Madonna’s favourite bassist, Jacques Lu Cont (Stuart Price to his mates) compiles one of the most eclectic and enjoyable instalments in the Fabric Live series so far (John Peel’s mix excluded). Where else are you likely to find The Steve Miller Band mingling with Röyksopp or Strauss rubbing shoulders with The Pixies?
Paying homage to some of his favourite eighties musical moments from The Steve Miller Band, Eurythmics and Devo, the mix also displays Jacques’ penchant for more recent producers such as Chicken Lips, Themroc, Gusgus and Tom Middleton.
Split into two halves, the first draws to an epic climax with the classical strains of Strauss, having veered from Mirwais’ cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Miss You’ to Tom Tom Club’s proto-hip-house ‘Wordyrappinghood’, not to mention Ernest St Laurant’s harpsichord n’ synths remix by Röyksopp.
The unmistakable opening bars of Eurythmic’s ‘Sweet Dreams’ eases us into the second half. Here Price shows his eclectic credentials proper, mixing up Trax house classic, ‘House Nation’ with Devo, Junior Sanchez’s house-meets-rock and The Pixies, before rounding things off with Brian Eno’s slice of ambient fuzz, ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’.
Successfully balancing pure dance-floor moments with more novelty sounds, the Les Rhythmes Digitales frontman proves here that DJ compilations still have something worthwhile to say. Approach with an open mind and you’re in for treat.
Reviewed by Colin Chapman
|
