THIS MAN IS A NATIONAL TREASURE GET ON BOARD PEOPLE!
M. Vipond | los angeles, ca. | 06/07/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"August Darnell brother of Stony Browder of Doctor Buzzard's Savannah Band aka Kid Creole aka producer of Don Armando's Rhumba Band and the Aural Exciters proprieter of ZE Records the cult no-wave disco label that defined the 'Danceteria' sound starting in '79 before new wave was the norm, "Cherchez La Femme" was the Billboard pop hit in the 70's that put Darnell on the map with the classic lyric, "Tommy Mottola lives on the road..." sung by the genius Cory Daye. When you listen to this CD you know you're in the hands of a master. His music spans rock and pop into disco, funk, latin and big band and then polishes it off with a nasty dose of synth wave. The girl vocals are alternately sultry like Buzzard's or mocking like Cristina or Aural Exciters, "He's Not Such A Bad Guy (After All)". The production is still a revelation and sounds fresh, innovative and totally danceable. August also produced the cult disco hit "There But For The Grace of God" by Machine and ZE was an outlet for his 12" releases, many of these underground classics and out of print for ages. The inclusion of "I'm An Indian, Too", the bizarro remake of the Irving Berlin tune sung by Fonda Rae is truly worth the price of admission but the fact that EVERY track is phenomenal truly blows my mind. Anyone into funk or disco this is a must, anyone into house and techno another must and anyone into big band, 80's punk, anything about old New York. Get with it NOW!"
Darnell: Underrated
Martin Chochinov | Toronto Canada | 06/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a crazy interesting collection of Darnell's work that highlights his impact on future music styles. Marathon Runner (Aural Exciters) and He's Not Such a Bad Guy Afterall ( Kid Creole and the Coconuts) are excellent examples of early disco and later pre-hip-hop/rap/soul/funk."