Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Was (Not Was) – Wheel Me Out
2. Material & Nona Hendryx – Bustin’ Out
3. Cristina – Drive My Car
4. Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Annie I’m Not Your Daddy
5. Aural Exciters – Emile (Night Rate)
6. James White & The Blacks – Contort Yourself
7. Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Funky Stuff
8. Garcons – French Boys
9. Don Armando’s 2nd Ave. Rhumba Band
10. Gichy Dan – Cowboys & Gangsters
11. Cristina – Blame It On Disco
12. Garcons – Encore L’Amore

Disc 2:

1. Cristina – Disco Clone
2. Coati Mundi – Que Pasa
3. Me No Pop I
4. Kid Creole & The Coconuts – I’m A Wonderful Thing Baby
5. Was (Not Was) – Out Come The Freaks
6. Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Fire
7. Aural Exciters – Spooks In Space
8. Was (Not Was) – Tell Me That I’m Dreaming
9. Caroline Loeb – Narcissique
10. The Waitresses – I Know What Boys Like
11. Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Mission Impossible
12. Garcons – Re Bop Electronic
13. Garcons – French Boys Disco Edit
14. Casino Music – Faites Le Proton

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62218 in Music
• Released on: 2003-09-15
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

Do The Wild Mutation
Any ageing NME reader will remember this album from 1982; when ZE, heavily championed by Paul Morley and Ian Penman; was briefly the hippest, coolest, most happening record company in the world. So how does it sound 20 years later? Pretty flippin' fab actually. Hugely expanded from it's original six tracks on vinyl; it's now a whopping double CD digi thing. Hard to believe, but Kid Creole & The Coconuts still sound damn good. Look past the zoot suits and hispanic posturing; and the core of these tunes are just great latino / funk workouts from a team of New York's best session players at the time. Elsewhere, Was (Not Was) still sound like they are being beamed in from another planet with the peerless 'Wheel Me Out'; Bill Laswell's Material rock it hard 'n' funky with the mighty 'Bustin' Out' and James Chance gets another airing for the unbeatable 'Contort Yourself'; which is in danger of being over - compiled this year. Mutant Disco: suitable for ageing Wag Club floorshakers and curious young punk / funk tigers wondering where The Rapture got those moves from.

ZE MOST AMAZING MUSIC
Ze Records made a significant contribution in the late 1970s and early 1980s with their artists like Cristina Monet, Material, Was (Not Was) and Don Armando’s 2nd Avenue Rumba Band. The original vinyl album had only six tracks so this expanded 2-disc CD is a massive improvement revealing much more of the glory of Ze.

In general, the music is a successful blend of dance and new wave. Wheel Me Out by Was (Not Was) is a sinister track with spoken vocals and an insistent chanting chorus over a nervous, funky rhythm. Busting Out has powerful vocals by Nona Hendryx over Eurodisco synths and electric guitars.

Cristina’s two tracks include her interpretation of Drive My Car and her tongue-in-chic disco songs Blame It On Disco and Disco Clone. It is high time her legendary album Sleep It Off be re-released as it contains timeless masterpieces like He Dines Out On Death, The Lie Of Love and Van Morrison’s Blue Money.

There is a strong mix of Latin, Big Band swing and mid-century pop in the tracks by Don Armando's 2nd Avenue Rumba Band, Gichy Dan and Coati Mundi – my favorite is Deputy Of Love with Fonda Rae on lead vocal. Ze’s most successful act, Kid Creole And The Coconuts, contribute their huge hits, the tuneful Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy and I’m A Wonderful Thing Baby, whilst James White And The Blacks offer the sax-heavy Contort Yourself.

The other two tracks by Was (Not Was) are also minor classics and count amongst my favourites on this marvellous album of innovative music. It’s a pity about the omissions though: Cristina’s poignant Things Fall Apart and Christmas Rapping by The Waitresses, two great singles from the early 1980s. This CD contains a classy booklet with many photographs and informative liner notes on the artists and the Ze label.

A Classic
Stuffed with gems, Mutant Disco is essential for anyone interested in dance. This compilation defines the amazingly creative period 78-83, when pop music really mutated into weird new forms: witness the Latino/Funk/Tin Pan Alley alchemy of Kid Creole. There is so much rewarding stuff here, yet even if the genre seems overfamiliar you will undoubtedly discover a few surprises. I'd never heard of Garcons, for example, but the epic 9-minute version of Encore L'Amore must be one of the greatest disco tracks ever recorded! One listen to the opening 4 bars and you will be forever possessed. You need this.