276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Great singles like "Everybody Dance," "Le Freak," "I Want Your Love," "Good Times," and "Rebels Are We" were among the most popular songs in the country during the late 1970s, distinguished by the core elements of Chic's sound: Edwards' fluid and highly melodic bass lines, Rodgers' jazz-influenced guitar work, the muscular drumming style of Tony Thompson, and a host of vocalists including the late Luther Vandross. Even if you suspect he’s fronting, which I don’t, you have to admire the prose of someone who has said he never wrote anything longer than a Dear Jane letter before tackling this book. He has worked with many of my favorite artists, but is like an honorary member of my all time favorite band Duran Duran.

I agree with that 100%, and if you look at my book, it’s really about my life: music just happens to be a large part of it.This is an intelligent, thoughtful book free of the egomania that you'd expect from a man with his extraordinary CV. But things take a turn for the worse when the scene that embraced Chic suddenly implodes and gives way to New Wave, and Nile is brutally candid about his embarrassment that his band (and first solo album) can’t get arrested. Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections—they may also appear in recommendations and other places. The absurd coincidence of being saved by hitting the wrong elevator button seems to me as no coincidence at all.

He sneaks transgressive messages into smash radio singles, flourishes in improbable collaborations, and trades the spotlight for behind-the-scenes influence, reporting on pop music from the vantage of a prankish infiltrator.There are tales of studying jazz harmony with legendary pianist Dr Billy Taylor, an early gig with the ‘Sesame Street’ house band and notable cameos from Thelonious Monk, Lenny Bruce, Timothy Leary and Jimi Hendrix.

Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions. As his wandering childhood melds into his late 1970s music success, he gives us a glimpse inside the inner circle of Studio 54 and the ’80s party scene as he develops his 15 year cocaine addiction. By 1968 he was a street hippie whose professional base was Greenwich Village — a practiced panhandler who slept in crash pads and on the subway. The stars of the scene were his glamorous teenage mom and heroin-addicted Jewish stepfather, but there were also monkeys, voodoo orishas, jazz cats, and serial killers in the mix.And although he credits many individual paramours for their many individual benisons, a few reflections on serial polygamy would also be nice.

This early period has some interesting tales, like how he wound up in the same ER as a bloodied Andy Warhol after a bad hallucinogenic trip or his stint with the Black Panthers. Still, the thing I took away from this book, more than the music, more than the partying and more than the amazing story of what determination and talent can do for a young boy that grew up between two ghettos, was the endless optimism that has run through Nile Rodgers' life. Then of course there was a well-received guest spot on Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ and a glorious concert reboot of the Chic brand, which went from strength to strength as the decade progressed.His knowledge on how to work collaboratively, how to deconstruct and then reconstruct a song puts to shame all the simplistic bombast of the (generally white) Disco Sucks "authentic" music brigade. The book eventually details on the rise and fall of disco, the "disco sucks" movement, and their future success as producers writing for Sister Sledge and Diana Ross. As Rodgers narrates his story, anecdotes like this show that his signature talent is working as the perpetual underdog, finding artistic inspiration in unlikely places. His life has been extraordinary - his mother was just 13 when she had him, and he was brought up surrounded by a ragged assortment of artists, drop outs and junkies. Could do with an accompanying CD or -as he promises somewhere- a list of all the REALLY FUNKY music that influenced Chic, not because the book is incomplete without them but because its spaces, like the spaces in the music, are structured in an open and welcoming way that helps fill them with memories, ghosts and surprises.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment