Silver Convention – Save Me
While not Americana this Euro disco is sliced from an “American tradition.” The trio’s a German Abba. I’m not a fan of disco-swept orchestrated string-dance music but, if that’s stripped away the vocals, sax solo & groove resonate with brilliance & the appreciation is in how well made this all is.
What dates the material is the mid-70s sweep — steady 1-2 beat custom to disco with no variations. It has cheesy keyboards & strings but that can be forgiven – that’s the sound of that era. It’s acceptable. It was the recipe to attract audiences, dancers & clapping people who couldn’t keep time if their platform shoes depended on it. However,…
The production is pristine & Save Me is well-arranged & performed. It validates that the Grammy-Award-winning trio certainly had magic. Comprised & credited to the original Silver Convention singers Betsy Allen, Roberta Kelly, Lucy Neale & Gitta Walther they were all experienced German session vocalists.
This collection of Save Me has 9 accessible tracks, 5 bonus 12” versions & a stitched insert with liner notes. This music was originally produced by Michael Kunze. The compilation by Cheryl Pawelski (Drops March 29/Good Time/RUJAC Records/Omnivore/71:00).
Percussion sharp “I Like It,” is strong & equally catchy. SC certainly had their finger on the infectious melody button & their vocals mixed perfectly with the driving beat & smooth orchestration. This doesn’t sound too assembly-line in production. The group’s ‘75 hit “Fly, Robin, Fly” is captured well. The predatory beat & acoustic piano are big reasons this tune resonated with dance feet. The vocals are strong in a parfait of sound, never cheesy, or sugary. It’s sculpted with musical finesse.
Unlike the 60s supergroup The Supremes, there’s no single vocalist apparent. The trio sings in unison 99% of the time. There are no male counterparts. Vocals remain stylistically consistent. No varying tonality though their arrangements provide lots of room to stretch.
Most tunes are commercial & some are a bit novelty-oriented (“Tiger Baby”). That’s typical of foreign mainstream work & not forgetting that the American-rooted disco music of Europe has been ingeniously recreated. Italy’s Clock on 5’s “Mayerling” track “Take It” is beautiful.
With “Son of a Gun,” sans strings, the groove is Sly & the Family Stone deep. This has a bass-male vocal to lend a seductive touch & may have even been before Barry White’s booming low voice became the thing. But Sly had Larry Graham to lay down deep tones on many Family Stone hit songs. These tunes were different & still sound good…even to me.
Highlights – “Save Me,” “I Like It,” “Fly, Robin, Fly,” “Son of a Gun,” “Heart of Stone,” “Please Don’t Change The Chords of This Song” & “Fly, Robin, Fly,” (12” version).
Color image courtesy Silver Convention Facebook. CD @ Amazon & https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/save-me/
