Creating a new genre
Curmudgeon | West Australia | 10/18/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Nine O'Clock Drop" is a genre-defining compilation, bringing together a bunch of seemingly disparate bands. The key to Andrew Weatherall's concept is the fusion of traditional rock and punk elements and attitudes with the more complex rhythmic structures of funk and reggae. The late 70s and early 80s are now increasingly recognised as a time of great cultural ferment, with the mixing of black and white styles of music creating a new synthesis. All the tracks on this album exemplify this change, and the music sounds incredibly vibrant. The 80s production values - heaps of electronics - paradoxically make this sound amazingly contemporary, the first truly global music. I have seen this album compared to "Disco (Not Disco)", which chronicles the NY scene of the same period. "Disco" is also a good comp, but in some ways feels like the precursor to "Nine", which features mostly European acts using the Stateside experiments to push the envelope that little bit further. If anything, "Nine" features bands that use a harder, more electronic sound.
This is just a great album, with one surprise following another. Nuphonic are also releasing one great album after another. Their "David Mancuso presents The Loft" series chronicles the very best of underground disco from the 70s to the 90s, and is highly recommended as a great complement to "Nine". AND "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life", exposing tracks from the 60s to 90s that influenced the evolution of the dj and dance music. Get them all!"
Nice collection...
Curmudgeon | 12/06/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"...of beat-oriented cult classics from the 80's. Gina X is the rare gem here, as it is so far unavailable on cd anywhere else. Torch Song's "P2E remix" would have been a great selling point for this cd, had it not been (sigh...) poorly mastered from vinyl - not much surface noise but boomy, distorted bass and overall muffled sound. Still, the fact alone that there are no plans for any Torch Song reissues on the horizon makes this a worthwhile purchase for the desperate collector."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1