- That venerable British conglomerate known as Horse Meat Disco seems like it's following a natural profile evolution these days, progressing from beloved underground party to independent label entity. Gathering three glitz-disco classics in newly manicured form, this second edits 12-inch appears a mere breath in advance of a much-touted forthcoming two-disc mix on Strut. Sugary-sweet laser-pop fantasia comes first: "For a Ride" retools "Lucky," a deep cut by Donna Summer whose hazy, Moroderian synth-squiggle was perhaps overshadowed upon its original release by the punchier material from Donna's crossover smash "Bad Girls."
The tune is further evidence why Donna deserves her crown as the fore-queen to all the Kylies, Sallys, Annies and other robot-disco chanteuses of today, those mirror-ball darlings with angular makeup, their feathery coiffures tinged with neon light. Donna sings of a quintessential disco theme: the one-night stand that without warning blossoms into something beautiful. It's nothing less than a secularized miracle story: the luck that befalls the erstwhile heroine is grace in disguise, the hunk from the club a wingless angel. The re-title "For a Ride" is quite appropriate for an institution christened with an equestrian entendre.
The pop seduction ends there though, as the B-side's got rowdier things on its mind. Bristling with synth-drum percolation, "Hold On" reconfigures Karen Silver's cover of the Sam & Dave soul classic. The famous chorus "Hold on....I'm coming!" itself surfaces only in tantalizingly brief snippets, embodying the pleasure felt when the familiar is transfigured into novelty. Lastly, the cratedigger's skill for pulling gems from unlikely or disparaged sources blooms in full on "Silly Bones," which pilfers and polishes up an obscure outro from Boney M, one of the greatest/goofiest disco groups ever. Dominated by brisk, bouncy keyboard lines and effervescent doo-doo-doos, it encapsulates the sort of flamboyance and easy hedonism that hang in the air when you're out late losing your shit at some London warehouse party.
Tracklist A Donna Summer - For A Ride
B1 Karen Silver - Hold On
B2 Boney M. - Silly Bones