The Brothers – Don’t Stop Now (Expanded Edition)

Description

First Time Ever on CD for The Brothers 1976 album “Don’t Stop Now”

Expanded with 7 Bonus Tracks

Liner Notes by Alex Henderson

1976 was an eventful year for Brooklyn-born producer, arranger, songwriter, engineer and singer Warren Schatz. It was in 1976 that he produced The Brothers’ second album, Don’t Stop Now (a favorite in dance clubs). Schatz established him as an important figure in disco. But even though Schatz was closely identified with disco in the mid- to late 1970’s, it was in pop-rock that the native New Yorker initially made his mark.

Recruiting his friend Bhen Lanzaroni to help with the arranging and songwriting, Schatz produced The Brothers’ album.

Don’t Stop Now was dominated by instrumentals. Having a larger budget enabled Schatz to give Don’t Stop Now a highly orchestral sound, and Schatz’ approach is both lush and funky on infectious instrumentals like “Were You Ready for That” (as opposed to “Are You Ready for This”), “Last Chance to Dance,” “Make Love” and the title track. However, Vicki Sue Robinson (who was only 46 when she died of cancer in 2000) is featured as a vocalist on a disco/samba arrangement of “Você Abousou,” a famous Brazilian song that was written by the duo Antonio Carlos & Jocafi and finds Robinson singing convincingly in Portuguese. “Você Abousou” was a major hit in dance clubs, as were the instrumentals “Under the Skin” (written by Mitch Farber) and “Brothers Theme” (which Schatz wrote). FunkyTownGrooves’ expanded edition of Don’t Stop Now boasts seven bonus tracks, which include the 12” single versions of “Under the Skin,” “Make Love” and “Brothers Theme,” the 7” single versions of “Você Abousou,” “Brothers Theme” and the title track, and the rarity “This World Today Is a Mess” (which was the b-side of the “Você Abousou” 45 in Belgium).

Almost 40 years have passed since Schatz began producing disco, and as this reissue demonstrates, The Brothers’ brief recording career ended on a high note with Don’t Stop Now.

Tracklist1. Brothers Theme
2. Voce Abousou (Vo-Say Ah-Bu-So)
3. Under The Skin
4. Didn’t Want To Hurt You Like That
5. Were You Ready For That
6. Make Love
7. Don’t Stop Now
8. Last Chance To Dance

Bonus Tracks

9. Brothers Theme (12″ Version)
10. Make Love (12″ Version)
11. Under The Skin (12 ” Promo Version)
12. Brothers Theme (7″ Version)
13. Don’t Stop Now (7″ Version)
14. Voce Abousou (Vo-Say Ah-Bu-So) (7″ Version)
15. The World Is A Mess (7″ Version)