GLORIA GAYNOR - Never Can Say Goodbye (ristampa)

Big Break Records (Bbr, the independent label affiliated with Cherry Red) kicks off its catalogue of disco and soul reissue classics with this historic, massively successful debut Lp by Gloria Gaynor, originally released by Mgm in 1975, after a few preliminary singles paved the way. Gaynor immediately stood out from the rest of the disco divas thanks to her uncommon vocal gifts and a taste well above average among her peers. In truth, she had already taken her first steps back in the mid-Sixties, fronting the Soul Satisfyers, but without any notable results. A great admirer of rhythm and blues singers like Aretha Franklin, Gaynor stubbornly tried to get herself noticed, betting everything on the power and timbre of her voice rather than on physical attributes (which, indeed, she didn't have). Signed by Mgm in 1973, she released her first singles the following year, including the famous "Never Can Say Goodbye", which managed to climb the charts.

For the debut album, released the following year, producer Tony Bongiovi had the fortunate idea of calling in a then up-and-coming star of the mixing desk, Tom Moulton (who also went down in history for creating the mix records for the Trammps and, above all, for producing Grace Jones's first records). Just as Giorgio Moroder was already doing, that same year, 1975, with Donna Summer, tailoring for her the extended version of "Love To Love You Baby" (sixteen uninterrupted minutes underscored by the same rhythmic groove and by Summer's sensual moans and simulated orgasms), Moulton likewise conceived the first side of the album "Never Can Say Goodbye" as a single nineteen-minute suite, even though it incorporated three different tracks, namely the airy orchestral funk of "Honey Bee" (six minutes), the relentless "Never Can Say Goodbye" (previously performed by the Jackson 5 and by Isaac Hayes) and an adaptation of an old Four Tops hit, "Reach Out, I'll Be There", an energetic slice of rhythm and blues. Distinct tracks that nonetheless perfectly form a single corpus, flowing into one another wonderfully.

It was a revolutionary idea in its own way, one that would be exploited to excess by later generations of disco musicians.

The second side, meanwhile, is more in line with northern soul conventions, arranged in the refined style of a David Shire. Still, these are top-class songs, such as the polished "All I Need Is Your Sweet Lovin'" and "Searching" (the latter not unaware of a bit of Mandrill-style melodic funk). "We Belong Together" remains one of the finest songs in Gaynor's repertoire, while the singer herself penned "False Alarm" and "Real Good People", which confirm her decent songwriting skills as well.

This recent reissue (which, incidentally, is the very first cd edition) also features no fewer than seven bonus tracks: the two versions of "Honey Bee", released as singles on Columbia (in a shortened version of under four minutes, though slightly punchier than the one on the album) and on Mgm, plus the historic 1974 single "Never Can Say Goodbye", which certainly doesn't match up to the album version. All the b-sides of these 45s are included too, namely the sentimental "All It Took Boy Was Losing You", the sensual "Come Tonight" and the soulful "We Just Can't Make It".

The cd booklet is nicely put together, with photos of memorabilia, single sleeves and of Gaynor herself, all rounded out by fine, thorough liner notes from Wayne Dickson, Big Break Records' chief-manager. The remastering is also decent, considering it was carried out by a small label. Bbr's distribution for Italy is handled by Goodfellas.

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14/05/2011