Monday, November 26, 2007

Broadway Star

One of the bands that I've been spending a lot of time listening to lately is 70's funk/disco outfit Barrabas. Widely known for their 1972 club hit "Woman", this constantly evolving group explored a wide range of music, everything from latin, funk, disco, and psychedelic rock. Of course, the era that I enjoyed the most from this group was from about 1972-1976 when they explored their more disco side. During this period they wrote numerous LPs and 12-inch singles, including 1975's Heart Of The City and 1976's Watch Out. These two records, which are my two personal favorites, became the time when Barrabas was starting to shed their psychedelic roots for a more refined disco/club sound. Both records are filled with classic dancefloor hits like "Mellow Blow", "Checkmate", "High Light", and "Broadway Star". Unfortunitely after the success of Watch Out the group disbanded for unknown reasons. Fernando Arbex, the key figure in Barrabas, eventually re-formed the group a few years later with many new members while shedding their disco sound with heavily synthesized rock beats. However, all wasn't lost for us disco lovers, with Barrabas leaving behind many early classic disco gems.

Barrabas - Broadway Star
Barrabas - High Light

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3 comments:

Dansmusen said...

"On the road again" from 1981 is in my opinion the strongest barrabas track. solid discorock..

Pat Les Stache said...

I do like "On The Road Again", however I'm generally not into their later stuff as much. But it is a great track that shouldn't be ignored, especially if your a Barrabas fan.

Paul Durango said...

Hi there,
Many thx for your hard work.. Terrific blog ! (been downloading everything here for 2 days ;) )
full album from Barrabás here :
http://efthimis-music.blogspot.com/

cheerio
pauldurango.blogspot.com