Deep Heat 2 – The Second Burn (Telstar, 1989)

Review
It was April 1989. A daily re-run of Upstairs Downstairs was starting on RTE 1. My Leaving Certificate exams were just two months away. After intense bouts of studying, I was immersing myself in Deep Heat most evenings. On headphones while dreaming of Julia Sawalha. The second volume was released before I knew it, the inlay promising “28 of the hottest, most sizzling dance sounds of the moment, from the most happening and upfront dance labels” i.e. Champion Records, Jive, DJ International, Westside Records, Kool Kat Records, Rhythm King, Republic, Big One Records, Dance Music, Big Life, Citybeat Records, Profile Records, Supreme Records, Bass Records and Beggars Banquet.

“Are you ready to jam?
I am”.
Humanoid start the engine with the driving Slam. Turn up the bass and get ready for Tyree’s self-explanatory Hardcore Hip House. Wicked acid undertones. Now an impassioned plea to do the right thing: The Stop The Violence Movement’s Self Destruction. This was a big-name New York hip-hop collaboration coordinated by KRS-One that campaigned against violence in the black community. It included members of Public Enemy, Stetsasonic, and Boogie Down Productions. The message still holds true.

Get On The Dance Floor with Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. Super synth throwback. Sterling Void’s Runaway is deep house with a soulful edge while Todd Terry’s mix of When The Pieces Fall is a wonderful showcase for Yolanda Milla’s vocal talents. Maureen via Bomb The Bass brings an 80s feel to Aretha Franklin’s Say A Little Prayer. Speed up with Fast Eddie’s Yo Yo Funky. If you’re sitting still while checking out this tune, check your pulse. Check out Bobby Konders heavy pressure classic I Want You by Massive Sounds and Raze’s hard house beats on Let The Music Move U.

More Todd on The Texican (Club Mix) as Orange Lemon. Blindingly great freestyle. Dreams of Santa Ana. Ibiza apocalypse. And again with Royal House’s A Better Way with its jerking rhythms and anthemic vocal from Ian Starr. Keith Nunnally’s also got soul fever on Greed. Unity all over the world. LNR’s Work It To The Bone is a frenetic club buster. Add some ska to the acid mix with Longsy D’s House Sound [This Is Ska] and Children Of The Night featuring Rankin Roger [We Play Ska]. Pork pie hat and a whistle blend.

Our funk soul brothers Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock return for disc 2. It Takes Two and Lyn Collins breaks. Plus as a bonus you get the 7:35 extended cut of Get On The Dance Floor. Feel the love with Brian Keith and Touch Me. He’s no Samantha Fox. Shana Douglass’ My Love Is Right is an upfront R&B that deserves to be much higher on the general public radar while Joe Smooth’s Can’t Fake The Feeling continues these mellow vibes. L.U.S.T. oozes big time sensuality with 2 Hot 2 Stop (Midnight Mix).

Non-plastique. Yazz’s Dream in long form is a mean monster groove with Martin Luther King samples. When I brought my copy of The Unforgettable Fire into school, some people thought that MLK was Milk. There’s bitterness in the Turntable Orchestra’s You’re Gonna Miss Me; nice hardcore piano. Farley “Jackmaster” Funk links up with Ricky Dillard for a deadly cover of Stevie Wonder’s As Always. Phase II give Reachin’ a decent Latin workout while The She Rockers’ busy On Stage is sheer dope on plastic. We go to Paris for our final journey: the plaintive Learn To Love. Assemble the ways. Now, today, tomorrow and always.

Favourite tracks
Royal House – A Better Way

Tyree – Hardcore Hip House

Orange Lemon – The Texican (Club Mix)

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock – Get On The Dance Floor (12″ Mix)

Lest we forget
The Stop The Violence Movement – Self-Destruction (Extended Mix)