Best Italy Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Robert Cotter originally released Timeless in 1980, capturing the magic of the disco wave while it was still informed by a classic 70s studio approach before synths and drum machines become the dominant medium. The stand out track on the record is ‘Rock Me With Your Love’ - a timeless gem of get-down heat laid down by a crack team of players and captured by Ned Liben at Sundragon Studio in New York. If you’re always on the hunt for the fiercest jams from that era, you won’t be disappointed by what you find on this album of expansive, expressive tracks from an undeniably talented crew that missed out on wider recognition when their magnum opus was originally released more than 40 years ago.

Review: During the pre-Italo-disco era, many Italian musicians and producers made the move to New York after making their own surprisingly authentic-sounding disco records back home. There, they frequentlyworked with Black American singers to make singles and albums that were, curiously, then released in Italy rather than the U.S. New Jersey singer Robert Cotter's 1980 set, Timeless, is a particularly good example - especially as it's a fantastic collection of disco, disco-funk and dancefloor soul workouts. Reissued here for the first time, highlights of the five-track set include the infectious, stretched-out opener 'Rock Me With Your Love' - an under-played dancefloor classic - and the boogie-tinged disco shuffler 'Timeless'.

Review: Italian singer and songwriter Giampiero Scalamonga had a successful run as a disco hitmaker through the 70s, and his crowning glory was surely the Body To Body LP released in 1979. Now Best Records have turned back the clock to disco's golden hour to reissue the Gepy & Gepy classic on pristine wax. While the A-side title track is a timeless gem on its own, it's the impassioned club burner "African Love Song" that will have the diggers rejoicing. From its days as a staple in Studio 54 it's been a sought after gem, and now it's back in circulation for those that know.