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Vince Aletti

The Disco Files 1973–78: New York's Underground, Week by Week Paperback – November 27, 2018

by Fran Lebowitz Vince Aletti (Contributor)

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A new edition of the essential chronicle of disco culture

In 1973, Vince Aletti became the first person to write about the emerging disco scene. His engagement with disco nightlife continued throughout the decade as he wrote his weekly column for Record World magazine, which incorporated top ten playlists from DJs across the US (such as Larry Levan, Larry Sanders, Walter Gibbons, Tee Scott and Nicky Siano) alongside Aletti's own writings and interviews.

As disco grew from an underground secret to a billion-dollar industry, Aletti was there to document it, and The Disco Files is his personal memoir of those days, containing everything he wrote on the subject (most of it between 1974 and1978) augmented with photography by Peter Hujar and Toby Old. This book is the definitive and essential chronicle of disco, true from-the-trenches reporting that details, week by week, the evolution of the clubs, the DJs, and above all, the music, through magazine articles, beautiful photographs, hundreds of club charts and thousands of record reviews.

Photocopies of Aletti's Record World columns circulated for years among DJs and music lovers, until they were finally collected in 2009 into the first edition of The Disco Files, an instant classic that quickly sold out. This new edition of The Disco Files brings Aletti's compulsively readable disco writing back into print, adding an interview with Fran Lebowitz originally published in the Village Voice in 1990.

Throughout his career, curator, writer and critic Vince Aletti (born 1945) has been at the forefront of music, culture and the arts. He wrote for Record World and Rolling Stone and covered the club scene in the late 1970s and 1980s for the Village Voice, where he would serve as art editor until 2005. In addition to curating numerous photography exhibitions, Aletti writes about photography for the New Yorker.

Print length

484 pages
Language

English
Publisher

D.A.P.
Publication date

November 27, 2018
Dimensions

6.8 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches
ISBN-10

1942884303
ISBN-13

978-1942884309
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Fran Lebowitz
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Tim Lawrence
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Disco Patrick
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Tim Lawrence
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A first-rate disco first-responder, he has catholic tastes, boundless curiosity, and a genial voice. -- Melissa Anderson ― Bookforum

Vince Aletti is disco's greatest chronicler, the first writer to cover the emerging scene. ― Paris Review

Aletti became the first person to write about the emerging disco scene, chronicling its rise from the underground to the top of the charts, introducing Black and Latinx gay culture to the world. In his weekly column for Record World magazine, Aletti showcased the latest breaking records, top ten playlists from DJs like Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, and Nicky Siano, scoops and reviews. -- Sara Rosen ― AnOther Man Magazine

[Aletti's] firsthand account of New York's halcyon days of disco is totally groovy. -- Nell Beram ― L'Officiel

Aletti’s book offers a different version of the disco experience, one that is premised not on mythically great nights out but on conversation and careful study of one’s record collection. -- Hua Hsu ― New Yorker

Product information

Technical Details

Publisher

‎D.A.P. (November 27, 2018)

Language

‎English

Paperback

‎484 pages

ISBN-10

‎1942884303

ISBN-13

‎978-1942884309

Item Weight

‎2.28 pounds

Dimensions

‎6.8 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches

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Jeff Pearlman

Heaven Must Have Sent This

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2010

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Most of this awesome book consists of reprints, complete with photos and national and regional charts, of Vince Aletti's weekly Record World disco columns from November 1974 through December 1978. There are also over thirty pages of various disco articles Mr. Aletti wrote for other publications such as Rolling Stone and the Village Voice, plus an interview at the end of the book. A treasure trove of information about gazillions of disco records both massive and obscure.

A recurring theme through the couple of hundred pages I've read so far is that 12" singles had higher sound quality ("hotter", "brighter" mixes) than the versions included on the corresponding albums. Here's an example: "[a promo 12" of] War's "Galaxy", actually shorter than the LP version at 7:28 but minus the change-of-pace movement that made [it] difficult to play in the clubs...smooths things out and adds a crackling drum break, making one of our favorite funk songs (those lyrics!) even more accessible." (From January 21, 1978.) There are countless other examples describing the differences between various versions (12", 7", LP, imports) that are indispensible for the collector.

The reader can watch disco develop week by week, record by record. I agree with another reviewer that a companion volume of reviews into the '80's would be welcome. Although Mr. Aletti ended his column after December 16, 1978, Billboard magazine kept a column going. There were a lot of great records after 1978...yes, David Naughton, I'm talking about you...and I'd love to read about them too.

Any dance music fan will be astounded by this book; I am!

20 people found this helpful

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Baboomaroonie

The One And Only Primary Source Work

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2016

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After a lifetime of his review columns being saved and passed around by xeroxing from original trade magazine issues, this complete collection of weekly reports arrived in 2009, and sold out so fast its value has zoomed like a print by Picasso or Dali. The author was the first in any mass media to report the new club underground in New York as the musical and social phenomenon that it was. Endlessly re-readable, Aletti's rigorous fact-checking and fathoms-deep respect and enthusiasm for club music and club DJs make this not only a 500-page shopping list, but a true social history of the underground minority cult that emerged culturally and politically in the decades since the writing of these weekly commentaries. Keep an eye out for a copy you can afford, and you will have a complete history unlike any other.

3 people found this helpful

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ibekeen

The Essential Disco reference book

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2009

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No revisionist history here!! These are the original weekly columns from Record World from 1974 to 1978. There are regional charts galore throughout the book so you can see where the songs were hits and how long they were popular. Unlike a lot of the billboard charts, the actual songs are listed instead of Grace Jones "Portfolio" (all cuts). The book is printed on heavy grade ultra white paper with tons of photographs of actual records both domestic and imports. There are also a lot of pictures too.

This is the ultimate reference book on Disco music, especially the early years from 1974-1976!!. There are weekly reviews of records and lots of disc jockey commentary. One (pre 12" single days) topic is the DJ's complaining about not receiving two copies of 45's that have a part 1 and part 2 on the other side. There are also pleas for universal formats of 12" singles so that the speed is listed and that they are always pressed at either 33 or 45. It is also amazing to read comments like, this week we have a new record by an unknown 16 year old named Stephanie Mills who has a powerful voice. You get to watch history unfold on a weekly basis when most people were not even taking notice.

The only major flaw is that this book is lacking is an index. Hopefully, someone will post one on the Internet or maybe a future revised edition will add this. The column was taken over by Brian Chin in 1979. It would be great for him to continue this with a sequel so that we can see the so called demise of disco.

An amazing 5 star book worth every penny. Thanks to all involved.

24 people found this helpful

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Music Fan Jeff

great book to read a few pages at a time

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2010

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I was certainly a disco fan throughout the time period covered by this book, but because I was a young teenager I only knew the disco songs that had successfully crossed over to pop radio at the time. As the years have passed, of course, I have familiarized myself with many other disco tunes that escaped my notice back in the 1970s, but nearly every week's column as reprinted in this book brings to my attention records I've never heard (and frequently never even knew they existed). Just last night I learned that Lesley Gore apparently released a disco record in 1976; now I'm dying to hear that.

What's really great about this book is that it's easy to pick up for just a few minutes and then put down, since nearly every "chapter" is simply a reprint of a column that appeared back in disco's heyday.

This is a brilliant book for any fan of disco music.

7 people found this helpful

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philphila

Indispensable!

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2011

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Fifteen seconds after opening this book, with all due respect to Joel Whitburn, I knew I'd found my new disco bible. It would have been nice if the publishers had included every Disco File Top 20 chart instead of one every three or four weeks. And it's too bad that the author didn't hang around at Record World one more year to document disco's implosion in 1979 in the pages of his column, for you do feel like part of the story is missing when the book comes to an (abrupt) end. But those are minor quibbles, because what is included here - top tens from legendary DJ's like Savarese, Gibbons, Levan, Benitez and Bleckman; a chronicling of a cultural and musical movement that transcends the author's album reviews; and a treasure trove of rare photos and record scans - is priceless.

3 people found this helpful

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Jack

Trainspotter's Delight

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2009

Verified Purchase

Any lover of 70s disco needs this book.
Vince Aletti's Disco File columns for Record World chronicled the rise and commercial peak of disco in the US from 1973-8. A weekly list of new releases and some brief assessments, these simple lists reveal how disco evolved into a cultural behemoth ultimately threatening the macho hegemony of rock; it's really staggering when reading this to realise how revolutionary this music really was. Aletti himself debated the relationship between disco and the wider culture, but even he didn't see the vicious backlash coming, even as he wondered where it would all end.
The Disco Files is more of a chronicle and reference than a great narrative read, but even within those narrow parameters it's often fascinating. Although the scene and sound evolved quite rapidly, it was nowhere near as fast as today, and the charts moved far more slowly; this is probably one reason there's no index, as literally hundreds of artists are mentioned dozens of times.
The rise and fall of individual artists and styles within the period is also fascinating; my favourite is Aletti's chronicle of Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. DBOSB made a huge splash with their first self-titled album and single Cherchez La Femme, rightly being recognised as uniquely important. The endlessly-delayed second album kept Aletti impatiently champing at the bit - until it was finally released. What followed was a lengthy, positive but ultimately very disappointed review by Aletti, with a promise of further reflections that never arrived. And then DBOSB were gone, another blind alley in the endless quest for the next new and perfect sound. It's striking how accurate Aletti was about the merits of individual releases - most of his predictions still hold up.
This is a hefty book, even if not all of the columns are included (the editors apologise and state that they only left out the boring bits!), so it would have been nicer if the flimsy paperback cover was a little sturdier. A closer proofread would have also benefited, but the layout is clear and friendly, and there are a few supplementary essays and interviews that help to contextualise the music (and there's also historical validation: Australia's soul legend Renee Geyer (misspelled in the book) gets a namecheck from a prescient scenester).
The music world is a fraction richer with the release of The Disco Files.

19 people found this helpful

Lally & Willetts

Superlative seventies Dance Music archive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

An exhaustive study of seventies disco club sounds. I have used this to create superb playlists from specific years. Many of the tracks mentioned in the book I had forgotten about. It as great to rediscover them.

One person found this helpful

jonathan w

Recommend

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great read

Bludog29

Disco bible

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

Disco bible

Andy hunt

Essential reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Great book

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