A — A true top-five peak record at The Garage, this Thelma Houston burner from 1977 was “a highlight whenever Larry played it,” Danny Krivit recalls... “and he played it a lot!” Danny’s edit is a homage to Larry and Frankie Knuckles – in particular, a reel to reel edit that Frankie did back in the day and shared with Krivit. “Reels were problematic, & when I tried to get it again from him, unfortunately he had lost it too.” The song (a clear attempt by Motown to capitalize on the previous year’s monster hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way”). What sets “I’m Here Again” apart though, is the incredible second half, not surprisingly also the main focus of Mr. K’s edit, along with a new straight to the point intro. Over a vicious groove reminiscent of the Originals’ “Down To Love Town” breakdown (Michael Sutton wrote and produced both “Love Town” and “I’m Here Again”) Houston delivers soul-stirring ad libs as the band crackles with electricity behind her, the piano chasing a descending string riff so eagerly it almost trips over itself. Pure dancefloor peak energy!
B — This band was a departure from the usual Motown session guys, and was comprised of a group called the Young Senators from Washington, DC. Who later formed the nucleus of Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. Motown was finalizing its move from Detroit to Los Angeles, and this 1972 Eddie Kendricks session was among the last to be recorded at the famed “Snake Pit” aka Studio A in Detroit. According to Young Senators percussionist Jimi Dougans, “Girl” was recorded at three o’clock in the morning, which perhaps accounts for some of the heavy vibe and distinctly different sound than the typical Motown pop style the label was known for. In a time before 12-inch singles, this was one of those first "made for a club" proto-disco records that could hold its power and even shine on a big system. In fact, Larry Levan used it to test the sound at the Garage. When he got “Girl” sounding good, Danny says, “he knew the system was really pumping and anything else he played would sound good too.” The original album cut “was typical of a lot of records, where producers fade out right when the record is climaxing,” Danny says. “On a dance floor where people absolutely love the record... they’ll just look at the DJ like, ‘Why’d you fade it out?’” Taking matters into his own hands, Mr. K edit again aims at the climactic back half of the song, engineering a nearly 7-minute climatic dance floor filler.
