Saturday 12 June 2010

Rhythm Heritage ''Disco-Fied''

Rhythm Heritage

''Disco-Fied''
( LP ABC Records, 1976 )
Catalog # ABCD-934


Tracklisting:
A1 Disco-Fied
A2 Caravan
A3 Barretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow)
A4 Theme From S.W.A.T.
B1 Blockbuster
B2 My Cherie Amour
B3 (It's Time To) Boogie Down
B4 Three Days Of The Condor
B5 Disco-Fied (Reprise)

Personnel & Credits:
Bass - Scott Edwards
Drums - Ed Greene
Engineer [Assistant] - Howard Gale
Engineer [Mastering] - Lanky Linstrot, Phil Cross
Engineer [Recording] - Phil Kaye
Guitar - Ben Benay , Dean Parks, Ray Parker
Other [Guest] - Lee Ritenour
Percussion - Victor Feldman
Photography - Ken Marcus
Producer - Steve Barri
Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards - Michael Omartian
Woodwind - Ernie Watts, Tom Scott

Notes:
Produced for Golden Clover Productions
Format:Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:US
Released:1976

Review:
Rhythm Heritage was never a band in the true sense of the word. Best known for its disco-funk versions of themes from movies and television cop shows, Rhythm Heritage was a group of Los Angeles studio musicians that producers Michael Omartian and Steve Barri threw together. None of its three albums were distinctive -- they weren't meant to be. But if you take them for what they are, those albums aren't without their pleasures. Although uneven, Rhythm Heritage's first album, Disco-Fied, is arguably its best. This 1976 LP contains its biggest hit, the infectious "Theme From S.W.A.T.," as well as its slick remake of "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)," which became the album's second single. Rhythm Heritage's version of the Baretta theme isn't the best one -- Sammy Davis, Jr. and Merry Clayton provided superior versions -- but it's still enjoyable. Also noteworthy are Rhythm Heritage's arrangements of Dave Grusin's "Three Days of the Condor" and Duke Ellington's "Caravan," which is devoid of jazz elements in Omartian and Barri's hands. To jazz snobs, recording a glossy disco version of an Ellington standard was musical heresy. But then, Omartian and Barri never claimed that their arrangement of "Caravan" was authentic jazz. Meanwhile, the LP's weaker tracks include "(It's Time To) Boogie Down" and the robotic title song, both of which find Rhythm Heritage sounding like a poor man's Kool & the Gang. But despite its flaws and limitations, Disco-Fied is Rhythm Heritage's most fun and memorable album.
By Alex Henderson (AMG. Copyright © 2010 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.)

Biography:
A Los Angeles studio group that keyboardist Michael Omartian and producer Steve Barri assembled in the mid-'70s, Rhythm Heritage had a pair of television theme hits before fading into obscurity. "Theme From S.W.A.T." topped the pop charts in 1975 and peaked at number 11 R&B, while "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)" was a Top 20 R&B and pop single in 1976. Oren and Luther Waters served as group vocalists, but they couldn't keep things going with subsequent follow-ups.
By Ron Wynn (AMG. Copyright © 2010 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.)

By Pier

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