Whether it's advertising soap, noodles or fried chicken, giving Geri Halliwell a comeback, or being looped ragged by the French, disco will never go away, and 'Disco Fever' is not the first boogie-tastic compilation by any means. But it does have a bit more of an eye for period detail rather than slopping N Trance, M People or "classics" like 'Sexbomb' in to makeup the numbers.
Some of the best records ever made can be found here; Chic - possibly the greatest group ever - have a hand in at least three tracks ('Le Freak', Diana Ross' 'Upside Down' and Sister Sledge's 'We Are Family' - all superb), there's Van McCoy's immense flute-y frug-up 'The Hustle', campy old trash like 'I Will Survive', 'YMCA', 'It's Raining Men' and 'Don't Leave This Way' to get all pink and special to, Labelle's silvery, yet largely indecipherable 'Lady Marmalade', and the all round general untouchable genius that is The Emotions' 'Best Of My Love', reminding you that, yes, there is still a jihad out on Mariah for daring to soil it a couple of years back.
The only downsides rest in track choices such as Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' instead of the volcanic beauty of 'I Feel Love' and the presence of Boney M doesn't help matters either, but for a good, well thought round-up of music that conveys the true giddy'n'shiny spirit of love and dancing, you could no worse than get 'the fever'. All together now, one and two and three and four...
by Ian Wade