Odyssey ~ Native New Yorker 1977 Disco Purrfection Version

hey niecy, this one is for you! a shout out to my sistah who is indeed a Native New Yorker This song fills my heart with such joy I can only express it by sharing this one for you to enjoy too! It sounds as fresh today as it was back in 1977, my junior year of high school. When I was seventeen, it was a very good year.....the wistful voices of Odyssey over the joyous disco beat made this one instantly memorable in December of 1977 into the spring of 1978 peaking at #21 on the Hot100 and a #3 disco hit. The odyssey of Odyssey starts with a trio of sisters named Lillian, Louise and Carmen Lopez from the Virgin Islands who started a vocal group. Once moved to New York, Carmen decided that the music industry was not for her and quit the band. The girls then decided to take on the name Odyssey. RCA had some ideas for an album, and they did a cover of a Frankie Valli song called "Native New Yorker" that was on his "Lady Put The Light Out" LP from earlier in 1977. Veteran producer Sandy Linzer did the arrangement here and its spectacular energy keeps building and building until the end when those horns blow in, absolute Nirvana disco style! A truly amazing song that will make you forget everything else for a bit. Listen close to the backgrounds, I tried to pull them up as much as I could, but there are echoes of Lillian's voice at times with special effects and instruments I never heard before. Headphones baby, get good ones they are totally worth it. I'm glad I did this one, its a classic that reminds me how great disco was, an enduring classic that gently moves you to sing along while your foot starts tapping along with the beat, totally irresistible. A few weeks ago I did a remix of the equally lovely "Inside Out" by taking out the drum track and it got me thinking about finishing "Native New Yorker" and here it is. Happy Friday!