Get Down Tonight: Disco Explos [Import, Box set, Compilation, Live]

Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion is an awesome three CD set of classic disco tunes that make me wanna dance! The sound is incredibly good on these digital transfers and the artwork and booklet inside the box itself are really terrific. Disco fans will consider this a must-have for their collections.

The three CDs offer a plethora of fine disco tunes. On the first CD, which deals with "west coast" disco music, we get many hits. Listen for Donna Summer to start things off with her huge hit, "Hot Stuff." "Hot Stuff" has a pulsating beat that calls out to you to jump up and dance; and Donna sings this out so well you know she enjoyed recording it! The Village People score big with their hit "Y.M.C.A." that still has people dancing to it today as they move their arms about to make the letters of the title of the number. The Village People harmonize very well and they always did impress me. The Jackson 5 weigh in with their somewhat funky disco tune "Dancing Machine;" little Michael Jackson does a great job on this as do the others. The Weather Girls give us their campy and hilarious disco number "It's Raining Men;" and The Hues Corporation does a great job on their cool yet hot tune entitled "Rock The Boat." "Rock The Boat" uses great harmonizing and the musical arrangement lacks nothing--it's THAT good.

The second CD is tagged with the subtitle "Midwest & East Coast." Wild Cherry hits it home with "Play That Funky Music;" this tune with its own funky melody is great for dancing and toe tapping to the beat even if you can't dance. Vicki Sue Robinson sings "Turn The Beat Around" with a lot of zest and gusto--so much so that this always gets them dancing even today in the clubs that have a retro disco night for fun. Carol Douglas sings "Doctor's Orders" very passionately as she sings of how she needs to be alone with her man once again; Carol Douglas did this one so well that I still smile every time I hear it. The musical arrangement is fairly lush for a disco tune and I predict that you will like "Doctor's Orders" very much. Listen also for Odyssey doing one of my very favorite tunes from the disco era entitled "Native New Yorker." I lived 24  years in New York City so I can identify with this song. The musical special effects on "Native New Yorker" are quite impressive, too.

The third CD carries the subtitle "South & Across The Atlantic." KC & The Sunshine Band kick things off with "Get Down Tonight;" this tune has its intended double entendre and KC & The Sunshine Band sing and play this with all their might. The harmonizing on this tune is very well done, too. ABBA's "Dancing Queen" is one of the most beautiful musical numbers I've ever heard; and this tune probably has the lushest arrangement of the entire bunch. ABBA's tune celebrates the marriage of a princess to another royal and they sing of how one day this princess will be a dancing Queen in real life. Heatwave gives us "Boogie Nights" which always make me wanna dance; they do this up right and perform it strong. Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" has another lush orchestration and Candi sings this with great sensitivity; I really like "Young Hearts Run Free." Andy Gibb's "I Just Want To be Your Everything" follows in the same vein and Patrick Hernandez's "Born To Be Alive" has a strong, fast beat that is practically irresistible. Great!

The booklet that comes attached to the box set features great pictures and a great essay about the disco scene. You get the song credits and the chart positions of each hit.

Overall, any disco fan is just gotta have this excellent box set. It's a great set that will bring back many memories and hopefully keep you dancing for quite some while to come!

If you like Disco, but don't have a big collection, this is a great way to go! The groups included span the range of Disco (which is broader than I realized before I bought this for my Dad's birthday), and every major disco song is included. The packaging is detailed and gives good notes about the era and the music, and the transfer to the digital medium is fine; it sounds as good as one could ask for.

There are no world-changing songs here, but there is plenty of ear candy and fluff, which is what Disco was about anyway, so you can't miss with this collection!

The Get Down Tonight: Disco Explosion Box Set is an excellent collection for those who grew up with this music. It really brings back fond memories.

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