Since discovering Beatport at the tail end of last year (check here), I’ve been getting back up to speed with the wonderful world of Deep House.
Originating in the classic Trax/DJ International world of Chicago in the late 1980s (with Marshall Jefferson and Larry Heard as the godfathers) , there are now a bewildering number of releases every week.
To be frank, the technology has made it too simple for incompetent purveyors of formulaic nonsense to release their noodlings. In the world of t’internet, trying to sort out the wheat from the chaff is ever harder.
Beatport is a great help in identifying the good stuff and here is a classic example. Martin Zeyss is the latest in a long line of classic German producers and Maya Jane Coles is one of the hottest remixers of current times. A killer tune.
Just reposted, Marshall Jefferson’s “Time Marches On” from 1987 is one of the founding documents of “deep house” and one of the greatest records of all time - check here for conclusive proof.
Deep House remains one of the loves of my life and this track retains the affection.
A sublime deep house remix/edit of the Minnie Riperton classic from her “Adventures in Paradise” LP of 1975. The original is a wonderful record but this remix just soars.
Ms Riperton is best known for her wonderful “Lovin’ You” single; less well known is that she died of breast cancer aged 31 in 1979.
Head back 25 years to 1986 and to one of the crowning glories of the Chicago House era.
Almost everything on Trax Records or DJ International Records is worth tracking down but this is a real stand out.
More than 10 minutes of intense, relentless mayhem by Marshall Jefferson in his very rare guise of Sleazy D. No real tune, the simplest drum machine, a mechanik vocal – a record that should never end.
I’m not sure it is possible to play this record too loud. Go on, have a go.
Attentive followers of this blog will have been waiting on tenterhooks for this post following the big build up I gave it on the last one (see here)
The original version of this track came out in 1986 and was a pretty straightforward disco release.
House genius is achieved by taking Candi Staton’s vocals and fusing them onto Frankie Knuckles/Jamie Principle’s wonderful “Your Love” single from 1986/87.
It’s the “Eren’s Bootleg Mix” which takes a couple of good tracks into the stratosphere …
Two versions, the original 12″ then a slightly dodgy video of unknown provenance.
My three followers will know I just love mid 1980s Chicago House.
A complicated tale about “Your Love” unfolds below. The impatient are invited to skip the waffle …. in the meantime, where’s my anorak. (By the way, does the phrase “anal retentive” have a hyphen?)
There are so many versions of this record knocking about …. the original release of “Your Love” was solely credited to Jamie Principle and came out on Persona Records in 1986 (see bottom of the post for the track). However, a new, improved version was put out in 1987 on Trax following a bit of twiddling from the legendary Frankie Knuckles.
However, the story continues because, also in 1986, The Source and Candi Staton released a pretty mainstream disco track called “You Got The Love”. In 1991, the vocals from this were fused onto “Your Love” to create the classic “Eren’s Bootleg” mix of “You Got The Love”.
Check below for the Frankie Knuckles tweak and the Jamie Principle original, then see the next post for the classic remix!
Now I know that while neither follower of this blog has yet expressed an interest in the “Royal Wedding”, they were surely expecting me to post some wonderfully clever “play on words” link to the impending events of tomorrow. As ever, I am delighted to oblige.
I’m afraid that I, myself, won’t be able to see the “Royal Wedding” tomorrow as I have assigned the day to rating all the tracks on my Throbbing Gristle bootleg collection.
“Royal Wedding” or not, this is just a great record with the rhythm probably nicked from Marshall Jefferson’s “Move Your Body” and also used on the epic singles “Pump Up the Jam” by Technotronic and “I’ll House You” by the Jungle Brothers. Call me easily satisfied but, in due course, I will just have to post all those tracks as well.
A couple of mixes from Youtube for your delectation. On balance, I just prefer the first.
Err, and so, in traditional fashion, the UK Government has just issued some sort of smog warning.
Move away from your vehicles. Close your doors. Wear a facemask. Apply parcel tape to any gaps in windows and doors, etc. It’s just like Protect and Survive all over again. See video at bottom for further advice.
All set.
Well, what better way to await the cleansing rain than 8 and a half minutes of Chicago House genius from Ten City produced by the peerless Marshall Jefferson. Taken from the superb Foundation album.
All mixes of this is good. I have a soft spot for this one.
Chicago House generated some of the most soulful and inventive dance music of the last 30 years. This classic from 1989 is a perfect example froim the wonderful Trax Records. I like it so much, I’ve given you a link to the two versions: vocal and instrumental. Almost vocal and dub.
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