Various Artists: Disco Spectrum 2 (BBE)
Subtitled "real disco for real people", this compilation aims to demonstrate that there was more to disco than The Bee Gees, Chic and YMCA. Compiled by Joey Negro, who knows a thing or two about disco, this collection unearths some gems from the era of boogie nights and platform soul. Volume One contained some great undiscovered disco, including The John Davis Orchestra's Bourgie Bourgie and Rare Pleasure's Let Me Down Easy (sampled on the David Morales house anthem, Needin' You), and this second set reveals such treasures as George Duke's I Want You For Myself, Patti Labelle's Music Is My Way Of Life, and Chantal Curtis's Get Another Love. Funky basslines, frantic percussion and frisky horn breaks abound here, but watch out: there are also a few slices of vintage cheese hidden among the fresh disco beats.
- Kevin Courtney
The Walls: (Earshot Records)
Steve and Joe Wall know all about the highs and lows of pop stardom. The artists formerly known as The Stunning have been burned by the record industry, so they resolved to do everything themselves, from writing to recording to programming to setting up their own label, right down to ringing the journalist and telling him about their new album. While Aslan and The 4 Of Us are still packing 'em in, The Walls are only just building up their fanbase, and while their debut album won't bring Stunning fans back in droves, it will leave the shallow pop sheep way behind. While there are some strong tunes here, the focus is more on the sound, a well-crafted, tightly-wound pop groove packed with rootsy guitar licks, choppy keyboards, squiggly synths, horny brass, and deadly accurate lyrics.
- Kevin Courtney
St Germain: (Blue Note)
Five years on from the Parisian strolls and struts of Boulevard, Ludovic Navarre returns and a world which has taken French dance music to heart should prepare to cheer from the rooftops. On his debut, Navarre's premium blend of house idioms and jazz roots gently enticed the listener closer and closer until they couldn't leave the house without the album in their possession. Prepare to make room for a similar companion in the shape of Tourist, an album which is crafted and shaped with considerable aplomb. Old bluesmen samples (he was doing this long before Moby), loping slowmotion jazz grooves, gorgeously applied percussion, not to mention deep house interludes - here is one tourist season which will hopefully last all year long.
- Jim Carroll
Cypress Hill: Skull & Bones (Columbia)
Cypress Hill were once lauded for a dumb-and-dumber hip-hop style with plenty of dense and dark odes to the power of the weed. Not content to keep those Cheech and Chong balls in the air, they have added some rock to their rap - and it's a bit of a mess. Divide into two halves, Skull & Bones sees the Hill spending time at the photocopier with past glories, but their once accomplished smoky sound is now a threadbare affair, complete with dubious macho bravado and the odd piece of homophobic nonsense. When they decide to go headbanging on the second half, you may well decide it's time to go elsewhere.
- Jim Carroll