Larry Levan - Journey into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story

One look at Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story will incite skepticism from many longtime disco collectors. How can the Warner-distributed Rhino justify a title so definitive when the compilation is so heavily weighted toward Warner-distributed materialNULL (Levan did happen to remix and play a lot of Warner-distributed singles.) Why are Patrice Rushen's "Haven't You Heard," Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime," and Phreek's "Weekend" -- three Warner-distributed tracks played by Levan -- included instead of non-Warner tracks that were both remixed and played by Levan, such as Central Line's "Walking into Sunshine," Padlock's "Seventh Heaven," and Class Action's "Weekend"NULL (Rhino probably opted to save some money on licensing.) Why are so many of these songs appearing on CD for the umpteenth timeNULL (Because they've never been concentrated quite like this, and some of the preceding compilations take some effort to track down.) Potential bellyaching aside, Journey Into Paradise is another excellent way of commemorating the late Larry Levan, the Paradise Garage DJ, remixer, and occasional producer who exacted an immeasurable impact upon disco's underground culture and many of the singles that would eventually bubble up to the top of the disco and club charts. Read More