Love Unlimited Orchestra ~ Love’s Theme 1973 Disco Purrfection Version

This was the very first disco song that hit #1 on the pop chart and broke out in the clubs because radio would not touch it, proving the power of the DJ. People ran to the record stores for this one and that forced radio to include it on their playlists. I feel intoxicated, surrounded by all those ethereal strings and the different levels of instruments like bass, and the wah wah guitars magically shaking my booty! Freedom BABY! It would be a few months before the double whammy of “Rock Your Baby“ and “Rock The Boat“ would cement the future of disco on radio, but Barry White got there first with this one. Some critics have written this off as “fluff“, “nothing substantial“, and my favorite “the cheesy soundtrack to a porn movie“....nevertheless it became a defining moment in the evolution of disco. It was written for Love Unlimited as an instrumental introduction to their song “Under The Influence Of Love“ ...the run time of the two songs came to 8:19 giving DJ’s a chance to breathe since mixing three minute singles together took up all of their time. The production values on this one were sterling, sorry I cant say the same for “Under The Influence of Love“...the song sounds harsher than it is due to the lack of the abundantly sugary strings like its predecessor. I like it though, a bit rougher and tougher. In any case, the girls first got together in 1969 and became backup singers for Barry White productions. Soon, Barry took a shine to one of them named Glodean and the next thing you know, they are married. Love Unlimited did have some decent R&B hits like “Walking In The Rain With The One I Love“ in 1972, the #1 R&B hit, “I Belong To You“ and even recorded a vocal version of “Love’s Theme“ for the same LP “In Heat“, but to no avail. By 1980 the musical magic was gone and the women went their separate ways. They follow a grand pop tradition of having a hit song on their album that they did not do vocals for and thus no credit. Another example of this phenomenon is “The Horse“ by Cliff Nobles and Co. It was a big hit as an instrumental, but the vocal version tanked. I dug up the single and gave it a song was not focused. It was like the vocals got in the way of this fantastic groove. Oh well.. I thought it was time to extend this one, I hope you like it.