Kon begins the thank-yous in the sleeve of his first production album by mentioning his late mother "for taking her lil man to the club every Saturday night back in 1979-80." Anyone familiar with
Kon's reputation as a record collector and DJ won't be surprised by that part of the man's childhood, but who could've known that, 30 years after the fact, he'd make an album that emulates that era's disco, funk, and soul?
Kon produced all of
On My Way and either wrote or co-wrote each song, while a small handful of peers, including vocalists Amy Douglas and
Ben Westbeech, help out. Through the fresh neo-boogie of "All Night (Everybody)," as hot as anything laid down by
Escort, and the
Jones Girls-referencing "She Was a Queen," the album is front-loaded with two of its best tracks. There are other standouts, like the uplifting "Love Shine" and "Blow Me…A Kiss," a lavish fusion of late-'70s disco-funk and late-'80s house with a modern touch. The spacey interludes -- "Day Dream" and "Yeah Yeah" in particular -- shouldn't be bypassed, either.
Kon could probably make a whole album of them and stump scores of sample hounds. ~ Andy Kellman