Off White | ||||
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![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1979 | |||
Recorded | September–December 1978 | |||
Genre | No wave, art punk, punk jazz, post-disco | |||
Length | 42:06 | |||
Label | ZE | |||
Producer | James Chance | |||
James White and the Blacks chronology | ||||
|
Off White is a 1979 album by American no wave band James White and the Blacks.
In late 1978, ZE Records co-founder Michael Zilkha approached James Chance and offered Chance $10,000 to record a disco album. [1] Zilkha gave little direction and asked the band for its own take on the genre. [2] Anya Phillips, Chance's manager and girlfriend, came up with the idea to rename James Chance and the Contortions to James White and the Blacks for the album. [1] An alternate name, James White and His Blacks, was rejected by Zilkha. Phillips and the band put together outfits resembling 1960s soul singers. [3]
Chance said that he was interested in the monotonous sound of disco music because it "doesn't have beginnings and ends". [4] His persona is an homage to soul and funk musician James Brown. [5] Chance was also intrigued by the shock value of a punk group embracing disco. [6] He received disco records for free and passed time listening to a record for several seconds before throwing it out a window. [7] Chance wrote a piece for the first issue of East Village Eye, praising disco and denouncing "outdated, cornball 'new/no wave' drivel". [6] [8]
Off White includes contributions from Lydia Lunch, Robert Quine, and Vivienne Dick. [9] The band spent most of their budget recording the album's first side and used instrumentals for the second side. [10] The album often discusses racial issues, and most of its titles are references to race. [11] Some responded to the Off White with accusations of racism. [12] Chance later responded, "I was the one that brought black music onto the whole punk scene, and I took a lot of shit for it…I was just playing with my whole image of a white person doing black music." [13]
James White and the Blacks promoted the album with a February 1979 performance at Club 57 in the East Village, Manhattan. [12] ZE rented Irving Plaza for the album's launch party, where the band lip synced its songs. The band's live performances included two teenage dancers called the Disco Lolitas. [3]
The band released "Contort Yourself" as a 12" vinyl single. [9] The song originally appeared on Buy, and the group re-recorded it with a disco beat. Chance observed that the tempo was too fast to be played in discos, so ZE labelmate August Darnell created a remix of it. Darnell used a slower tempo and wrote a new guitar part. [14] James White and the Blacks' version of "Contort Yourself" was later included in ZE's 1981 Mutant Disco compilation, [15] its 2003 NY No Wave compilation, [16] Strut Records' 2008 Disco Not Disco 3, [17] and ZE's 2009 compilation for its 30th anniversary. [18]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B− [20] |
DownBeat | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Upon the album's release, Billboard magazine said that it "commands attention" and described the music as "savage, uncompromising, sometimes dissonant, but always interesting". [5] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau described it as "pretty good to dance to" but added that "like so much disco music it gets tedious over a whole side." [20] AllMusic characterized Off White as "an acquired taste" containing "some of the most challenging, intriguing music to emerge from the post-punk era." [19] The Guardian included Off White in its list of "1000 albums to hear before you die". [23]
All tracks are written by James White unless otherwise noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Contort Yourself" (produced by August Darnell) | 6:15 | |
2. | "Stained Sheets" | Chance, Lydia Lunch | 5:51 |
3. | " (Tropical) Heat Wave" | Irving Berlin | 3:55 |
4. | "Almost Black, pt. 1" | Chance, Kristian Hoffman | 3:17 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "White Savages" | Chance, Hoffman | 4:52 |
2. | "Off Black" | 6:29 | |
3. | "Almost Black, pt. 2" | Chance, Hoffman | 3:59 |
4. | "White Devil" | 4:36 | |
5. | "Bleached Black" | 2:52 |
Off White | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1979 | |||
Recorded | September–December 1978 | |||
Genre | No wave, art punk, punk jazz, post-disco | |||
Length | 42:06 | |||
Label | ZE | |||
Producer | James Chance | |||
James White and the Blacks chronology | ||||
|
Off White is a 1979 album by American no wave band James White and the Blacks.
In late 1978, ZE Records co-founder Michael Zilkha approached James Chance and offered Chance $10,000 to record a disco album. [1] Zilkha gave little direction and asked the band for its own take on the genre. [2] Anya Phillips, Chance's manager and girlfriend, came up with the idea to rename James Chance and the Contortions to James White and the Blacks for the album. [1] An alternate name, James White and His Blacks, was rejected by Zilkha. Phillips and the band put together outfits resembling 1960s soul singers. [3]
Chance said that he was interested in the monotonous sound of disco music because it "doesn't have beginnings and ends". [4] His persona is an homage to soul and funk musician James Brown. [5] Chance was also intrigued by the shock value of a punk group embracing disco. [6] He received disco records for free and passed time listening to a record for several seconds before throwing it out a window. [7] Chance wrote a piece for the first issue of East Village Eye, praising disco and denouncing "outdated, cornball 'new/no wave' drivel". [6] [8]
Off White includes contributions from Lydia Lunch, Robert Quine, and Vivienne Dick. [9] The band spent most of their budget recording the album's first side and used instrumentals for the second side. [10] The album often discusses racial issues, and most of its titles are references to race. [11] Some responded to the Off White with accusations of racism. [12] Chance later responded, "I was the one that brought black music onto the whole punk scene, and I took a lot of shit for it…I was just playing with my whole image of a white person doing black music." [13]
James White and the Blacks promoted the album with a February 1979 performance at Club 57 in the East Village, Manhattan. [12] ZE rented Irving Plaza for the album's launch party, where the band lip synced its songs. The band's live performances included two teenage dancers called the Disco Lolitas. [3]
The band released "Contort Yourself" as a 12" vinyl single. [9] The song originally appeared on Buy, and the group re-recorded it with a disco beat. Chance observed that the tempo was too fast to be played in discos, so ZE labelmate August Darnell created a remix of it. Darnell used a slower tempo and wrote a new guitar part. [14] James White and the Blacks' version of "Contort Yourself" was later included in ZE's 1981 Mutant Disco compilation, [15] its 2003 NY No Wave compilation, [16] Strut Records' 2008 Disco Not Disco 3, [17] and ZE's 2009 compilation for its 30th anniversary. [18]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B− [20] |
DownBeat | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Upon the album's release, Billboard magazine said that it "commands attention" and described the music as "savage, uncompromising, sometimes dissonant, but always interesting". [5] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau described it as "pretty good to dance to" but added that "like so much disco music it gets tedious over a whole side." [20] AllMusic characterized Off White as "an acquired taste" containing "some of the most challenging, intriguing music to emerge from the post-punk era." [19] The Guardian included Off White in its list of "1000 albums to hear before you die". [23]
All tracks are written by James White unless otherwise noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Contort Yourself" (produced by August Darnell) | 6:15 | |
2. | "Stained Sheets" | Chance, Lydia Lunch | 5:51 |
3. | " (Tropical) Heat Wave" | Irving Berlin | 3:55 |
4. | "Almost Black, pt. 1" | Chance, Kristian Hoffman | 3:17 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "White Savages" | Chance, Hoffman | 4:52 |
2. | "Off Black" | 6:29 | |
3. | "Almost Black, pt. 2" | Chance, Hoffman | 3:59 |
4. | "White Devil" | 4:36 | |
5. | "Bleached Black" | 2:52 |