French disco drummer and composer and one of the most influential disco producers of the 70s and 80s Marc Cerrone has released his latest album, Red Lips.
By Jane Howkins.
Red Lips is the latest album from acclaimed disco dj Cerrone, projected as a comeback album. For those unaware, Cerrone was considered to be one of the best djs in the 1970s and 1980s and his third album Supernature (released in 1977) was considered to be a breakthrough for the genre, selling over eight million records.
Due to the his history, it certainly seems like Cerrone has a lot to live up to, which is a good thing considering that Red Lips is overall a pretty decent album. The disco genre may have gone out of fashion a few decades ago, however recent uses of the genre in pop music (specifically Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines) has brought it back into the foreground a little bit, which may provide an understanding to Cerrone’s decision to release a new album now.
It’s important to note that Red Lips is disco through and through, with every genre trope being pulled out almost immediately to high fashion. That could be a bad thing in the wrong hands, but here it is handled very well, with the high quality of the album clear on the first track Therapy. All the elements that you could possibly want in a disco tune (horns, piano, synths, strings, bass etc) are here, and they’re presented well.
What’s also impressive is the quality of the guest vocalists present on the songs. With an artist like Cerrone there are always going to be guest vocalists (for better or for worse), but here it’s generally for the better. Singers on the album include Nile Rodgers, Aloe Blacc, Alexis Taylor (of Hot Chip), James Hart, Brendan Reilly and Kiesza, so it’s clear to see that there’s a lot of lyrical talent here, matching the music.
The only real issue to be perceived is that sometimes the tracks sound a bit similar to each other. They’re great for a boogie but it takes a fair few listens to differentiate and sometimes they can blend into one, which is something that can be a common issue for disco music. This is especially true in the middle section, but the action soon bucks back up again. Whilst that may be an issue for some, repeated listens should fix that and for disco lovers, this is still a very fun album.