"Don’t Stop: Recording Tap" – Disco, early hip-hop, some soul, and a touch of funkiness. Wow! All songs are from 1980-1982 except the last 2 tracks, which hail from 1971 (and you can definitely hear the difference). Musically these songs are lush and full with huge horn and string sections. Of course most songs have the requisite hi-hat disco beat with handclaps, which just makes everything feel both cheesy and at the same time just plain fun. Vocals are strong with a mixture of both male and female leads, but the biggest highlight is the great instrumental breakdown sections in almost each song. These tracks tend to be a bit longer than the average soul or funk song from the 60s and 70s (most tracks run about 5 minutes or more), which allows for stellar instrumental sections. Most of these songs have never seen the light of day until now so take some time and check them out. If you are looking for some fun dance music, want to hear some early hip-hop, or are just curious if any good disco music was ever made, look no further. FCC clean.
My Picks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11
Katie P. 3/28/08

1) Starts with a solid charging beat and goes into a hard disco beat. Funky bass and guitar and some great full string fills and horns too. Male vocals with female backups. Fun dance song.
2) Lighter sound. Full strings and horns with a solid midtempo beat and handclaps. Female lead vocals. Laid-back fun and disco-rific. Oooo, cool breakdown section in the middle!!
3) Tough and funky start that goes into a hard midtempo beat. Simple guitar with a solid beat and nice female rapping on top. Mostly just talking about how great they all are, etc.
4) Funky bass starts it off, then it goes into and uptempo disco beat. Lots of handclaps and hi-hat. Male lead vocals with female backups. Nice horn section, and what sounds like a couple keyboards (one sort of substituted for strings). Again, great breakdown section in the middle.
5) Light and breezy slower midtempo disco. Full string section with smooth guitar and bass in the background. Bells and handclaps are also prominently featured. Female vocals that sing right along with the strings.
6) Tough, low-down midtempo. Female vocals. Guitar has emphasis on the up beat (a bit like a ska or reggae beat), but it is most definitely funky disco. Strings come in here and there as well as some saxophone. Vocals are great.
7) Early hip-hop/rap. Male vocals with a laid-back simple beat (and yes, the ever-present handclaps). Goofy lyrics, but still fun. Party feel to it with all the background talking, yelling, and noise.
8) Faster midtempo with a nice bounce. Great dance music with funky guitars and full horn section. Female lead vocals with some nice backups as well. High energy.
9) Uptempo bouncy beat. Funky guitars with some funky keyboard, very early 80’s sound on the keyboard. Disco beat. Male lead vocals with female backups. Kinda fun yet kinda cheesy, but a great breakdown section about 2/3 through.
10) Midtempo with dramatic string hits and a simple beat. Adds in funky bass, guitar, and horns. Strong female vocals. String section and what sounds like xylophone add a nice touch.
11) Hard funky beat with elaborate string and horn orchestration on top. Minimal vocals, almost an instrumental. Kind of weird, but also super cool. Alternate version of track 1.
12) Uptempo with a lowdown funky beat. Solid horn section mixed with various keyboards (includes electronic wind sounds). Maybe the original of track 2? Same song, different version. Male lead vocals. Last 1/3 of song is super tight!
13) Slower soul ballad number with piano and heavy bass. Female vocals. Really nice full sound.
14) Midtempo soul bounce. Breezy and fun with piano and horn section. Female vocals with plenty of backup vocals.