Late in 2023, Demon Music Group revived its Disco Discharge series on the Edsel label.  Two recent 2CD volumes, Disco Ladies and Disco Boogie, continue presenting the series in a deluxe, oversized seven-inch format.  These titles, chockablock with disco deep cuts and hits alike, were originally issued on the Harmless label in 2009 and 2010, respectively, and have been tweaked (likely due to licensing restrictions) for this go-round.

Disco Ladies offers a cross-section of the many women with varied styles who ruled the dancefloor.  As original compiler/annotator Alan Jones notes in his 2009 essay (reprinted here), "Of course, there were popular male singles in Disco, too, but none who could really compete on the same scale with those ladies following in Gloria [Gaynor]'s booming wake."  While there are numerous key omissions (Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Thelma Houston, Grace Jones, Gaynor herself, and too many others to list), Disco Ladies has featured a number of bona fide A-listers such as Melba Moore, Nona Hendryx, Sister Sledge, Cheryl Lynn, and Deniece Williams.  (Sadly, the compilation doesn't include some of the less expected artists name-checked by Jones such as Shirley Bassey, Ann-Margret, and even Ethel Merman!)

The CHIC team of Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are represented here with choice cuts from Sister Sledge ("You Fooled Around") and Sheila & B. Devotion ("Spacer"); another disco team, Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze, helmed Silver Convention's "Fly, Robin, Fly" follow-up "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)" which is heard in its nearly eight-minute full-length version.  It wouldn't be fair to call The Andrea True Connection or A Taste of Honey one-hit wonders, but they're both included on Disco Ladies via their biggest, era-defining hits: "More, More, More" (No. 4 Pop/No. 1 Disco) and "Boogie Oogie Oogie" (No. 1 Pop/No. 1 Disco), respectively.  The latter is included in John Luongo's 1984 remix.

Disco crossed international boundaries, and many of the regional scenes that yielded enduring hits are touched upon here, from Philadelphia (The Ritchie Family's "Give Me a Break," Melba Moore's "Pick Me Up, I'll Dance" from the City of Brotherly Love's McFadden and Whitehead songwriting and production team) to Australia (Kim Hart's "Love at First Sight") and Germany ("Fly, Robin, Fly").  The musicians behind "Fly, Robin, Fly" are also heard on the campy "Blood and Honey" from disco lady Amanda Lear.

The companion volume, Disco Boogie, shares one artist in common with Disco Ladies (Cheryl Lynn, doing double duty as guest vocalist of Toto's "Georgy Porgy").  This set is arguably even more varied, and a true testament to how the disco sound borne out of the gay, Black, and Latino underground came into the mainstream and touched listeners of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and genders. "Early in its development," Alan Jones wrote in 2010, "Disco music had no dominant style.  It came from all sides as a melting pot of underground attitudes fusing with tried-and-tested sounds...This blend of soul, jazz, and R&B-accented drums and bass over melody and harmony and when it became more orchestrated in mainstream presentation, Funk helped usher the bionic Boogie Wonderland era."

Those varied influences and styles are addressed on Disco Boogie, from the hard-driving R&B/funk of Scotland's Average White Band ("Let's Go Round Again") to the jazz fusion of Wilton Felder ("Inherit the Wind") and Eumir Deodato ("Night Cruiser").  Pop and rock artists weren't immune to disco, with Toto delivering the throbbing "Georgy Porgy," a slick amalgam of funk, soul, and disco.  Disco Boogie finds room for freestyle, too (Alisha's "Baby Talk" as remixed by Shep Pettibone) and the changing Motown sound (Teena Marie's "It Must Be Magic").

One of the primary incubators of disco was the Philly Sound, and one of its foremost progenitors - Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes - can be heard here on the post-Philadelphia International Records (PIR) track "Tonight's the Night" with vocalist Sharon Paige.  If PIR was key in developing disco, small but mighty labels such as Salsoul picked up the torch.  New York-based band Skyy flourished on Salsoul with such cuts as the Stevie Wonder-inspired "Call Me."

Both Disco Discharge volumes are housed in oversized seven-inch packaging, with 12 pages of liner notes, photos, and credits.  Phil Kinrade has mastered the audio for both titles.  They're available now at the links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Various Artists, Disco Discharge: Disco Ladies (Edsel EDSL 0190, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Groove Me (Full-Length Version) - Fern Kinney
2. More, More, More (Full-Length Version) - Andrea True Connection
3. You Fooled Around - Sister Sledge
4. Love at First Sight - Kim Hart
5. Bring On the Love (Why Can't We Be Friends Again) (12" Vocal Version) - Gloria Jones
6. Jump to the Beat - Stacy Lattisaw
7. Boogie Oogie Oogie (John Luongo 1984 Remix) - A Taste of Honey
8. Gotta Get Outta Here (12" Version) - Lucy Hawkins
9. I've Got the Next Dance (12" Disco Mix) - Deniece Williams
10. Shake It Up Tonight - Cheryl Lynn
11. This Beat Is Mine (Extended Version) - Vicky "D"

CD 2

1. Get Up and Boogie (That's Right) (Full-Length Version) - Silver Convention
2. Blood and Honey (12" Version) - Amanda Lear
3. Come On and Do It (Special Disco Remix) - Poussez!
4. Keep It Confidential (Special Extended Club Version) - Nona Hendryx
5. Spacer (Full-Length Disco Version) - Sheila & B. Devotion
6. Harmony (Long Version) - Suzi Lane
7. Instant Love (12" Version) - Sylvia Love
8. Pick Me Up, I'll Dance (Special Disco Version) - Melba Moore
9. Give Me a Break - The Ritchie Family
10. I Like You (Shep Pettibone Remix) - Phyllis Nelson

Various Artists, Disco Discharge: Disco Boogie (Edsel EDSL 0191, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Let's Go Round Again (12" Version) - Average White Band
2. Rescue Me (Original 12" Mix) - Sybil Thomas
3. Inner Feelings - Cashmere
4. Don't You Want to Feel It (For Yourself) - Stacy Lattisaw
5. Hard Times (Original 12" Mix) - AL McCall
6. Zulu (Full Length Version) - The Quick
7. Do You Like It Like That (Original 12" Mix) - Carte Blanche
8. Switch (Original 12" Instrumental Mix) - Benelux and Nancy Dee
9. Do As I Do (Original 12" Mix) - Donna McGhee
10. Inherit the Wind (12" Version) - Wilton Felder with Bobby Womack

CD 2

1. Georgy Porgy (Disco Version) - Toto with Cheryl Lynn
2. Tonight's the Night (Full-Length Version) - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes with Sharon Paige
3. Autumn Leaves (Original 12" Version) - Illusion Orchestra
4. You Make It Heaven (Original 12" Version) - Terri Wells
5. Shine on Me - One Way
6. Baby Talk (Special 12" Shep Pettibone Remix) - Alisha
7. Night Cruiser (Original 12" Mix) - Deodato
8. It Must Be Magic - Teena Marie
9. Call Me (Original 12" Mix) - Skyy
10. Meet Me Half Way There - Glenn Jones

All versions are album versions unless otherwise indicated.​