Top 40 Music on Compact Disc: Frankie Avalon "Venus"

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EdisonLite
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Posted: 03 July 2016 at 10:45am \| IP Logged

In listening to Sirius XM's "all 1976" 3-day weekend this holiday weekend, I noticed they played a disco-fied version of Frankie Avalon's #1 '50s hit "Venus". I'd never heard this disco version before. Turns out it was released in 1976, and though it just fell shy of the top 40, it did go to #1 on the AC chart. So I looked in the database and saw some CDs that say "re-recorded". Are any of these the disco version? (I'd tend to think Pat's notations would say "1976 disco version" or something like that; the current notation would suggest these are simply re-recordings done in the style of the original record.) Any CDs (even import) with this disco version?

BTW, it's nice hearing 1976's lesser played songs this weekend, like Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds' "Winners and Loser", Boz Scaggs' "It's Over", Henry Gross's "Springtime Mama", Melissa Manchester's "Just You and I", America's "Today's the Day", Carpenters' "Calling Occupants", Eric Carmen's "Sunrise", ONJ's "Don't Stop Believin'", Smokie's "Living Next Door to Alice", George Baker's "Paloma Blanca", Brotherhood of Man's "Save Your Kisses for Me", to name a few.

I've even heard below-top-40 hits like Osmonds' "I Can't Live a Dream", Jigsaw's "Brand New Love Affair" and many I haven't heard before. Fun stuff! I wonder if they're playing every hot 100 hit from 1976 over the 3-day weekend.

I think most of these aren't on Sirius XM's 70s channel normally (although they probably were before Sirius took over XM).

Edited by EdisonLite on 04 July 2016 at 6:32pm

sriv94
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Posted: 03 July 2016 at 4:35pm \| IP Logged

EdisonLite wrote:

I'm not aware of one. There's a version on iTunes from Frankie Avalon. . .Live! that sounds like it, but it only runs (3:06); Discogs has the 45 running
(3:30) (with a longer (4:50) version on the B-side). At any rate, with that kind of time discrepancy I would venture to guess the rerecordings are more like the
original than the discofied.

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80smusicfreak
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Posted: 03 July 2016 at 7:09pm \| IP Logged

EdisonLite wrote:

Don't know which one you heard on Sirius XM, but there were actually three versions of the '76 hit on De-Lite:

(3:30) = 45 version
(4:50) = LP version (a.k.a. "short disco version")
(6:08) = 12" version (a.k.a. "long disco version")

As sriv94 mentioned, the LP version (a.k.a. "short disco version") is what also appeared on the B-side of the 45 (De-Lite 1578). That same LP version and the 12" version (a.k.a. "long disco version") are what were featured on the 12" single (De-Lite DISCO 1578)...

After being out of the music biz for quite a few years, in 1975 Avalon signed w/ De-Lite Records (of all labels - they were indeed primarily known for dance/funk/disco, their biggest act being Kool & the Gang, of course). That new version of "Venus" appeared on his 1976 debut album for the label, also titled Venus (De-Lite 2020)...

Quote:

So I looked in the database and saw some CDs that say "re-recorded". Are any of these the disco version? (I'd tend to think Pat's notations would say "1976 disco version" or something like that; the current notation would suggest these are simply re-recordings done in the style of the original record.)

Agreed, as NONE of the 140+ listings for the song currently shown in Pat's db exceeds (2:34) in length, whether original or labeled as "re-recorded" - so none are the '76 version...

Quote:

Any CDs (even import) with this disco version?

Yes. In 1993, the Canadian label Unidisc re-issued the song's original 1976 parent album, Venus, on CD (Unidisc SPLK-7159). In addition to the original (4:50) LP version, Unidisc included the (6:08) 12" version as a bonus track, so that is definitely the one you'll want. (I'm not currently aware of the 3:30 45 version ever appearing on CD.) Page on Discogs: FRANKIE AVALON - "Venus" (1993 Canadian CD). It appears the CD is still in print, and can be had for less than $12 (inc. shipping) from this Canadian seller on eBay (whom I've bought from before): FRANKIE AVALON - "Venus" (1993 Canadian CD)

MMathews
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Posted: 03 July 2016 at 8:04pm \| IP Logged

Out of curiosity I checked the version on "Frankie
Avalon...Live!" on Google Play. The last 2 tracks are not
live.
Last track labeled "Venus (Disco)" is indeed the 1976
disco version but with the first :15 of the intro chopped
off and it's faded early. It's taken from vinyl with lots
of noise reduction. Sounds like it's from a De-Lite 45.
They were pressed on bad vinyl, lots of distortion.

EdisonLite
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Posted: 04 July 2016 at 3:55pm \| IP Logged

Thanks Gregg, I ordered the CD from that ebay seller. Not sure if Sirius XM played the 45 or LP version (it didn't seem long enough to be the 12" version) but they're playing lots of repeats today as it's still all '76 programming, so maybe I'll find out.

Thanks, Mark, for your info, too.

EdisonLite
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Posted: 04 July 2016 at 6:34pm \| IP Logged

Well, sure enough, Sirius XM played "Venus" again and it was definitely the 3:30 version - nothing they edited from CD, as I could hear the "overplayed" vinyl sound. Gregg, do you know if the 3:30 disco single version can be edited from either of the longer versions?

Edited by EdisonLite on 04 July 2016 at 6:35pm

musicmanatl
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Posted: 05 July 2016 at 3:16am \| IP Logged

I really enjoyed the special Bicentennial music on '70s on 7 this past weekend too! It was so fun to hear the songs you mentioned. I didn't hear the disco version of "Venus", though. I wish they'd do more theme weekends like this, so liven things up from time to time.

80smusicfreak
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Posted: 09 July 2016 at 3:00am \| IP Logged

EdisonLite wrote:

Gregg, do you know if the 3:30 disco single version can be edited from either of the longer versions?

Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't help you there, EdisonLite - although my hunch would be yes. I know I've got the '76 version of "Venus" on a disco compilation or two on cassette, but am pretty sure I don't (yet) have it on CD, in any form. I checked, and both the 45 & 12" versions of the '76 hit on De-Lite are currently posted on YouTube, so for your comparison, here are the links (although I couldn't seem to find the 4:50 LP version):

FRANKIE AVALON - "Venus '76" (45 version) (3:30)
FRANKIE AVALON - "Venus '76" (12" version) (6:08)

However, in the end, I'm afraid we're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. :-) After listening to both of the above versions of the '76 re-make on YouTube as a refresher, IMO, this version of "Venus" epitomizes the WORST of disco music! Don't get me wrong - I grew up on disco, and like any other genre of music, I think there was great disco, inc. almost anything by Donna Summer (saw her in concert back in 2008 on the Crayons tour, less than four years before she passed - RIP), Chic, the Bee Gees, and ABBA, as well as classics like "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)", "Boogie Oogie Oogie", "Get Off", "Disco Inferno", "Let's All Chant", "Dance Across the Floor", "Ring My Bell", etc., etc...

But there was also plenty of BAD disco that still makes me cringe to this day, inc. songs like "Copacabana (At the Copa)", "Take Me Home", and most of the disco-fied cover versions of earlier hits, such as Wing and a Prayer Fife and Drum Corps.'s "Baby Face", Tuxedo Junction's version of "Chattanooga Choo Choo", not to mention Leif Garrett's covers ("Surfin' USA", "Runaround Sue", etc.), all of which represented much of the genre's excesses, IMO - and yes, that includes FA's updated version of "Venus", w/ its very generic beats. (Two notable exceptions in the latter category for me would definitely be Santa Esmeralda's cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", as well as Amii Stewart's version of "Knock on Wood" - now those were done WELL!) Oh, and although it didn't chart here in the U.S., another disco hit I can't stand is Baccara's "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (1977), which seems to turn up on almost every disco or '70s compilation I've picked up from the U.K. - I'll bet cftp knows what I'm talking about there. (Ugh!) :-(

musicmanatl
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Posted: 09 July 2016 at 11:12am \| IP Logged

I'm glad to see someone else hating on "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie"! I'm still stupefied that "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" hit #1 in the UK! It sounds some hack disco producer found two random women in a club to sing lead vocals and they have no idea what they are saying. And "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is simply awful in every way - so formulaic and by the numbers. However, I do like "Take Me Home" a lot! :) In a random coincidence, British dance singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor did covers of both "Take Me Home" and "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" and managed to salvage even the second one.

Edited by musicmanatl on 09 July 2016 at 11:13am

sriv94
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Posted: 09 July 2016 at 8:53pm \| IP Logged

80smusicfreak wrote:

But there was also plenty of BAD disco that still makes me cringe to this day, inc. songs like "Copacabana (At the Copa)"

Why, sir, do you hate America? :)

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80smusicfreak
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Posted: 10 July 2016 at 12:12am \| IP Logged

musicmanatl wrote:

I'm glad to see someone else hating on "Chattanooga Choo Choo"...[it's] simply awful in every way - so formulaic and by the numbers.

Disco for the "over 70" crowd, lol. Hey, if you thought "Disco Duck" was bad, just imagine if they'd used "Chattanooga Choo Choo" instead during the old-folks scene in "Saturday Night Fever", and included it on the iconic soundtrack, sandwiched in between "Stayin' Alive" and "How Deep is Your Love". :-) Don't forget, even (then) 71-year-old Ethel Merman released a disco album on a major label (A&M) in '79...

sriv94 wrote:

80smusicfreak wrote:

But there was also plenty of BAD disco that still makes me cringe to this day, inc. songs like "Copacabana (At the Copa)"

Why, sir, do you hate America? :)

See response to "Chattanooga Choo Choo" above... :-)

EdisonLite
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Posted: 11 July 2016 at 12:42pm \| IP Logged

<However, in the end, I'm afraid we're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. :-) After listening to both of the above versions of the '76 re-make on YouTube as a refresher, IMO, this version of "Venus" epitomizes the WORST of disco music! >

Gregg, don't get me wrong. I bought this Frankie Avalon for the kitsch factor. Same with buying Andy Williams "Theme from Love Story" '76, and Paul Mauriat's "Love Is Still Blue" (1976 disco version). Those, however, are about the only 3 disco songs I bought for kitsch factor. (And I have a friend who bought the '1979 Ethel Merman disco LP, but I couldn't go that far.)

All others I've bought is because I really like the disco songs in question - e.g. "Copacabana", "Take Me Home", and I even somewhat like the Leif Garrett ones you mention :)

Steve Carras
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Posted: 12 July 2016 at 5:24pm \| IP Logged

EdisonLite wrote:

Yikes! There's even a "Love is Blue" [a song KI LOVE] remake/:)

BTW Right the year he died, Percy Faith did a
"Summer Place" disco remake...nothing like taking your biggest hit and dping a disco version. I know of the "Venus" remake,too.

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