You never forget your first. The first time you have 12 inches of pure pleasure in your sweaty little hand, black and perfect, prone to warping, nice sleeve design and the closest thing to a remix we got back in the 80’s! Of course I’m talking about 12 inch discs.
When the opportunity came along to re-live my lost youth by reviewing this CD collection, I grabbed it so fast, my response could probably be seen from space. I’m old enough to remember buying the New Order Blue Monday 12 inch – the original one! I can remember when they first started to appear in the shops, the novelty value, something that used to be 3 minutes long now lasted 10 minutes or longer.
When I received this selection to review, I honestly expected a few good tunes and a lot of fillers – but not the case at all. This 3 CD selection is wall to wall classics, designed to get you shaking your butt or tapping your toe…
The first CD contains such classics as “I Feel For You” by the fabulous Chaka Khan and “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. If you were out and about clubbing in the 80’s, you’ll remember these tracks. To finish off, the final track is “Just Be Good To Me” by the SOS Band – classic is an overused word, but not here. Take a listen and then list the tracks that have sampled it. It also contains classics from Gwen Guthrie and Teena Marie, before moving on.
Soul II Soul (featuring Caron Wheeler) kick off CD 2 with the seminal “Back To Life”, one of those tracks that never dates, washes over you and makes you feel good. I remember being obsessed with Loose Ends, so was delighted to find “Hanging On A String (extended dance mix)” on here – I owned this track on vinyl and wore it out playing it, sexy, sultry and soulful. Other artists on this CD include Thelma Huston, Alexander O’Neal and Cameo – see what I mean about no fillers?
The final CD moves it up a notch – if that’s even possible. Inner City, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Bomb The Bass and S’Express are the highlights for me. But as with everything, music is intensely personal and these are my favourites. I’ll admit that these had my shaking my not-so-little-bootie around the living room, re-living some memories (making out to Loose Ends for example) and loving that fact that these tracks have hardly dated, some more than others…
Treat your feet, buy this set and enjoy…..
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