There are 2 things (at least) that need to exist before playing Pugliese from
the 50s. First, the men need to know the pieces (very few do) in order to deal
with the uneven tempo. Second the men need to know how to dance to an uneven
tempo, with pauses, but still having fluidity in their
I would like to support Keith's comments. P 40's is a must. Later music can
be very hard to dance to for novices, but never stops challenging experienced
(good) dancers. Commentators on this list used to say play it late, after
people are warmed up with rhythmic music, and then sparingly.
Thanks, everyone, for your comments and suggestions.
I think Keith is right about Pugliese can be heaven at the right time. And I
think part of my job as a DJ and community organizer is to create those right
times, rather than just hope that they happen.
I like Robert's idea of adding a less
I tend to use my ears Chris. When I hear a muddy, half-rendered song, I say it
is badly mastered (or re-mastered). I believe Keith will tell you that some of
the early music was exceptionally well recorded. Not wishing to split hairs
over the definition of words, I used recording to mean
