Loose Joints – Tell You (Today)
Recently I have stumbled upon what is one of the best, if not the best, dance tracks to come out of New York in the early ’80s: Loose Joints’ “Tell You (Today)”. While there are certainly a wide mix of contenders (most notably the oeuvre of Kid Creole & Coati Mundi), few tracks can match the pure joy this song positively exudes. Although normally I’m a bit cool on Arthur Russell’s voice, the ecstatic build-up to the actual verse, as well as the actual message, creates an emotional high that few songs of the era could manage. A notable exception to this was “Only Men Fall In Love” by Home Service, but I can see little evidence that this track saw much play on Atlantic shores.
Russell, of course, is a phenomenal producer whose experiments at the time cannot be overstated for their elegant arrangements, but this certainly ranks as his true masterpiece. If you want to hear dance music that will leave you smiling for the rest of the day, find a copy of this single.
For more information, go here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Loose+Joints
