various artists: life:styles compiled by coldcut – harmless
the bummer is: life:styles is not a dj-mix.
so any comparisons with the legendary 70 minutes of madness journeys by dj’s coldcut mix are pretty misleading and do not even apply.
[shame on you harmless for putting this all over your release notes…]
what we have here is an unmixed compilation! music – fade out – fade in – music. totally different ballgame!
having said that, if the compilers are called coldcut its of course gonna be a fantastic compilation. no regrets there. they managed to put together a bunch of incredible funk, soul, reggae, rare groove and hip hop gems. bobby shad and the bad men begin things nicely with the original to the jackson five’s ‘i want you back’ [and after a few times you will stop waiting for the j5’s vocals to start and see how much better this rare version is]. then things move on to an ode to hashish [en francais svp] by richard de bordeaux & daniel baretta, a brilliant stripped down whatchumacallit hop track by cornershop and an eerie ambient jazz landscape by axel kryger [sounds like a 70’s soundtrack but was released in 2001].
the only track i could frankly live without is by t. la rock & jazzy jay ‘its yours’. didn’t like it back then don’t like it now.
oh and a word about the cover: try to ignore it! its very missleading too. you might miss a great compilation if you let it turn you off…
but uhm a cornfield with a dj set up in it? fucking hippies…
from the [misleading] release notes:
“[couldcut’s] journeys by dj’s mix album, ’70 minutes of madness’ was released to rave reviews. mixing with ease the dr who theme into red snapper, moving gracefully from harold budd to mantronix to photek, it was one of the albums of the year in muzik, mixmag and melody maker, and no.1 compilation of all time in jockey slut, 1998. the release was credited with bringing to wider attention the sort of freestyle mixing the pair were always known for through their radio show on kiss fm, solid steel, and their steady club dates, a style that has since taken off through clubs like blech and the heavenly sunday social, “we mix things, over as broad a spectrum of activities as possible.”
harmless records now present the first ever straight up compilation by the secretaries of funk, reggae, soul and all else in between: coldcut. masters of sonic disaster!”
1. Chosen few – Do Your Thing
2. Richard De Bordeaux – La Drogue
3. Bobby Shad And The Bad Men – I Want You Back
4. The Gaylads – Soul Sister
5. Axel Kryglier – Taxi Noctorno
6. Morton Stevens – The Long Wait
7. Archie Bleyer – Hernadoz Hideaway
8. La Formule Du Baron – La Gigouille
9. Kwela Kong – King Kong Stage Soundtrack
10. Esther Phillips – Disposable Society
11. Temptations – Power
12. Otis Clay – The Only Way Is Up
13. Malcolm McLaren & WFST – World Famous
14. T La Rock – It’s Yours
15. Barbara Randolph – Can I Get A Witness
16. Arthur Russell – Another Thought
previous albums of the month:
album of the month 03/04
album of the month 02/04
album of the month 01/04
album of the month 12/03
album of the month 11/03
album of the month 10/03