The Best Garage Anthems Ever - Various Artists

...released in 2000, just near the end of summer. It might be 5 years old but some of the hits still sound fresh. The album was released on cassette and CD but I listened to the various tracks on the internet. I'm slowly getting used to this modern technology!

The music, as the title of the album suggests, is dance music and it covers "garage" as well as the "2 step" garage that emerged in the first half of this decade. ...
...in the back, basically. As for the "garage" itself, I think it's to do with a style of music which originated in New York's "Paradise Garage". It has vocals, keyboards and sometimes strings and a hell of a lot of bass. Of course, with "two step" more irregular drums were added and we got the funny sounding (to me anyway) songs such as "Re-wind (Bo Selector)" by the Artful Dodger.

The cassette ... more

This album was released in 2000, just near the end of summer. It might be 5 years old but some of the hits still sound fresh. The album was released on cassette and CD but I listened to the various tracks on the internet. I'm slowly getting used to this modern technology!

The music, as the title of the album suggests, is dance music and it covers "garage" as well as the "2 step" garage that emerged in the first half of this decade. The "2 step" refers to the arrangement of drums in the back, basically. As for the "garage" itself, I think it's to do with a style of music which originated in New York's "Paradise Garage". It has vocals, keyboards and sometimes strings and a hell of a lot of bass. Of course, with "two step" more irregular drums were added and we got the funny sounding (to me anyway) songs such as "Re-wind (Bo Selector)" by the Artful Dodger.

The cassette has an astounding 40 tracks on it. As a bit of a pop tart, some of these songs and even the artistes passed me by, but on the other hand, the inclusion of songs by the likes of the True Steppers will probably annoy "real" dance fans.

There are a few tracks which stand out. For instance, track 1 is a re-mix of "Seven Days" by Craig David. I'd forgotten how egotistical his lyrics can be but this version is not as boring as the single version.

"Flowers" by Sweet Female Attitude is another re-mix but this was never a song I really liked. It did reach the top 10 though.

"Buggin" by True Steppers featuring Dane Bowers is a great song and its sequel, "Out of Your Mind" by True Steppers featuring Dane Bowers and Victoria Adams was a huge hit in the summer of 2000, but many dance fans probably disliked their music hitting the main stream in this way. Dane Bowers crops up again with "Another Level" on "Bomb Diggy". For some reason, this song reminds me of the theme tune from "Picture Box", which was on when I was a kid! Even this re-mix sounds like something else.

"Woman Trouble" by the Artful Dodger featuring Robbie Craig and Craig David and "Movin' Too Fast" by Artful Dodger and Romina Johnson showcase the best in British talent. And of course "Rewind", the song which possibly kick started the whole thing, has to make an appearance. These guys were at the top of their tree 5 years ago. What happened?!

"Back Together Again" by Maxi Priest shows the smooth vocals from him we have come to expect. Even with a garage backing track, he stands out.

Tin Tin Out featuring Emma Bunton is not the best choice for this album. Even a re-mix sounds like tepid pop and covering "What I Am" was never a good idea.

As I say, there are 40 songs on this album so it's good value. Many of these songs sound the same to me so I won't go through it track by track, but to a dance fanatic or even someone wishing to relive their youth a bit, this album would be good value. It's available second-hand from Amazon from £6. There are about 10 big mainstream chart hits here so it might be worth it. 

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