Party Boys

In 1980, a lot of disco artists were feeling nervous. Rumor had it that disco was dying, and they feared a trip to the unemployment line. But the rumors of disco's demise were, as the saying goes, greatly exaggerated. Disco never died; it simply changed its name to dance-pop in the 1980s and evolved into such styles as deep house, Hi-NRG, and Latin freestyle. Some people would blame Foxy's early-'80s breakup on disco's so-called "demise," arguing that there was simply little or no demand for disco after 1979. But that's nonsense -- inadequate promotion was really the thing that killed Foxy. With the right marketing and promotion, 1980's Party Boys would have done well. Unfortunately, only Foxy's most hardcore fans bought this LP, which is a very good party album even if it isn't quite in a class with Get Off. "Girls," "I Can't Stand the Heat," and the single "RRRRRock" are solid disco-funk smokers, and some of the tunes even have a rock edge (including "Let's Be Bad Tonight," "She's So Cool," and "Fantazy"). "Sambame" has a strong Brazilian flavor, while "Pensando en Ti" is a tender Latin-pop ballad that finds lead vocalist Ish Ledesma singing in Spanish. But Party Boys didn't sell, and it turned out to be Foxy's last studio album. ~ Alex Henderson