IN-DEPTH: EXTENDED SEVENTIES
> GENRE: 80s Pop Picks
> LABEL: Optimum Sounds
> SITE: Micro Site
> RELEASED ON: 9 June 2006

> PURCHASE: Amazon
> DOWNLOAD: n/a

The team behind the acclaimed 12" 80s compilations present Extended Seventies - a three CD set featuring rare 12" mixes of Pop, Disco and New Wave classics

THE 12 INCH
The 12" single was music’s must-have format of the 1970s. Some may call it a child of the 80s, an indispensable weapon of choice way for both punters and taste-makers, at a time when CDs and downloads were but a twinkling in the music industry’s eye. Beforehand, the 1960s signalled when vinyl, as well as the equipment to play it on, was really coming into its own. But in between, the new 12-inch format of record became a status symbol for music selectors and collectors.

At a time when present day vinyl production appears to be on its very last legs, Extended Seventies is something of a pertinent release, harking back to golden eras of coveting black plastic and when the 12” was currency used by the music-buying public to shoot songs up the charts.

TOM MOULTON
Extended Seventies unofficially embodies the work of one Tom Moulton, who patented the 12” single and carved his own niche within the disco boom three decades ago to instantly become a DJ’s best friend. Frustrated by the fact that the average song lasted the three standard minutes, and having seen disco tempos start to accelerate, Moulton’s model for the turntable staple was to initially put together a mixtape, where he blended the same song with itself to make a longer version.

Moulton then started cutting 12s to accommodate these elongated ‘Disco-mixes’. Tracks were no longer just about being orderly verses and middle eight pop records, they now came with allotted, in-built time to get down, as well as the ability to pack in more actual song. Subsequently, imprints such as West End, Salsoul and Prelude cottoned on to maximise their potential, becoming synonymous with a revolution where the 12-inch became a vehicle for singles as well as albums. Moulton’s works are highlighted here, getting to grips with Dan Hartman and the Andrea True Connection, and other featured artists – Double Exposure, KC & The Sunshine Band, Grace Jones – have also received Moulton’s lava-hot remix treatment.

DIVERSITY
Extended Seventies serves up a diverse selection of the familiar and forgotten, with big sellers and collectibles for the connoisseur. Littered with classic artists and vintage songs – Blondie, Anita Ward, The Three Degrees, Diana Ross – and names to get you scouring through back catalogues – The Normal, Sheila B Devotion, Leif Garrett, South Shore Commission - it’s a triple-disc melting point that’s just the job for old school buffs and throwbacks wanting true variety-in-snapshot. Pure unadulterated pop remembers when a tune was a tune, including dabbles in proto hip-hop and protest reggae, and where the importance of the backing band and the soul of voice were paramount. Big string sections and epic ballroom blitzes are the mainstay of a disco inferno where if it’s name ain’t down as funky, it ain’t coming in, and names like Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were the era’s roost-rulers. Discovery of the synthesizer and a dare-to-be-different attitude reads the rights of the New Wave selection.

Proving it wasn’t solely synonymous with the discotheque, the 12-inch broadened itself as new wave effectively replaced disco as the dance music of choice, especially for those wanting to think outside pop’s confines. From Ian Dury’s beat-baton spanking, to the cold stares of Gary Numan’s Tubeway Army, Public Image Limited taking punk crash & burn to new levels, good-natured, let-it-all-hang-out nuttiness from funsters The B52s, The Flying Lizards cashing in, and Simple Minds eerily merging analogue and digital.

RARITY
The tracks packing a rarity factor will get disc doctors and crate diggers making comparisons with hen’s teeth, rocking horse poo - perhaps even selling your gran to bag original copies - but Extended Seventies will at least save you from online bidding wars or traipsing round dusty old record stores. Some of these rarities have received spectacular new leases of life from eagle-eyed/eared production mavericks, putting tracks back into the public eye and away from the arena of collectors paying top dollar for first-hand pressings. However, historical value and misty-eyed nostalgia shouldn’t overshadow the fact that some of the records compiled here shifted serious numbers – this was an era when artists had to snake their way up the charts before hogging the number one spot for weeks on end – to prove the 12’s commercial emergence and acceptance, and furthermore bridging the gap between club controllers and chart-shaping consumers.

INSPIRATION
The inclusions across the three discs have proved to be a rich source of recent inspiration for artists bridging the divide between Top 40 and dancefloor - from Rachel Stevens, Beyonce and Sugababes, to Bamboogie, Baby Bumps, Raven Maize, Alcazar and Ladycop – to further underline the timeless nature of this showcase.

For more information on Extended Seventies please contact:
Dan Stevens at Darling Department on 020 7379 8787
dan@darlinguk.com

CD1: Chart Pop & Disco
Donna Summer – Love to Love you Baby 16.46
Chic – Everybody Dance 8.25
Diana Ross – Love Hangover 7.46
Heatwave – Boogie Nights 4.35
A Taste of Honey – Boogie Ooogie Ooogie 5.36
Edwin Starr – Contact 7.16
Cheryl Lynn – Got to Be Real 5.07
Third World – Now That we’ve Found Love 7.36

CD2: Chart Pop & Disco
Dan Hartman – Vertigo/Relight My Fire (feat Loleatta Hathaway) 9.34
Loose Joints – Is It All Over My Face 11.33
Cerrone – Supernature 9.40
Shalamar – Take That To The Bank 6.06
Gino Soccio – Dancer 8.25
MFSB featuring The Three Degrees – TSOP 5.41
Andrea True Connection – More, More More 6.15
Hamilton Bohannon – Let’s Start the Dance 7.58
Sugarhill Gang – Rappers Delight 14.32

CD3: New Wave
Sparks – Beat the Clock (Long Version) 6.42
Ian Dury – Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick (Disco Version) 5.25
M – Pop Muzic (Long Version) 4.53
Blondie – Heart of Glass 5.46
Grace Jones – La Vie en Rose (Extended Mix – Tom Moulton) 7.26
Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric? 5.20
Lene Lovich – Lucky Number (Slavic Dance Version) 4.29
The Normal – Warm Leatherette 3.20
The Flying Lizards – Money 5.43
The Motors – Airport 4.30
Public Image Ltd – Death Disco 6.41