk attitude….you know she means business. C) Fiddle/Cello/Strings!! D) Funky-ass “Uh-huh…” breakdown.

All of these elements orchestrated into a seven and a half minute floor-burner spells epic to me…no? If not epic than a sick dance track that makes me happy-as-hell every time I hear it.

ARTIST: Belle Epoque
TRACK: Miss Broadway
ALBUM: Miss Broadway
YEAR: 1977
LABEL: Carrere

I recently picked up a vinyl copy of this classic underground disco album and it’s been blowing my doors off ever since. “Space Bass” is the lead off track and is a fine specimen of funky, cosmic disco equally suitable for the floor or a pot smoke filled living room….whatever you’re into man. Slick were apparently the backing band for Fat Larry…who had some pretty incredible disco feathers in his own cap (maybe I’ll post a Fat Larry track as a follow up). Dig the future-forward lyrics and sick ectoplasmic mono-synth lines. Head and toes folks….head and toes.

ARTIST: Slick
TRACK: Space Bass
YEAR: 1979

Disco…Canada. These two words may have you running for the toilet….but hold your wad bub. This track is an IQ reducer that will have your feet battling your mind for ultimate control of your Saturday night. French-Canadian disco troupe Zig Zag drop some serious cocaine science on our collective ass via their 1978 debut Zig Zag. An underground disco classic that bombs the floor with ultra tight bass/drum precision and drugged-out, vapid, sex-boogie goodness. “Disco Danser” kicks off the record with screeching dance floor madness made to move your dogs in all the right ways. Reminiscent of so many great floor tunes of the day “Disco Danser” starts off mellow enough….muted horns and sick high hat trickery with that familiar cooing disco goddess reminding you that “Le Amour” is where it’s at. Our girl then kicks it in to high-gear with some feisty line that I can’t quite make out (she is French-Canadian after all) but it completely rips up this tight lil’ number….giving it that little something extra making Saturday night (or Wednesday if you’re so inclined) alright.

Don’t fear the disco.

Summer in the city. This track has been speaking to me lately so I thought appropriate for the broblog. Scorching latin boogaloo from ‘68 that talks about being homesick, lovesick, broke and just plain sick and tired of being sick and tired. Perfect for that humid summer late night cocktail party.

Infallible label, Honest Jon’s recently released a compilation of nuyorican boogaloo that just kills. If you like this track (which kicks off the album) then you’ll love the whole comp.

Raw-ass reggae jam from the early nineties. I liken this track to what Wu-Tang would’ve scripted had they hailed from Brixton rather than Staten Island. Dark, raw, drugged-out and simple. In a word…Bliss. If you’re into to driving around your city at night smoking jazz cigarettes…this is your new soundtrack.

ARTIST: Tenastelin
TRACK: Burial Tonight
PRODUCER(S): Vibes Sounds, Blacka and Keithy Roots
YEAR: 1992

Just an advance warning…this may be the greatest, most perfectly realized rock and roll song of them all. Yes…this is a grand statement…but trust me….it’s at least on the front page of the list. Perhaps one of the reasons why this group of young men didn’t take over the world in 1969 (besides the obvious glut of incredible pop music in those days) was they recorded and performed under the nom de guerre Bubble Puppy. Perhaps not the wisest choice of a moniker if you are a tough sounding psych band from Texas but I suppose they had their reasons (read: acid). “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass” just pummels you from the get go….perfect sounding guitar and tight, heavy-handed drumming all fire up and proceed to barrel you over at a ripping clip. When the vocals come in this bad ass, almost punk tune turns epic….sort-of a Texas take on the Who.

The band photo pretty much sealed the deal for me:

Sold.

Bubble Puppy’s one and only record (as Bubble Puppy) A Gathering of Promises was released in 1969 on International Artists (13th Floor Elevators and the Red Krayola) out of Houston Texas. Beyond the single “Hot Smoke…” which earned the boys a top 20 U.S hit in ‘69, the record never caught on and the band soon parted ways with the label. Our heroes relocated to LA and tried to reinvent themselves as Demien. They obviously went nowhere.  Oh…you’ve heard this tale?…sorry.

A Gathering of Promises is being re-released by UK label Charly Records this month I believe. Turn on.

ARTIST: Bubble Puppy
TRACK: “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass”
ALBUM: 7” Single; A Gathering of Promises (LP)
YEAR: 1969
LABEL(S): International Artists; Charly Records