Vol. 1 - Club Classics 10th Anniversary
When Jazzie B and his Bristol crew released this debut--which was calledKeep on Movin'in the U.S., after its first hit--in 1989, at the height of twice-a-second dance beats, it was a landmark event in the club music scene. They slowed down their rhythms and brought in subtle, soulful vocals (mostly from Caron Wheeler); more intriguingly, they structured the disc like a club DJ set. Some songs, such as the giddy "Fairplay," were presented straight, but others appeared only as almost-instrumental dub or as a groove with toasting-influenced spiels by Jazzie or (in the case of the smash "Back to Life") a cappella. This reissue expands the original with some B-sides, alternate versions, and the fully orchestrated single version of "Back to Life," as well as a superfluous drum & bass remix of "Keep on Movin.'"--Douglas Wolk