Chic
Ultimate

THE REVIEW

Regardless of one's tastes, it is noteworthy when someone invents something that engages, unites, and collects the moods of a generation. The CHIC entered the disco in 1976 and turned it upside down. Tavares, Commodores, Whispers, B.B.& Q. Band, Kool and the Gang, who had already been dominating the scene for some time, were astonished, stepping aside for the rhythmic guitar of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, who so well seasoned the mix of drums and bass, incredibly replacing the indestructible horns of funky soul that had always been lent for disco productions.

What was happening was not trivial: for the next 10 years, millions of records would be sold on this planet, influencing groups that came from solid experiences in funky, rap, and r&b. But what CHIC did had nothing to do with the initial disco music created by icons of funky soul or rap who had foreseen the business opportunity and tried their hand at a new musical frequency; no, it was very different: N. Rodgers' band was born right in the disco and captured its essence. The rhythm, always cadenced and impressed in and by the rhythmic guitar, allowed no breaks, hence short, effective steps that allowed movement in small spaces because the disco was getting crowded!!

The work in question encapsulates the essence and pulp not only of the Artist , but of the genre , of the period , of a fashion, of a style that remains nevertheless carved in the stone of disco music and more. If you listen to it, you dive into sounds that are straightforward, simple, yet extraordinarily original . Everything is qualitatively debatable, very commercial, Nile and Bernard were certainly not driving a Formula One... they were driving an economy car... but still, they never went on the highway! CHIC was everywhere, not just in the disco, but invited and requested all over the world, they did not require demanding listening , but legs and arms that wanted to move . The disco thus became, also thanks to them, a catalyst of friendships and loves, of exhibitionism and competitiveness, from the dance style to the look. Then the strobe light dimmed, the mirror ball stopped, and suddenly, it all made no sense anymore. Sometimes you are born, live, and die in the exact same place, which is what happened to CHIC, a disco phenomenon, therefore a minor phenomenon, for musical quality certainly... but certainly not for the extraordinary numbers they managed to express.