BLACK BOX

Genre:
Electronic
Style:
House, Euro House ,Downtempo, Acid Jazz, Disco

DREAMLAND (1990)

Credits:
Black Box (Main Performer), EROC (Remastering), Daniele Davoli (Arranger), Daniele Davoli (Conductor), Daniele Davoli (Mixing), Valerio Semplici (Arranger), Valerio Semplici (Conductor), Valerio Semplici (Mixing), Rudy Trevisi (Saxophone), Raimondo Violi (Guitar (Bass)), Mirko Limoni (Arranger), Mirko Limoni (Conductor), Mirko Limoni (Mixing)

Notes:
Track 6: Contains Vocal Samples of "Love Sensation" Performed by Loleatta Holloway (Uncredited).

Tracklist :

01 Everybody Everybody (Le Freak Mix - 7" Edit) (4:07)
02 I Don't Know Anybody Else (4:34)
03 Open Your Eyes (5:20)
04 Fantasy (5:15)
05 Dreamland (2:02)
06 Ride On Time (Remix) (4:35)
07 Hold On (5:37)
08 Ghost Box (3:56)
09 Strike It Up (5:15)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/18402599/black_box_-_dreamland__320kbps_.rar.html

MIXES

01 Everbody Everbody (Rockappella) 4:39
02 Strike It Up (DJ Lelewel Mix) 5:03
03 Fantasy (Big Band Mix) 5:50
04 Open Your Eyes (Mirko's Mix) 5:19
05 I Don't Know Anybody Else (Hurley's House Mix) 7:03
06 Get Down 6:51
07 Hold On (The Strong) 5:30
08 Bright On Time ('94 Remix) 6:12
09 The Total Mix 9:27

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/18944888/black_box--_cd_2_.rar.html

"Conventional wisdom has it that disco died with the 1970s when, in fact, it has remained a sometimes-dynamic, sometimes-bloodless idiom in the '80s and '90s. Unquestionably, one of the finest examples of '90s disco (or dance music) is Black Box's Dreamland -- which reminds one that although glossy production and danceability can be assets, gutsy, heartfelt vocals make the best disco stand out. The real star of Dreamland is Martha Wash, whose full-bodied, gospel-influenced belting on "Everybody, Everybody," "Strike It Up," "I Don't Know Anybody Else," and other dancefloor smashes is on a par with the best '70s disco/soul of such divas as Gloria Gaynor, Linda Clifford, and Loleatta Holloway (who puts in a superb guest appearance on "Ride on Time"). For all its cutting-edge hip-hop and house music appeal, Dreamland has strong soul music roots -- a fact that Wash is, no doubt, well aware of."~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

"This definately was the best dance album of the 1990s. Nothing else came close to it in its sleekness and soulfullness. The songs were actual songs, as opposed to beats, the vocals were amazing, and even the videos, although they featured model Katrine Quinol, were stylish and exceptional. The U.S. has always been anti-dance music, but the fact that this album scored two top ten hits (Everybody, Everybody and Strike It Up) and a third top 40 hit in I Don't Know Anybody Else made it a unique success in the U.S. The late 1980s and early 1990s were an interesting period in the U.S.--it was sort of a bridge between the awful hair band days of the 1980s and the depressed and anger filled grunge and gangsta rap days of the 1990s...these years provided a breath of euphoria, when exhilirating music such as this was allowed to breathe. This album was a milestone in its time, and still sounds great today. Other tracks, such as the immortal European smash "Ride On Time," their cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "Fantasy," "Hold On" and "Open Your Eyes" are just as good. Black Box also released a remix album called "Mixed Up" which is almost as good as this one. Perhaps they could re-release both someday, in one package, and also including the original version of "Everybody Everybody." Now that would be a cause for celebration!"

"Black Box was formed of three session musicians/DJs from Italy, who wrote and performed the great grooves on this disc. Most of the vocal chores went to Martha Wash, though she had to go to court to be credited for her work. To make a sad story a bit shorter, the guys behind Black Box hired a model (some say a transvestite model) to lip-synch to Martha's vocals for the group's videos. This person also appeared at "live" shows, mouthing to a pre-recorded track. Plump powerhouse diva Martha had a similar problem with C&C Music Factory that was amicably resolved when she appeared in their videos.
There are people who don't think a vocalist can "make" a band, but such people don't go dancing much. Though BB's music is flawless club/house/disco, without Martha Wash this album would have sunk fast. The Dance to Pop success of "Everybody Everybody" took a little while, but by the time "I Don't Know Anybody Else" was released (in the U.S.), they were getting good radio airplay for a dance act and heavy rotation on MTV. During this time, import singles for at least three other album tracks ("Ride On Time," "Fantasy" and "Open Your Eyes") were popping up in American clubs, and the group's popularity was cemented.
"Strike It Up" was the group's third (and essentially last) big single in the U.S., and is arguably the finest dance cut on the album. Just about every track here is danceable, though there are "ambient" moments: the instrumental pastiche of "Dreamland," and "Ghost Box" with it's moody saxophone solo.
The version of "Everybody..." that appears here is the edited Club mix, or the "OW!" mix as some call it. I honestly prefer the original mix, with the great string section and galloping percussion. Though later pressings of "Ride On Time" used a substitute singer, this release (along with most copies of "Dreamland") features the version with Loleatta Holloway.
Though a couple of the tracks here are just simple club jams ("Hold On" and "I Don't Know Anybody Else"), the music of this CD is well-performed and expertly crafted. It isn't brimming with social significance, but it IS the kind of music that will have you singing and shaking your ass.
Black Box never released a followup album of new material in the U.S., but there are an assortment of remix compilations that feature various long versions and dubs of the songs that appear here. Any DJ with a comprehensive dance music collection should own a copy of this disc."




















A POSITIVE VIBRATION (1995)

Tracklist :

01 I Got The Vibration (2:56)
02 Rockin' To The Music (4:44)
03 Not Anyone (4:50)
04 Fall Into My Love (5:11)
05 Be What You Want (5:10)
06 So Long (7:00)
07 Think It Over (6:19)
08 A Positive Vibration (6:47)
09 The Beat Of Your Heart (3:57)
10 Don't Give In (4:47)
11 What Is Love (4:29)
12 So Long - Reprise (1:58)
13 Native New Yorker

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/19389151/-a_positive_vibration.rar.html

I DON'T KNOW ANYBODY ELSE REMIXES (2000) posted by Norm

Tracklist:

01 I Don't Know Anybody Else (We Got Sal SoulMix) 5:42
02 I Don't Know Anybody Else (DJ Lelewel Mix) 6:51
03 I Don't Know Anybody Else (Acapella) 3:54
04 I Don't Know Anybody Else (Hurley's House Mix) 7:03
05 I Don't Know Anybody Else (Hurley's House Dub) 5:11
06 I Don't Know Anybody Else (Deep House Instrumental) 4:33

Link to download :
http://www.sendspace.com/file/3a0dhd

MORE VERSIONS posted by Norm

Folder 1 - from "Mixed Up!"

Strike It Up (Dance Mix) [new to this album in '91]

Ride On Time (Bright On Mix) [vocal: Loleatta Hollaway]

Ride On Time (Bright On Mix) [vocal: Heather Small]

I Don't Know Anybody Else [FunkyMix] (similar to Hurley's House Mix but short)

Strike It Up (Original Remix)

Folder 2 - from "Hits & Mixes"

Ride On Time (Original Single Mix) [vocal: Loleatta Hollaway]

Fantasy (Extended Mix) [same as CD single and 12" Maxi Single]

Folder 3 - "Strike It Up" single versions

Strike It Up (Sensitive Mix) - the main radio mix in the U.S.

Strike It Up (Original Mix - Long) - the original 5:58 version

Folder 4 - Hot Tracks & Ultimix Versions

Everybody Everybody (Hot Tracks Mix)

Everybody Everybody (Ultimix)

Ride On Time (Ultimix)

Strike It Up (Hot Tracks Mix)

Folder 5 - Other

Everybody Everybody (Le Freak Mix - full 5:23 version)

Everybody Everybody (Love Unlimited 7" Mix)

Ride On Time (Massive Mix) [vocal: Heather Small]

Link to download:

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=387aeba547d2b8093f60657a45087bc6

Biography:

Black Box (later Blackbox) was an Italo-house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for their hit "Everybody, Everybody". The members of the group included a trio made up of a club DJ (Daniele Davoli), a classically trained clarinet teacher (Valerio Semplici) and a keyboard and electronic music "wiz" (Mirko Limoni.) The three had previously joined to form a group called Groove Groove Melody, producing dance music under names such as Starlight and Wood Allen. They went on to record music under many other aliases.

In 1989, the trio teamed up with singer/model Catherine Quinol (AKA Katrin) and formed Black Box. By early 1990, Martha Wash was engaged to perform vocals on a number of tracks which, Ms. Wash was apparently told, were ostensibly for club consumption and weren't for mass-release. One would be "Everybody, Everybody," which would become one of their two top ten hits in North America. The album "Dreamland" was released.
The first single "Ride On Time" was an international hit, making Top 10 in many countries and No.1 in the UK, soon becoming the UK's best-selling single of 1989. The song sampled "Love Sensation" by Dan Hartman featuring Loleatta Holloway, a 1978 disco hit. The Black Box title comes from a misunderstanding of the lyrics "Cause you're right on time". Dan Hartman's permission was not sought for the sampling of the vocals to his song and soon after the international success of "Ride on Time," questions arose as to the true vocalist of song. Legal proceedings revealed that Loleatta Holloway actually sang the vocals on "Ride on Time" from the "Love Sensation" samples and Black Box surrendered a large percentage of the royalties to the song to Dan Hartman. While the song did make it onto the "Dreamland" album when it was released later in 1990, another version of the song was subsequently re-recorded by Heather Small, due to legal matters involving the version with Loleatta Holloway. Heather later went on to front M People. Many CD and cassette copies of Dreamland containing the original version by Loleatta Holloway still exist, including the Hits and Mixes greatest hits compilation.
Subsequent releases, as well as the album tracks, also featured a then-uncredited Martha Wash as vocalist. Quinol lip synched the vocals in "live" performances and in music videos. Martha Wash sued Black Box, RCA and then C&C Music Factory for performing vocals on their respective songs and not receiving due credit. These legal actions lead to the legal recognition of vocalists who perform songs for other artists, including samplings. Wash received full vocal credit on "Strike It Up" but still featured Quinol lip synching in the music video.
A Megamix featuring cuts already released and entitled "The Total Mix" performed well in the charts towards the end of 1990. Various minor hits followed in the UK throughout the decade. In America, they are best remembered for their early '90s singles "Everybody, Everybody" and "Strike It Up", their biggest hit in the United States, where both their hits are still heard on rhythmic radio and in clubs on a fairly regular basis. They were also featured in two Jock Jams albums respectively.
Black Box remains one of the few "Piano-house" groups to reach success. Dreamland earned a gold disc in both the UK and the US and achieved double-platinum status in Australia where it spent eight weeks at #1 during early 1991. Along the way, it also spawned six massive hits, both on the mainstream charts and in the clubs.
Black Box is now widely considered to be the major single force to instigate the digital remastering of the Salsoul Records catalogue (which began in the early 1990s and has led to an entire British website devoted to an extensive catalogue of vintage Salsoul albums , remix compilations, and rare/unreleased material). It is highly unlikely this work would have proceeded without the public interest sparked by "Ride on Time"; the success of which placed some operating capital back into the Salsoul coffers.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Box_(band))

More info:
http://black.box.free.fr/ unofficial page

http://www.atmosphere.be/releases/black_box/ full discography

http://www.katrinquinol.com/

http://www.katrinquinol.com/video.html some videos

Lot of thanks for Norm!!