Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face? / Pop Your Funk mp3 album

Worth picking up for historical/completest purposes only, as it has "Pop your Funk" on the flip. This 12" was quickly recalled by west end, making both the promo and commercial pressing quite rare now.I do find "Pop your Funk" to be quite abrasive/unpleasant to listen to however. Too Avant garde for my tastes.

According to MEL CHEREN (in his book "My life & The Paradise Garage"), DJ's did not respond to either track at all, so they pulled it and re-pressed it with the female version, which blew up.

What was the reason behind the recall? need 10 words

AR's back catalogue has been resurrected & re-issued in plentiful, varying formats over the years, from Sleeping Bag/West End/4th & Broadway unofficial represses to compilations of hard to find tracks & versions. So many re-issues of the female version of 'Is It All Over My Face' have circulated over the last 15 years, that hearing it sometimes feels like overkill; Like everyones quick fix 'go to' underground disco floor filler. For that reason, I much prefer the male version, plus the instrumentation is a touch more refined too... As for 'Pop Your Funk' being 'barely listenable', its not a party anthem, its abstract & moody, perhaps not even intended as a dance record, and therefor holds appeal in the same vein as my comments above, to those seeking less commercial/overpopulated selections.

not intended as a dance record? If that were the case, why is it on a renowned Dance LABEL??

Did not mean to offend, but I find the vast majority of Arthur's work a bit too experimental/avant garde for my tastes. (especially the tracks he SANG on--really bad, IMO)

What we have here is the first pressing of "is it all over my face". This is the version with male vocals that failed to gain traction in the clubs. On the b side is "pop your funk", which might be the strangest disco track ever made. Hideously overrated, this track is notable for historical purposes only, as it is barely listenable. This record is quite rare now, as this pressing was quickly replaced by the pressing with the female vocals which became a club anthem.

2014 reissue with WES-22129 seen

"Is It All Over My Face", produced in 1980 by Arthur Russell with a club DJ named Steve D’Acquisto was a masterpiece of that time. It quickly became a worldwide club hit and also one of the most important mixing of the master Larry Levan during his career. He played it several times in the Paradise Garage for the mad crowd of two thousand people. This was the Russell’s song that definitely occupied the raking of the timeless disco classics with a twisted disco bass, a well done rhythm section by the Ingram Brothers and vocals of three unknown dancers D’Acquisto and Russell found on the private club The Loft. One of them, Melvina Woods, whose lyrics “Is it all over my face? You’ve caught me love dancing,” brought a touch of class to the song, originated the Strictly Rhythm house classic “Luv' dancing”, of Underground Solution & Jasmine some years later. Avant-garde composer Philip Glass said once about Arthur Russell's style: "This was a guy who could sit down with a cello and sing with it in a way that no one on this earth has ever done before, or will do again."

I find the vast majority of Arthur's work a bit too experimental/avant garde for my tastes. (especially the tracks he SANG on--really bad, IMO)