Now Dance – The Best Of ’93 (EMI / Virgin / Polygram, 1993)

Review
The second Now Dance compilation of 1993 is a double CD monster featuring 38 tracks. Nine of these had already been included on June’s Now Dance ’93:
Ace Of Base – All That She Wants, Louchie Lou and Michie One – Shout (It Out), Inner Circle – Sweat (A La La La La Long), The Prodigy – Wind It Up (Rewound Edit), Utah Saints – Believe In Me, Snow – Informer, Gabrielle – Dreams, Sybil – When I’m Good And Ready, Sister Sledge – Thinking Of You (Ramp Radio Remix). The inlay contains advertisements for the 10th Anniversary series with Now That’s What I Call Music 1993 flagged as “also available”.

Boom! Shake The Room is an feelgood starter of epic dancefloor quakes. It’s followed by the subtle soulful harmonies of SWV and I’m So Into You. Tight fit and back with the freestyle for Stakko Bo’s Here We Go before Ace Of Base get their freak on. Eurodance time; two timeless torch-bearers in Haddaway [What Is Love] and Culture Beat [Mr Vain]. And then Robin S with her enigmatic Luv 4 Luv while M People’s How Can I Love You More? is true house deluxe. The smashes keep piling on: Urban Cookie Collective’s crucial The Key, The Secret, Lulu’s strident Independence and Sybil’s When I’m Good And Ready.

Aftershock’s Dance To The Vibe gets another outing here. Shades of Indiana now. Next come Jade with their taut R&B gem Don’t Walk Away while Sister Sledge crank up the disco on the hotly remixed Thinking Of You. Gabrielle’s Dreams crops up on just about every compilation of ’93 and still manages to sound magnificent. The funk soul groove continues with Kenny Thomas’ buoyant Trippin’ On Your Love and Juliet Roberts’ slinky Caught In The Middle. Phil Kelsey’s remix of I Will Survive gives it a new lease of life for the rave generation. And lastly on CD1 it’s D:Ream and the power of positive thinking anthem U R The Best Thing. It reached #19 the second time around.

The second half kicks off with the very relentless No Limit. Pass the ball to Cappella and their frantic U Got 2 Let The Music before the awesome lushness of Moby’s early sound; a panoramic Move. So good. 81-82-83-84: And the hypnotic new gold dream from Usura on Open Your Mind followed by Utah Saints’ rockin’ house classic Believe In Me. Snap’s Do You See The Light is a grower; a slow building of pale saints and techno ghosts. We get back to business with Sunscreem’s workmanlike Pressure and The Shamen’s dream-E Phorever People. And the buggin’ whistle ‘n’ beats charmer of The Goodmen’s Give It Up.

The Prodigy Experience keeps on giving with the jittery yet addictive Wind It Up (Rewound Edit). All things must pass: it’s the other Boom tune, Shack-A-Lak from the mysterious Apache Indian. The reggae sound is continued on the ubiquitous Informer, Sweat (A La La La La Long) and Shout (It Out). Nestling in the grooves are The House Of Pain and their emerald-flavoured hip hop Jump Around. Elsewhere there’s the Stereo MCs and the atmospheric basement jacked groove Creation while Salt ‘N’ Pepa drop in with the better-than-I-remember Shoop. If you want an under the radar jam, check out Sinclair and his self-deprecating Ain’t No Casanova. Our trip comes to a laidback stop with Arrested Development’s nicely chilled Mr Wendal. “A human in flesh but not by law”.

Favourite tracks
Moby – Move