Review of Best Disco In Town

Introduction

The Producers of `The Best Disco in Town` could conceivably have a point. After all, they`re probably the only Disco in town so all claims can assume to be valid.

I was one of the `Disco Sucks` generation. In 1976 / 1977, Punk and New Wave was where I took my kicks and at the time it would have been unthinkable to have admitted to liking anything that might fall under the Disco umbrella. Which is why my sudden liking for all things `Disco` about ten years ago came as an almost inexplicable shock. Maybe pure nostalgia, but suddenly those groovy bass lines and funkin` guitars sounded great.

So the arrival of `The Best Disco in Town` was a welcome one. Essentially it`s the capturing of a live event at Wembley Stadium earlier this year. It`s a first class job, with high quality sound and vision - and some of the most stirring techno-crane moves ever witnessed by this admiring reviewer. A first class job by first class crew.

So what about the concert itself? You can choose to view it in its entirety, or go to an artiste`s sub-menu where you can view it track by track. I chose to view it top to bottom as if I were amongst the crowd itself. Lowering the lights, and getting ready to strut across the carpet John Travolta stylee, I pressed the play button and prepared for some right royal funkin`! Which may be why I felt slightly cheated by the first act of the night, Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Now there`s nothing wrong with the Kid and his oeuvre - it`s just that, for me, Disco this aint. And to be brutally honest, whilst it may well have been Mr. Creole himself taking us through three of his hits, they sure weren`t his coconuts. Still - sound and picture quality is high, and `Annie, I`m not your Daddy` still raises a smile. `I`m a wonderful thing` gets my foot tapping too but in truth I`m itching for the real deal, and despite some polite applause, I was left feeling that the audience perhaps felt the same way.

Next up came `The Real Thing`, arguably the UK`s biggest contribution to all things Disco, and the energy levels raise noticeably through their opening number, `Can you feel the force?`. I can feel it baby, I can feel it!! These Liverpuddlian scallywags take an appreciative audience through their hits with great aplomb, and their efforts don`t go unappreciated. The shots across the audience reveal a giant hall full of gyrating teachers, mostly balding, mostly white, and mostly `of a certain age`. (During `you to me are everything` I catch sight of myself gyrating in the mirror and my mood is dampened by the realisation that I would not look out of place amongst them. Damn!).
It`s a good turn and they get the reception they deserve - making the whole experience look a lot of fun, despite having spent the last 25 years singing the same half dozen hits. A credit to the Disco industry!

Rose Royce steps up to the microphone next, and the `House` band moves over for her own boys. It`s a wobbly start with `Wishing on a star` that may well have been a `soul` hit but really stretches the definition of Disco. The swaying audience look confused and resort to slower gyrations, interspersed with some out of time claps which seems to get them through to what they really want which is `Car Wash`, a mother-funker of a number and it still sounds great today. In fact, this version makes a discreet Travolta like shuffle across the living room carpet a predictable certainty. Great stuff!

Next up is Alexander O`Neal who, in my personal definition of Disco, can`t be a real contender as he wasn`t releasing records during the Disco hey-day. His are hits of the eighties and don`t sound matured enough yet to shine in the pleasant glow of nostalgia. I didn`t like them then and find myself liking them less now, though that`s as subjective a take as you`re likely to get as there is nothing intrinsically wrong with his performance. The audience seem to like him too so maybe it`s just me who`s being overly purist about things.

Next up is Shalamar - and rather than repeat myself, think of the track `There it is` and read my notes above, replacing their name with Alexander O`Neal`s. In other words - ditto.

Just when my party mood is dwindling, harmony group Tavares step up to save the day. `Don`t take away the music`, `More than a woman` and `Heaven must be missing an angel` get the audience into a fever that almost results in a couple of ill-advised spins, and there`s certainly a great deal of singing-along going on.

Like all good gigs, the best is saved till last. Chic are simply jaw-droppingly brilliant.
Their sound is so crisp and tight that it`s difficult to believe that this is live music. No samplers / sequencers or cutting and pasting going on here. Just the most incredible musicianship, as well as a groove that still sounds fresh and vibrant today. Nile Roger`s guitar playing chops are so precise it hurts and that bass player makes the baddest, funkiest bass look as easy as falling off a log. The hits just keep coming, including those that carried the Chic branding (Dance, Dance, Dance; Le Freak, Good Times, I want your love) as well as those penned and played for other vocalists (Upside down, We are family). One out of two original vocalists isn`t bad after all these years and the newcomer is simply electrifying. It`s a great end to what looks like a thoroughly enjoyable evening out.

Video

Filmed on Digi-Video, and made to look `promo filmic` in post by doubling up every other frame, it`s a first class example of what can be achieved in live-event coverage. It has a no-expense spared feel to it, which is a real bonus, especially as the actual stage set is so relatively simple throughout. Particularly worth of note are the ambitious techno-crane sweeps above the heads of the audience, which look simple but take an enormous amount of consideration and skill. A great job.

Audio

Faultless audio. The DTS option employs fantastic separation and would make a perfect demo disc when explaining the system to others. A really first class professional job.

Features

There`s a bonus disc here that includes the entire Chic medley in uncut form (some 14 minutes for that track alone) though it`s difficult to understand why this wasn`t included in the concert disc. There is a wealth of behind-the scenes set up footage that does nothing but take the magic of the performance away. Again - difficult to know who would find this of interest other than the artistes themselves, or crew looking to stage a similar event.

There`s also a back-stage pre-gig interview with Nile Rogers which is OK, but irritating that he wasn`t close-miked, especially as so much effort went into sound elsewhere. This runs (uncut) for about 25 minutes - so one for the fans only!

Finally, there`s an interview with `The Real Thing` which shows them to be likable, unpretentious folk, but which suffers from lack of editing, running as it does for an interminable 25 minutes.

Conclusion

This disc captures a live event of the same name staged at London`s Wembley Arena in front of some 12,000 disco-lovin` fans. It`s a well-produced piece with great multi-camera coverage and some techno-crane sweeping shots to die for. The concert itself is a mixed bag, though the highs (Chic, Tavares) far outweigh the lows (Kid Creole, Alexander O`Neal). The audio throughout is first class, and if Disco`s your thing then this may well provide you with a happy evenings nostalgic viewing. Though a recently recorded affair, all the personalities look in remarkably good shape and are, generally, in fine singing fettle. Which is more than can be said of the audience which brings into sharp-focus the core market for events and merchandise of this type. I guess it`s a credit to the DVD that it has captured something of the live magic of the event as TV and Film have a way of killing concerts stone dead. Included in the pack is a flyer advertising the 2004 gig, this time with Chic headlining (again) and a line-up that includes The Pointer Sisters, Candi Staton, The Emotions, The Three Degrees, Evelyn King and the nauseating Boney M. I think I`ll wait for the DVD release of that so that I can boogie in the privacy of my own home rather than getting featured as one of the swaying, `teacher at a school disco` types that seem to make up the majority of the audience on this volume. A good pack - recommended if Disco is your thang.