Handle With Care

After two rather disappointing car boot sales over the Easter weekend I resorted to eBay for a vinyl fix and ended up with two very different albums from 1988.

The first was Bomb The Bass' debut Into The Dragon, for 99p:

Bomb The Bass - Into The Dragon (1988)

I've mentioned this fantastic album before in a post about the lead single 'Beat Dis'.  The other singles were 'Megablast', 'Don't Make Me Wait' and a cover of 'Say A Little Prayer'.  The album's blend of of hip-hop, breaks, funk samples and movie dialogue is sewn together with between-track faux pirate radio announcements from the great and good including Jazzy B, Westwood and Mark Moore from S'Express.

Top tracks:  Bomb The Bass – Don't Make Me Wait feat. Lauraine - 7" Mix

                            Bomb The Bass – Megablast - Hip Hop On Precinct 13 (7" Mix)

                                    Bomb The Bass – Say A Little Prayer feat. Maureen

Next was The Traveling Wilburys' Vol.1, for £2.99:

The Traveling Wilbuys - Vol.1 (1988)

These guys were the epitome of a supergroup.  The driving force was George Harrison, who together with ELO's Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty recorded this great album of heartland rock which reached no.3 in the US and no.16 in the UK.  I thought I only knew the lead single from the album; the joyful 'Handle With Care', but on playing it I realised that I knew every single song.  My Dad bought a cassette copy when it came out and he must have played the heck out of it around the house!

You can tell that the group really enjoyed making the album (apparently recorded in just ten days at the home of Eurythmics' Dave Stewart) as the sense of fun really seeps through into the music.

It's not on Spotify so here's 'Handle With Care' on Youtube:



It's a really sweet video and all the more moving when you remember that two of the group are no longer around.

Life Is A Dance

Chaka Khan

Singer Chaka Khan first found fame with funk group Rufus in 1973.  Over her long career she has successfully lent her powerful voice to pop, jazz, R&B and soul, but in 1989 she had a go at house music too.  Or rather, she allowed an array of producers to remix 11 of her hits into extended club versions to make a double album of floorfillers.

I bought Life Is A Dance at a car boot sale last autumn for £1:

Chaka Khan - Life Is A Dance - The Remix Project (1989)

My top tracks (Spotify links below) are the legendary Frankie Knuckles' remix of Ain't Nobody and radio and club DJ Tony Humphries' mix of I Know You, I Live You.

The album reached no.1 in the UK and every single track reached no.1 in the US dance play chart.

Chaka Khan – Ain't Nobody - Remix

Chaka Khan – I Know You, I Live You - Remix Album Version



Rok Da House

Sunday was fine and sunny, and I came away from a local boot sale with six LPs.  The first two took me back to my early teens; some late 80s commercial house:

Various - Best of House Megamix (1987)

Various - Best of House Vol. 4 (1988)

These are from a compilation series released by Serious Records and I got them for £1 each.  Volume 4 features eight 12" mixes of tracks including Bomb The Bass, Raze and The Beat Masters Featuring The Cookie Crew.

The Megamix is two sides mixed by The Bovver Boys and Double Trouble.  I'm not ashamed to say that when I got these on the turntable on Sunday afternoon, some uncoordinated yet energetic dancing took place in the privacy of my living room.

See Side A part 1 here:  http://youtu.be/rYoX2Awbskk

and Side A part 2 here:  http://youtu.be/XAwTKkk9Q8k

Side B Part 1 here:  http://youtu.be/3Jl3YteYAKA

and Side B Part 2 here:  http://youtu.be/27ad7K05ovs