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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Setting the blueprint for everything we think of when it comes to disco--big afros, white flares, lashings of glamour--Chic shimmied into the limelight at the tail end of the 1970s. But it wasn't until the anthemic "Le Freak" hit the charts that the New York four-piece really took centre stage on the disco dance-floor. Included here, C'est Chic epitomises their genre-defining sound which owed as much to funk, soul and electro as to disco. "I Want Your Love" is an infectious party groover, "At Last I Am Free" is a reflective, emotive number, while "Savoir Faire" is a seductive soundtrack of saxophone and strings. A disco classic, this has been sampled to death by a million rappers and hip hop artists since. --Amber Cowan
Review
Chic were a cut above, dressed in suits, and run like a business (the Chic Organization Ltd). They married the voices of Alfa Anderson and Luci Martin with the chorus vocals of Luther Vandross and David Lasley with their watertight grooves. And C'est Chic is one of the best albums of the 70s. That it was labelled disco is something of a red herring: this was just the fortune/misfortune of timing. The genre made Chic more popular than their wildest dreams, yet cast them into the wilderness abruptly when it fell from fashion.
This disco didn't suck. Cool to the point of glacial, rhythmic to the point of metronomic, C'est Chic was one of the last great dance records before the machines took over. Leaders Bernard Edwards (bass) and Nile Rodgers (guitar) had been leading double lives for the previous few years, acting as disco session sidemen while playing in blues-rocking new-wave combos at night with their drummer Tony Thompson. They knew how to play and to put on a show–which is what C'est Chic is. It starts with its overture–Chic Cheer–and takes us all the way through to its jiving, comic closer, (Funny) Bone.
For many, the album will always be about Le Freak. It remains the biggest-selling single in Atlantic's history. Next time you're throwing a shape to it a family do, just listen to its craft. But the shimmering gem is the propulsive, muted funk of I Want Your Love. In its full 6:45 mix, it is arguably the Chic Organization Ltd's greatest work; when it breaks to the guitar, chased by the horns and then the strings, the group create something truly mesmeric. Add in Rodgers' recollection of a Black Panther rally turned into a love ballad by Edwards, At Last I Am Free, and the joyous Happy Man and you're quite content to hum along to the relative filler of Savoir Faire.
C'est Chic isn't even Chic's best album (that was their next one, Risqué) but it is a bright, shining example of what mass-produced, intelligent dance music should be. Thirty-two years old at the time of writing, it remains irresistible. --Daryl Easlea
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The defining moment in dance music....,
By
This review is from: C'est Chic (Audio CD)
Just picture it - you and your mates like metal and prog rock. Anything that had the whiff of commerciality about it was scoffed at. That was me in the late 70's, folks, when Genesis, Yes and Camel were kings in my eyes. THIS was the album to change all that - and not just for me. It had such a profound effect because it didn't destroy my faith in those bands but simply widened my musical horizons. And I was not alone. I knew LOADS of guys who had this album but refused to admit it. Before I knew it I was buying albums by Earth Wind and Fire and things would never be the same.Classics from beginning to end - Bernard and Nile had THAT sound which proved difficult to resist - you HAD to move to it unless you were dead. This album set the foundations upon which modern dance was based. Where would Hed Kandi be today? Saw this on Amazon at an unbelievable price and had to go for it. An absolute gem.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
discos masterpiece,
By
This review is from: C'est Chic (Audio CD)
The follow up to Chic, this album has come in many differing forms, some with Dance Dance Dance and others not. To capitalise on the music of the first album, the uk label released 'Tres Chic' with the same tracks, but in a poor order. It was pulled and a disco classic was born. From the lush cover art to the inner picture of Nile and Nard, this a pure funk/disco album. With the vocals of Lucy and Alfa, Niles iconic playing, Bernards funky bass, tonys tight drumming, Robs keyboard work and people like Luther Vandross in the background it's gonna be good. Now of course everyone knows 'Le freak', but listen to Happy Man, hear the music taking shape as the track builds up into a life of the 70's playboy. Hanging out all night with the jet set and he parties every little chance he gets. While 'At last I am free' can seem to go on it does have great sadness in those vocals and 'Savoir Fair' might seem like practise time, other tracks like 'Sometimes you win' and 'I want your love' (the groups biggest UK hit) show the group and Nile and Nard at their best. Pure disco and brilliant for it. Forget disco drones, this is the real thing.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
smoooooooooooooth!,
By
This review is from: C'est Chic (Audio CD)
see my review of Risque, because this is more of the same - with smoother production.
Deeply cool.
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