It is rare for a Disco group to be so massively influential and appreciated to this day. But Chic is just that. Born out of the efforts of two great musicians, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, the group were destined for fame. This album assisted in kickstarting the Disco trend, along with the 1977 release that was the Saturday Night Fever compilation. This album also was not well received upon release, but in retrospect, this has changed over time to recognise it as a great album today. Let’s take a time warp back to 1977 and listen to this, the group’s debut album and we shall hear if it is any good regardless and without prejudice.

Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) is the longest track on this album, at over eight minutes long. It begins with a catchy bassline, funky guitar parts and launches into a great piece of Disco music, complete with melodic string sections to boot. This is instantly great, and it sounds mindblowing, decades after its release. A real joy to hear, the music and lyrics are simple enough and great to hear. Time for one to dig out their platform shoes and flares, this sounds really excellent and amazing throughout. A pleasant and interesting listen, one of the best and most definitive listens from 1977. There is a breakdown after a couple of minutes here, and the group creates some handclaps, subtle guitar and great singing going along here. Soon enough, a drum roll enters and this tune gets back into action, complete with melodic string sections. Brilliant, nothing more and nothing less. If you were alive in 1977, then this listening experience should make perfect sense to you. The chanting and instrumental playing on this tune is nothing but superb. Both Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers should be respected for their musical input as well. A strange keyboard solo is in the middle here, which does sound weird. This is absolutely perfect for those of you who don’t know what Disco is. Soon after, the singing and string sections return and this tune continues to power along nicely. Nile Rodgers’s guitar work is nothing but awesome here, and he totally deserves to have his own custom shop Fender Stratocaster, since he is a musical legend. Fine, funky and fresh, this is a great effort by Chic. Vocals eventually return about dancing non-stop towards the end here, and this tune is a brilliant and memorable piece from the Disco era of 1977. A very fine listening experience, this still sounds fresh and interesting to this day. It eventually wraps up towards the end, with just singing and handclaps to move it along. Nice tune.

São Paulo begins with the sounds of rushing waves, and acoustic guitar and launches quickly into a lush Disco piece with piano and strings. This is much shorter than the previous track and is instrumental. There are pleasant horns and other lush musical touches throughout. A really terrific listen, this music still sounds really amazing and refreshingly good to this day. There is even a flute here as well. A really amazing listen for an instrumental, this album proves that Disco music could be inspirational as well, especially considering it is Disco music, which is often slated in many people’s eyes today. A pleasant horn section is here as well, to rival the flute melodies. In short, this is an excellent listening experience, and the instrumental present proves that Chic could indeed make some great tunes. Great and refreshing, like a gin and tonic, this is well constructed and is definitely worth hearing. A great set of music to listen to, the sounds and playing here are worth your ears. A great five-minute-long journey through sound.

You Can Get By launches into a decent Disco tune with some interesting and clever playing by the group. The sounds here are quite unlike anything else out there today, and also equally unlike most groups of the past. Some deep male vocals are present here, and this is about pursuing love and dealing with loneliness. Great music, all the same, this song is a very awesome and uplifting musical listening experience regardless. A quirky, interesting and pleasant tune, despite the fact that the lyrics here are fairly regressive (it was the 1970s after all and was still a male-oriented society for the most part), this tune does sound really groovy, Disco cool and awesome to hear. A very nice listen from start to finish, there is some excellent guitar soloing and bongos played in the midsection, a must-hear for Disco guitar fans. Very, very catchy. This is followed by some lush string parts to match. A truly awesome and tremendous piece of music, this quickly launches back into the chorus at hand and sounds great. If you need to get inspired by Disco music to play on your Fender Stratocaster, do start here. This is timeless music, and a real treasure to hear. A little repetitive towards the end, but aside from that, a very, very good song to listen to.

Everybody Dance is the most popular song from this album. It leads into some decent drumming and some excellent bass guitar work from Bernard Edwards, quickly following into a lush and interesting Disco with some chanted vocals and piano, along with a tasty string section. This is an amazingly good listen for this style of music. If you need a starting point for either this album or Disco music in general, this is a great reference historically for Disco music. A very danceable listen, this is a great and tremendous effort by Chic. This tune is an extended ballad that is both lush and musically accomplished. The playing on this song, and indeed, the album is spot on. There is a bass guitar solo present near the middle, with only the drums keeping it company as the tune rolls on. A really awesome and interesting tune to listen to, this is a million miles away from the autotuned rubbish on the charts of today. Some great Fender Stratocaster work is present in the second half via Nile Rodgers, he plays minimally, but with Funk and Soul. Nonetheless, this music works wonders. A great tune that is danceable, timeless and awesome, this does work wonders and sounds really uplifting. The best thing to do is to listen to this awesome six-minute-long epic, put on your boogie shoes and dance to this fantastic song. For a song this long, this is fantastic to hear, and not at all disappointing. It fades out sweetly at the end, great work.

Est-Ce Que C’est Chic is a much shorter song, under four minutes in length. It launches straight into Disco heaven, with some great instrumentation and French lyrics, which are nice and different simultaneously. English lyrics are present in the verses, adding to the relatively quirky nature of this song. Instrument wise, vocals, muted guitar, piano and strings are here to devour musically. A really awesome and magical listening experience to hear, this is an enjoyable and lively tune to listen to, to this very day. Great and pleasant music is here, and although this tune is a little repetitive, it still works wonders. One of the finest Disco records from this era, this does sound magical. The piano progression throughout that is descending is rather quirky. Nonetheless, a fantastic and pretty tune, although it possibly could have been edited down a little in length. Great regardless.

Falling In Love With You begins with some magical strings and xylophone parts which both sound awesome. Some glorious piano is present here as well, which drives this along. An extremely pretty female vocalist enters, and this tune truly comes alive. It is so dreamy and magical that this is a pretty romantic ballad that is something to play at a wedding. It is simply that great. A beautiful, pretty and lovely tune to listen to, grab your lover and slow dance to this song. The music present is phenomenal. The lyrics, emotional singing and instrumental sounds are really amazing throughout, and this is a really excellent song through and through. This proves that even Disco music was not a fad, but more an excellent form of artistry that would be unrivalled. A really great piece of music to hear, even if you aren’t in love with someone, it works tremendously and emotionally well. Excellent to listen to. It fades out gently.

Strike Up The Band is the final tune on this album. It begins with some multitracked horns in the intro, quickly launching into another pleasant and interesting Disco tune. To be fair, this isn’t as good as the other songs on this album. But, does it really matter when even this song is brilliant? No. Still totally groovy, Disco and listenable, credit music especially go to Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers for the fantastic music here. Good enough to dance along to, or something interesting to play to your friends, this is a really fun and funky fresh tune to play. Very, very good. In the middle is a slap bass guitar solo with some bongos present as well. Other instrumentation seeps in soon enough, and this song grooves along nicely. The Fender Stratocaster guitar parts present are really great as well. A fun and fresh listen, this is one of the most underrated debut albums of all time. A really great listen from start to finish, both this individual song and the album. It fades out nicely.

This is likely one of the greatest debut albums of all time and is instantly loveable. It has style, grace and consistency enough to be appreciated by a wide audience. This also began Chic’s career, which began to take off after this point. Even today, this music still sounds phenomenal and amazing, not a dull moment here. Should you listen to this album? Definitely yes, especially if you loved the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that was released around this time and want some consistent Disco music by a group who knew that, indeed, their music was great enough to last decades into the future, which it has.

Brilliant, fun, fresh and groovy.

9/10