With the recent and highly triumphant Glastonbury appearance tucked safely under his belt, Co writing and playing lead guitar on 2013’s Summer Anthem that is Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’, it was only appropriate for Nile Rodgers and his seminal Chic Organisation to assist and to share with a new legion of fans, some more of the greatness that both he and the Chic Organisation are known and respected for.
Nile Rodgers Presents: The Chic Organisation – Up All Night (The Greatest Hits) is quite simply a masterpiece in musicianship and songwriting that spans the decades with a freshness that is hard to believe given that some of the tracks on the album are nearly 40 years old! The question has to be asked as to whether Chic’s founding fathers, Nile Rodgers and the late and awfully great Bernard Edwards, realised just what they were creating back in the early days of the 1970’s Disco movement.
Both men consummate musicians with Rodgers Guitar and Edwards legendary Bass playing being almost mystical in the way they work together. Couple that with a canny knack of catchy lyrics, an eye for production techniques so far ahead of their time that they still sound as fresh today as they did originally, you have quite literally some of the greatest music ever produced!
Most of the songs will be familiar to most – with peerless extended versions of many favourites from Chic, ‘I Want Your Love’, ‘Good Times’, ‘Le Freak’ and the stunning ‘My Forbidden Lover’ to the numerous collaborations that Rodgers and Edwards made with the likes of Diana Ross, Sheila B, Sister Sledge and Debbie Harry, there’s something here for everyone.
The Chic story is a fascinating one ranging from triumph to tragedy, huge highs and massive lows but what a story it is! Nile Rodgers had to deal with the tragic loss of Bernard Edwards, dealt with his own drug addiction and more recently being diagnosed with Cancer, whilst still writing, producing and performing for pretty much every major band and artist of the 80’s, 90’s, noughties and beyond.
Its fair to say that a fair few ‘Best Of’ compilation albums only serve to remind us that a particular band had a small body of work that was worth sharing. More often than not there are the ‘filler’ tracks thrown in just to spread the value for money aspect to the loyal fan and the people that buy ‘best of’ albums for a couple of tracks that they know, but that is certainly not the case here!
Nile Rodgers Presents: The Chic Organisation – Up All Night (The Greatest Hits), is a non stop tour de force of hit after hit – 25 in all over two cd’s, every single track demonstrating complete perfection in pretty much every area of music making imaginable. Even if you’re not a fan of the Disco Genre but are a fan of music – this album is an absolute must have in anyone’s music collection!
I guarantee you will not be able to stop tapping your feet!
Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.
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