Lime (band)

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Lime was a Hi-NRG (Canadian Disco) group from Montreal, Canada during the 1980s. The group comprised of husband and wife, Denis and Denyse LePage, although two younger and more attractive singers, Joy Dorris and Chris Marsh, were chosen to tour and appear as the act. They are most noted for their songs "Angel Eyes" (1983) and "Your Love" (1981 #1 US Dance).

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[edit] Music career

Lime can rightly take credit for influencing the underground dance records that would come to be known as house music. Listening to the duo's Lime 3 album leaves little doubt, as the rafter-shaking kick drum of the TR-808 and the "303" basslines (in their "undistorted" form; see acid house) that bind the album are standouts for the time. Through Lime's discography, one can trace the evolution of the Studio 54-era disco to the type of deconstruction that would serve to identify House music and its subgenres.

To understand house music, one must first understand the concept of deconstruction and its evolution as a valid production technique on dance-oriented records. Lime had albums spanning the exact years in the early to late 1980s that deconstruction was revolutionizing urban contemporary in general, and revitalizing the disco that clung to life in urban black, gay, and Puerto Rican clubs. To understand how deconstruction applies to a slab of disco vinyl, one needs a little primer on the genre: Perhaps following the placement of a bridge in a classic pop record (after the second chorus), a typical disco record would feature a breakdown section. The many recorded tracks forming the mixed arrangement would be deconstructed, often so that only the drums, vocal, and/or bassline could be heard, and then reintroduced dramatically. This served a dual purpose by forcing the record to a climax and also providing a place for the DJ to begin mixing-in the next record to be played. In the years that Lime was active, it became conventional for the breakdown to be signaled by a drum or percussion "fill". Precedent for experimental use of the breakdown itself was Jackie Moore's classic 1978 disco record "This Time Baby", which featured a breakdown right at the beginning of the record, something Lime's "Angel Eyes" hit also would showcase. Meanwhile, street corner DJs were experimenting with taking only the "breaks" (the rhythmic instrumental sections that often served as the bridge in an R&B record) and reassembling them without the other elements of the record's arrangement ("breaking it down"). The resulting tracks became known as hip hop, and MCs" (rappers) stepped in to occupy the space left by the absence of what many thought was "the music".

With a record such as Lime's "Angel Eyes" it would be easy to mistake a breakdown-and-rebuild for the normal introduction of the song. John Morales/Sergio Munzibai, mixers of the record, placed an electronic drum fill right at the start of the song: exactly the device used previously to signal the breakdown section occurring in the middle of a Hi-NRG record. It was a not-so-subtle way of saying that Lime's records would be sounding different. Perhaps influenced by the non-linear productions of John Robie in New York (see Freestyle), Lime and M&M (as Morales and Munsibai were known) one-upped the others by effectively breaking down "Angel Eyes" so much that it is almost impossible to tell when the record is in full swing. It seems as if no element in the song's arrangement goes without at least one "solo". It becomes apparent after repeated listenings that the record is continually being deconstructed throughout its mix. The presence of both the chanted verse and the swooping, infectious, and anthemic chorus of that record leaves little doubt however, that there is indeed a song playing, as opposed to a cut-and-paste dub version. Lime's follow-up cut "On the Grid" would feature some of the sparsest arranging Mr. LePage had yet offered, and none of the string/synth laden "schmaltz" that had defined their earlier cuts. This constitutes a "turning point" in mainstream dance music. Together with New Order's "Blue Monday" (or more correctly its B-side dub version "The Beach"), and Madonna's underproduced, almost-punk rock "Into the Groove", Angel Eyes is part of a trinity of high profile records that echoed what was going on throughout the hip hop culture at street level; structure and ornamentation were "out", and less was becoming more.

[edit] Later years

Lime's star would slowly diminish through the rest of the '80s as the LePages allowed themselves to be creatively distanced from the recordings and started to view Lime as product rather than a band. They would eventually relinquish vocal duties and even production responsibilities as the sales began to decline and the group appeared to lose its direction. By the dawn of the '90s, the group was significantly diminished.

After some hard times that saw him signing over rights to the "classic" Lime's royalties,[1] Denis LePage released a new Lime album, Love Fury, in 2002. Although it did not receive much success, it was enough to give them a rise in popularity. They have since became to tour again, this time, themselves, not attractive models who were just there for show.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Your Love, 1981 (with the singles "Your Love" and "You're My Magician")
  • Lime II, 1982 (with the singles "Babe We're Gonna Love Tonite" and "Come And Get Your Love")
  • Lime III, 1983 (with the singles "Guilty and "Angel Eyes")
  • Sensual Sensation, 1984 (with the single "My Love")
  • Lime — The Greatest Hits, 1985
  • Unexpected Lovers, 1985 (with the single "Unexpected Lovers")
  • Take The Love, 1986
  • Brand New Day, 1989
  • Caroline, 1991
  • Love Fury, 2002

[edit] Singles

  • "Your Love", 1981
  • "You're My Magician", 1981
  • "Babe We're Gonna Love Tonight", 1982
  • "Come And Get Your Love", 1982
  • "A Man And A Woman", 1982
  • "Wake Dreams", 1983
  • "Guilty", 1983
  • " Angel Eyes", 1983
  • "On The Grid", 1983
  • "My Love", 1984
  • "Take It Up", 1984
  • "I Don't Wanna Lose You", 1984
  • "Unexpected Lovers", 1985
  • "Do Your Time On The Planet", 1985
  • "Alive & Well", 1985
  • "Say You Love Me", 1985
  • "Take The Love", 1986
  • "Cutie Pie", 1986
  • "Did You See That Girl", 1986
  • "Gold Digger", 1987
  • "Closer To You",1988
  • "Please Say You Will (Be My Baby)",1988
  • "Making Up My Mind About You",1988
  • "Bottoms Up",1988
  • "What You Waiting For",1988
  • "Sentimentally Yours",
  • "A Brand New Day",1988
  • "Please Say You Will b/w Brand New Day", 1989
  • "Sentimentally Yours", 1989
  • "Caroline", 1991
  • "No Other Love (I Need It Bad)", 2002
  • "Babe, Were Gonna Love Tonight (Almighty Re-Mix)", 2006

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Dario's LIME page - Denyse's emails

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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