This month I'm celebrating the four year anniversary of this blog, and what better way to do that than post my all-time favorite song and one of the earliest tracks to ever appear on this site in Dinosaur's 1978 classic "Kiss Me Again". If there has been one thing that has stayed the same on this site throughout the last four years, it has to have been the constant discussion and sharing of Arthur Russell's music and influence. This track which represents Arthur's first exploration into disco and dance music, was co-produced with legendary Gallery deejay Nicky Siano. Unfortunately, the single was considered by many in the industry at the time as a failure, as the record initially sold very poorly. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Arthur blamed the record's bad showing due to both Jimmy Simpson's more dancefloor-friendly extended mix and Sire Records' lack of promotion and willingness to get behind the twelve-inch single. A better argument for the song's lack of success,in my opinion, is that the track was just well ahead of it's time as many Arthur Russell songs have shown to be. That would explain the reason why the original twelve-inch single continues to be one of the most sought after records by disco collectors worldwide. Regardless of the song's early tough goings, judgement of the track has gotten better over time and "Kiss Me Again" is now looked at as a true disco masterpiece and one that I proudly stand by as my personal favorite track of all-time. Enjoy!Dinosaur - Kiss Me Again (Jimmy Simpson Mix)
UPDATE: I regret that I forgot to mention that this week (May 21st) we celebrate Arthur's 59 birthday. It's been almost twenty years since he passed at the young age of 40. He obviously left this world way too early, however we will continue to honor him by enjoying and appreciating the music and legacy that he left behind. Happy Birthday Arthur...
3 comments:
Tune and a half,and if you listen,you will here the early guitar licks of David Byrne,who went on to front Talking Heads.
regards
soulie
Yes, I forgot to mention David Byrne's contribution to the track. Thanks for pointing that out.
On a somewhat similar note, if you read Tim Lawerence's "Hold On to Your Dreams", it talks about how Arthur Russell used to always accuse privately of the Talking Heads ripping off his melodies and songs because two of the members lived above him in Poet's Building. For the record, I don't think they were stealing Arthur's music, however it did show how paranoid he could be at times.
What did you think of this after Pat,
EKO Manyaka (Dragon Phenix Records)
REGARDS
SOULIE
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