LOUIE VEGA レコード& CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Dent on the side, product in perfect working order***


It may come with an eyebrow-raising price tag, but what's on offer here is undeniably alluring: a box set of 10 seven-inch singles containing all of the songs from Louie Vega's brilliant Expansions In The NYC album - an all-star affair in which the Masters at Work man celebrated his love of New York disco, boogie and house. The album itself is incredible, with fantastic musicianship, arrangements and vocals, while the cast list - which includes original electrofunk outfit Unlimited Touch, Peech Boys main man Bernard Fowler, Honey Dijon, Cindy Mazelle, Moodymann, Kerri Chandler and his son Nico - is similarly impressive. It's a great product, packed with brilliant music: a fitting finale to this portion of the ongping 'Expansions NYC' project.

Review: It may come with an eyebrow-raising price tag, but what's on offer here is undeniably alluring: a box set of 10 seven-inch singles containing all of the songs from Louie Vega's brilliant Expansions In The NYC album - an all-star affair in which the Masters at Work man celebrated his love of New York disco, boogie and house. The album itself is incredible, with fantastic musicianship, arrangements and vocals, while the cast list - which includes original electrofunk outfit Unlimited Touch, Peech Boys main man Bernard Fowler, Honey Dijon, Cindy Mazelle, Moodymann, Kerri Chandler and his son Nico - is similarly impressive. It's a great product, packed with brilliant music: a fitting finale to this portion of the ongping 'Expansions NYC' project.

Review: Louie Vega's forthcoming "Expansions In The NYC" album was apparently created in part as a tribute to the roots of house music as he sees them. You'll find plenty of nods to classic styles of old in this second sampler EP. The A-side boasts two thrill-a-minute, sweat-soaked "Nico Funki" dubs of "How He Works" - muscular and forthright affairs rich in squelchy proto-house bass, righteous vocal samples and a nagging, almost familiar piano riff. The fun continues on side B via the breezy brilliance of "Can't Slow Down" - a fine slab of organic, disco-tinged house in Vega's now familiar style - and the superb "Vince Montana Tribute", a cut in the style of the vibraphone player and Salsoul arranger complete with Candido style disco drums.

Review: Here's something to set the pulse racing: an all-star re-recording of Universal Robot Band's boogie classic "Barely Breaking Even" that brings together Masters At Work man Louie Vega, original vocalist and arranger Leroy Burgess, iconic disco producer Patrick Adams and an impressive backing band of hired musicians including Michael Kelley (better known in electronic music circles as Metro Area collaborator Kelley Polar). While there are plenty of audible nods towards the early '80s original - extensive use of cowbells, that oh-so familiar synth sound - the re-recording is altogether warmer, fuller and a more contemporary sounding affair rich in sweeping orchestration and tactile synth bass. Both the edited vocal and instrumental versions are superb.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


We're prepared to argue with anyone on this, but Universal Robot Band's "Barely Breaking Even" is one of the best boogie-era disco records ever made. Its title was also the inspiration for the name of BBE Records, so it seems fitting that the label's 500th release is an all-star re-recording that brings together NYC house hero Louie Vega and original creators Leroy Burgess and Patrick Adams. Vega delivers vocal and instrumental versions of two distinctive passes: a slick, smooth, soulful and string-laden "Boogie Mix" rich in warm electronics and subtle nods towards the early '80s original, and a rolling "NYC House Remix" full of twinkling Fender Rhodes solos and atmospheric chords. As you'd expect, Burgess' re-recorded vocal is superb.

Review: It would be fair to say that post-disco outfit Unlimited Touch's 1980 single "I Hear Music In the Streets" is one of the greatest boogie/electrofunk records of all time. Louie Vega clearly agrees, because late last year he decided to gather together the remaining members of Unlimited Touch and record a fresh 2020 version. The A-side "Touch Mix" is the bomb. It features a more organic-sounding disco-boogie groove than the 1980 original, with delicious guitars, bass and electric piano/organ underpinning seriously good group vocals from the sometime Prelude-signed outfit. Over on the flip, Vega serves up an electric piano solo-laden dub mix, as well as a "Classic Boogie" take that naturally sounds very similar to the band's much-loved original version.

Review: Anyone with even the smallest interest in disco and boogie will have heard Unlimited Touch's 1980 classic 'I Hear Music In The Streets'. It's a stone-cold killer that should be approached with caution. Louie Vega, of course, is respectful, and these versions are not remixes but rather re-makes, with the Masters at Work man being joined in the studio by all manner of guest musicians and vocalists - including original members of Unlimited Touch. The standout version is the near 11-minute A-side 'Touch Mix', an all-live post-disco version rich in classic disco bass, guitars, electric piano keys and spacey chords. The short-ish 'NYC Expansions Dub' cans the vocals and emphasises the various instrument solos, while the 'LV Classic Boogie Mix' is an almost note-for-note remake of the 1980 original.

Review: Straight off the heat of his last ambitious collaborative opus Starring XVIII, Louie Vega returns with a remarkable disco album in collaboration with Nervous founder Michael Weiss. Inspired by the influential legacy of Sam Records, the album pays homage to the late 70s melting pot with originals, remakes and star appearances from the likes of Luther Vandross. Part 1 runs the gospel gamut with rich feelgood moments such as the First Choice cover "Love Having You Around" and the naughty undertones of Vandross's most upbeat cut in decades "Get Myself Together" and plenty more. And this is only the half of the story. Yet another unique, masterful body of work.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corners of outer sleeve, product unopened & in excellent condition***


Straight off the heat of his last ambitious collaborative opus Starring XVIII, Louie Vega returns with a remarkable disco album in collaboration with Nervous founder Michael Weiss. Inspired by the influential legacy of Sam Records, the album pays homage to the late 70s melting pot with originals, remakes and star appearances from the likes of Luther Vandross. Part 1 runs the gospel gamut with rich feelgood moments such as the First Choice cover "Love Having You Around" and the naughty undertones of Vandross's most upbeat cut in decades "Get Myself Together" and plenty more. And this is only the half of the story. Yet another unique, masterful body of work.

Review: The Vega Records five pack vinyl unreleased projects have become very sought after pieces amongst vinyl enthusiasts and collectors. Now available as unique 12"s for the first time, the third part features Louie Vega & Joe Claussell on the A side with "Getting Deeper" - proper spiritual life music right here by two absolute legends of the New York City underground - absolutely. On the flip we have C.O.O. with "Funky Cadets" (Daddy's Workshop Demo Ruff) -this funky little number is a more upbeat and feelgood number that's just as worthy of being played to the dancefloor. The originals now command high prices on the secondhand market and have never been available outside of a few select stores worldwide - don't sleep on this one!

Review: One of the musical highlights from Louie Vega's NYC Disco album, "Rebel Nation" is a collaboration between grammy award winner Louie Vega, legendary multi-platinum producer Patrick Adams, and Nulu Records president, international DJ and artist Anane. Patrick initially had the idea for the song after seeing a recent Star Wars movie. Louie saw the vision of what it could ultimately be with live music additions, and Anane added the inspired lyrical content and vocal performance. In Louie's own words, "I call Anane a chameleon, because she transcends so many different sounds with her voice. She gave the track just the right feeling vocally. It's a very punk-rock approach; the kids speaking out, all kinds of people making the statement, Get Up! Stand Up! Let's Rise! Rebel Nation."

Lauded critically and on dancefloors worldwide in its original album version, the track has now been given the all-star remix package treatment with contributions from Danny Krivit, Carl Craig, Soul Clap and Felix Da Housecat X Chris Trucher.

Review: Part two of Louie Vega's latest authentic adventure; what began as a remix project on a series of Sam Records classics quickly became a brand new artist album with Louie and Nervous boss (and son of Sam Records founder Sam Weiss) Michael Weiss orchestrating some of the finest remakes and originals imaginable. Following the Luther Vandross-featured first part comes this exceptional sophomore packing highlights such as Louie and wife Anane's sultry cover of Indeep's seminal "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life", the insatiable late night energy of "Dancing For Your Love" and the soul melting sultry style of "Love Fantasy". Exceptional to the last disco detail.

Review: Given the length of his career, it's rather surprising to find that Starring XXVIII is the New York house veteran's debut solo album. As the title suggests, it's an all-star affair, with each of the 28 tracks - stretched across two discs - featuring a guest vocalist or collaborator. After fusing P-funk and house with the help of Funkadelic, the Masters At Work man rolls through organic, Latin-tinged deep house, Nuyorican Soul style goodness (with a little help from former Soul II Soul singer Caron Wheeler), intergalactic dancefloor soul (alongside Viktor Duplaix), boogie-house brilliance (a tasty version of Leroy Burgess and Convexion's "Let's Do It"), jazz-funk, and luscious downtempo grooves ("Stop On By").

Review: We're prepared to argue with anyone on this, but Universal Robot Band's "Barely Breaking Even" is one of the best boogie-era disco records ever made. Its title was also the inspiration for the name of BBE Records, so it seems fitting that the label's 500th release is an all-star re-recording that brings together NYC house hero Louie Vega and original creators Leroy Burgess and Patrick Adams. Vega delivers vocal and instrumental versions of two distinctive passes: a slick, smooth, soulful and string-laden "Boogie Mix" rich in warm electronics and subtle nods towards the early '80s original, and a rolling "NYC House Remix" full of twinkling Fender Rhodes solos and atmospheric chords. As you'd expect, Burgess' re-recorded vocal is superb.

Review: Louie Vega remains a towering presence in house music 30+ years after making his early mark. As a solo artist, he deals in soulful, Latin-tinged and musical house sounds that are lavish in arrangement and often made with real instrumentals. The Vega boss now serves up a bumper collection of previously unreleased tunes across no fewer than ten sides of vinyl. There are collaborations, remixes, demos, dubs and reworks along the way and the range in impressive - from deep and triable joints to shuffling samba sounds and back again, this is a vital collection from a real house master.

Review: Louie Vega presents the third instalment of the Vega Records unreleased series with another quintuple LP of hard-hitting unreleased house bangers that span the breadth and width of everything the genre has to offer. Mr X's 'The Curse' is an industrial tribal house floor filler with jazz sections, 'World Collisions' is in a similar vein with a deeper more meditative thudding bass. Disc 2 sidesteps into a jazzy Latin lane with Tony Touch's sax-fueled 'Apaga La Luz' and 'Baza SOS Fever'. Disc 3 is a temple for disco-house, with two gospel-inspired funk-filled tracks from Honeysweet - 'Last Night Changed It All' is a particular favourite. If we are talking highlights, Josh Millan hits it out the park on "Let us Shine" with Elements Of Life; Side B with a jazz house instrumental that's the perfect comedown. Disc 5 sees a monumentous 11-minute funky jazz cut from Honeysweet with 'Being Free', paired with a soulful closer instrumental from Two Soul Fusion. House collectors would be crazy to pass this release up.