Sex Over the Phone.

Sex Over the Phone * Village People * Chronicles

Consider the Village People the gay canary in the coal mine of hetero culture. When they're thriving, we're thriving. When they're lying motionless at the bottom of the cage, we're in trouble. Think of how widely these ridiculous gay signifiers were accepted in the late '70s and the beginning of the '80s. Then disco "died," and so did we, both literally and as a mainstream force. Nowadays homo power is back, and the Village People serve as cuddly mascots, their "YMCA" played wherever there are boys and a ball.

A sure symbol of the group's renewed popularity and our consumer might is the belated appearance of three Village People albums on CD. Originally issued in 1981, Renaissance was an absurd attempt to hop on the makeup-intensive New Romantic bandwagon then driven by Duran Duran. It flopped so badly that the next two records--1983's faux-funk In the Street and 1985's hi-NRG workout Sex Over the Phone--were denied American releases.

The best and most obscure, In the Street offers kooky Kool & the Gang knockoffs made nearly credible by original lead singer and "policeman" Victor Willis. The other two CDs begin clumsily, then bypass camp into crud. No Village People disco anthem stunk quite like the cheese-rock of "Food Fight." Gay '80s grooves weren't always this gruesome--save your pennies for the inevitable Bananarama boxed set.

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