We wrote about this in the spring and when I happened to recently see a copy of it before me, I pounced! The Nöel album from 1979 is now in the Record Cell and it’s one of two, what can be called, Production Disco™ albums I own. On the face of things, Production Disco is normally the last thing I’m interested in musically. Anonymous session musicians making a Disco album during Peak Disco® under the auspices of a Producer who is aiming for the charts and making all of the creative decisions. How can we make some money here? It’s a practically recipe for ennui.

What stirs the pot substantially is the notion of who The Producer may be. The two such examples that I have were elevated by the auteurship of the producers who also wrote the material. In one case August Darnell’s helming of the first Cristina album. While it was an honest attempt at making a Disco record by someone who was the girlfriend of the label owner, it was also the product of a writer/producer with an artistic vision and the resulting record slots nicely into the oeuvre of the Producer.

Similarly, Sparks learned a lot, I’m certain, with Giorgio Moroder and his team producing the “No. 1 In Heaven” album. Being curious and creative types, the notion of them getting another singer; one without their quirky and noncommercial reputations, to front a project that was also aiming at the flavor of the day, Disco, probably presented a fascinating challenge to the Brothers Mael. And who knows? They might stand to make a few bucks with the results.

Nöel: Is There More to Life Than Dancing? DLX RM – UK – 2xCD [2024]

Disc 1 – Is There More To Life Than Dancing?

1. Dancing Is Dangerous 9:45
2. Is There More To Life Than Dancing? 8:09
3. The Night They Invented Love 9:16
4. Au Revoir 3:10
5. I Want A Man 4:55

Disc 2 – Bonus Tracks

1. I Just Want To Be Seen With You 4:53
2. My Night 3:56
3. I Never Want To Be A Mother 4:39
4. Dancing Is Dangerous (Part One) 3:42
5. Dancing Is Dangerous (Part Two) 3:22
6. The Night They Invented Love (Single Version) 3:45
7. I Want A Man (Single Version) 3:33
8. Dancing Is Dangerous (Instrumental) 3:49
9. I Just Want To Be Seen With You (Vocal Guide Version) 4:21
10. I Never Want To Be A Mother/ Au Revoir (Vocal Guide Version) 8:07
11. Dancing Is Dangerous / Is There More To Life Than Dancing (Vocal Guide Version) 14:35

The full monty version of “Dancing Is Dangerous” was almost three times longer than the 7″ single I previously had to listen to. The insistent beat with synth bleats running through it simply reeked of house music nearly a decade in the future. Specifically, the B-side “Chicago” to be found on the flip-side of “When Smokey Sings” by ABC ★★★ in 1987. As I stated earlier, Noël’s strong vocals impress in much the same way that Teri Nunn’s of Berlin also convince. And much of the program here reflects the vibe that High Berlin also reached for. Not coincidentally with Giorgio Moroder behind the boards for the singles from their second album.

The program here was definitely walking in the footsteps of the earlier “No. 1 In Heaven” album with long discomix length tracks segued together. Except that the longer tracks are longer still and the shorter tracks are slimmer yet. While the four-to-the-floor beat struck a relentless tone throughout “Dancing Is Dangerous” when it reached the 9:45 mark and simply continued unabated as the 8:09 title track began. But you would only know this is one was looking at the display of the CD player. The dancefloor was delivered a seamless Eurodisco euphoric swirl. The first voice we heard this go round wasn’t Nöel this time but backing vocalist Oren Waters adding an appealing baritone backing vocal while this time when Nöel entered the song she was operating at the strident upper end of her register. Then on the chorus Oren’s sisters Julia and Maxine [they were all members of L.A.’s family-based R+B vocal group The Waters] were adding their sweetness to the mix.

The constant beat was abetted by one of the best strategic Disco gambits; adding a percussionist on congas. In this case, sessionmeister Paulinho De Costa was doing the song the favors. The song’s long Discocentric arrangement allowed for differing “movements” of multi-part vocal harmonies interlaced with one another to form an impressive vocal lattice. Then the break occurred, and De Costa’s congas came to the fore for a few bars before the backing vocals rejoined the mix. The fun thing about all of this was that the song, more than the first one, was decidedly from the distinctive pen of Ron Mael. His perennially witty lyrics revealed that while this may have been a shot at the charts, he failed in streamlining his typically baroque lyrical thrust to the fullest extent. Thank goodness!

On the original LP that was nearly 20 minutes in and time for side two! So we didn’t have a segue after track two. We’d heard the 7″ edit of “The Night They Invented Love” on the US 7″ B-side of “Dancing Is Dangerous.” Her on the album it was another 9+ minute extravaganza. The slinky sax of Randy Brecker had a prominent part to play on this one, and Nöel moderated her performance to a camp sultriness that was nearly in Mae West territory with her phrasing. Showing that she was no one-trick pony but was modulating her vocal performance to maximize the variety amid the strict beats.

The congas were another highlight here as were the there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-goeth typical Sparks lyrics. The synthetic hi-hats showed the extent of technique that The Maels had absorbed from Moroder. But Moroder had used drummer Keith Forsey on “I Feel Love.” No drummer was credited here, leading me to think that Ron was using synth loops [possibly modular] for the unceasing drum tracks here. Since 1979 era drum machines were hardly this beefy sounding.

Next: Unfit For Motherhood…