Omnivore Recordings continues its packed slate of R&B, soul, and disco releases with an expanded edition of Silver Convention's 1975 debut album, Save Me, due tomorrow, March 29.  Next week will then see a comprehensive collection from the early days of funk outfit Ohio Players.

Silver Convention - originally Silver Bird in the U.S. and Silver Bird Convention in Europe - was the brainchild of composer/arranger Sylvester Levay and lyricist/producer Michael Kunze. Formed by Levay and Kunze in Munich with a quartet of talented session vocalists (Betsy Allen, Roberta Kelly, Lucy Neale, and Gitta Walther), the group scored two major U.S. hits with the gleaming, upbeat disco of "Save Me" (Disco No. 10, 1975) and "Fly, Robin, Fly" (Pop/Disco/R&B No.1, AC No. 6, 1975) before Levay and Kunze replaced the studio singers with a new group for touring and further recordings. Omnivore's expanded edition of Save Me marks its first-ever U.S. CD reissue.

The foursome's voices shone on the album's sleek Eurodisco tunes penned by Levay and Kunze, the latter under the pseudonym of Stephan Prager. "Save Me" and "Fly, Robin, Fly" both melded brief, simple snatches of lyrics ("Baby, save me, save me, I am falling in love" and "Fly, robin, fly, up to the sky") to irresistibly catchy, altogether danceable grooves tailor-made for discos. Levay supported the pulsating beats with strings, horns or both, and "Fly, Robin, Fly" even picked up a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.

Anchored by those two songs, Save Me applied the bright, upbeat style to its nine tracks, with the singers' voices joined tightly. Only one song, the softly dreamy ballad "Chain of Love," features any one standout lead vocal (Gitta Walther's). There's a playful sensibility throughout the LP, as with the growls on "Tiger Baby" or the deep-voiced cameo by Jerry Rix on "Son of a Gun." A male chorus punctuates the album's funkiest track, "Heart of Stone," with the title phrase. The album's closing track, the sweet ballad "Please Don't Change the Chords of This Song," featured a fifth vocalist: Jackie Carter, another session pro who would briefly join the live line-up of the group.

The expanded Save Me, produced for reissue by Cheryl Pawelski, hits stores on Friday.  It adds five bonus tracks: extended 12-inch versions of "Fly, Robin Fly," "Tiger Baby," and "Always Another Girl;" the Special Disco Edit of "I Like It;" and B-side "Save Me Again."  The album has been newly restored and remastered by Michael Graves, while the 12-page booklet included in the digipak features the alternative U.S. cover artwork as well as new liner notes by TSD's own Joe Marchese.  Save Me will also be available digitally.

Then, on April 5, Omnivore travels back to the beginnings of Ohio Players.  The funky, brassy group from Dayton, Ohio formed in 1964 as, simply, The Players.  Two years later, they hooked up with producer Johnny Brantley, and in 1967, Brantley began recording the group.  After a solitary 45 on Ray Charles' Tangerine label ("A Thing Called Love" b/w "Neighbors"), they moved to Compass Records for two more 45s - four sides - and then signed with a major label, Capitol Records.  Capitol, well, capitalized on its new signing with the 1969 LP Observations in Time.  The album comprised Brantley's productions with the band including "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow" (later covered in concert by David Bowie), George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward's Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime," Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg's timeless "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, and Allen Toussaint's "Mother-in-Law."

Ohio Players' affiliation with Capitol was short-lived, however, and soon they parted ways with both the label and Brantley.  They landed at Westbound Records where they scored the million-selling "Funky Worm" in 1973; further big hits arrived on the Mercury label in 1974 and 1975 with, respectively, "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster."  In the wake of the Mercury smashes, Brantley would repackage his material with the group on numerous releases.

With Omnivore's expanded reissue of Observations in Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions, all 24 tracks from this period of Ohio Players' discography are brought together on one release.  These encompass the original Capitol LP, both sides of the Tangerine single, both of the Compass Records singles, and subsequently released material from the era.  In-depth liner notes have been penned by Tim Dillinger-Curenton.  It's due from Omnivore in both CD and digital formats.

Look for both titles from Omnivore Recordings at the links below!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Silver Convention, Save Me (Jupiter LP 81 100 OT, (Germany)/Midland International BKL1-1129 (U.S.), 1975 - reissued Omnivore OV-538, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Save Me
2. I Like It
3. Fly, Robin, Fly
4. Tiger Baby
5. Son of a Gun
6. Always Another Girl
7. Chains of Love
8. Heart of Stone
9. Please Don't Change the Chords of This Song
10. Fly, Robin, Fly (12" Disco Version) (Jupiter 89 466 XT, 1975)
11. Tiger Baby (12" Disco Version) (Jupiter 89 466 XT, 1975)
12. Always Another Girl (U.S. Promo 12" Version) (Midland International DJL1-1251, 1975)
13. I Like It (Special Disco Edit) (Magnet MAG-43 (U.K.), 1975)
14. Save Me Again (Jupiter 13 705 AT, 1975)

The Ohio Players, Observations in Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions (Capitol LP ST-192, 1969 - reissued Omnivore OV-541, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Here Today and Gone Tomorrow
2. Mother-In-Law
3. Stop Lying to Yourself
4. Over The Rainbow
5. Find Someone to Love
6. Cold Cold World
7. Summertime
8. Bad Bargain
9. The Man That I Am
10. Lonely Street
11. Street Party

Bonus Tracks

1. A Little Soul Party (A Woman & Some Soul) (issued on The Very Best of The Ohio Players, UA LP UA-LA502-E, 1975)
2. A Thing Called Love (Tangerine single TRC 978, 1967)
3. My Neighbors (Tangerine single TRC 978, 1967)
4. Tell Me Why (issued on The Very Best of The Ohio Players, UA LP UA-LA502-E, 1975)
5. You Don't Mean It (Compass single CO-7015, 1967)
6. Trespassin' (Compass single CO-7015, 1967)
7. I Got to Hold On (Compass single CO-7018, 1968)
8. It's A Cryin' Shame (Compass single CO-7018, 1968)
9. Alabama Soupbone (Pt. 1 & 2) (issued on The Very Best of The Ohio Players, UA LP UA-LA502-E, 1975)
10. I've Gotta Get Away (included on Summertime, Charly Groove CPCD 8030, 1994)
11. Love Slips Thru My Fingers (included on Summertime, Charly Groove CPCD 8030, 1994)
12. The Man That I Am (Instrumental) (source TBD)
13. Street Party (Instrumental) (source TBD)