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Review: Best Records has got some superb reissues dropping right now, just in time for summer, and Mike Francis's brilliantly Balearic soul cut from 1982 is next up. This effortlessly heartwarming vocal track was produced by Paul and Peter Micioni and emerged from the Italo Disco scene in Italy on the heels of a former big hit with the Metropole group. However, on this project, he worked under a new stage name but didn't lose any of his creative edge. 'Love Has Found You' is impossibly laidback and lovely with its carefree melodies and 'Nighttime Lady' is a mid-tempo slow burner with funky low ends and a nice playful vocal full of love.

Review: Best Record has secured the rights to this 12" vinyl reissue of Fascination 'Out to Get You', which is dedicated to Giancarlo Meo, the esteemed producer behind Easy Going and other iconic acts. This release, curated by Claudio Casalini, pays homage to Italy's vibrant disco era and blends elements of disco, soul, and funk. The original comes as three different and equally captivating versions, including a re-edit by DJ Massimo Berardi who injects plenty of contemporary flair while preserving the essence of the original tracks. With its fusion of retro charm and modern energy, this reissue offers a nostalgic yet danceable vibe and is primed and ready to for igniting dance floors worldwide once again.

Review: Best claims to be the first Italo-disco label to be based in Rome. It was founded in 1981 by pioneering DJ Claudio Casalini and sure does have plenty of gems in its catalogue. This is one of them from Carol Williams, whose charming and effortlessly cool vocals light up both sides of this mix of boogie, soul, disco and funk. 'What's The Deal' is a mid-tempo seducer with stepping chord sequences and bright synth work then 'Have You For My Love' ups the ante with more squelchy synth funk sounds and pixelated leads. It's the pick of the bunch if you ask us.

Review: Robert Cotter originally released Timeless in 1980, capturing the magic of the disco wave while it was still informed by a classic 70s studio approach before synths and drum machines become the dominant medium. The stand out track on the record is ‘Rock Me With Your Love’ - a timeless gem of get-down heat laid down by a crack team of players and captured by Ned Liben at Sundragon Studio in New York. If you’re always on the hunt for the fiercest jams from that era, you won’t be disappointed by what you find on this album of expansive, expressive tracks from an undeniably talented crew that missed out on wider recognition when their magnum opus was originally released more than 40 years ago.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Best turn their attention to that sweet mid 80s spot when the petri dish of party music was shaken up between disco, boogie, Italo and the emergent house sound from Chicago. Claudio Simonetti was a titan of the Italian groove, but his monster jam as Kasso, "One More Round", reached the stratosphere when Windy City godfather Frankie Knuckles gave the track his Midas touch. No more justification is needed for this pressing, but don't overlook the flip which finds 80s remix supremo Brett Wilcots taking on "Walkman" and whipping up a boogie frenzy of the highest order.

Review: Six tracks by some of the less conspicuous names in 1980s Italo disco scene get pressed to a singular unifying 12" here. Commemorating Cruisin' Records' 40th anniversary (1983-2023), 'Takes Over' is a delightful compilation scouring the exclusive vaults of its back catalogue, with label mainstay Nello Jay handling curation duties. Largely centring on the year 1985, two cuts from, 'Japanese Girl' and 'Lady Fantasy', come courtesy of Max Him, while the likes of 'For Your Sweet Information' by PJ Marcus, 'In Your Eyes' by Roxana', and 'Heigh Ho' by Fabian Nesti all stomp, gyrate, and whoop away, indulging the very same escapist fantasies as those involved in the scene back then.

Review: Not to be confused with the Fresh Band boogie classic of the same name - which, strangely enough, was also released in 1984 - Carl Smith's 'Come Back Lover' is something of a hard-to-find rarity that thoroughly deserves this reissue. Written, produced and arranged by Smith, who also delivers the effortlessly soulful lead vocal, the track is an excellent example of the synth-powered, funk-fuelled NYC boogie sound pushed by DJs like Larry Levan in New York City in the early-to-mid 1980s. The bassline, in particular, is brilliant, and genuinely drives the track forward. Just as the original 1984 release did, this reissue features both the original version and the dub-style 'Club Mix', which in true Levan style includes a delay-laden drums-and-vocal breakdown midway through.

Review: For this sublime release, legendary Italian label Best Record has raided the archives of 'private recordings' by multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Pino Presti. Sharade was apparently inspired by the work of painter Tania Cantone and features Presti alongside keyboardist Claudop Calzolari, his son Andrea, bassist Andrea Verardi and organist Guido Mazzella. The results are colourful, sonically vivid and musically rich, with the quintet variously blurring the boundaries between ambient, jazz-funk, Balearic, Mediterranean deep house, downtempo, library music, cinematic soundtracks and slow-motion leftfield pop. It's hard to accurately pigeonhole, but that's no bad thing - especially as the album's varied tracks are united by a classiness and a wholeheartedly enjoyable sun-baked mood.

Review: A genuine one off, largely made using the then-new Yamaha DX-7 synth, Joe Car's sole single from 1984 has long been one of the rarest Italo-disco 12" singles around. This reissue has been a long time coming, with the revitalised Best Record finally securing the rights to re-release it earlier this year. It remains a fun and surprisingly on-point release. It appears in two takes, both of which we think were laid to tape at the time. On the A-side you'll find the 'Electro Potato Mix', where chiming lead lines, Fairlight style sampled stabs and male vocals rise above a chuggig, arpeggio style bassline and machine drums. Nestled on the flip is the original vocal version, which sounds like the sort of thing Chris Lowe from Pet Shop Boys may have been dancing to during the period - there are certainly a few cuts in the duo's earlt catalogue that utilise similar sounds and grooves.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Best Italy continues to do a wonderful job of unearthing much-sought after gems and giving them the re-press they deserve. Lily Ann was a quintessential one hit wonder of Italo disco perfection that surfaced in 1984, and "Going Crazy" captures the mood of early 80s dance music perfectly. Adding value to the release beyond the fresh mastering job and high-end modern pressing, as well as the previously released vocal and instrumental we also get treated to a dub mix of "Going Crazy" to give you even more options for dropping this impeccable slice of Italian dance music history.

Review: During the pre-Italo-disco era, many Italian musicians and producers made the move to New York after making their own surprisingly authentic-sounding disco records back home. There, they frequentlyworked with Black American singers to make singles and albums that were, curiously, then released in Italy rather than the U.S. New Jersey singer Robert Cotter's 1980 set, Timeless, is a particularly good example - especially as it's a fantastic collection of disco, disco-funk and dancefloor soul workouts. Reissued here for the first time, highlights of the five-track set include the infectious, stretched-out opener 'Rock Me With Your Love' - an under-played dancefloor classic - and the boogie-tinged disco shuffler 'Timeless'.