ron dante: saturday night blast. review by alan haber. buhdge

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Saturday Night Blast Ron Dante Artists Voice (2004) What the hell is in the water at Ron Dante's house? I mean, something is responsible for those pipes, and I'm not talking about the plumbing. Has the voice of "Sugar, Sugar" found the secret of eternal youth? Is he warbling some extensive regimen of vocal exercises that's making him sound like he hasn't grown a day older in 35 years? And where can I get some of that special something? What's more, where can you get some? Right here, actually: a pulse-pounding, heart-pumping baker's dozen high-velocity versions of your favorite sixties and seventies pop tunes designed to get your party started. Saturday Night Blast is what you might get if you hired a DJ steeped in the music of your youth (and armed with a beats-per-minute percussion kit) to keep you and your friends on the dance floor for a Saturday night get-together. Saturday Night Blast is, in a word, a blast. Some pumping piano, accented by some seriously slamming hi-hat hits, kicks off the opening medley of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll" and Tommy James' "Mony, Mony," setting the stage for 49 minutes of fun. The hard rocking take on a couple of Bobby Day classics, "Rockin' Robin" and "Little Bitty Pretty One," keeps the vibe going, with the help of Peter Noone on backing vocals; of course, Dante is channeling the seventies waxings of these songs, by Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, respectively. (Listen to the closing seconds of this medley, and marvel at how great Dante sounds as he holds onto that last note for dear life. Incredible.) Designed for dancing, "Rock Me Gently" gets the juices flowing with the help of a very cool secret ingredient: the vocals of Andy Kim, who hit number one with the song in 1974 (and, not coincidentally, co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar," which, as the Archies, Dante hit number one with in 1969). The heat keeps rising off the dance floor with the practically heavy metal-ish (well, relatively speaking; Dante's hardly going Ozzy on your ass) "Happy Together." Remember those hot nights sweating it out in the clubs, all decked out in sequined shirts and pants, standing high atop the dance floor in your platform shoes? Or am I thinking of someone else? Well, you'll instantly be transported to the club of your choice (in your mind, at least) with the disco-fied transition between "I Go to Rio" and "Tear Up the Dance Floor." It's a seventies retro blast, I tell you, and it's one hell of a lot of fun. Dante slows down the proceedings with a selection of sumptuous ballads, including the masterful melange that brings together three classics from the brothers Gibb: "Words," "To Love Somebody," and "If I Can't Have You," which Yvonne Elliman took to number one in 1978 (the song reappears as the closing track here in full, disco-fied trappings). And, with the help of the great Toni Wine, Dante infuses the Lovin Spoonful's "Summer in the City" with the ethics of dance and a generous shot of pop aesthetic. Ted Perlman, who played all of the instruments and performed all of the programming chores for this blast, deserves maximum kudosity for his work; this album has just the right, rockin' sound for a night of high-voltage dancing. And Dante...well, what can you say about this powerhouse, national musical treasure? He is a superlative singer, performing at the peak of his powers, as vital today as ever. He invests every one of these songs with extreme depth of emotion, and makes them his own. He puts on one hell of a show. So, go on, slam your CD player with this jam and party like it's 1974 or 1968 or 1979. Whichever your year of choice, this Saturday Night is one hell of a Blast. Alan Haber October 30, 2004
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Saturday Night Blast
Ron Dante
Artists Voice (2004)

ron dante's saturday night blast What the hell is in the water at Ron Dante's house? I mean, something is responsible for those pipes, and I'm not talking about the plumbing. Has the voice of "Sugar, Sugar" found the secret of eternal youth? Is he warbling some extensive regimen of vocal exercises that's making him sound like he hasn't grown a day older in 35 years? And where can I get some of that special something?

What's more, where can you get some? Right here, actually: a pulse-pounding, heart-pumping baker's dozen high-velocity versions of your favorite sixties and seventies pop tunes designed to get your party started. Saturday Night Blast is what you might get if you hired a DJ steeped in the music of your youth (and armed with a beats-per-minute percussion kit) to keep you and your friends on the dance floor for a Saturday night get-together. Saturday Night Blast is, in a word, a blast.

Some pumping piano, accented by some seriously slamming hi-hat hits, kicks off the opening medley of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll" and Tommy James' "Mony, Mony," setting the stage for 49 minutes of fun. The hard rocking take on a couple of Bobby Day classics, "Rockin' Robin" and "Little Bitty Pretty One," keeps the vibe going, with the help of Peter Noone on backing vocals; of course, Dante is channeling the seventies waxings of these songs, by Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, respectively. (Listen to the closing seconds of this medley, and marvel at how great Dante sounds as he holds onto that last note for dear life. Incredible.)

Designed for dancing, "Rock Me Gently" gets the juices flowing with the help of a very cool secret ingredient: the vocals of Andy Kim, who hit number one with the song in 1974 (and, not coincidentally, co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar," which, as the Archies, Dante hit number one with in 1969). The heat keeps rising off the dance floor with the practically heavy metal-ish (well, relatively speaking; Dante's hardly going Ozzy on your ass) "Happy Together."

Remember those hot nights sweating it out in the clubs, all decked out in sequined shirts and pants, standing high atop the dance floor in your platform shoes? Or am I thinking of someone else? Well, you'll instantly be transported to the club of your choice (in your mind, at least) with the disco-fied transition between "I Go to Rio" and "Tear Up the Dance Floor." It's a seventies retro blast, I tell you, and it's one hell of a lot of fun.

Dante slows down the proceedings with a selection of sumptuous ballads, including the masterful melange that brings together three classics from the brothers Gibb: "Words," "To Love Somebody," and "If I Can't Have You," which Yvonne Elliman took to number one in 1978 (the song reappears as the closing track here in full, disco-fied trappings). And, with the help of the great Toni Wine, Dante infuses the Lovin Spoonful's "Summer in the City" with the ethics of dance and a generous shot of pop aesthetic.

Ted Perlman, who played all of the instruments and performed all of the programming chores for this blast, deserves maximum kudosity for his work; this album has just the right, rockin' sound for a night of high-voltage dancing. And Dante...well, what can you say about this powerhouse, national musical treasure? He is a superlative singer, performing at the peak of his powers, as vital today as ever. He invests every one of these songs with extreme depth of emotion, and makes them his own. He puts on one hell of a show.

So, go on, slam your CD player with this jam and party like it's 1974 or 1968 or 1979. Whichever your year of choice, this Saturday Night is one hell of a Blast.

Alan Haber
October 30, 2004