By magicman
No Words, Just Dance
For the final time in 2020 here is your playlist for last weekend’s topic – instrumental dance records. Thanks for an avalanche of genius nominations which buried me, a joyful surfeit of great music which had to be distilled into two playlists. Well, because this actually is a dance playlist that you could play at a party (assuming you’d taken your chosen cocktail of cocktails to numb you into my version of dance music) I decided to combine them into one. It is up to our Landlord Peter and Marco on the Marconium, whether to A-list everything (I would), but there’s no B-list. So just press play and dance around your safe music-loving home – for there are no clubs, pubs or parties. I did!
Return of Django was nailed on from the moment it was nominated. When my band played The1969 Show to support a rendition of Abbey Road for it’s 40th anniversary, we did a reggae section with Liquidator, Israelites and this. I didn’t play on this track so donned my pork pie hat and Chas Smashed it around the stage like a man possessed, which I was.
Wamdue Project is probably my favourite of the songs which were new to me this week. So warm and melodic and full of vibes.
Regular Suzi had a cracking weekend and this was an astonishing new folk sound rather like The Gloaming but from Quebec – great stuff, infectious, like her other choice coming up soon.
I broke my own rules on TSOP because it is one of my favourite pieces of music Of All Time and – yes, its an instrumental but there are 2 phrases which repeat. Bad me. And Amy!
My mum would dance around the house to In The Mood whenever it came on the radio – and it did in the 1960s oh yes it did. A work of total genius.
Giorgio Moroder was not in the Marconium. Fixed that for you.
Winifred Atwell was not in the Marconium … etc. I love the story about her trading in a grand piano for a battered honky tonk to record this wonderful ragtime tune. (The notes are “ragged” which gives us the syncopation – ie played on the off-beat).
Some of the notes in Mitchie M’s Burenai de Ai are also ragged. Loads going on in this fabulous slice of house-pop-EDM, from ajostu – it was an immediate A-lister.
Rockhouse is a deep groove R’n’B mover from the master of all music Mr Ray Charles.
Perez Prado was also not in the Marconium, and so on and so forth. I must and will have Mambo!
808 State reminds me of going to Berlin in 1989 for New Year as the Wall came down. About 7 million other people had the same idea. Original, me.
With his suggestion, Marco cheated a little with Lullaby (no e) of Broadway because it is an instrumental snippet of a longer piece of lyricised music, but the clip is so sensational and fits the rubric so brilliantly that I had to select it, the problem is that there is no artist credited. MGM Orchestra? Your dilemma Marco !!
From Scotland and from Suzi again came Treacherous Orchestra and a thundering slab of Celtic kick-up-yer-heels. I would love to see this lot live, and drinking. If you’re dancing along, now’s when you allow yourself a decent hit of whisky. Scotch Whisky, no e.
That would normally be your A-list done but this week we have space and love for another 12 songs which I’ll let you discover for yourself. Apologies to tango and surf rock fans.
Which only leaves me time and space to return from orbit and thank Peter our blessed Landlord for keeping us all sane during this rather extraordinary year. Very best wishes from all of us who participate in and read this wonderful website, and particular prayers for your good health and rapid recovery from Covid-19. Thanks too to Marco and others for keeping things shipshape & shiny in the musical library that is The Marconium index.
I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year, indeed what else could it possibly be?
C’mon 2021, never has a calendar year been more fervently wished for.
Best wishes
magicman
The All Dance, No Words, Big Party A-List Playlist:
Return Of Django - Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry
Diving For Pills - Wamdue Project
Reel du Forgeron - La Bottine Souriant
TSOP – MFSB
In The Mood - Glen Miller Orchestra
The Chase - Giorgio Moroder
Black & White Rag – Winifred Atwell
Burenai ai de - Mitchie M.
Rockhouse - Ray Charles
Mambo #5 - Perez Prado
Pacific 202 - 808 State
Lullaby of Broadway – Gold Diggers of 1935 Soundtrack (no artists credited)
Superfly - Treacherous Orchestra
Speed Of Life - David Bowie
Think Twice - The Detroit Experiment
Rockin’ In Rhythm – Duke Ellington
Soulful Strut - Young-Holt Unlimited
Tiahuanaco – Alfredo Linares
The Message - King Sunny Ade
African Drug - Bob Holroyd (Four Tet remix)
Zone – Rhythm Makers
My Sweet Summer Suite – Love Unlimited Orchestra
Rockit - Herbie Hancock
Theme From a Summer Place - Percy Faith Orchestra
Guru’s Wildcard Lockdown Lock-In Extra G-List:
And here’s the G-List, or what I would have posted had I been playing the game…
Mina Flauta de Prata – Conjunto Sarau
Black Orphans – Fatman Riddim Section
High Society - King Oliver
Samba De Una Nota – Charlie Byrd & Stan Getz
Tuffist - Aswad
Night - Benga & Coki
Vula Bops – West Nkosi & Makgona Tsohle Band
3am Boogie - Willard McDaniel
Fission - Scientist
Barry’s Theme – Love Unlimited Orchestra
Soul Power ‘74 – Maceo & The Macks
Inspector Norse - Todd Terje
Night On Disco Mountain – David Shire
Jig-A-Jig – East of Eden
Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: No words, just movement: dance instrumentals through the ages. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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