Song of the Day: Loose Joints “Is it All Over My Face (female version)”
Classic Paradise Garage-era gem written by the elusive and genre busting composer/cellist/producer, Arthur Russell. Released in 1980 on New York’s ‘West End Records’, it took some time for this song to take hold, but it has since become a world wide disco-fied dance floor favorite. Larry Levan’s ‘Female Vocal’ version of this tune, preserved a once-scrapped vocal take from the original recording sessions, and moved it front and center. Levan’s remix became a disco club staple, and has proven it’s enduring value through it’s formative influence on, among other things, the Chicago House music scene.
‘Loose Joints’ consisted of Russell, pioneering DJ Steve D’Acquisto, and a cast of party-goers selected from NY gay nightclubs, backed by the great Philadelphia rhythm section, the Ingram Brothers.
“Released as the “Female Vocal” of “Is It All Over My Face?”—the original mix was dubbed the “Male Vocal” and placed on the B-side of the twelve-inch—Levan’s remix was so different from the original it appeared as if the Garage DJ had performed an act of alchemy, having transformed a set of tracks (brusque male voices, clattering percussion, choppy cello, and slurring horns) into something that sounded entirely new (a tight, singular, groove-oriented trip-mix).”