4a) Been There, Done That

4a1a) Norman Connors "Once I've Been There"

4a1b) [Norman Connors is] an American Jazz Drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led some influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is possibly best known for the 1976 hit, "You Are My Starship" on which lead vocals were sung by Michael Henderson.

4a1c) This is hands down one of my favorite disco singles. It rivals anything the Salsoul Orchestra did for pure swinging disco action. It could score any cop show credits from the 70's. And has the roots of the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" within its disco DNA. 

        The listener is carried along by the funky buoyancy of the melody. The arrangement is tight, but with a loose funky bounce. Phillip Mitchell gives Sylvester a run for the money as he soars above the burbling bass, brassy punctuation, and exquisitely stabbing strings. The perfect foil for Skip Drinkwater's excellent production. 

        Along with Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, and many others that jumped ship from serious jazz into more lucrative forms of music making, Connors proves that he can get the booty shaking. Some might consider it a loss for jazz, but it's all swinging to me. Being a snob about it just means losing out on great singles like this. 

        In the end, I rarely ever listen to this track just once. Putting it on repeat produces a Dionysian melting into the dance trance of the Universe. I can only imagine what it would have been like to hear it at the Paradise Garage with the floor shaking to the many bodies lost in the bliss of absolute surrender to the beat.

 

4a2a) Norman Connors "You Are My Starship"

4a2b) Obviously, "Once I've Been There" is no idle brag. "You Are My Starship" offers proof of how he got there in the first place. 

        Presumably, attempting to "go where no man has gone before," "Starship" offers more intimacy than "Once I've Been There." Michael Henderson coos seducingly, and echoes the sublime desire of contemporaries Marvin Gaye and Teddy Pendergrass. The arrangement borders on being too syrupy, but hangs back just enough to counter Henderson's husky appeal.