If you looked at one of
the Silver Convention's publicity shots in 1976, you would have seen a picture of vocalists
Penny McLean,
Ramona Wolf, and
Rhonda Heath. But
Michael Kunze and
Silvester Levay were running the show. They founded the group and took care of the producing and songwriting --
McLean,
Wolf, and
Heath were essentially there to carry out
Kunze and
Levay's ideas. And on
the Silver Convention's third album,
Madhouse,
Kunze and
Levay decided to play up the funkier elements in the group's Euro-disco sound. There are plenty of swirling strings on this 1976 LP, and the production is still ultra-slick. Even so,
"The World Is a Madhouse," "Plastic People," and
"I'm Not a Slot Machine" are among
the Silver Convention's funkier offerings -- certainly not funky in a
Labelle or
Pointer Sisters type way, but funky by
the Silver Convention's Euro-disco standards. And on
"Everybody's Talking 'Bout Love" (one of the group's best singles),
Kunze and
Levay sound like they're really trying to connect with fans of female northern soul groups like
First Choice and
the Three Degrees.
Save Me remains
the Silver Convention's most essential album, but
Madhouse runs a close second. ~ Alex Henderson
![Saturday Night Fever [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0042282538925_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Saturday Night Fever [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]")
