I got my hands on a promotional 7-inch single of "Willing," a mid-tempo disco classic featured on the seminal synth-funk album *1980*, released in 1980 by the legendary duo Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson on Arista Records, their longtime label. It features an edit by Paul Nickerson, who runs the renowned New York record store Dope Jams!!
The original LP is the duo’s final full-length album before they went their separate ways, and a classic of space synth-funk. Paul Nickerson, head of Dope Jams, has created an extended edit—approximately 6 minutes and 40 seconds long—of the hidden gem “Willing,” a track that shifts between a post-disco approach and jazz-funk. It’s a great edit—simple yet with a distinct tape-editing vibe. Gil Scott-Heron’s husky, sexy voice intertwines with a disco-infused groove, slowly soaring upward. The lyrics, which really strike a chord with DJs, are deeply moving.
(Original Japanese text by KANO)
The original LP is the duo’s final full-length album before they went their separate ways, and a classic of space synth-funk. Paul Nickerson, head of Dope Jams, has created an extended edit—approximately 6 minutes and 40 seconds long—of the hidden gem “Willing,” a track that shifts between a post-disco approach and jazz-funk. It’s a great edit—simple yet with a distinct tape-editing vibe. Gil Scott-Heron’s husky, sexy voice intertwines with a disco-infused groove, slowly soaring upward. The lyrics, which really strike a chord with DJs, are deeply moving. (Original Japanese text by KANO)