Instant Replay (1978)

Disco without Hartman just wouldn't be complete. The title song became one of the defining anthems of the genre. Its exuberant simplicity with the infamous counting sequence belies a greater depth to his songwriting talent that remained overlooked until shortly before his untimely death in March 1994.

Born 4 November 1951, a talented multi-instrumentalist and tenor Dan Hartman first came to prominence as a member of The Edgar Winter Group, an American semi glam rock band. For 1972's They Come Out at Night (by the look of Edgar on the cover you really didn't want to meet them when they did) Hartman wrote or co-wrote much of the album, taking many of the vocals leads too. It contained their most successful single, the million selling instrumental Frankenstein, as well as the popular Free Ride which Hartman would later rerecord. Consequently Dan remained a member of the band and main contributor until his inevitable first solo release in 1976, an unsuccessful pop/rock album called Images.

With Instant Replay Hartman embraced disco, and the result catapulted him into the limelight. He wrote, produced, engineered, sang and performed almost the entire album himself. Aided only by top notch arrangements from the legendary Gene Page, best known for his work with Barry White, and a final mix from the equally legendary Tom Moulton, adding crispness to that disco sound. Hartman allows himself full reign to experiment with the genre, alongside disco anthems like the title track and Countdown/This Is It, both with sax solos from old friend Edgar, come funkier affairs like Double-O-Love and Chocolate Box, where Dan emulates a George Clinton/Boosty Collins P Funk tone. Time and Space, the last track may be something of a misfire, a sloppy doo wop ballad that could have fallen off a Dooleys or Osmonds album, its preceded by the real musical surprise of the album. Love is a Natural begins like another disco anthem, all crashing string arrangements, but they suddenly fall away as a fender rhodes mellows the groove into the smoothest, most soulful and in many ways most satisfying song on the album - a real overlooked gem.

Dan's enthusiasm drives the whole album, hes having fun and it can't help but raise a smile. The deceptive simplicity of his lyrics and melodies, however, like most of the best disco music, blinded his audience to his musical ability. After the relative commercial failure of the next album, 'Relight My Fire', Hartman seemed happier to fall into the background. Writing and producing for a variety of different artists throughout the eighties, including Average White Band, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner and James Brown. After a more rock-orientated album, It Hurts To Be In Love (1981), a return to a soul and dance orientation on 1984's I Can Dream About You brought him into the limelight again with the immensely successful title track. He then confounded both critics and fans alike with his only pretension, an electronic/ambient album called New Green Clear Blue.

In the late eighties his work began to be reappraised. Relight My Fire became a major anthem of the UK House scene, his strong piano lines finally finding a home a decade after they'd been played. Love Sensation, which he wrote and produced for loleatta Holloway (who also sang on Relight My Fire) was heavily sampled by Italian group Black Box on there massive 1989 hit Ride on Time. It became one of the biggest selling singles of the eighties. After Take That enjoyed equal success with a faithful version of 'Relight My Fire' Dan decided it was time to take centre stage again. Sadly he'd just begun working on a new album (with Loleatta) when he passed away in 1994.