Jimmy "Bo" Horne-"Dance Across The..."

This song happens to rank as one of my top five disco tunes of all-time. :-) I've had the song's original parent album, also titled "Dance Across the Floor", on cassette for about 20 years now...

Sadly, the song is indeed fairly tough to find on CD. I, too, have the U.K. import of "Gimme Some!" that jimct described above (BTW, it's from 1998). "Spank", "Is it In", and the collection's title track were all also EXCELLENT dance tunes that should've been bigger pop hits here in the U.S., so the CD is highly recommended!

But for folks here who may also enjoy "Dance Across the Floor" and, like me, feel that the rather short (2:50) "45 version" is simply not enough, a few years ago I discovered a U.S. CD that actually features an extended version. It's on an out-of-print V/A CD from 1992 titled "Great '70s Dance Grooves", on Sony Music Special Products A 22347. Printed and actual time is (4:46). I can only assume that this is the 12" version - it's definitely NOT the "LP version", which is identical (or nearly identical) to the "45 version". If anyone here can confirm my hunch as to the origin of this (4:46) extended version, I'd appreciate it. I've not found this extended version on any other CD to date - domestic or import - so I doubt it exists anywhere else...

"Great '70s Dance Grooves" is actually a 10-track compilation of disco hits from the TK family of labels, and the fine print on the front booklet, back insert, and disc itself reads "ALL SELECTIONS ARE COURTESY OF RHINO RECORDS, INC." The CD does feature quite a few top 40 hits as well (Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell", Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do for Love", etc.), and a check of those songs in the 10th edition of Pat's book reveals that it isn't included in the listings. Perhaps he's added this CD to the on-line database since???

Dance Across The Floor also appears on the import "Sampled vol 3" and runs 2:48 on that disc.

Just revisiting this track, and really disappointed from what I hear on CD.

First, the 45: Sunshine Sound 1003, released 1978, printed and actual times of 2:50.

The sounds from the 45 is a little compressed, but in a good analog-compression way, much like the '60s Motown 45s. The first 15 seconds are unquestionably the finest intro that Casey and Finch ever put together. Hot.

If you listen to the very end of the fade-out, it actually ends cold. You'll hear just a tamborine, then just a handclap, then a "do it" from the background singers, then nothing.

I found a copy of the promo 12" single. It's Sunshine Sound Disco [note the slightly altered record company name!] number 200, released in 1978 with "Promotional Copy" printed on the label on both sides, and plays at 45 RPM! I'm sure many a DJ put this on at the wrong speed!

It's "Let Me (Let Me Be Your Lover)" (printed 4:15, actual 4:18) as the A-side, b/w "Dance Across The Floor" (printed 5:35, actual 5:33) as the B-side. Sound is big and fat - this 12" smokes!

The 5:33 "Dance Across The Floor" is the same as the album version. It's basically the vocal version of the song with a truncated fade followed by the instrumental version of the song. You can sorta recreate the 7" version by editing out most of the the instrumental version, and using the instrumental version fade to complete the truncated vocal version fade.

I say "sorta", because it seems like the 7" may be mixed a little differently than the 12". I can't tell if it's really a mix difference or just a drastic EQ difference, but the rhythm guitar in the right channel seems to be much more prominent on the 7".

Finding the song on CD is difficult, as you already know. Find a good-sounding version may be close to impossible.

The sound on the 5-CD set Seventies Complete Volume 2 (EMI Australia) sounds literally like it was taken from a cheap cassette. Realistically, I think this was taken from the vinyl LP, and faded before the "instrumental" portion kicked in. It runs 2:40.

The sound on Great '70s Dance Grooves is just as bad, and is hissier than any other song I've ever heard on any CD. This may have come from a tape source, but a fifth or sixth-generation tape. It's so bad I find it hard to believe that Rhino had anything to do with this track - it's far, far below the terrific quality of the superb 1990 Get Down Tonight CD on Rhino that covered the T.K. material.

It runs 4:46, and it's a hacked up edit of the LP version.

In addition to the incredible amount of hiss and wow/flutter, it runs about 2.2% too fast. Worst of all, it has two incompetent edits in it that ruin the intro and ruin the transition to the instrumental portion. These are so far off the beat that I thought my CD was skipping (in comparison, it makes the 5-minute version of Meat Loaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" look like a Fatboy Slim creation...) As a cherry on top, the first four beats of the song are significantly faster than everything else that follows.

The other 9 tracks on Great '70s Dance Grooves sound terrific, but I grade "Dance Across The Floor" as an F. Maybe an F-.

The best of the bunch is Sampled Volume 3, which runs 2:48, and has a slightly truncated fade. The sound is mixed and EQ'd like the 45, but with a little extra compression/limiting. It runs at the same speed as both the 45 and the LP version. I would guess that it's a transfer from the vinyl 45, but it's a pretty good one. This 2-CD set also has "(Let Me) Let Me Be Your Lover" [sic], which is pretty cool.

I'd be curious to know what the UK Jimmy "Bo" Horne collection sounds like. My expectations are low, to say the least...

I had long forgotten about this track until the thread reappeared.

As noted, it is so difficult to find a decent sounding copy on CD. I opted to get a commercial 45. However, It appears I may have a different pressing than Ron. Mine is on the T.K. Records label, deadwax is SSE-1003-A 1A 2 H,D,Z. Listed time is 2:50, actual run time is 2:52.

I absolutely love this message board. No matter how obscure or forgotten
a song I can think of, there is almost always already a thread about it!

This is one of my favorite disco/funk songs and I think the best part about
it (at least the best part of the 12-inch) is the fade in the middle right
before the song re-starts again in an instrumental version. It makes
absolutely no sense, but it's awesome. It's like you've resigned yourself to
the fact that the party has come to an end and then Jimmy Horne just
starts that funk right back up again.... so don't put those platforms away
just yet! Very 70's. Very funk. We're just here to party--- we don't care
about segues.

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken, I believe this was one of those instances
where the LP version and the 45 version were the same (and ran 2:50?) on
the original pressing of the LP. But then they replaced the 45 Version with
the 12-inch version for the second pressing of the LP? Is that the case?

Like you guys above, I've been looking for this song (in either its 45, but
preferably the 12-inch, form for a long time). There is an "album" on
iTunes called "Hot Plates of the 80s" that has this song running close to
the 12-inch/LP time of "5:33" referenced above. According to iTunes, the
track on "Hot Plates" runs 5:28 but, in reality, it has some silence at the
end, so it's really running closer to 5:23. In the "Hot Plates" version, the
fade/re-start occurs at 2:39, which I think is about right.

I was really happy to find this track because, like you guys mentioned
above, all I ever seem to find (if I find anything at all) is the butchered
4:46 frankenstein edit that seems to pop up from time to time.

So, my question is--- is the version of "Dance Across the Floor" on "Hot
Plates" the correct 12-inch/LP version? And, if so, what accounts for the
timing difference? I'm not detecting any difference from what I remember
(although I don't have the original vinyl to compare). Did they do
something to the end (early fade?)?