You don’t have to like the steam hammer disco sound of chic. But: The groove that the band around guitarist Nile Rogers and bassist Bernard Edwards instigated was unrivalled. Maybe even to this day.
Rarely has one heard such a compelling drive, such a well-oiled rhythm machine as that of Edwards, Rogers, drummer Tony Thompson and singer Norma Jean Wright, the original cast of disco dinosaurs. The fact that this harmonious dream team not only produced mass hits like “Le Freak” and “Good Times” was shown in various album tracks. For example in the lesser known song “I Got Protection” from the 1980 album “Real People”: a six and a half minute rhythm orgy with great guitar solo, intricate arrangement ideas and chic melodies. A track that flirts audaciously with airy fusion figures in a few bars – only to land on a solid dancefloor again in the next moment. Even if the oldie built in 1980 has been on the dancefloor for several years, Rost certainly didn’t start the Rogers/Edwards composition.
