April 6, 1991: De La Soul, Shawn Christopher, N-Joi, Rumbledub, Wendell Williams

BEATS & PIECES

The Beatmasters’ ‘Night In Action‘ (149¼/74¼bpm), only on promo to preview their upcoming album and not necessarily due as a single at all, is a Jah Shaka inspired skanking dub that can be vari-speeded anywhere between -/+8 on a Technics deck (and if played at 33⅓rpm instead of 45rpm undergoes an interesting shift in syncopation), flipped by a similar ‘After Dark In W.3.’ variation that really does sound too fast at the right speed (Rhythm King 12VIBE 1) . . . Reese’s ‘Funky Funk Funk‘/’Bassline‘ is initially in a gimmicky limited edition red vinyl pressing, cut in reverse so that you play it backwards from the centre out! . . . Jeff Young, contrary to all the rumours, is apparently not being replaced at A&M by anyone . . . ‘Love Thang‘, always the obvious hit from LA Mix’s album, will now never be out as a single! . . . New York DJ Roger Sanchez — in other words, Underground Solution —and Jasmine this week visit Manchester’s Pleasuredome (Wednesday 3), Blackpool’s Eureka (Thursday), Glasgow’s Sub Club (Friday), and Aberdeen’s Fever (Saturday) . . . April 19/20/21’s Up-North Soul Weekender at Southport’s Pontins Holiday Centre is due to star the likes of Teena Marie, Leon Ware, Gang Starr and Working Week, with four separate music venues and DJs including Tim Westwood, Graeme Park, Bob Masters, Norman Jay, Bob Jonas, Simon Dunmore, Cohn Curtis, Sylvester, Graeme Ellis: £55. For booking details phone 091-389 0317 . . . May 4/5/6’s sixth Camber Weekender at Camber Sands’ Pontins Holiday Centre near Rye likewise will have various interesting guest stars, with three separate music venues and DJs including Bob James, Carl Cox, Greg Edwards, Stuart Vant, Rob Huntley, Fabrizio, Dave Jameson, JD, Bad Boy West, Sacha, Lez, Aubrey, Simon Grant, Dave Reeves, Peter Stapleton, Andy M: £49. For booking details phone 0233-633 652 . . . Disco Gary VanDenBussche (Medway) reckons that King Bee’s ‘Must Bee The Music‘ simply borrowed its chorus and basic break from ‘Must Be The Music‘ by Secret Weapon, on Prelude in 1981 . . AS IT GROOVES!


HOT VINYL
This week’s new club promos and remixes reviewed by Jay Strongman and James Hamilton

LAQUAN ‘Tear Your Soul Out
WORD FOR WORD ‘Party People
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO ‘We Love You’ (12″ Mix)
COOL 2 ‘Kind Of Groovy’ (Cool Breeze mix)
SBAM ‘Chica Boom
MC SWAY & DJ KING TECH ‘Follow 4 Now
LEE MARROW ‘To Go Crazy (In The 20th Century)
DJ PIERRE ‘Get On The Floor
RDS featuring SPI ‘We Can Do It’
WORKING WEEK ‘Holding On
SUENO LATINO ‘Sueno Latino 1991 Remix

DE LA SOUL ‘Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)’ (103¾bpm) (Big Life/Tommy Boy BLR 42R)
The daisy age rappers’ first new product since 1989 (so, in passing, how come they were nominated for a 1990 Brits award?), this debut single from their upcoming ‘De La Soul Is Dead’ album is currently promoed ahead of April 15 release as a CJ Mackintosh remixed single sider (with another of their laser etched pictorial flips), an ansaphone introed then typical drily chatted rolling jogger with a catchy Curiosity Killed The Cat-like “Hey, how ya doin’? Sorry you can’t get through. Why don’t you leave your name and your number, and I’ll get back to you?” chorus, driven through a doodling tenor sax by — in CJ’s mix at any rate—the bassline from Fat Larry’s ‘Act Like You Know’. To judge from its catalogue number, this promo seems more likely to be out as a remix rather than as the first commercial pressing.

SHAWN CHRISTOPHER ‘Another Sleepless Night’ (Arista 614 186)
Originally out last July, when credited to Mike ‘Hitman’ Wilson (its creator) featuring Shawn Christopher, and subsequently now a crossover hit in the US like it always deserved to be here, this multi-tracked soulful girl wailed and rapped terrific chunkily pounding attractive breezy bounder should hook you on first hearing in its Classic Mix (121½bpm), flipped by a sparser ‘D’ Train-ishly synthed wriggly latin style Extended Midday Mix (122bpm) and its piano jingled cantering Album Version (121½bpm), which sounds most like last year’s original but with an added ‘You Got The Love’-like segment.

N-JOI ‘Anthem’ (de/Construction PT 44446)
Another deservingly reissued floorfiller from last year, sure to fly following the crossover success of ‘Adrenalin’, this slow then bounding piano jangled jaunty raver in its The Original Mix (124½bpm) is now coupled with new more choppily wriggling The Mafia (124bpm) and twittery The Six Day Nightmare (125bpm) Mixes, plus— no relation — the fierce buzzingly bleeping ‘Malfunction‘ (124¾bpm).

RUMBLEDUB ‘God Is In The House’ (120bpm) (ffrr FX 153)
Tempolessly introed (at various lengths) and overdubbed by religious sound effects, choristers, actual papal pronouncements, and solemn affirmation of its title line, this George Holt & Steve Jones created boomingly rumbling jiggly jumpy powerful driver is woven from a combination of classic disco riffs, chants and basslines that range from the likes of ‘Bad Luck’ to ‘I Feel Love’, promoed in Free Tibet Mix, Bishop’s Beat, D Marcus C (of LA Mix fame) rapped Reverend Laker Flies By Nite Mix and The Rhyme Minister Speaks versions. Exactly which are on the first commercial pressing is uncertain, as the Reverend Laker Flies By Nite Mix (120¼bpm) flipped by a brand new starker Bishop’s Dub (120bpm) are now out separately labelled as a Remlx (FXR 153).

WENDELL WILLIAMS ‘So Groovy’ (111bpm) (de/Construction PT 44436)
Promoed ahead of April 15 release, this languidly chatted conversational rap funkily wriggles and jiggles through a web of brightly “groovin’” samples and scratches, in just one mix, flipped by the faster talking sparse shuffly bounding ‘This Jazz Is New‘ (121 bpm), not a jazz rap despite muted trumpet and flute.

ALISON LIMERICK ‘Where Love Lives (Come On In) (The Remixes)’ (122bpm) (Arista 614 209)
Frankie Knuckles and David Morales apparently got back together just to create these new sturdily whomped breezily bounding Sound Factory, “come on in” repeating instrumental stark percussive Jammin’ On and similarly repetitive though fuller organ and piano fleshed Mo’ Knuckles Mixes, out now.

CRITICAL RHYTHM ‘I’m In Love With You’ (89bpm) (US Nugroove NG-069)
Created by Victor Simonelli & Lenny Dee, with Tommy Musto at the faders and Satoshii Tomie weaving the backing, this instant fast seller may not be exactly what you’re expecting as it’s a slinky throbbing reggae jogger, beautifully crooned by Jango Thriller with some excellent female ragga rap by Love Bandit, coupled with its acappella started dubwise Version, plus the less unexpected house style monotonously pulsing ‘An Illusion‘ (120bpm) and percussive twittery ‘Kemo Therapy‘ (123¾bpm).

4 SLOTS FOR BILL ‘Tooo’ (125½bpm) (Jelly Jam Records JJ 3)
Produced & Mixed by “Lloyd Owes Me A Packet”, the cryptic label’s only other information, this mournful “tooo-ooo-ooo” started jauntily cantering and throbbing percussive bleep instrumental has a synth buzzed and low frequency oscillation rumbled more disjointedly bounding rave-style alternative AA-side mix.

THE POINTER SISTERS ‘Insanity’ (120bpm) (Motown ZT 44382)
Remixed by Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley (promoed with four mixes as opposed to the just two that were 12-inched in the States, those being on the flip here), this Kiss 100 fm plugged jauntily romping pent-up staccato chanter is in an at first “out of my mind” repeating hip house-ishly tempoed then jerkily galloping Hurley’s House Mix, a much more tightly tuneful wailing Radio Edit, the USA’s similarly less gimmicky trucking Hurley’s Club/Dub (120-119½bpm) and pizzicato strings stabbed instrumental Hurley’s House Of Trix Mix versions.

ANITA ADAMS ‘For Your Love (Extended Version)’ (122½bpm) (Italian Italian Style ISP 1014)
Stuttering guys’ opening repeated “Get down to the sound on a PA” is interrupted by “Oh, not again!” — now where have I heard that before? (It does sound to me rather like MC Jammy Hammy’s voice electronically treated!) — before Anita starts quaveringly wailing through a fairly standard jangly Italo house pounder (not the Yardbirds’ oldie), with her vocal alone in its plainly cantering Radio Version (122¼bpm) and more of the MC (yay!) in a Bass-a-pella.

THE UNDERGROUND SOLUTION featuring JASMINE ‘Luv Dancin’ (Remix)’ (Ten Records TENX 374)
One of the very few recent US (as opposed to European) import hits to be picked up for UK release, in this case along with its Strictly Rhythm label from which a compilation album is due in May, Roger Sanchez’s simple sinewy pulsing jazz-funky bass chugger gained a full female vocal as well as its repetitive “you’ve got, you’ve got, you’ve got me Iuv dancin’” refrain when he and Sinister Frank J remixed it in the Extended Vocal (123bpm) and Radio Edit (123¼bpm), wailingly introed but then largely instrumental Final Solution (123bpm) and completely instrumental fluting synth tootled Sinistramental (122¾bpm) Mixes that are now out here.

MADONNA ‘Rescue Me’ (118bpm) (Sire/WB W0024T)
Co-created by Madonna with its mixer Shep Pettibone, this impatiently awaited US smash from her ‘The Immaculate Collection’ album of remixes is here at last, a gospel chorus punctuated at turns rasping and mumbling plaintive unhurried trotter in a funkily bumped rumbling eight minute Titanic Mix, flipped by muttered gentler burbling Houseboat and Lifeboat Mixes.

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST ‘I Left My Wallet In El Segundo (Norman Cook Remix)’ (Jive JIVE T 270)
Originally on import over a year ago but revived as follow-up to ‘Can I Kick It’, this mildly amusing story telling slow rap was always at times raggamuffin accented amidst the Mexican colouring of its subject matter, and is more so than ever now that it’s out here again in Norman Cook’s brand new bassily booming Vampire Mix (92½bpm), coupled by the original’s echoing drums rumbled conversationally drawling Talkie (97½bpm) and largely instrumental Silent (98¾bpm) treatments — with another separate Donna Summer ‘State Of Independence’ based remix to follow.

SYNERGY ‘One Way Only (R.U.D.E. Vocal Mix)’ (120bpm) (Dedicated ZT 44034, via BMG)
Originally promoed late last year as a bleeper but now much remixed in a different rave style and out properly, this Deee-Lite “one, two, three — wrrrrr” prodded, throbbingly rumbling and rollicking jaunty chugger has Julie Williams plaintively droning through it, or a churning instrumental Flesh ‘N’ Bones Mix (119½bpm) plus its original flip’s still hollow bleeping ‘One Dub Only‘ (119¾bpm).

DOUG LAZY ‘H.O.U.S.E. (The Remodelled Remix)’ (119¾bpm) (Atlantic A7720T)
Another remixed relaunch of yet something else that failed to hit the first time around last year, this Paul DaKeyne remodelled bright ‘Planet Rock/Axel F’-ish synth backed spurting and percolating jittery rap is flipped by David Morales’s original more infectious much beefier rumbling fidgety hip house Benadef Mix (120¼bpm), with some catchily stabbing organ chords.

DESTROYER ‘Senses’ (126¾bpm) (Belgian Target Records TR.10068/12)
Excitingly violent, this ‘Din Daa Daa’-like scat prodded, fiercely flurrying, churning and scrubbing synth and percussion jitterer is in Hooligan, Converter, and Streetgang-Edit Mixes, selling very well for a while now.

GARY VONQWEST ‘Victim Of Love’ (121¼bpm) (US Easy Street EZS-7571)
A steady seller for several weeks, worth checking, this pleasant Colonel Abrams type baritone soulster’s easily paced cool canterer is in pulsing and tinkling Club Mix, GQ-ishly percussive Groovetronic Remix, and a similarly ‘Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)’ flavoured Radio Edit (121bpm), flipped by the more plaintively moaned softly throbbing ‘Why’d U Do It?’ (118¾bpm) in Summer Breeze Mix, self descriptive sparse Drum & Bass Dub, and tempoless Gary’s Acappella versions.

S.L.D. ‘Gettin’ Out’ (119½bpm) (Italian Mighty Quinn Records MQR 0026)
Driven by piano plonking through a mushily mixed mumbling and cooing girl’s “gettin’ ready for the best time in your life“, this breezily striding Italo jangler is in Extended and more spacious Club Versions, with some separate short piano samples too.

THE SHAMEN ‘Move Any Mountain (Pro-Gen)’ (US Fokus Recordings FK-003)
Rather more compulsive than their current promo, and already selling, this catchy chanting “I can move, move, move any mountain” UK oldie has been newly stripped down and remixed by Frankie Bones in percussively chugging twittery The Bonesbreak Mastermix and The Prelude To Paradise Beat Mix (120¾bpm), coupled with Joey Beltram’s alternative squidgily cantering, twittery The Joey Beltram Remix and The Joey Beltram Dub Mix (120¼bpm).

JOEY NEGRO ‘Above & Beyond E.P.’ (Z Records ZEDEP 002, via Rough Trade)
By in fact one of Dave Lee of RePublic Records’ alter egos, this ’70s jazz-funk and ’90s sparse synth fusing New York-style 33⅓rpm six tracker has the Nite-Liters/MFSB ‘K-Jee’ underpinned twittery burbling ‘I Don’t Need You No More’ (118¾-119bpm), pshta pshta-ed slithery slick scatting ‘Niteflyte‘ (123½bpm), vibes tinkled gentle surging classy ‘Take Me Higher‘ (118bpm), War’s ‘Flying Machine’ samba drums shuffled mournful title repeating jiggly ‘Love Will Make It Right‘ (118¼bpm), unison chanted repetitive burbling ‘To Please You‘ (116¾bpm), and blippy percolating Samson & Delilah ‘I Can Feel Your Love Slippin’ Away’-ishly prodded ‘Feel It‘ (118¾bpm).

CODE 6 ‘Second Chapter’ (US Nugroove NG-072)
Second in the Joey Beltram created series, this blippily synched instrumental four tracker has (at 45rpm) the vibrantly thrumming quite ‘French Kiss’-ish ‘C.O.D.E.S.’ (123bpm), flipped at 33⅓rpm by the tapping ‘Quad l‘ (123bpm), churning tinkly ‘Quad II‘ (124bpm), and frequencies bending ‘Quad III‘ (124bpm).

SPACE TRAX two ‘Atomic Playboy’ (126bpm) (Belgian R & S Records STR 0691)
From the same source as the Techno Grooves series, this raves aimed slow starting then bounding hard beat house canterer is in ‘Follow The Leader and ‘Beyond His Mind‘ Mixes, overlaid with bursts of mechanically intoned “I am not an atomic playboy” dialogue, flipped perhaps more excitingly by the quietly chiming bells interspersed galloping frantic bass pounded ‘The Bells‘ and similarly tempoed but simpler thunderously galloping ‘Hobo-Sexual‘ instrumentals (127¾bpm).

FRANK DE WULF ‘B-Sides Volume IV’ (Belgian Music Man MMI 9024)
The latest edition in Frank’s consistently selling hardbeat/techno instrumental EP series has the staccato synth stabbed and hissing hi-hat pshta pshta-ed lurchingly thumping ‘Moribund’ (124¾bpm), old fashioned acidically sizzled pounding simple ‘Imagination‘ (125½bpm), likewise twittery thunderously thudding ‘Traffic‘ (126½bpm), and thrumming bass synth chorded cantering ‘Moral Soundabuse‘ (124¾bpm).

TRIGGER ‘Wisdom’ (127¾bpm) (Belgian Target Records TR.10070/12)
Created like Destroyer’s ‘Senses’ by Geoffrey McCoy & Dino Majore, this raves aimed squidgily synthed surging bleepy jiggler is in sinister “pull the trigger” punctuated Uproar Mix, shrill synth droned but main beat lacking Mad Mix, instrumental Razor Mix, and a drumkit thrashed short Q-Mix (128bpm).

YO-YO (featuring Ice Cube) ‘You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo’ (96¾bpm) (US eastwest records america 0-96365)
By the Lench Mob’s plaintively pitched hot new female rapper (who will be supporting her co-producer/duettist Ice Cube at the Brixton Academy in London this Saturday), this James Brown based rolling slow jogger is in a chatter started brassy Real Remix flipped by an instantly lurching starker Hip Hop Remix, selling well on import while sent out to mailing list DJs so more likely to hit the club chart is the older

YO-YO ‘Stompin’ To Tha 90’s’ (118bpm) (US Atlantic 0-86128), a violently churning frenetic funk-based jitterer with an even more frenetic Jinx Mix, flipped by the scratchy jolting ‘Dope Femininity‘ (105¾bpm). Both discs are dated by mention of “1990“, repeatedly from the start of ‘Stompin”.

TRUE FAITH with FINAL CUT ‘Take Me Away (Take Me Beyond Mix)’ (123bpm) (Network NWKTRR 20)
The final UK remix slots Bridgett Grace’s acappella over Rhythim Is Rhythim’s strangely phasing and scuffling ‘Beyond The Dance’ (with permission from Derrick May), flipped by a tiresome disjointedly rambling long Definitive Detroit Mix (122¼-122bpm) and short Bassapella, primarily for completists.

U.K. MIXMASTERS ‘The Bad Boys Megamix’ (I.Q. Records ZT 44490, via BMG)
Following up the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ megamix, Nigel Wright’s latest medley of remade hits has a reasonable enough George Michael soundalike whooping through a chunkily thumping segue of Wham!’s ‘Young Guns’/’Club Tropicana’ (123½)/’Bad Boys’/ ‘Wham Rap’ (127¾)/’I’m Your Man’ (133¾)/ ‘Edge Of Heaven’ (152¼)/’Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ (164¾bpm).

THE SHAMEN ‘Hyperreal’ (One Little Indian Records 48TP12, via Pinnacle)
A strange monotonous groove washed by different degrees of repetitive female and male mumbling, moaning, humming and wailing, as initially in William Orbit’s twittery sombre jittering ‘Hyperreal Orbit’ (110bpm) and even more acidic jittery ‘Hyperreal Dub’ (109¾bpm), plus Mark Maguire’s more vocal percussively pulsed sometimes reggae-ish ‘Hyperreal Maguire 1’ (110bpm), with an ambiently bleeping tempoless ‘In The Bag Edit’ too, this is now also separately white labelled ahead of May 7 release as a Remix (48TP12 L) comprising percussion clacking starker just guys muttered Meatbeat Manifesto, instrumental Selector, and similarly clacking but also electronically twanging chatter prodded Dirty Dubbing Mixes (111bpm), plus Mark Maguire’s jauntily burbling ‘Hyperreal Maguire 2’ (110bpm).


BPMs

Rozalla ‘Faith’ — 123bpm.
Monie Love vs Adeva ‘Ring My Bell’ — Touchdown and Upper Cut mixes 122¼bpm, L-Plate mix 121¾bpm.
Urban Soul ‘Alright’ — Original and Dub mixes 120bpm, Club mix 120¼bpm.
S’Express ‘Find ‘Em Fool ‘Em Forget ‘Em’ 95bpm, ‘I Like It’ 118bpm.
Will Downing ‘The World Is A Ghetto’ — Ghetto Club and Dreamy mixes 117½bpm, Red Zone mix 117¼bpm, and was promoed also with Harlem Club 116¾bpm, Universal 117¼bpm, Radio and Album Versions 117½bpm.
Incognito ‘Inside Life’ 93¾bpm, Dealt Up and Smooth mixes 90bpm, ‘Promise You The Moon’ 98¼bpm.
Run-DMC’s ‘Faces’ 110¼bpm, ‘Back From Hell (Remix)’ 100bpm.
Wally Badarou ‘Chief Inspector’ 100¼bpm.
Agapé Sounds ft Richie Weeks’ ‘Your Love Never Fails’ 117½bpm.
Z-Formation’s ‘Sound Waves’ and ‘Beyond The Bounds’ 125bpm, ‘Secret Departure’ and ‘Deep Meditation’ 122bpm.
Intellectual Harmonious Sanction’s ‘Drift & Dream’ and ‘Protagonistic Cry’ 124¾bpm, ‘Save The Whales’ 125½bpm, ‘Influencia’ 124½bpm.


THE CLUB CHART – April 6, 1991

01 01 ALRIGHT (ORIGINAL MIX) Urban Soul, Cooltempo 12in
02 03 RING MY BELL (TOUCHDOWN MIX) Monie Love vs Adeva, Cooltempo 12in
03 02 HUMAN NATURE (ON THE MIX) Gary Clail On-U Sound System, Perfecto 12in
04 08 HERE WE GO (REMIXES) C&C Music Factory, Columbia 12in
05 14 ANTHEM (THE ORIGINAL MIX) N-Joi, deConstruction 12in
06 06 FAITH (IN THE POWER OF LOVE) Rozala, Pulse-8 12in white label
07 26 STRIKE IT UP (DJ LELEWEL MIX)/RIDE ON TIME (THE BRIGHT ON MIX) Black Box, deConstruction 12in
08 05 I’M ALRIGHT (EXTENDED MIX) Katherine E, Dead Dead Good 12in promo
09 12 PLAYING WITH KNIVES Bizarre Inc., Vinyl Solution 12in
10 09 ONE WAY ONLY (R.U.D.E. VOCAL MIX) Synergy, Dedicated 12in
11 37 SO GROOVY/THE JAZZ IS NEW Wendell Williams, deConstruction 12in promo
12 13 SUCH A GOOD FEELING (INSPIRATIONAL DELIGHT MIX) Brothers In Rhythm, 4th & B’way 12in promo
13 15 FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWING ME Frances Nero, Debut 12in
14 40 HOLD YOU TIGHT Tara Kemp, Giant 12in
15 07 UNFINISHED SYMPATHY Massive, Wild Bunch 12in
16 04 TAKE ME AWAY (PINNED UP MIX) True Faith featuring Bridgette Grace with Final Cut, Network 12in
17 10 SWEET SENSATION (EXTENDED MIX) Shades Of Rhythm, ZTT 12in
18 51 JUST A GROOVE Nomad, Rumour 12in promo
19 16 REMEMBER THE DAY (FINAL MIX) Innocence, Cooltempo 12in
20 24 GOT YOU WHERE I WANT (501 MIX) Marva Hicks, Wing 12in promo
21 21 SAME SONG (MIXES) Digital Underground, Big Life 12in
22 63 COME FLY WITH ME (FLY HIGH MIX) DJ Pierre, Jive Chicago 12in promo
23 33 DEEP IN MY HEART (EXTENDED MIX) Clubhouse, ffrr 12in promo
24 19 FIND ‘EM FOOL ‘EM FORGET ‘EM S’Express, Rhythm King 12in
25 60 HOUSE FLY/FLY SPRAY Tricky Disco, WARP 12in promo
26 23 THE WICKEDEST SOUND (DON GORGON MIX) Rebel MC (featuring Tenor Fly), Desire 12in promo
27 82 WHERE LOVE LIVES (COME ON IN) (MIXES) Alison Limerick, Arista 12in
28 89 EROTIC ANIMALS/GIVE ME LOVE Ben Chapman, deConstruction 12in promo
29 27 HYPERREAL (WILLIAM ORBIT MIX) The Shamen, One Little Indian 12in
30 11 APPARENTLY NOTHIN’ Young Disciples, Talkin Loud 12in
31 — MAKE THIS WORLD (50 DENIER MIX) Circuit, Cooltempo 12in promo
32 44 THE GOOD THING (THICK & THROBBING)/GIVE IT ALL I GOT (EXPLOSIVE) Dada Nada, US One Voice 12in
33 17 MOVE YOUR BODY (ELEVATION) (1991 REMIX) Xpansions, Optimism 12in
34 39 OUT THERE Friends Of Matthew, Pulse-8 12in
35 — BACK FOR MORE (JERV’S RUB) Cash Crew, From A Whisper To A Scream 12in promo
36 36 LOVE OR NOTHING Diana Brown & Barrie K. Sharpe, ffrr 12in
37 — TOUCH ME (ALL NIGHT LONG) (MIXES) Cathy Dennis, US Polydor 12in
38 46 DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL (MAIN MIX) Nikki D, Def Jam 12in
39 31 HYPNOTIC/YU YU (FTD MIX) Hypnotone, Creation 12in promo
40 45 WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE Alexander O’Neal, Tabu 12in
41 25 GIVE ME (CLUB MIX) Greed, D-Zone 12in
42 29 LOVE THE LIFE (GUARANA DJ VERSION) James Taylor Quartet, Urban 12in
43 54 THROUGH Victoria Wilson-James, Epic 12in
44 56 WE SHOULDN’T HOLD HANDS IN THE DARK (THE CANDLELIGHT MIX) LA Mix, A&M 12in
45 34 SHE’S A WOMAN Scritti Politti & Shabba Ranks, Virgin 12in
46 22 YOU USED TO SALSA Richie Rich’s Salsa House featuring Ralphi Rosario, ffrr 12in
47 96 CHEAP TALK (MIXES) Loose Ends, Ten 12in
48 69 WIPE THE NEEDLE (MIXES) The Ragga Twins, Shut Up And Dance 12in
49 20 LOST IN MUSIC (ULTIMATUM REMIX) Stereo MC’s, 4th & B’way 12in promo
50 100 GET WISE (FOUNDATION MIX) Rodeo Jones, A&M PM 12in promo
51 — PROTEIN (GET STUCK IN MIX) Sonic Experience, Strictly Underground 12in promo
52 30 I LEFT MY WALLET IN EL SEGUNDO (VAMPIRE MIX) A Tribe Called Quest, Jive 12in
53 62 ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT (CLASSIC MIX) Shawn Christopher, Arista 12in promo
54 42 GOO GOO BARABAJAGAL (THE RONIN BOOM TENG) The Love-In, From A Whisper To A Scream 12in promo
55 — COME ON AND JAM (ORIGINAL MIX) Omar Santana, First Bass 12in white label
56 28 YOU GOT THE LOVE (MIXES) The Source Featuring Candi Staton, Truelove 12in
57 47 PROBLEM SOLVED (WAY BEYOND DUB)/100% TOTAL SUCCESS Moodswings, 12in white label
58 97 RAPPING IS FUNDAMENTAL (BRIGHTON DAZE 12″ REMIX) Rappin’ Is Fundamental, A&M PM 12in promo
59 70 INSIDE LIFE Incognito, Talkin Loud 12in promo
60 18 (I WANNA GIVE YOU) DEVOTION Nomad featuring MC Mikee Freedom, Rumour 12in
61 — BEAT AUTHOR (TIM DORNEY GUILTY OF EVERYTHING MIX) S.F.S. (Soul Family Sensation), One Little Indian 12in white label
62 57 GIVE ME SOME LOVE (ANDY WEATHERALL MIX) Love Corporation, Creation 12in
63 61 EVERYBODY (ALL OVER THE WORLD) (DANCE VERSION) FPI Project, Rumour 12in
64 — GOOD BEAT (EXTENDED THE BEAT MIX) Deee-Lite, Elektra 12in promo
65 71 LOVE SO SPECIAL (THE STEVE ANDERSON TOTAL REVAMP) Ceybil, Atlantic 12in promo
66 66 THANX 4 THE FUNK The Boys, Motown 12in white label
67 43 FACES (RADIO VERSION)/BACK FROM HELL (REMIX) Run DMC, Profile 12in promo
68 50 SEASONS OF LOVE (MIXES) Keith Nunnally, US Giant 12in
69 80 GET IT TOGETHER (12-inch) Redhead Kingpin and The FBI, Ten 12in promo
70 59 GOOD TIME S.I.N. featuring Claudja Barry, Pulse-8 12in
71 68 WEEKEND (CLUB MIX) Dick Low, Spirit 12in
72 67 TELL ME THAT YOU’LL WAIT Culture Beat featuring Lana E & Jay Supreme, Epic 12in
73 77 TALK MUCH (BLIND MICE MIX) Temper Temper, Ten 12in
74 91 MOVE (DANCE ALL NIGHT) Slam Slam, MCA 12in
75 38 DON’T GO MESSIN’ WITH MY HEART (ALBUM VERSION) Mantronix, Capitol 12in
76 75 WEAR YOUR LOVE LIKE HEAVEN (ULTIMATUM MIX) Definition Of Sound, Circa 12in
77 49 H.O.U.S.E. (THE REMODELLED REMIX) Doug Lazy, Atlantic 12in promo
78 53 THE WORLD IS A GHETTO (MIXES) Will Downing, 4th & B’way 12in
79 52 ADRENALIN/THE KRAKEN N-Joi, deConstruction 12in
80 — SEX CYMBAL (MIXES) Sheila E, Warner Brothers 12in
81 64 QUADROPHONIA Quadrophonia, Dutch Streetbeats 12in
82 79 TRAVELS IN HYPER REALITY Band Of Gypsies, Pulse-8 12in white label
83 35 THINK ABOUT… DJ H featuring Stefy, RCA 12in
84 — RING RING RING (HA HA HEY) De La Soul, Big Life 12in promo
85 — SNAP MEGA MIX Snap, Arista 12in
86 88 GOD IS IN THE HOUSE (FREE TIBET MIX) Rumbledub, ffrr 12in
87 73 NOTHING HAS CHANGED (ALL ABOARD MIX)/LITTLE GHETTO BOY Galliano, Talkin Loud 12in
88 94 I GOT TO HAVE IT (CLEAN VERSION) Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs, PWL American/Polydor 12in promo
89 78 DRIVE ME (HOUSE REMIX) Patti Day, Starway 12in
90 — LOOKING FOR A DOPE BEAT Lady Levi, Funki Dred 12in promo
91 32 IT’S TOO LATE Quartz introducing Dina Carroll, Mercury 12in
92 72 I WANT TO KNOW (THE ONE MIX) A Man Called Adam, Big Life 12in promo
93 55 TEMPERATURE RISING PKA, Stress 12in promo
94 re COME INTO MY HEART 1 World, ffrr 12in promo
95 81 CHUNG KUO (REVISITED) Addams & Gee, Debut 12in white label
96 — DIFFERENT WORLD (EVERYBODY) (BULLY MIX)/THE BULLY (ORIGINAL MIX) Papillon (featuring Misty), Atomic 12in promo
97 76 COME ALIVE (MIXES) Orchestra JB, Rumour 12in
98 — LET YOU GO Marina Van Rooy, deConstruction 12in
99 — ESCAPE TO A DREAM (CLUB MIX) Third Wave, Network 12in promo
100= — MY BODY SAYS YES (CLUB MIX) Titiyo, Arista 12in
100= — HEROES Billy Preston, Outer Space 12in
100= — LOUDER THAN A SHOTGUN (SUB-TECHNO KILLER CLUB) Simon Harris, Living Beat 12in promo
100= — MIDNIGHT LOVER Azizi, Arista 12in

15 thoughts on “April 6, 1991: De La Soul, Shawn Christopher, N-Joi, Rumbledub, Wendell Williams”

  1. And so, as the “Stop Press” announcement at the back of this week’s issue makes clear, we have reached James’s final weekly column for Record Mirror. James has written 818 of them since starting his Disco Page in 1975, and he will write many more elsewhere, but they were a lot harder to get hold of at the time, and almost no scans of his final years have surfaced.

    I’ll be writing a “what happened next” post shortly, and saying some public thank-yous, but our journey has basically come to an end. It’s not completely over, though: some of James’s earlier review columns from pre-Disco Page days are still occasionally emerging, and I’ll be posting them on this blog when they do (there are already four from 1972 awaiting transcription). I’ll also be updating some of the earlier Disco Pages with editorial content that our original transcriber skipped over (he was more interested in reviews and charts), and indeed I have already done this for all the 1975 columns. I’ll post a comment on each of these posts when they’re updated.

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    1. James Hamilton’s dance column didn’t end in this issue of Record Mirror! In the following week (13/04/1991) the entire dance section of Record Mirror (along with the DJ Directory of James Hamilton) continued to be published as an insert in Music Week magazine! The columns, the singles reviews, the Club Chart, the Cool Cuts Chart continued through the 90s at Music Week. In fact, Record Mirror’s Club Chart (the same one that started in December 1974 on Record Mirror) and the Cool Cuts chart is still updated today in Music Week under the name of ‘Upfront Club Chart’…
      See here from page 15 to page 19… James Hamilton’s “DJ Directory” column on page 18: https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1991/MW-1991-04-13.pdf

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      1. Ah, you’re ahead of me here, Nelson – I’ll be posting about the RM/Music Week years soon. What I hadn’t realised is that the excellent World Radio History site has now acquired a large set of Music Week scans, which include the entire period from RM’s merger into Music Week, to James’s final columns in June 1996. While this is a great find, I’m still going to conclude this blog with the final issue of RM as a standalone title – but for those who fancy excavating further, the info is all out there.

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      2. Thanks for that heads-up Nelson I’ve just been spending a bit of time looking at some of the first ones he wrote for Music Week. Quite illuminating they were too.

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  2. It was a shock to many of us that Record Mirror ceased publication, however, James continued in Jocks/DJ until his death. Thanks for your continuing to seek out the earlier 70s columns.

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  3. Yes it was a shock but but now there’s none of the 4 big boys of the weekly music press left in print – Melody Maker and Sounds went soon after and the NME limped on until about 3 or 4 years ago even giving it away in shops as a last resort which few ever picked up before it finally folded as a physical publication. Finally Q the monthly glossy went around the time of Covid. Even pop magazine Smash Hits that was a very high seller in the new pop days of the 1980s went.
    Now all we have are monthlies focussing on the pasts of legacy acts and usually consisting of various articles on The Beatles, Pink Floyd or Queen – The Beatles on the cover supposedly adds a significant amount of buyers to the usual total but how much can 7 or 8 years of recording activity be dissected and the most obscure minutiae looked at from every angle.

    I’d liker to use this opportunity to list the British record businesses much stunning mistakes in the world of dance music of the period JH started reviewing dance in general.

    Number one completely inexplicable the failure of the record company to promote Maze’s “Twilight” when in London and the South East it was easily the biggest tune of all in dance for a couple of weeks they didn’t even ask the chart compilers to list it as a double a-side and in Manchester, Birmingham and clubs nationally it was also the boss tune on the single. I’m still mystified at the record company’s actions – if I’d been Frankie Beverly I’d have been fuming. A big hit like that could have taken them into the mainstream and sold loads of albums rather then just thousands to the underground jazz-funkers. When you think of some of the obscure songs which the majority of buers never cared for that various record companies insisted were promoted as double A-sides it becomes even more inexplicable. In this case it should have been the A-side fullstop.

    Number Two is the record company’s decision to never release Sharon Redd’s ‘Beat The Street’ as a single in the UK despite being her most successful tune in the clubs and “Can You Handle It” and her biggest on the London pirates. How could record company staff be so clueless in such areas. It’s still acknowledged as one of the absolute classics of hip hop influenced r&b and was a single in many other countries aside from this one.

    Number three started just around the time of JH’s passing but was the continual insistence on the producer to make an appalling vocal version of classic trance tunes which no one ever played or listened to stuff like ‘Flowtation’ by Vincent De Moor. Moonman’s ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ even the OT Quartet’s ‘Get Off Your High Horse’.were promoted using a vastly inferior vocal mix which was loathed or mainly ignored by the ravers in the clubs and was so appalling that pop buyers would never want it anyway as it destroyed what made the original tune so good and still pop radio didn’t play the vocalised rubbish. Trance when it took over the world in the late 90s/early 2000’s was apart from a few classic vocal trancers was always an instrumental music and the mainstream radio don’t like playing instrumentals for some reason. But trance was so phenomenally successful at its peak that the record companies should have stuck to their guns and said this is the successful club tune, our compilations like “Euphoria” sell huge amounts and promoted the arse off the singles in question.. Arguably trance was the first mainly instrumental form of music to dominate since the Shadow’s led instrumental boom of the late 50s and pre-Beatles early 60s and actually was so dominant in its Golden Age that its success surpassed that and can more accurately even be compared to the 1940s and the days of the big bands.
    But as we know Radio One is always “square daddio”and years off the pace and despite its culling of all its ‘Nicey and Smashy ‘DJ’s in 1983 just replaced them with younger DJ’s who still wanted to play endless limp uninspired guitar, bass and drums rock groups when few aside from Oasis and about 4 or so others the mediocre rest never had any success outside a fanbase following. Radio One always had it in for dance music the real music of the streets and the British working-class, and surely their diversity policy should have included the white working class and the black audience when it came to drawing up the playlists.

    Anyway the End of An Era and thanks for all the hard work in putting this online. I’d love someone to find the remaining 4 or so years of his columns from the publications he wrote them in and get them up here.

    And that’s it but who really knows the reason for the almost lunatic behaviour around ‘Twilight”…

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  4. And a couple of other mysteries which remain unanswered why did he call the ‘Glow Of Love’ by Change gay when he used this term for zingy disco but when the record in question is a well sung measured and well constructed piece of 1980 r&b which was massive with the jazz-funk fraternity. It was still played for years after its release – I was too young to be into it in 1980 but it heard it in clubs years later.

    Also why did he seem to think that Alexander O’Neal’s ‘What’s Missing’ was the best tecord of all time?

    And why was he so scathing of acid house but liked the banging often very uncommercial tunes of the incipient techno and hardcore.?

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  5. And there it is. Thanks fellas for the fantastic work putting all of these up filling a lot of gaps along the way. Cheers! 🙂

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  6. So we finally get to the end! Thank you so much for all the hard work that’s has gone into re-producing these columns. I am going to miss checking them out although I remembered fewer and fewer tracks each week as we got near the end!

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    1. Yes – suppose I was wondering why they didn’t give it the extra promotion an A-side would have got6it especially as it was such a big tune anyway. I believe3 it was the a-side everywhere else.

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  7. I’ve been looking at the first couple of months of JH’s DJ column in Music Week’s Record Mirror section and think as far as the column goes it’s very similar to what he’s been writing in the stand alone Record Mirror maybe even slightly better. However it was at this time which more or less completely coincided with when the scene started to fragment into so many diverse parts that no-one could really write about everything as “the voice of underground dance”. JH makes a very brave attempt to try – I was especially keen to see the review of ‘Anasthasia’ which is some step from writing about the 1960s soul-jazz he would have been playing when he started DJing in the mid-1960s (or just playing those sounds as he was in that mod heyday before he started the writing). He actually loves ‘Anasthasia’ and the review is a pretty good encapsulation of it.Everyone likes one really raucous tune in their chosen genre of music whether it be classical music, jazz or hardcore or whatever as in this case. And this is it for me in underground dance went – an extremely well produced, creative unbelievably exciting rave record which stayed just this side of bangin’ dance music and manages the very rare feat of not ever sounding overplayed like so many pop records do in any genre after they’ve been out a few years. And it remains well away from some of the nonsense juvenile ‘horror type hardcore noisiness for noisiness’s sake’ – probably ok if you’re a 15 or 16 year old ; which a lot of the hardcore scene started to descend into around this time. And which you definitely don’t want to he hearing as an adult! Luckily when I returned 4 years later the fragmentation of the scene was so complete that in 1995 you only went to a night playing the sounds you liked and left the rubbish nights/rooms (at the last big multi roomed events parts) to the teenagers. And the really bad stuff (gabba etc) seemed to remain in the Netherlands/Belgium and north of the Scottish border so it was even easier to avoid as the youngsters had happy hardcore rooms at the big events in England by then which as a person of older years (well over 25!) like myself I may have not wanted to do more than walk through on the way to somewhere playing tackle more to my taste, but which sounded like Elgar’s Cello Concerto compared to that gabba and later hardstyle shite!

    Due to personal circumstances this era 1991-94 was when listening to the sounds on Kiss and sometimes the London pirates was about all I was capable of and my memory was at its lowest so a lot of the stuff in the dance chart is pretty alien to me now and until the mid-90s I may have heard most of it on the radio but as for what it was called the artist credits and song titles in many cases would have gone in one ear and out the other at this time.

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  8. Been to a lot of the reunion/revival etc alldayers in the last couple of years. And seeing the age range is mainly 40s and 50s (and even some 60s) with a few younger as well (often kids of the older punters) makes me think what would JH have made of ravers not only as old as he was when he passed away but a lot quite a bit older. Something that just didnt exist in his day..

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