These two discs can be viewed as a deluxe edition of the self-titled and only album by
Taana Gardner. A vivacious soprano in the realm of
Deniece Williams and
Stephanie Mills, but with gum-snapping swagger and an air of flirtatious sensuality all her own,
Gardner effectively launched her career by answering an unexpected call from
Kenton Nix. The fledgling producer had an instrumental in need of a singer, and
Gardner ably filled the role to record what turned into the uptempo funky disco exemplar "Work That Body." That song became the 1979 album's finale. Its first side was taken up by its second hit, "When You Touch Me," an 11-minute dancefloor rhapsody with a slow, elongated intro giving way, "Love Hangover" style, to a speedy and longer section of disco delirium created by motoring drums and rippling bass, rhythm guitar, strings, percussion, organ, Clavinet, Rhodes, and
Gardner's prancing vocal. Added to the album proper on the first disc are three alternate mixes first heard on
Big Break Records' 2013 reissue of
Taana Gardner. Disc two is a non-chronological assemblage of additional 12" sides, remixes, and other archival selections. "Heartbeat," the 1981 commercial and creative apex of the whole set, became so integral to post-disco R&B, hip-hop, and reggae -- for starters, ask
the Treacherous Three,
T-Ski Valley,
the Native Tongues,
Seduction, and
Ini Kamoze -- that it's easy to forget how radical it was with its ten minutes of ecstatic loping. DJ
Larry Levan, who mixed it (as well as "Work That Body" and "When You Touch Me"), cleared the Paradise Garage dancefloor when he first played it, only to put it on repeat until the dancers returned, starting its ascent. Other high points of the second disc are "No Frills," the fine follow-up to "Heartbeat," and "That's the Word," a lovely boogie track unjustly shelved until the
Big Break release. Two promotional mixes of "When You Touch Me" (transferred from vinyl due to unlocated masters) appear on CD for the first time. "I'm Comin'," an enjoyable 1998 reunion of
Gardner,
Nix, and
West End, is represented with its radio mix. A clutch of remixes and edits pulled from 2000s
West End projects includes a
Masters at Work re-edit of "Work That Body"; leading with the synthesized strings for added drama, it's pretty close to the original 12" single mix that is missing here. As is custom for
SoulMusic and
Second Disc, the labels that partnered to put this anthology together, the liner notes tell a full story packed with quotes. They trace
Gardner's whirlwind trip -- from receiving the studio call that changed her life, to holding court at the Paradise Garage ("Oh my god, I'm home!"), to performing atop a float at San Francisco's Gay Freedom Day parade, to singing at Studio 54, where she previously hadn't been allowed inside to dance. ~ Andy Kellman
