(BBE/Inertia)
GI Disco is a tenuously linked – but very high quality – comp from BBE that purports to chart the legacy of visiting American GIs in West Germany during the late 70s and early 80s. To a country hooked on Euro-pop and hard rock, the appearance of Afro-American soldiers brought to the nightclubs and airways a healthy and much needed dose of NY disco, funk and boogie.Most fans will already have the majority of these cuts in their collection, leaning as it does solidly towards the dancefloor rather than willful obscurity. But if you think disco means drunken sales reps shimmying to KC And The Sunshine Band, there could be worse places to start discovering the joys of ‘real’ disco music.Opening track Rumors by Times Social club defines well the music of this era, as disco embraced technology and moved away from the media spotlight creating a heavier underground groove. Many people may be familiar with Freeze’s IOU, but it’s the darker dancefloor sound of The O’Jays with Put Our Heads Together, and particularly Surface vamping it up with Falling In Love that really make the grade here.As a collection of classic tracks, the uninitiated could do a lot worse than seek this tightly curated compilation out as a window into the roots of today’s contemporary dancefloor music of all genres. A high velocity package from start to finish, GI Disco is a worthy and very enjoyable comp if not particularly innovative in approach – definitely one for any collection lacking the groove.TOBY HEMMING
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