Disco Giants, Vol. 7

As late as 2011, when the PTG label released the seventh volume of its Disco Giants series, the number of quality compilations focusing on mid- to late-'80s club-oriented R&B was quite low. While Disco Giants, Vol. 7 does contain a handful of tracks from the early '80s -- such as the original mix of Central Line's classic "Walking Into Sunshine -- its selections are 85-percent 1984-1987. Oran "Juice" Jones' "The Rain" is the only major crossover track; otherwise, the set spotlights a number of cuts that received plenty of play in clubs, including Wally Badarou's instrumental "Chief Inspector" (the "Green Onions" of its day), Pennye Ford's "Dangerous," Paul Hardcastle's "Just for Money," and Yarbrough & Peoples' "I Wouldn't Lie" (a decent emulation of the sound popularized by the S.O.S. Band with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis). Again, this stuff was too late to be accurately termed disco, but it's all part of the disco continuum. ~ Andy Kellman