Put on your costumes and get ready to dance: Edsel's releasing a CD box set of all the albums from disco hitmakers Village People.

True to its name, The Album Collection 1977-1985 includes the complete discography from the infamous sextet, issued primarily on the Casablanca and later RCA Victor labels. A total of nine albums are featured, including the double-disc Live and Sleazy. All discs are packaged in miniature replicas of their original album sleeves; both Live and Sleazy and 1980's Can't Stop The Music retain their original gatefold designs. However, there are almost no bonus tracks, save for a remix of 1985's "Sex Over The Phone" included when the group's final original album was issued on CD nearly 15 years later. (This means "America," the closing track for In The Street, the American edition of 1982's Fox On The Box, is missing in action. A 3CD compilation, released under Edsel sublabel Crimson's Gold product line, offered some rare 12" versions that this set unfortunately lacks.)

Founded and masterminded by French production duo Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, the Village People were a theatrical reflection of New York's gay, disco-fueled nightlife in the late '70s. Victor Willis, Felipe Rose, Alex Briley, Glenn Hughes, David Hodo and Randy Jones wowed audiences with their costumes (respectively, a cop, a Native American, a sailor, a leather-clad biker, a construction worker, and a cowboy) and maniacally catchy songs that hid LGBTQ+ friendly overtones under hypermasculine ideals. After third single "Macho Man" hit the U.S. Top 40, things went into overdrive in 1978 with the irresistible disco novelty "Y.M.C.A." (a No. 2 hit in the States and an international chart-topper in another nine countries.  Follow-up single "In the Navy" did almost as well, making No. 3 stateside, No. 1 in the Netherlands, Canada, and Belgium, and the top ten in a further seven countries.  "Go West" and "Ready for the Eighties" couldn't match the success of their predecessors, though both charted in the U.S. and the former internationally.

The Village People had one more hurrah in 1980 with "Can't Stop the Music," the theme to the outrageous film musical in which they starred.  By the time of Can't Stop the Music - the song and the movie - Victor Willis had exited the group and was replaced by Ray Simpson as the policeman.  While the anthem failed to chart in the U.S., it was embraced throughout Europe and Australia.  At the end of 1980, Randy Jones left the line-up and Jeff Olson became the new cowboy.  Victor Willis' departure was short-lived, and he reappeared for 1982's European release Fox on the Box, retitled as In the Street for its U.S. debut the following year.  The album also featured Mark Lee replacing David Hodo as the construction worker.  New lead singer Ray Stephens made his only appearance on a Village People album with 1985's Sex Over the Phone.  It proved to be their final original album for decades.

The story of The Village People continues today after a series of ups and downs including reunions and lawsuits; Victor Willis currently leads an all-new line-up of the group after gaining the trademark from the unit featuring Felipe Rose, Alex Briley, and Ray Simpson.  What has endured most, though, is simply those infectious, joyful floor-fillers.  Look for The Album Collection 1977-1985 on March 20 from Edsel.  Can't stop the music!

The Album Collection 1977-1985 (Edsel (U.K.), 2020) (Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

Disc 1: Village People (released as Casablanca NBLP-7064, 1977)

1. San Francisco (You've Got Me)
2. In Hollywood (Everyone Is a Star)
3. Fire Island
4. Village People

Disc 2: Macho Man (released as Casablanca NBLP-7096, 1978)

1. Macho Man
2. I Am What I Am
3. Key West
4. Medley: Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody
5. Sodom and Gomorrah

Disc 3: Cruisin' (released as Casablanca NBLP-7118, 1978)

1. Y.M.C.A.
2. The Woman
3. I'm a Cruiser
4. Hot Cop
5. My Roommate
6. Ups and Downs

Disc 4: Go West (released as Casablanca NBLP-7144, 1979)

1. In The Navy
2. Go West
3. Citizens Of The World
4. I Wanna Shake Your Hand
5. Get Away Holiday
6. Manhattan Woman

Discs 5-6: Live and Sleazy (released as Casablanca NBLP2-7183, 1979)

1. Fire Island (Live)
2. Hot Cop (Live)
3. Medley: San Francisco (You've Got Me)/In Hollywood (Everyone Is a Star) (Live)
4. Macho Man (Live)
5. In The Navy (Live)
6. Y.M.C.A. (Live)

1. Sleazy
2. Rock and Roll is Back Again
3. Ready For The '80s
4. Save Me (Ballad)
5. Save Me (Up-Tempo Version)

Disc 7: Can't Stop The Music - The Original Soundtrack Album (originally released as Casablanca NBLP-7220, 1980)

1. Can't Stop The Music - The Village People
2. Samantha - David London
3. Give Me a Break - The Ritchie Family
4. Liberation - The Village People
5. Magic Night - The Village People
6. The Sound Of The City - David Houston
7. Milkshake - The Village People
8. Y.M.C.A. (New Version) - The Village People
9. I Love You To Death - The Village People
10. Sophistication - The Ritchie Family

Disc 8: Renaissance (released as RCA Victor AFL1-4105, 1981)

1. 5 O'Clock In The Morning
2. (Do You Wanna) Spend The Night
3. Fireman
4. Jungle City
5. Action Man
6. Big Mac
7. Diet
8. Food Fight

Disc 9: Fox On The Box (released as RCA Victor VPL1-6637 (AUS) / Casablanca 25S-132 (JP), 1982)

1. Fox On The Box
2. In The Street
3. Lonely Lady
4. Everybody Loves The Funk
5. Success
6. Spaced Out
7. Play Bach
8. Radio Freak

Disc 10: Sex Over The Phone (released as RCA Victor PL 70645 (Europe), 1985 - reissued with Track 8 as Can't Stop Productions 314 558 650-2 (U.S.), 1999)

1. Sex Over The Phone
2. New York City
3. Just Give Me What I Want
4. I Won't Take No For An Answer
5. Power Of The Night
6. Sexual Education
7. Sensual
8. Sex Over The Phone (New Recorded Club Mix)