Do ya wanna get away? Shannon and the fabulous Jimi Tunnel

Freshened Links
THE MIGHTY SHANNON

I know a place in paradise and it's definitely this Shannon single for me.  Her fourth to chart on the U.S. dance chart and another #1 notch on her lipstick case.  It features all the magical components of the fiercest of freestyle electro from the mid 80's period form the genius mixing and production of Ligget and Barbosa to the as usual uncredited background vocals of my hero Jimi Tunnel. 

Here I also include the Hot Tracks remix which probably only the die hard Shannon fans in here even have.

Brenda Shannon Greene was born on May 12th 1957 in Washington, D.C. and wouldn't you just know I was living in D.C. during her prime so I'm sure I got extra exposure.  Lord knows I've seen her live at least five times.

do ya wanna get a Shannon zip?

Breaker's Revenge

It wasn't only Italo Disco for me.  Though you know I like to keep that the spice for my blog.  But I also loved freestyle and Electro very much.  But in a way I felt more like a visitor feeling something and liking it but it not necessarily coming from inside me.  I am after all Italian and not black or latino.  On top I grew up in suburban Connecticut I surely was not street in any way.

These are the images from the Italian import of the classic Arthur Baker tune Breaker's Revenge.  But they are the same as you'd find on the U.S. version with those incredible edits by Tony Moran and Albert Cabrera (The Latin Rascals), load vocals by Galvin Christopher and all those wonderful Arthur Baker touches.  Though this song was on the Beat Street Soundtrack it surely transcended anything that film gave.  I  love this piece of the film where the Rock Steady Crew breakdance to it.

GET SOME REVENGE
Even though The System, Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five, Jenny Burton, Africa Bambaataa etc. were on this soundtrack there really weren't any hits.  But it did get play in clubs like The Funhouse and The Roxy.

Ryan Paris Dolce Vita

When Dolce Vita was a hit on the radio in 1983 I remember hearing that Ryan Paris was from Boston.  But fact of the matter is he was born on March 12, 1953 in Rome.  Dolce Vita has to be one of the most commercially successful releases of the italo disco era.  He is certainly one of the few who were able to break into the U.K.'s Top 5 on the singles chart.

DOWNLOAD DOLCE VITA

It completely overshadows any of the follow-up singles to the point where he is basically known as a one hit wonder.  Fabio Roscioli (his real name) has a My Space and even a Wikipedia page CHECK HIM OUT  RYAN PARIS DOT COM

MARILYN DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES re-issue WITH BONUS TRACKS

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Marilyn and Boy George came up out of the London club scenes.  They were stars at the early 80's clubs Blitz and Taboo.  In fact there was even a 90's Broadway show about Leigh Bowery based in part upon that period.  Marilyn was always the prettier one but Boy had the drive and the more soulful voice.  We all know who became the huge star.

Later on Marilyn hit it for a moment just after Boy George and Culture Club but she was somehow just too shocking.  Much more drag queen then "androgynous" like Boy.  So she became basically a one hit wonder.

I absolutely adored a few of her songs.  This re-issued cd is handy because it includes some of the 12" versions that were not on the original l.p.

I was following her on Twitter and we wrote a few times but I got so sick of some of the stupid videos she was posting constantly that I couldn't bear to see her in my timeline anymore.

DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES

She does seem to be sober now.  She was after all the one who enticed Boy to become a junkie.  She'd been on the horse for a while by then.  That was one heavy period for Boy.  Tons of bad press and someone dying in his apartment.  Then he came back with that massive reggae tinged version of Bread's Everything I Own.  He certainly was never thinner then he was in 1987!

Marilyn has never hit the charts again.

Be Mine Tonight Promise Circle another ISH production like Oxo or Company B.

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Ish is the ish.  Whatever his hands touched turned the project to magic.  From his initial years in Foxy to his fantastic solo single Don't Stop by Ish to projects where he only wrote or produced such as this freestyle classic Be Mine Tonight by Promise Circle, Whirly Girl by OXO or Company B.  The man knows how to make you dance.  GRAB SOME ISH

Be Mine Tonight is a perfect example of a song staying solid when a lot of others in it's genre had already gone cheesy.  Be Mine Tonight zip

I CAN'T GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU VANCE & SUZANNE

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I may be serving sacrilege but I don't get all the fuss.  As far as I can tell they are not particularly good vocalists even a tad bit out of tune.  But the bidders go on a frenzy for this one.  Yeah I know it's a rare labels that released hardly anything, sold hardly anything and was known by very few people at the time, but still....

For me it will never go down as one of my favorites.  I do like the snazzy instrumental a lot however.  I'd tend to say even more then the vocal version.
Even the arranger Richard V. Turner is only named on other record from what I can see and that's the 1985 single Looking in the Eyes of Love by McIver that I've never really seen before.  I would imagine Vanton Records had a few other releases but I don't know any.
VANCE ZIP

There's a more recent edit called The Revenge Dub of The Vance and Suzanne that you can get on Beatport.
There are also re-issues going around so don't be fooled if you're one of those collectors that just has to have the original pressing.
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Thinkin' of You by Boris Parker Italo Disco as Novelty Tune

I'm not absolutely crazy about this one.  But it's in the genre and fun.  It's also from 1983 the golden year of italo disco.

I absolutely love the cover graphic too.
UHU! UHU! HA! HA!
You'd have to consider this one an italo disco novelty tune.

Boris Parker is Mario Colonna.

Toledo Girl by Cosa Rosa Italo Disco Joy

A lot of the great italo disco tracks were on Many records.  Toledo Girl was simply a typical one.  Sounds like so many others.  But if you like the sound then you like the song.  Cosa Rosa - pink thing (at least under this name) had no other releases.

CHECK OUT TOLEDO GIRL