CHRISTIAN JOHN WIKANE
music journalist / essayist
CASABLANCA RECORDS
The first three re-issue labels that commissioned me to write liner notes back in 2010 had all read my oral history CASABLANCA RECORDS: Play It Again (2009, PopMatters). Since then, about 1/5 of the 200+ liner notes I've written have been for re-releases of albums originally issued on Casablanca and its subsidiary labels. The albums represent the range of styles Casablanca was known for in the late-'70s, from funk (Platypus) to Eurodisco (Munich Machine) to R&B (Jeannie Reynolds) to pop-soul (Brooklyn Dreams). Most recently, I wrote a 30,000-word essay for DONNA SUMMER: ENCORE (2020), a career-spanning box set that includes all of the career-defining albums that Donna recorded for Casablanca between 1975-1979. Below are some of the numerous Casablanca albums I've had the pleasure of revisiting.
LIPPS, INC.: Mouth to Mouth (1980) re-issue: Big Break Records (2012) interview with Steven Greenberg
PLATYPUS: Platypus (1979) re-issue: Big Break Records (2012) interviews with Platypus (Rok Jones, Kerry Rutledge, Curtis Sanford, Arthur Stokes)
DONNA SUMMER: Encore (2020, Crimson Productions). A career-spanning box set that includes all of the albums that Donna recorded for Casablanca from 1975-1979. Includes interviews with Pete Bellotte, Bruce Sudano, Michael Omartian, among others, as well as a foreword by Giorgio Moroder.
BROOKLYN DREAMS: Brooklyn Dreams (1977) re-issue: Big Break Records (2010) interviews with Bruce Sudano, Joe "Bean" Esposito, Eddie Hokenson, Skip Konte, Phyllis Chotin
THE DEEP: Original Soundtrack (1977, CASABLANCA) re-issue label: Hot Shot Records UK/BBR (2014) interview with Phyllis Chotin (former VP of Creative Services at Casablanca), plus interviews with Donna Summer and Cecil Holmes from CJW archives
TERI DeSARIO: Pleasure Train (1978) re-issue: Gold Legion (2012) interviews with Ron Albert, Joey Carbone
BRENDA & THE TABULATIONS: I Keep Coming Back For More (1977) re-issue: Reel Music (2010) interviews with Bobby Eli, Cecil Holmes, John Davis
MUNICH MACHINE: Munich Machine (1977) re-issue: Gold Legion (2010) interview with Henry Vizcarra
LOOSE CHANGE: Loose Change (1979) re-issue: Big Break Records (2011) interviews with Tom Moulton, Thor Baldursson
ROBERTA KELLY: Trouble Maker (1976) re-issue: Gold Legion (2010) interview with Roberta Kelly
PAUL JABARA: Keeping Time (1978) re-issue: Gold Legion (2011) interviews with Donna Summer, Bob Esty, Jay Asher
MUNICH MACHINE featuring Chris Bennett: A Whiter Shade of Pale (1978) re-issue: Gold Legion (2010) interview with Chris Bennett