Search results: Jesse Saunders

Review: Rush Hour's ongoing, tireless endeavours to reissue and document house music's history, be it the classic and overlooked variety, has rightfully been applauded. Original pressing hoarders might scoff but a label with the knowledge of Rush Hour offering new generations the chance to discover what came before represents a valuable lesson in music history. Here they turn to the seminal On & On from Jesse Saunders. Originally released back in 1984, Saunders co-produced it with Chicago House figurehead Vince Lawrence and fact finders will tell you it's the first house record ever to be committed to vinyl. Echoing previous Rush Hour reissues, this new edition of On & On replicates the original down to a tee and it's hard not to succumb to the primitive "Space Invaders" sampling joys of the title track.

Review: 'Love Can't Turn Around' is one of the most enduring and pioneering hits in house music. It's an unabashed anthem with impassioned lyrics that drip with covert sexuality thanks to the forceful delivery of Darryl Pandy. His passion is offset by the sweetness of the backing singers, while crashing hits, big stabs and horn leads all power it along and cannot fail to get you in a sweat. Here it comes in all its definitive forms allowing you to serve it up however you see fit. Whichever version you chose, damage will ensue when you drop this one.

Review: This valuable reissue of a very early house classic finds criminally overlooked pioneer Jesse Saunders dusting down "On & On" and giving it a fresh sonic boost and some modern remixes to boot. The original is a joy to behold in its raw, lo-fi and pleasantly unhinged burst of original expression, before Paul Johnson comes bowling in with a wild organ bassline powered version that will have fists shaking all over the spot. Kristin Velvet taps into the trippy jacking qualities of the original, turning out a respectful version that celebrates what Saunders laid out in his creative vision. Cinthie then drops a peppy remix that adds some dramatic swagger to the groove and beefs up the hooky bass arpeggio.

Review: For anyone with an interest in the history of house music, this excellent compilation from Jerome Derradji's Still Music imprint should be essential listening. It focuses on the output of two long forgotten Chicago labels, Mitchbal and Chicago Connection Records, during the early to mid 1980s, when electro, new wave and boogie were morphing into house. As such, 122 BPM offers a mix of rare, largely overlooked cuts that bristle with analogue dancefloor intent. There's proto-jack in the shape of Jeanette Thomas's "Shake Your Body" and Z Factor's "I Am The DJ", dubbed-out Chi-town proto house from Mitchbal and Larry Williams, and some terrific bodypoppin' electro from McGhee.

Review: Here, rare soul reissue imprint Outta Sight hand over the reigns to the people behind Real Side Records, a similarly-focused British label whose early 2000s releases did an excellent job of casting forgotten soul gems in a new light. While some of the material here has previously been reissued on vinyl by Real Side - the sleazy, saxophone-laden slow jam of Walter Thomas' "I Wanna Get Witcha" and superb contributions from Jacqui Williams and Larry Saunders - much of it hasn't. It's arguably these tracks - the sweet 1960s Northern Soul swing of Tommy Tate's "I Can't Do Enough For You Baby", the Philly Soul style brilliance of James Bradley's "I Can't Get Enough of Your Love" and Jewel Bass's 1979 gem "Let Your Love Rain Down on Me" - that make Outta Sight Selection so essential

Review: Thirteen is unlucky for some, but that's not the case when it comes to the hugely popular RDY label which digs through the vast archives of Muzic Box favourites pioneered by the legend that was Ron Hardy for a thirteenth time. On the A Side is a classic example of Ron's style, extending the intro to "Adventure" by The Dells into 8 minutes of blissful disco excellence, whilst the take on "Love Surge" embellishes the electronic nuances of Jules Shear's mid 80s synth pop curio. House heads will be all over the final cut, a "Untitled" production/edit Hardy collaborated with fellow Chi-town House pioneer Jesse Saunders which has box jam brilliance written into it's DNA.

Review: For anyone with an interest in the history of house music, this excellent compilation from Jerome Derradji's Still Music imprint should be essential listening. It focuses on the output of two long forgotten Chicago labels, Mitchbal and Chicago Connection Records, during the early to mid 1980s, when electro, new wave and boogie were morphing into house. As such, 122 BPM offers a mix of rare, largely overlooked cuts that bristle with analogue dancefloor intent. There's proto-jack in the shape of Jeanette Thomas's "Shake Your Body" and Z Factor's "I Am The DJ", dubbed-out Chi-town proto house from Mitchbal and Larry Williams, and some terrific bodypoppin' electro from McGhee.

Review: The popularity of "80s groove" - that catch-all term for electrofunk, boogie, '80s soul, disco and rare groove - shows no signs of waning. It's just as well, really, since the bods at Ministry of Sound have decided to drop another three-disc collection of well-known '80s dancefloor jams. While it would be easy to pick holes - the inclusion of the odd early house track, such as "Love Can't Turn Around", could be criticized - this is actually a rather fine collection of radio-friendly jams. With the likes of "Hangin' On A String", "Midas Touch", "Serious" and the Pointer Sisters' "Dare" present - as well as Alexander O'Neill's brilliant "Criticize" - there's plenty for '80s revivalists enjoy. If it only came with a Jheri curls wig, it would be perfect.

Review: For those who need an introduction to the fertile and inventive period between the tail-end of post-punk and the early days of house, the Bustin Out 1984 series has always been essential listening. This fourth volume is, predictably, just as desirable. Electronic music's early 1980s metamorphosis is displayed in all its wonky, eyeliner-clad glory, via a thrilling and largely unexpected tracklist. Check, for example, Anne Clark's ludicrously heavy "Our Darkness", the slo-mo punk reggae of Dub Syndicate, the spaced-out electronics of Carlos Peron's "ET" and Strafe's wonky disco version of "Set It Off"; all are great examples of the open-minded, cutting edge nature of electronic music in the summer of '84.

Review: From disco to house, techno to electro and the odd rock-out oddity Filippo Moscatello shows us just how he earned himself his DJ tag. Naughty by name.

Review: This special anniversary set has been put together to celebrate 21 years since the first Chicago house records made their way into the worlds psyche, and never has a one type of music had such an effect on others...A selection of tracks that have inspired countless house mix or club mixes...and it all started some 21 years ago in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois...Adonis, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Marshall Jefferson, Bam Bam, Frankie Knuckles, Darryl Pandy and Mr Fingers to name but a few have all had a hand in making house music the most popular form of dance music since the advent of Rock n Roll...1985 saw warehouse parties springing up all over the UK, every major city had clubbers gathering in sweaty underground clubs jacking to the sound of Chicago...Acid house parties became all the rage and very soon there were huge parties taking place every weekend in fields and farms the country over...and now 21 years later it is bigger than ever with thousands of massive events taking place every year across the entire globe and it all started in Chicago. Embrace it, love it and celebrate it with this collection of some its finest moments.