Definitely His Final & Most Fabulous Creation

Side 2 of a mixtape compiled for me by my brother, circa 1995.

For a mid-90s compilation, like Side 1 before it, this selection focuses quite heavily on the tail end of the 80s, with the rest made up of tracks that were already a couple of years old. All essential tracks though, in this blogger's humble opinion.

M|A|R|R|S start things off with what is still one of the finest four minutes of chop and edit sampladelic music ever. Incredible at the time, incredible now to believe that this is 36 years old. Still sounding fresh after all these years.

Ché aka Alex Johnson was completely new to me when I first heard this cassette but will have been included as a club classic from the days before I started going clubbing with my brother and also because I was really getting into Adrian Sherwood, who produced and remixed this song. I've managed to track down other versions of this song since but this remains the definitive version for me.

I loved System 7 from the first time I borrowed my brother's handful of 12" singles and the Ultraworld Colony Mix of Mia is simply spectacular. The Orb's Alex Paterson was 'mix consultant' on this and it shows, lots of trademark Orbient sounds complementing Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy's sonic palette. Producer Nigel Butler also gets a co-writing credit on this one.

For a brief period in the 1980s, Psychic TV went about as pop as they could and ever would, exploring the 1960s in a way that no Levis advert-endorsed reissue or cover version was at the time. None of it really troubled the charts but it was spectacular, including Godstar, their homage to Brian Jones, and a surprisingly faithful cover of The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations which makes every second of it's 7-minute 12" version count. 

The Chrono Psionic Interface is a much-loved song by A Man Called Adam, even more so with Andrew Weatherall at the controls. The Godiva Mix is the one that seems to pop up on t'internet the most though I also love the more conventional, radio friendly mix included here, not least because it features Sally Rodgers' vocals in full.

I might be in a minority here but I think that, as Jesus Loves You, Boy George produced some of the finest music of his career and it still holds up really well. Massive Attack's bass-heavy, sample-laden remix of One On One is just brilliant, up there with their rework of Neneh Cherry's Manchild.

The selection - and the compilation - ends with Fluke, who I adored...and still do. They didn't seem to attract the same level of credit and respect that, say, Orbital and Underworld got, The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim later, and certainly not the stellar commercial success that any of these achieved, which always seemed hugely unjust to me. So many classic singles and remixes throughout the 1990s, though it doesn't get much better than their Make Mine A 99 remix of Groovy Feeling. Thirty years later, still a masterclass in making huge, euphoric dance music.

Damn, is it really on Tuesday? Suddenly feels like a Friday. Oh well, only one thing for it... (presses 'repeat')

1) Pump Up The Volume (7" Version): M|A|R|R|S (1987)

2) Be My (Powerstation) (Bloodsucker Mix By Adrian Sherwood, Ché & Fats Comet): Ché (1986)

3) Mia (Ultraworld Colony Mix By Steve Hillage, Nigel Butler & Alex Paterson): System 7 (1991)

4) Good Vibrations (Kundalini Mix By Phil Harding) (Cover of The Beach Boys): Psychic TV (1986)

5) The Chrono Psionic Interface (Spaced Out Mix By Andrew Weatherall): A Man Called Adam (1991)

6) One On One (Massive Attack Mix): Jesus Loves You (1990)

7) Groovy Feeling (Make Mine A 99): Fluke (1993)

 

Side Two (45:57) (Box) (Mega)

Side One here

There's Something Going Round Inside My Head

Side 2 of a cassette compilation, recorded 23rd July 1994.

I'd forgotten how much I loved listening to this tape, especially in my car. I owned a Mini Metro with a crappy tape deck that had been bolted to the underside of the glove compartment and wired in a similarly DIY fashion with copious amounts of black electrical tape where there shouldn't be. Windows down, volume up and the morbid thrill of wondering if the crappy tape deck would chew up and spit out the cassette at some point (which happened with alarming frequency).

Thankfully, this one survived both the tape deck and the eventual ditching of the car when I lived sufficiently close to Bristol city centre and with sufficiently awful street parking that I managed without a car for several years. The compilation continued to get regular airings but nothing quite matched those rock and roll lo-fi hi-fi years in the car.

This selection is resolutely and relentlessly upbeat for three quarters of an hour. Even Youth and Thrash's attempts to inject some darkness (sampling the Stones' Gimme Shelter) into Movin' by Marathon cannot suppress it's innate joy de vivre. And World Of Twist's take on another Stones classic remixed by Fluke is about as uplifting as one can get. And that's saying something, coming hot on the heels of another of their remixes, the aptly titled Celebrate.

It all gets off to a euphoric start with The Grid's superb remix of Bow Down Mister by Jesus Loves You, which in my opinion is still a career highlight for Boy George, albeit criminally overlooked and underrated. Messrs Ball and Norris put George in the backseat for this one, letting him back up front with the choir towards the end. For the most part though, it's all about Asha Bosle and it's all the better for it.

 

Another iconic singer gets a look in later on, when the unique presence that is Nina Hagen lends her singular style to Get Your Body! Adamski's bubble of commercial success  and chart hits the previous year had burst by 1992, which is a shame as I think the singles at least were just as good, if not better than what had gone before. I picked up this 12" for pennies in a bargain bin in 1994 and it's a great track that deserved better.

Devo is sadly not a tribute to the American band but the product of progressive house duo Crunch aka Terry Marks and Kevin Brewster-White from the UK. They loved their cheese: the three mixes on the 12" single are named Mozzarella, Red Leicester and Stilton. Nothing cheesy about this song though, which I first discovered on the Welcome To The Future² compilation in 1993.

I was (and still am) a huge fan of Justin Robertson and actively sought out his work as Lionrock and his prolific remixes for other artists. If? were already on my radar due to previous 12" purchases of Open Up Your Head and Everything & More, both featuring stunning remixes by Leftfield. With Saturday's Angels, Justin Robertson is more than up to the challenge, delivering an astonishing eight minutes. Most Excellent was the name of his club night at the time but also fairly sums up his remix and this selection, if I dare say so.

1) Bow Down Mister (Floating In The Ganges - Grid Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Jesus Loves You ft. Asha Bhosle (1991)

2) Devo (Mozzarella Mix): Crunch (1993)

3) Saturday's Angels (Most Excellent Vocal Remix By Justin Robertson): If? (1992)

4) Movin' (Original) (Translunar Injection Burn Mix By Youth & Thrash): Marathon (1992) 

5) Get Your Body! (12"): Adamski ft. Nina Hagen (1992) 

6) Celebrate (Magimix By Fluke): Horse (1994) 

7) She's A Rainbow (Right Foot Yellow Mix By Fluke): World Of Twist (1991)

 

Side Two (45:01) (KF) (Mega)

Mother's Day

So, if I was a little more organised and planned these blog posts way in advance, I might well have held over last Sunday's Cleo Sol selection for today. After all, Cleo is a mother, her most recent album is called Mother and her sounds are perfectly suited to a loved up Sunday.

But I'm not and I didn't. So, instead I've taken things quite literally and gone back to the 1990s for the pumped up club sounds of Mother aka Jools Brettle and Lee Fisher.

In my defence, the clocks went forward in the UK, signalling the start of British Summertime but in reality meaning that we've all lost an hour's sleep. Ergo, I think some phat beats and uptempo tunes are exactly what's needed to get everybody in the mood. Oh, hang on a mo, I can hear someone calling me...

"What's that?"

"You're trying to sleep?"

"Can I turn that racket down?"

Sigh, back to the drawing board...

 

1) Funk Bomb (Zero Tolerance Club Mix): Mother (1998)

2) Get Back (E-Lustrious Mix By Daniel Bennett & Michael Kirwin): Mother (1994)

3) I Like it (Mother Vocal Mix): D:Ream (1993)

4) All Funked Up (Mothers Favourite Mix By Jools Brettle, Lee Fisher & Joe Stevens): Mother ft. Denise Johnson (1993)

5) Vehicle (Mother's Vor Sprung Durch Tech Mix): Secret Life (1996)

6) Los Americanos (Mother Mix): Espiritu (1993)

7) Generations Of Love (Mother's Vocal Mix): Jesus Loves You (1998)

8) Stars (Mother Dub Mix) ('Disgraceful' Extended Album Version): Dubstar (1996)

9) Near The Black Forest (Mother's Quality Time Mix): Vanessa Daou (1995)

Mother's Day (59:51)

These Are Dangerous Times For Love

I'm not a particular fan of Culture Club, but I love Boy George. As an artist, he's arguably got better with each passing decade and I've an especial love for his brief diversion as Jesus Loves You. The sole album, The Martyr Mantras, remains much loved at Casa Khayem, and creatively it remains a high water mark. Here are the JLY highlights, condensed into (just over) an hour of loved up lyrics and blissed out beats. Damn, was it really three decades ago?!

 

1) Too Much Love (L.P. Mix By Mark Brydon) (1990)

2) Generations Of Love (Love Dub Mix By Terry Farley & Pete Heller) (ft. MC Kinky) (1990)

3) Sweet Toxic Love (Hootenanny Mix) (1992)

4) Am I Losing Control (Dizzy Tequila Mix By Hans 'Hands On' Grøttheim) (1992)

5) Bow Down Mister (Floating In The Ganges - Grid Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris) (1991)

6) Love Hurts (Yes It Doz U Blighter Mix By Bruce Forest) (1991)

7) One On One (Massive Attack Mix) (1990)

8) Love's Gonna Let U Down (Popcorn Mix By Mark Brydon) (1990)

9) After The Love (Prophets Of Doom Mix) (1991)

10) Siempre Te Amare (Mark Brydon Remix) (1990)

11) I Specialize In Loneliness (Album Version By Boy George & John Themis) (1990)

 

These Are Dangerous Times For Love (1:03:51)