Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra
2. Dancing Machine - The Jackson 5
3. Rock the Boat - Hues Corporation
4. Honeybee - Gloria Gaynor
5. Doctor's Orders - Carol Douglas
6. Get Dancin' - Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes, Sir Monti Rock III, The Sex-O-Lettes
7. Shame, Shame, Shame - Shirley & Company
8. Never Can Say Goodbye - Gloria Gaynor
9. Get Down Tonight - KC & the Sunshine Band
10. Hustle - Van McCoy, Soul City Orchestra
11. It Only Takes a Minute - Tavares
12. Fly, Robin, Fly - The Silver Convention
13. I'm on Fire - 5000 Volts
14. Love Machine, Pt. II - The Miracles
15. You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate
16. Boogie Fever - The Sylvers
17. That's the Way (I Like It) - KC & the Sunshine Band
18. More, More, More, Pt. 1 - Andrea True
19. Young Hearts Run Free - Candi Staton
20. Turn the Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson

Disc 2:

1. (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty - KC & the Sunshine Band
2. Get up and Boogie - The Silver Convention
3. Fifth of Beethoven - Big Apple Band, Walter Murphy
4. Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
5. Car Wash - Rose Royce
6. Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
7. Best Disco in Town - The Ritchie Family
8. Disco Inferno - The Trammps
9. Boogie Nights - Heatwave
10. I Feel Love - Donna Summer
11. Keep It Comin' Love - KC & the Sunshine Band
12. Dance With Me - Pete Brown, Betty Wright
13. Everybody Dance - Chic
14. Shame - Evelyn "Champagne" King
15. Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste of Honey
16. Get Off - Foxy
17. I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round) - Alicia Bridges
18. In the Bush - Musique
19. Hot Shot - Karen Young
20. Got to Be Real - Cheryl Lynn

Disc 3:

1. Shake Your Groove Thing - Peaches & Herb
2. Y.M.C.A. - Village People
3. Freak - Chic
4. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
5. Livin' It up (Friday Night) - Bell & James
6. Instant Replay - Dan Hartman
7. You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) - Sylvester
8. I Want Your Love - Chic
9. Knock on Wood - Amii Stewart
10. Disco Nights (Rock Freak) - GQ
11. Love and Desire, Pt. 1 - Arpeggio
12. He's the Greatest Dancer - Sister Sledge
13. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now - McFadden & Whitehead
14. Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
15. Bad Girls - Donna Summer
16. Born to Be Alive - Patrick Hernandez
17. Good Times - Chic
18. Don't You Want My Love - Debbie Jacobs
19. H.A.P.P.Y. Radio - Edwin Starr
20. I Shoulda Loved Ya - Narada Michael Walden
21. We Are Family - Sister Sledge

Disc 4:

1. Heart of Glass - Blondie
2. Lost in Music - Sister Sledge
3. I'm Caught up (In a One Night Love Affair) - Inner Life
4. Got to Love Somebody - Sister Sledge
5. Funkytown - Lipps, Inc., Lipps, Inc.
6. Celebration - Kool & the Gang
7. Lover's Holiday - Change
8. I Like What You're Doin' to Me - Young & Company
9. Glow of Love - Change
10. Cruisin' the Streets - Boys Town Gang
11. On the Beat - The B.B. & Q. Band, The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band
12. Forget Me Nots - Patrice Rushen
13. Get Down on It - Kool & the Gang
14. It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls
15. Last Night a DJ Saved My Life - Indeep
16. I.O.U. - Freeez
17. Give It Up - KC & the Sunshine Band
18. Change of Heart - Change
19. Fresh - Kool & the Gang

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29884 in Music
• Released on: 1999-02-16
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
Despite its mirror-ball packaging, The Disco Box presents the music as it was heard on AM radio, not in clubs. The 80 tunes are well-chosen, but almost all are heard in their single-edit version rather than in the often cathartic extended tracks that were one of the form's trademarks. Also, some of disco's best-loved divas (Loleatta Holloway, Taana Gardner) are left out of this history. Still, for those whose record collections don't represent one of pop's most glorious, insane (try 5000 Volts' "I'm On Fire"), inspiring moments, these four CDs are a worthy primer. --Rickey Wright

Entertainment Weekly
The set deserves some drubbing for its failure to license any Bee Gees.... It's disappointing, too, that the collection holds so few obscurities, robbing it of surprise.... For a sustained run through the hits, though, you couldn't do better than this.

Customer Reviews

Good Disco Primer for Novices
"Disco Box" is an excellent starting point for folks wanting a thorough retrospective of the top disco hits of the 70's and early 80's. With this set and the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack (or a good Bee Gees retrospective), the casual fan will have all they need for an entertaining listen.

Naturally, presenting these songs in their extended or 12" forms is beyond the scope or intent of this set, but, as usual, Rhino taints one of their "Various Artists" collections by including needlessly shortened versions of tracks, which makes it hard for collectors looking to get their hands on songs that could, in some respect, be construed as "full-length". For example, the very first song, "Love's Theme" is nearly 35 seconds shorter than the Love Unlimited Orchestra album version. It doesn't seem like it should have been too difficult to include this album-length version. Numerous other tracks suffer the same edit job. As a result of this pointless economizing, "Disco Box" get 3 stars.

A Cool Selection Of Great Dance Songs
Rhino's Disco Box set is a great collection of 80 songs spread over four discs with a nice booklet devoted not only to the artists but to the DJs and their place in disco's (and music's) history. However, if you're interested in more disco music than what's here (and don't mind spending a little more cash) I would recommend Rhino's seven volume The Disco Years series which has 122 songs and a more diverse selection of styles. Either way you go, if you have the Saturday Night Fever CD (of which from that collection only "Disco Inferno" appears on both the box set and the seven volume series) and Michael Jackson's Off The Wall CD you're primed up for some serious booty shaking!!

Good, But 80 Songs Are From Complete
Rhino Records can usually be counted on to release high - quality essential collections for the obsessive music fan. To capitalize on the cravings of the many disco fans still around today, they released this slapdash collection which features 4 discs of some great music. But still, with 80 songs, you can't help but feel the incompleteness.

Disc1 and 2 will only appeal to the casual disco fan, as they stand out as the ones with the most familliar songs. Tracks like "Love's Theme" by The Love Unlimited Orchestra, "Dancing Machine" by The Jackson 5, "Get Down Tonight" and "That's The Way (I Like It) by KC and the Sunshine Band, "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps and "Shame" by Evelyn "Champagne" King remain radio staples today. Alas, there is some rarely heard stuff here, like 5000 Volts' "I'm On Fire" and the forgotten Candi Staton standard "Young Hearts Run Free" remain some of the best rumpshakers ever.

Discs 3 and 4 should appeal more to the hardcore disco fans, as there's a lot of rare tracks here, like "Instant Replay" by Dan Hartman, "Love And Desire (Part 1)" by Arpeggio, "I Shoulda Loved Ya" by Narada Michael Walden, "I'm Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair)", "A Lover's Holiday" by Change", and "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" by Indeep. Still the classics like "I Will Survive", "We Are Family", "Le Freak" and "YMCA" weigh out the rarer stuff.

It's okay, but far from complete. There are lot of rarely heard disco stuff not here that would have made it more interesting and appealing to the buyers. What songs? Songs like "My Sweet Summer Suite" by The Love Unlimited Orchestra, "I Don't Wanna Lose You" by Hall And Oates", I Caught You Act" by The Hues Corporation", "Catfish and "H.E.L.P", both by The Four Tops". And if that's not enough. Even some essential classics are missing. I would've loved to see "Love Hangover, "Best Of My Love", "Shadow Dancing", "September", "Boogie Wonderland", "You're The First, The Last, My Everything" and any Bee Gees song here. Aso, a few dance classics from the 1980s' are missing, like "Holiday" by Madonna, "Take Your Time" by The S.O.S. Band, and "Out Of Touch" by Hall and Oates.

If you are an obsessive disco fan, than I highly suggest this set. Otherwise, please consider other collections before buying this.