Various Artists – ZE 30, ZE Records 1979-2009 (Strut/Inertia)

Everybody seems to be having a birthday lately, especially record labels, and ZE Records is no exception, celebrating 30 years of releasing seminal disco tracks in NYC from some very unlikely artists. Strut, one of the heavyweights of the reissue, comes up trumps with this compilation, showcasing a label many may not be familiar with, but when you hear what is contained within, its apparent some of the artists reached the mainstream, and entered many of our lives at some stage (well, if you’re old enough), I for one can recall some of these bands performing on Top Of The Pops when I was a kid in the UK.

Its all here, Was (Not Was) with “Tell Me I’m Dreaming”; “Don Armando’ Second Avenue Rhumba Band with “Deputy Of Love”; James White & The Blacks with “Contort Yourself”; Kid Creole & The Coconuts with legendary Larry Levan’ mix of “Something Wrong In Paradise”. The lesser known tracks by quirky artists such as Christina, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Casino Music, Material featuring Nona Hendryx, Garcons, and Aural Exciters are represented well, but it’s the few obscure tracks that show the reaches of disco in the US, obscure artists obviously becoming renowned in club land with the cross-over potential of their tracks. Marie Et Les Garcons with their swinging futuristic “Re Bop Electronic”; Michael Dracula with “What Can I Do For You”, all crazed psychedelic dancefloor madness. The two standout gems are from Suicide, always on the outskirts of acceptability, but proving here they were successful on many dancefloors. Alan Vega gives his take on rock’n’roll swing with “Jukebox Babe”, while his band Suicide tackle the more motorik synth pulse of “Dream Baby Dream”.

Most of the tracks have been lifted from 12” releases, which means we get the long extended versions, it would have been pretty wild to be in a NYC club almost 30 years ago and hearing some of this stuff for the first time, this is the template for so much rock/dance crossover tracks we hear today. Pick up a copy and get an education to the left of disco.

Wayne Stronell