In 1979 Carrie Lucas‘ upbeat Disco roller ‘Dance With You‘ saw the light of day. That year, disco was at a turning point. The genre had dominated the latter half of the decade, soundtracking clubs, radio, and mainstream pop culture but by ’79, backlash was building, especially in the U.S. Against that tense backdrop, ‘Dance With You’ stood as both a peak-era statement and a subtle bridge toward what dance music would become in the 1980s.
The track contained lush string arrangements, tight rhythm sections, and a groove that feels equally at home on the dancefloor and on R&B radio. Solar, the labelt he track was released on, was instrumental in shaping the post-disco landscape, and Carrie Lucas, one of its key vocalists helped define a more sophisticated, soulful direction at a time when disco risked becoming caricature. While it retained disco’s core elements, our-on-the-floor rhythm, orchestration, and an emphasis on movement, it leaned into a warmer, more intimate vocal style. Lucas didn’t deliver the kind of diva theatrics associated with earlier disco hits, this offering was a lot more calm, still very pulsating.
The real importance of ‘Dance With You’ however showed up a lot later, when US House Music veteran Armand Van Helden sampled it on his worldwide commercial hit ‘You Don’t Know Me’ with Duane Harden on vocal duties. The memorable melody of ‘Dance With You’ has been in many heads especially since then. Now Big Love head honcho Seamus Haji executes a nearly 1:1 cover of the original Carrie Lucas track with superb vocal work from Hazel Fernandes. Although there are Disco edits of the original 79 record flying around, Haji’s version is the one you need as it does secure one important aspect when doing covers: It stays true to the original-you can even hear big respect towards it-and on the other hand it uses modern technology to update sounds that really can be updated and make sense. I have recently listened to the Original and this cover, and beside the vocal it is really hard to see big differences, which is a good sign for me. Currently only available in its Original Extended version, a Dub would be nice adding. Expect to hear this all over summer! Nicely done to all involved!
Mannix 4 .5 /5
https://www.traxsource.com/title/2770297/dance-with-you
