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Ha! This one really takes us back! The set was a massive breakthrough for August Darnell – one of his biggest hits since his day with Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, with an equally appealing approach to the dancefloor. Tracks mix early 80s New York club styles with Darnell's mad retro/exotic take on the world – coming out with a sound that's slightly hokey, but equally catchy! Includes the hits "Annie (I'm Not Your Daddy)", "I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby", and "Stool Pigeon" – plus the cuts "Imitation", "I'm Corrupt", "No Fish Today", and "Loving You Made A Fool Out Of Me".

The madness of Kid's a bit suppressed in this single, but in its place is some very soulful grooving – which makes it no surprise that "I'm A Wonderful Thing" became one of the group's bigger dancefloor tracks of the early 80s. "Table Manners" is a silly one, but it's nicely remixed here, with a cool jangly guitar that sounds great!

Ho! This one takes us back! We're not as old as you might think here at Dusty Groove, but we're old enough to remember that wonderful period in the early 80s when somewhere on the lower east side, the energy and rawness of punk and post punk were meeting up with the glamour of the glitzed up disco club scene. ZE records was all over the scene, releasing the finest mutated disco from arch scenesters like August Darnell and the not-yet-heavyweight producer Don Was to other greats who might sadly have become sidebars in the history of modern music if not for this compilation, like Lizzy Mercer Descloux and Cristina. Each and every track grooves along with an unstoppable energy, whether it's Kid Creole's sophisticated Latin-esque numbers, Garcons' bubbling synths or Was (Not Was)'s faux R&B. 25 tracks in all, spread out over 2 CDs, with excellent retrospective notes and a nice fold out digipack! Includes: Was(Not Was) "Wheel Me Out" & "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming", Material with Nona Hendryx "Bustin' Out", Kid Creole & The Coconuts "Annie I'm Not Your Daddy" & "I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby", Coati Mundi "Que Pasa/Me No Pop I", James White & The Blacks "Contort Yourself", The Aural Exciters "Emile" & "Spooks In Space", Gichy Dan "Cowboys & Gangsters", Don Armando's 2nd Ave Rhumba Band "Deputy Of Love" plus loads more from Garcons, The Waitresses, Lizzy Mercer Descloux and others!

A pair of albums from one of the most creative club acts of the 70s – the mighty Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band – back-to-back! Before starting his Kid Creole & the Coconuts combo, August Darnell worked to great fame with Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band – kind of a campy, jazzy ensemble – one that worked with a 20s aesthetic over a disco groove on the self-titled set! There's a fair bit of acoustic instrumentation in the rhythms, and lots of those choppy, scratchy lines that we love so much in the Kid Creole work – all of which makes for a very nice change from the usual, especially in the late 70s mainstream. Darnell and Cory Daye are the main vocalists, and Darnell wrote all the lyrics for this album – on titles that include "Cherchez La Femme", "I'll Play The Fool", "Sour And Sweet", "We Got It Made", "Hard Times", "Sunshower", and "Betcha The Love Bug Bitcha". Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Meets King Penett is more unique work from the group – a set that bears all the unmistakeable touches of group leader August Darnell! The set's definitely got the older aesthetic that Darnell brought to his work at the time – possibly even more so than the group's first album – and it's also got a wonderfully acoustic approach to the music, one that uses older jazz inflections mixed with rootsier percussion – almost a late 70s club update of older swing and Latin modes! The tunes are beautifully penned too – most often starting out with a real sort of 30s or 40s style, then sweeping nicely into more of a 70s groove – but always without any sense of gimmick or trickery. Vocals are by the lovely Cory Daye, with a bit of help from Darnell – and titles include "Transistor Madness", "Organ Grinder's Tale", "Mister Love", "The Gigolo & I", "Nocturnal Interludes", and "I'll Always Have A Smile For You".