Lets party like its 1989. Universal have raided their back catalogue and assembled a double-disc compilation neatly divided into classic and party trax, although in truth theres no obvious difference in the two sets of songs. They havent used the term old skool but it is the one that probably best describes this collection.
These forty tracks have apparently been inspired by a recent revival in all things late 80s/early 90s thanks to such diverse cultural influences as vacuous X Factor lightweights Jedward and E4s latest ratings-botherer, Glee.
Odd then, that highlights include Rappers Delight, Sugar Hill Gangs 1979 game-changer, and Indeeps 1982 one-hit wonder, Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. Not that those two are unwelcome additions far from it. In fact, there is a wide range in both vintage and quality throughout.
Theres pop, with Mel & Kims Respectable, plenty of rap and hip hop such as Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mels White Lines (Dont Do It), Walk This Way by Run DMC v Aerosmith and (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right by the Beastie Boys. Its big on punctuation too.
Elsewhere, theres piss-weak RnB-inspired pop like Color Me Badds 1991 cultural missive on love in the nineties, I Wanna Sex You Up and awful cash-in crossover nonsense like 2 In A Rooms Wiggle It and Whoomp! There It Is by Tag Team. And who can forget Culture Beats Mr Vain? No, me neither.
But when you have 40 songs to choose from, there are inevitable high points to match such lows. The compilation opens with Salt N Pepas Push It, Vanilla Ices Queen-inspired white rap trailblazer, Ice Ice Baby and former UK number one The Power from Snap! Love or hate them, these are reminders of important moments in pop and hip hop history, and anyone old enough to clearly recall Italia 90 will find them evocative enough.
Theres a fair amount of quality here too. Dreamer by Livin Joy, Everybodys Free by Rozalla and Show Me Love by Robin S are timely reminders of devastatingly effective electronic understatement that is all too alien to todays crop of talent. And, along with the Sugar Hill Gang, Dee-Lites Groove Is In The Heart, Adamskis Seal career-launching Killer and Beats Internationals Dub Be Good To Me are all key junctures in the history of popular music culture and all worthy inclusions.
Yet despite the determinedly eclectic nature of the compilation, it is still very odd to find that Lionel Richies All Night Long (All Night) and Cameos Word Up have somehow been shoehorned in. It is stranger still that a celebration of retro disco, hip hop and house should see Ace Of Bases I Saw The Sign wedged between Gloria Estefans Dr Beat and Shannons Let The Music Play (a fiver says youre now thinking of the Fraggle Rock theme tune? Its not that one, although it wouldnt be a complete surprise if it were in here somewhere).
This is such a diverse collection with plenty of hits and misses that theres probably more than enough here to keep any child of the seventies or early eighties more than happy, especially if youre also a fan of spurious and superfluous punctuation in song and band names.
So grab your glow sticks, grow your fringe and put the living room clock round your neck. Just keep the remote handy so you can skip 2 Unlimited.