In the early '80s, rock critic
Don Waller described
Chic as an "uptown version of
Booker T. & the MG's" and some of his colleagues in the rock & roll press were outraged. To those who had a death-to-disco mentality, it was blasphemous to compare a disco favorite to the great
Booker T. & the MG's. But
Waller was right on the money;
Chic was every bit as important and influential as those Stax legends. When you're listening to
Everybody Dance -- a best-of CD that Rhino assembled in 1995 -- you're listening to grooves that influenced everyone from
David Bowie,
Queen,
Duran Duran, and
ABC to
Madonna,
Change, and
Soul II Soul. From new wave to hip-hop to house, it is amazing how many people were affected by the distinctive
Nile Rodgers/
Bernard Edwards sound. This ten-track CD isn't the best
Chic collection that Rhino has assembled;
The Very Best of Chic, which Rhino put out in 2000, would be a better investment because it is slightly more generous (12 songs instead of ten) and offers comprehensive liner notes. Those who are making their first
Chic purchase can't go wrong with
The Very Best of Chic, although
Everybody Dance certainly isn't bad. This disc boasts many of
Chic's essential late-'70s hits, including "Le Freak," "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," "I Want Your Love," "My Forbidden Lover," and "Good Times." Meanwhile, "Chip off the Old Block" (from 1980's
Real People) and "Soup for One" fall short of essential but are still enjoyable. One could complain about the absence of "My Feet Keep Dancing," but all things considered,
Everybody Dance has a lot going for it;
The Very Best of Chic, however, has even more.