Deep Heat ’90 (Telstar, 1990)

Review
Deep Heat ’90 eschews the wordy sleeve note for a selection of artist photos. Just 10 of its 30 tracks have already featured in the series. Once again it’s nearly all radio edits so two of the 10 common tunes are shorter takes than what originally appeared on the seventh instalment [Your Love Takes Me Higher] and the eighth volume [What Time Is Love?]. So just eight duplicates and it’s become my go-to dance compilation for reliving 1990.

“Music please”. Technotronic’s fun-size best bits Megamix is one of three tracks lifted from Deep Heat 7 – Seventh Heaven; the others being Don Pablo’s Animals energy rush version of Venus and The Beloved’s languid Your Love Takes Me Higher. The latter appears in 7″ form now – Deep Heat 7 has a shorter version of the Calyx of Isis 12″. The remainder of CD1 features a selection of well-known 1990 anthems such as Snap’s elongated Ooops Up and Adamski’s percussive Elvis-on-E Space Jungle. Then there’s Black Box’s underrated dreamy I Don’t Know Anybody Else. Groove on with Chad Jackson’s breaktastic Hear The Drummer Get Wicked before toasting the Rolling Stones on the Soup Dragons’ I’m Free.

Queen Latifah joins up with De La Soul on the fun hip hop of Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children. A kick ass joint from the golden age. Elsewhere there’s the full 5:20 version of Dub Be Good To Me and D-Mob’s funky bass cadet Put Your Hands Together. The 49ers go full-on with the urgent rhythms of Touch Me while Candy Flip spin back to the sounds of ’67 on their cosmic reading of Strawberry Fields Forever. Meanwhile we revisit Deep Heat 8 – The Hand Of Fate on Twenty 4 Seven’s fresh I Can’t Stand It, F.A.B. and MC Parker’s Portmeirion nightmare, the KLF’s amazing What Time Is Love? and Hi Tek 3’s turtle soup Spin That Wheel. And the sole tune from Deep Heat 5 – Feed The Fever is FPI Project’s harder-faster-better cover of Going Back To My Roots.

“It’s so hot in here”. CD2 leads with some familiar classics. There’s Blue Pearl’s hedonistic Naked In The Rain which is followed by The Family Stand’s Sly Stone-like Ghetto Heaven. Cool your fire with En Vogue’s stylish Hold On and the AA Mix of Moments In Soul. Lady with the spinning head: Guru Josh’s Infinity video. Where is she now? Also ported over from Deep Heat 6 – The Sixth Sense are De La Soul and the educational rhymes of The Magic Number. Madchester is represented by MC Tunes Versus 808 State and The Only Rhyme That Bites. Tunes Splits The Atom also vital.

“Hey DJ! Where’s the bass?” Bizz Nizz and Don’t Miss The Party Line is officially growing on me; I’m finally getting the chain reaction. Familiarity breeds contentment with Betty Boo’s dancefloor stormer Doin’ The Do and Jam Tronik’s Phil Collins comb-over Another Day In Paradise. Time for the Jive Bunny of house: Latina Rave return with the breaks on 45 Sixth Sense. And the final chapter is by Nightmares On Wax. Mr George Evelyn. In 1988 he joined a breakdance crew where he befriended Kevin Harper, and the two later formed Nightmares on Wax. Aftermath is their legendary third single and we get the full Warp Records 12″ mix. Total trippy breakbeat heaven. “I’m for real”.

Favourite tracks
Queen Latifah and De La Soul – Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children

Bizz Nizz – Don’t Miss The Party Line

F.A.B. featuring MC Number 6 – The Prisoner

Nightmares On Wax – Aftermath

Lest we forget
Latino Rave – The Sixth Sense