Although acid house exports provided the sound blueprints for Second
Summer of Love in the late 80s, the rawness of the US originals often
did not really match the ecstasy fuelled day-glo hedonism that was
sweeping UK clubland. Of course the pioneering tracks from Chicago,
Detroit and New York had the same huge impact in English clubs as
they had in Continental Europe, and the American originators brought
music that was informed by no less aspiring ambitions, but it was
also often produced on the equipment that you could afford in
problematic social environments, and its initial target group was
more local, and on another street level than the almost proverbial
MDMA hugs between football hooligans or other thugs and the dancers
they were previously beating up. But UK pop and club culture had
interpreted outside influences into something more pop before and
sent it back, as it had happened with the British Invasion in the 60s
and lovers rock in the 70s, and house, and particularly acid house,
was no exception. In the UK, some clever people not only heard a
difference, they also understood that it had potential far beyond
that. Just a new, small and dedicated scene at first, but maybe more.
Or even much more.
Baby
Ford seemed to have a very clear vision of what was missing for the
music to really cross over and reach such potential, and with his
first promising releases from 1988 up to his first album „Fordtrax“
he brilliantly merged inspirations from Larry Heard, Derrick May or
Todd Terry with a knowledgeable pop sensibility. But in contrast to
other successful London cohorts of the Rhythm King label like Bomb
The Bass, S‘Express, The Beatmasters, and Coldcut on their label
Ahead Of Our Time, he did not succumb almost entirely to the charms
of the wild days of sampling, instead aiming more for his own
musicianship than a wild collage of references with a beat. And in
contrast to Manchester artists like 808 State and A Guy Called
Gerald, who achieved a similarly distinctive sound, he was ready,
willing and able to sing as well, and he implied his sense of humour.
Be it „Ooochy Koochy“ or „Chikki Chikki Aah Aah“, his music
was catchy and smart, but instrumental gems like „Fordtrax“
already proved that he knew how to arrange and set a mood. He seemed
to make fine use of his influences as much as he made them his own,
and he established a mini-canon of his own work in which his ideas
naturally referred to each other.
Already a year later his second album „’Ooo’ The World Of Baby
Ford“ aimed considerably higher. There are variations of „Fordtrax“
material but in a different, more mellow mood („Milky Tres / Chikki
Chikki Aah Aah“). Which is perfectly ok if your source material is
good enough to be reinterpreted in such a short time. Other tracks
like „Let‘s Talk It Over“ or „The World Is In Love“ have a
similar mood, somehow as urban as pastoral, sublime and full of hope.
„Beach Bump“ or „A Place Of Dreams & Magic“ are more over
the top, reviving the camp fun of „Oochy Koochy“ and other
livelier tracks he made before. And then there are tracks that hint
at the idea of this album as a continuation of gone but yet still
lasting UK youth cultures. In terms of music „Poem For Wigan“ and
„Wigan“ have not much in common with the 70s northern soul haven
Wigan Casino (or the Jazz Funk and later Electro played at Wigan Pier
club by its resident DJ Greg Wilson), but Baby Ford grew up near
Wigan and experienced what happened there, and both tracks have a
sentiment true to the inspiration. You may now flock to other clubs
and dance to other sounds, but the spirit is the same. Else the cover
version of T.Rex‘s „Children Of The Revolution“ is more
obvious, putting the 70s glam rock anthem into the context of the
acid house movement, whose children won‘t be fooled either. It is
time again for the UK youth to rise up against it, and this is how it
sounds. And then the according modern grooves also meet the
modernized version of the hippie era aesthetics that the tabloids and
authorities directly diverted to blame and prosecution. Where there
are loved up messages and melodies, psychedelic colours and a quest
for an alternative way of living, there must be something for society
to fight back, regardless of what you are afraid of in the 60s, 70s,
80s, or the decades to come. Us against them, forever irreconcilable.
This
album captured the revolutionary spirit and joy of that time
perfectly, and it indirectly predicted why it could not last. It was
not widely perceived as a defining statement and Baby Ford did not
become the defining pop star, and he seemed to abandon his bright
ideas soon after. First with the subsequent 1992 album „BFORD9“,
which still had some traces of his prior optimism left, but which
also confrontationally displayed disillusionment, darker topics and
harder sounds, until he reduced his persona and sound more and more,
albeit still with consistently great creative results. Either way,
Baby Ford‘s world may have not been big enough, but you still think
‚Ooo‘ when you think of it.
The DJs of the disco era not only struggled with belt-driven turntables, they also had to cope with live drumming and music arrangements that distracted their crowds. So some of them took scissors and tape and did their own edits. And some were so good at it that they earned a reputation and a studio career with it, and their edits or remixes became as popular as the music they were using, or even more. The first remix service label to gather and publish these efforts was Disconet, as early as 1977. Early remix service releases often contained medleys or little sets mixed by club DJs (foreshadowing the megamixes of the years to come), but more and more the remixes and edits became the centre of attention. In just a few years very many different remix service labels came into being, with different in-house remixers and musical agendas. The appeal of the idea began to fade when labels included their own assigned official remixes on their releases, and an increase in copyright issues in the 90s meant that most remix services went out of business. But even if the legal situation in the preceding years was quite unclear, the creative potential was not. From local to widely acclaimed DJs and from established to emerging studio talents a lot of people had their go at popular or obscure music and came up with lasting results, and they paved the way for the more modern and still thriving edit scene.
Abba – Lay All Your Love On Me (Peter Slaghuis Remix) (Buy This Record, 1981)
This
is actually a remix of a Raul Rodriguez remix originally released on
Disconet. Peter Slaghuis extended the weird start-stop-breaks to
highly irritating three minutes before the song kicks in at last,
like a hymn from the heavens descending onto a crash derby. The
breaks continue to disrupt the song throughout the whole record, the
loops are edited quite heavy-handedly, and the sound quality is
really atrocious. Still this is a remarkable example of how radical
an edit can be, and it was even more radical when it came out. And it
still works a treat on the floor.
Steve
Algozino added synth and edited a four minute album track into a
seven minute disco plea for a better tomorrow. For those who like to
compare a good night out to a religious experience, including telling
it from all mountain tops.
Eleven
minutes of drama and a whole lot of thunderous sound effects, of
which the original version inexplicably had none. It is totally
overdone, but it is also quite impressive too. And you might actually
be soaking wet if you dance the whole thing through.
B.B. & Band – All Night Long (Will Crocker & Jack Cardinal Remix) (Disconet, 1982)
An
excellent version of this heavily funked up italo disco sequencer
boogie classic. The changes are mainly in length and structure, but
they sure sound as if they were needed.
Stephanie Mills – Pilot Error (Hot Tracks, 1983)
The
original version on the Casablanca label has a really superior
pressing quality, but the wild flanger action on this more than makes
up for that. It shoots a slightly eerie, but still earthbound boogie
gem into outer space. Flight time also extended.
Lipps Inc. – Funkytown (Bob Viteritti Edit) (Hot Tracks, 1984)
An
anthem at San Francisco‘s Trocadero Transfer club, edited by its
very own resident DJ Bob Viteritti. The spacetastic additional synths
are played by none other than the legendary Patrick Cowley, a regular
at the club, and they open up a whole other universe.
Jimmy Ruffin – Hold On To My Love (Robbie Leslie Remix) (Disconet, 1984)
A
sweet little Robin Gibb co-written soul mover, until New York City‘s
Saint resident DJ Robbie Leslie decided to turn it into an anthem of
epic proportions, particularly by riding the enormous refrain for
five extra minutes. This was actually the last record the crowd ever
danced to at the Saint‘s closing weekend, which really says a lot.
Mari Wilson – Let‘s Make This Last (Razormaid, 1984)
This
track was an unusual release for the Compact Organization label‘s
60‘s beehive pop revivalist diva. But that the Razormaid remix team
completely restructured and improved the original version was very
usual for their standards, resulting in an even smarter take on
Hi-NRG.
Roxy Music – Angel Eyes (Joseph Watt Remix) (Razormaid, 1984)
Needs
more suspense in the first bit and inbetween, thought Razormaid, but
they also added sophistication to the whole song. And bringing one of
the best dressed style icons to the club surely was no mistake
either.
Machine – There But For The Grace Of God (Glenn Cattanach Edit) (Hot Tracks, 1987)
This
just neglects the piano intro, you may think, and instead uses a
looped groove to ease into the song. It also extends the break, and
adds an outro loop at the end. Well, this is not the only blueprint
for the more recent editing of disco tracks for DJ convenience
purposes, but it shows how you achieve better mixability while
leaving all the greatness of the source material untouched. Even
consider it a reminder.
Hard Corps – Lucky Charm (Razormaid, 1987)
A
lot of Razormaid releases are easier to mix than the original
versions, wrecking a lot of intros in the process. Then again
Razormaid were always quite ambitious in terms of restructuring, and
also quite subtle in adding their own trademark sound design without
taking away anything that should not be taken away. And Razormaid
have a cult following for a reason.
Big Ben Tribe – Heroes (Steve Bourasa Edit) (Rhythm Stick, 1990)
I
always felt the dreamy italo disco take on the David Bowie classic
was near perfect, but it should last longer, without risking this
perfection. Thankfully I found this edit by Steve Bourasa, who
apparently thought exactly the same, and he had the skills.
Dead Or Alive – Your Sweetness Is Your Weakness („Silver Bullet“ Mix by Peter Fenton) (Art Of Mix, 1991)
Dead
Or Alive were actually really big in Japan. So big even that they
released some of their music only in Japan, and some of their finest
music too. Buying the original 12“ of this wonderful piano house
romp will not come cheap, but do not worry, as there is this (still)
affordable and fantastic version hidden on a 12“ on the Art Of Mix
remix service, because they are not called remix services for
nothing. The mix merges Dead Or Alive‘s „Son Of A Gun“ from
1986 with their Japanese market stormer, as if they were twins
separated at birth.
P.M. Dawn – Set Adrift On Memory Bliss (Bradley Hinkle & Tim Robertson) (Ultimix, 1991)
P.M.
Dawn did not win many hearts in the hip hop scene when they sampled a
very popular blue-eyed soul ballad, and used the same seriously dope
beat Eric B & Rakim on their seminal „Paid In Full“. Rakim
and Prince Be are really hard to compare, I admit. This remix even
only slightly alters the original. Well until there is a break and
then the second half is Spandau Ballet‘s song in its entirety
riding the very same seriously dope beat. Which is one of the
greatest things ever.
Culture Club – Time (Clock Of The Heart) (Chris Cox Remix) (Hot Tracks, 1994)
I
realized I am now old enough to accept that I will probably never
find the vinyl with this remix for a price I can live with. So I
might as well show it to anybody else. Culture Club‘s arguably
finest moment, and in my humble opion one of the 80s finest pop
moments as well, in a superlative remix that manages to double both
length and listening pleasure. I would not change a second of it.
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