Village People

GOOD

Good!

Early disco but timeless music. Great flawless recordings. The album is not long so none of the songs drag into boredom.

caused a lot of memories to resurface

Had the LP when it came out...happy to have digital to play anywhere !!

ONE OF THE PREMIER ALBUMS OF THE 70'S

One of the best disco albums ever put out. But very few know the story behind the album..... Sit back while I spin a tale, a true story, of one of the most outlandish, over-the-top disco acts of all time. Once upon a time in Discoland, there were 2 gay men who were exploiting, oops! I mean exploring the world of disco- Jacques Morali (a french music composer, who actually played no instruments) and Henri Belolo (a music producer). They had some success with an all-female disco act called THE RITCHIE FAMILY and wanted more disco. Because as we all know girls and boys... disco is a drug, and you can never get enough disco. In late 1976, the 2 men were approached to do the music score for the gay adult movie "NEW YORK CITY INFERNO" (you can actually watch this on myvidster website). They ventured deep into Greenwich Village for... shall we say... inspiration. There, they found a tribe of people with various degrees of insanity- but then aren't most intelligent underground cultures that way? They saw a man dressed as a Police Officer. And in his holster wasn't a gun, but OH MY!... moving right along... Over there! A Cowboy, a real Cowboy! And look over there, a ...a.. Construction Worker? This bar is his job site? Well, okay... disco WAS all about fantasies. And look Toto! A Native-American Indian dancing on top of that bar, with footbells around his ankles shaking it six ways from Sunday! Then inspiration hit the 2 men- wonder if there was a disco act, of all men, dressed up in various costumes belting out dance songs on the disco circuit? An all-men disco act for the boys. Us boys. Singing directly to us. An act we can finally call our own? Thus, the concept was born. They left the bars with their goods intact, a few phone numbers, perhaps a couple party favors, who knows?... And went back to their composing the music score for the movie NEW YORK CITY INFERNO. Did I mention that was the purpose of their "boys night out"? Okay. At some point they needed a lead singer for these songs- they found a straight man named Victor Willis who was willing to belt it out for the boys, and so he was on board and made captain of the disco train. Victor suggested they bring in his friend Alex Briley, and the 2 men (Jacques & Henri), remembered that beautiful Indian dancing on the bar at The Anvil.... his name was Felipe Rose, and they went and got him, and filled the studio with lots of extras to form a chorus and began recording the songs that would make the soundtrack to the movie NEW YORK CITY INFERNO. But Felipe Rose had a secret. Yes, a deep, dark secret... want to know what it was? Keep reading... Felipe Rose was already becoming quite the talk of the town, what with his full Indian gear on, dancing on top of bars and showing off his sexy young body. This attracted the attention of AFTER DARK magazine, and they came calling and wanted an interview... a sort of "spotlight" on an up-and-coming performer... but they wanted more than just an interview... they wanted him to bare all in a photo spread. And spread he did... all he wore in the photos was his feather headgear. How appropriate. I heard you can purchase this rare collector's item from various auction websites. If you're lucky. I was one of the lucky ones. Moving right along the disco train tracks now.... Whew!... the steam from the engine can really make a guy sweat.... Anyhoo, perhaps no one would care if they found out about his photo spread, for truth be told, this wasn't exactly hitting the big time. Not yet anyway. The songs were recorded and the movie was about to be released... when the 2 men decided to go ahead and make the voices on the songs an actual group. So they rushed out and placed ads all over town- " Wanted: Singers With Mustaches To Audition", and the men came calling. A trick I've thought about using once on a lonely Saturday night, but then I digress... So, Randy Jones showed up, a man with real singing talent and Broadway experience. David Hodo showed up and could sing as well. And lo and behold, a tollbooth collector wearing a leather jacket named Glenn M. Hughes showed up. Well Martha, that's all she wrote! They had a gang! A collection of singers who were ready for the big time! Minus Judy and Mickey. They secured a record deal with.. who else?.. Casablanca Records (home to the 2 men's other act The Ritchie Family, and many, many other fabulous disco belting acts... wait, what?... the ghost of Donna wanted me to point out her reign there as well... and Ms Donna Summer), and so they sent photographers back to Greenwich Village and shot photos of various "bar scenes" shall we say, and viola! The album cover was made. So Jacques assigned each a costume- Victor Willis was named the COP, Felipe Rose remained the INDIAN, Alex Briley started out being the ATHLETE when they made their first tv appearance on American Bandstand and in their first videos from the album, but then quickly switched to the ARMY MAN or G.I. if you're nasty.... Randy Jones became the COWBOY, David "Scar" Hodo became the CONSTRUCTION WORKER, and Glenn M. Hughes remained the LEATHER MAN (pronounced as if there's a hair on your tongue. For some odd reason). So the movie NEW YORK CITY INFERNO was released at the same time the VILLAGE PEOPLE's debut album was released and the rest is HIStory. A couple more songs were added- to be used for a second Village People album it turns out. So who knew a movie soundtrack AND a group's debut album would be one in the same? So, there you go readers, I suggest you rush out and buy a copy of this wonderful album and may the lights of disco shine upon your heavenly dreams.... until next time... Goodnight.

The Village People, a remarkably cool and unique act that celebrated the joys of living an alternative lifestyle, got their first album out in style! Sure, it's just four tracks--but what a great four tracks we get!The CD starts with "San Francisco (You've Got Me)." This number features The Village People singing of the freedom people experience and treasure when they live in the notoriously liberal city of San Francisco. As they sing of San Francisco as a haven for gay people, The Village People harmonize well and the musical arrangement makes great use of the percussion, brass and drums. Awesome!"In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)" starts without any interruption from "San Francisco." "In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)" shows The Village People singing and gently poking fun at the people who want so badly to be Hollywood stars that they run to pay phones to have themselves paged at hotels, get dramatic makeovers and strive to get "THE" look of a true star by getting a limo that has a phone installed in it! The percussion marks the beat and The Village People sing this flawlessly. What a hoot!"Fire Island" lets The Village People sing of a place where gay people can go to experience love or just a brief encounter; and the musical arrangement rocks! Great disco flavor on "Fire Island!" Although The Village People may sing a line about not going "in the bushes," you know they don't intend for this line to be a true warning. "Fire Island" makes great use of the drums and percussion; and the musical special effects are awesome. In addition, "Village People" has them singing of the importance of coming out in order to live a much happier life. Great harp at the beginning! The percussion marks the beat once again and they sing this to perfection. Terrific!The liner notes have great artwork; and we get the song credits.The Village People could be scoffed at for being such a dated group--but that's only if you don't understand that their music is truly great and the messages they sent through their songs are still relevant in our times. The Village People still have two of their original members, Felipe Rose (Native American) and David Hodo (construction worker); and with any luck they will continue to give us some good, campy entertainment for ages to come.Thank you, Village People!

premier disque de ce groupe legendaire. du bon disco