Carry On: The Deluxe Edition 1982-1992 (Uk)

Extensive 4CD box set showcasing the entire Columbia Records catalogue of 80s disco/soul duo The Weather Girls plus Martha Wash's glorious solo RCA debut. 58 tracks, this first-of-it's-kind box set spans all three of the duo's Columbia albums plus Martha's hugely successful solo debut, plus a massive 22 bonus tracks including rare single edits, extended versions, club mixes and more - many appearing for the first time on CD. Featuring five US Top 30 dance hits, including the duo's 1982 global smash debut 'It's Raining Men' and Martha's solo #1 club monsters 'Carry On' and 'Give It To You'. Longtime friends Martha Wash and Izora Armstead first began performing together in gospel group News Of The World, before successfully auditioning for gay disco icon Sylvester in the mid-70s and signing to Fantasy Records. Dubbed Two Tons Of Fun, the ladies toured the world with Sylvester for several years, adding gospel fire to his disco grooves before inevitably branching out on their own. The anthemic 'It's Raining Men' made them international stars in their own right in 1982 when the outrageous hi-HRG disco juggernaut topped charts across the globe. Renamed The Weather Girls, disco hitmaker Paul Jabara tailored their debut album 'Success' to suit their outsize personalities, crafting a six-song mini-musical mixing soaring disco, extravagant Broadway-style orchestrations and campy humour. The albums 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and 'The Weather Girls' followed, seeing the duo expand their sound into electro-funk, gospel-laced ballads and dance-orientated pop, working with producers including Full Force (Lisa Lisa, James Brown), Reggie Lucas (Madonna, Stephanie Mills) and Richard Scher (Jennifer Holliday). After her voice was infamously used uncredited on huge club hits by the likes of C+C Music Factory and Black Box, Martha decided to try her hand at a solo career, recording her debut - simply entitled 'Martha Wash' - in the early 90s and being immediately embraced by clubland. Martha's first two solo releases - the club classics 'Carry On' and 'Give It To You' both topped Billboard's dance charts, followed by the Top 10 'Runaround' while the acclaimed album saw Wash join forces with the likes of Todd Terry, The Basement Boys, Brian Alexander Morgan and Masters At Work. Compiled and produced for SoulMusic Records by Adam Mattera, the set includes career-spanning liner notes by music historian Tim Dillinger including interviews with Martha Wash, Dynelle Rhodes (Izora Armstead's daughter), Paul Anthony and Bow-Legged Lou of Full Force, Brian Alexander Morgan and more, plus stellar artwork from Roger Williams featuring rare photographs and expert remastering by Nick Robbins.