The GNP is alive and well, and seemingly held-up on Sunset Blvd, at the nat’l headquarters in Hollywood, CA under the guise of Crescendo Records.
Formed in 1954, this design-conscious label was home to many a sci-fi adventurer’s audible ecstasy. With such heavy-hitters as Godzilla, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Forbidden Planet, those in the know, know this label’s credence.
Arguably the best album cover to arguably the best soundtrack to arguably the best sequel to arguably the best sci-fi series, Star Trek III the Search for Spock, in this, its audible incarnation, stands (pointed ears above the rest) superior, and profoundly climactic atop the pair of predecessors, and the slew of descendents that followed. George Orwell may not have envisioned an exploration for integral Klingons in his projected assessment of 1984, but that year’s theatrical release of Star Trek III the Search for Spock exceeded all anticipated expectations of technological storytelling, which is clearly evident by its impressive soundscape.
This is the class of disco I can get behind… lavish arrangements of dance funk and soulful electronic grooves (as apposed to soulless electronic grooves) based on popular Sci-Fi films. Meco launched his historic career with his masterwork, 1977’s Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk, continued his platform-shoe-shaped torch with 1977’s dicso-tastic take on Close Encounters of the Third Kind with, Encounters of Every Kind, returned in 1978 with the bass-bleeding Meco Plays The Wizard of Oz, until landing in the superhero genre with Superman and Other Galactic Heroes in 1979.
Not unlike Electric Light Orchestra and their amalgamation of rock and classical music, Meco bridges the much needed gap between the symphony, and the sweat-inducing-body-river of late 70s dance floors. Definitely worth checking out for even the casual fan of disco and/or Sci-Fi film related music, Meco’s fourth studio album is classic, 70s feel good, groove music.
“I am delighted that the words DISCO and MECO are now household words.” – John Williams
The Prudent Groove 