Today’s mix:
United DJs Of America, Vol. 4 by David Morales & Frankie Knuckles 1995 House / Garage / Deep House
I think the mid-90s is probably my favorite era of house music. It doesn't contain my favorite sound or style overall, but between about '94 and '96, before Daft Punk broke through with the French filtered craze and the orchestral disco and Philly soul revivalist stuff went huge, too, house music was at that point where it was just short of going mainstream on a global scale. And a lot of times, that's when a scene hits its zenith, right when it's at that inbetween level where it's a bonafied cultural movement and is also just on the brink of becoming corrupted, bastardized, and packaged for capitalist mass consumption. Now, I'm under no illusion that there weren't plenty of quality house tunes after that mid-90s period, but when things become too big and too broad, they begin to lose their luster, and there's really no argument that house music definitely suffered from that at least a little bit when the late 90s came around.
But who better to represent part of that still pretty pure mid-90s era than two of the greatest house producers, remixers, and DJs to ever walk this earth, David Morales and Frankie Knuckles? Known for being partners when it came to churning out remixes, here they are, lined up back-to-back, giving us a pretty stellar pair of sets with a lot of vocal, soulful, and garage jams from 1994. And if you want just a couple slices of how good those styles were back then, this is a pretty damn good place to look!
However, despite how quality this release is, I also seem to have an unpopular opinion about it. Lots of people agree that the Frankie Knuckles mix is the better of the two, but I'm way more in the David Morales camp. I really like what he does from Sun, Sun, Sun's "Curious" all the way through to his finale with Lee Genesis' "Ya Can't Separate Me." The Knuckles mix is still great, too, but I'm just not as fully on board with it as I am with Morales', although Knuckles' finish, which is his and Morales' 1992 remix of Alison Limerick's "Where Love Lives," is probably the best tune out of both sets, which is impressive on its own considering the fact that it's the oldest cut between both mixes.
Listen to the David Morales mix (CD1) here. Listen to the Frankie Knuckles mix (CD2) here.
Highlights:
CD1:
Disco Elements - "Volume 4" Sun, Sun, Sun - "Curious" Maydie Miles - "Keep On Luvin'" Project Sound - "Sweet In The Morning" Black Shells - "The Anthem" DJ Dexter - "In My House" The Boss - "Congo" Thunderdome - "Love & Music" Mixx Vibes - "Just Can't Get Enough" Industry - "Release Me" Lee Genesis - "Ya Can't Separate Me"
CD2:
Secret Life - "Love So Strong" Kerri Chandler - "Glory To God" Romanthony - "Ministry Of Love" Kathy Sledge - "Another Star (Hands In The Air Dub)" Prana - "The Dream" Millionaire Hippies - "I Am The Music, Hear Me (Fire Island Dub)" Way Out West - "Ajare (Wild Pitch Mix)" Barbara Tucker - "I Get Lifted (The Bar Dub)" Andrea Mendez - "Bring Me Love (Classic Frankie Mix)" Elastic Reality - "Cassa De X" Alison Limerick - "Where Love Lives (Remix)"
