Rappin’ Up The House (K-Tel, 1988)

Review
While K-Tel were out of the various pop game by 1988 (flattened by the Now and Hits juggernauts), they still managed to release a number of dance compilations. Rappin’ Up The House is one of their finest examples, 20 extended tracks over two CDs housed in a magnificent fatbox. Tim Jeffrey shares some thoughts in the inlay; he also contributed to The Hits Of House Are Here. A flavour: “This is the year of dance. As the stampede of rap, house and acid gather momentum, dance floors are packed like never before with a euphoric mass who want to move all night long. Night clubs are charged with a kinetic energy that demands a relentless supply of tough beats to satisfy its appetite for action.”

It’s a thrilling beginning with S-Express’ acid smasher Superfly Guy (Fluffy Bagel Mix). You can smell the dry ice. This is a trip nowhere: Paul Hardcastle makes two appearances on CD1, the first as The Acid Boyz on the primitive sample ‘n’ hold We Don’t Exist. The second sees Mr Rainforest assume the form of The DTI on the moving, grooving Listen To This. In a sublime piece of sequencing, we’re treated to Pierre’s Pfantasy Club’s ecstatic and passionate Dreamgirl (Ralphi Rosario Mix). PS – the version here fades at 6:34. “Nothing beat riding around the Chicago skyline with this playing in the background.” (Jack86) And then the well known Can You Feel It complete with Chuck Roberts dialogue – “In the beginning there was jack.” Yet again, I’ll House You pops up and is followed by the extended mix of LA Mix’s Check This Out complete with Addams Family sample.

Their beat is the law; a welcome inclusion for the 12″ of Krush’s House Arrest. The B-side was called Jack’s Back. After Longsy D’s distinctly average To The Rhythm, CD1 comes to an end with the album version of Eric B. & Rakim’s Move The Crowd. Soul power! The second half gets underway with James Brown – The Payback Mix, a jam-packed 12″ remixed by Coldcut’s Jonathan More and Matt Black, a cut-up of The Godfather’s funkiest tunes. It takes two etc. They pop up in their own right with the sensational reggae meets go-go Stop This Crazy Thing – Junior Reid in tow. Rock if you’re rocking. More beats: engineered by Lee “Acid Fingers” Rumble, Intolerator III’s Harry’s House is a fun-filled workout of samples from Don Siegel’s 1971 classic. Who remembers Sudden Impact?

More pieces: Decadent Dub Team’s fiery Six Gun (remixed by Dr Dre – his first at the tender age of 18 and still living at home) which was included on the Colors soundtrack. Don’t forget D Moet and X-Calibur’s memorable ragamuffin cover of Ken Boothe’s Everything I Own. Rappin’ Up The House sold a lot of copies in Woolworth’s, this is one track that brings people to You Tube remembering when and where. On the final stretch are Dave Steel and Andy Cox of Fine Young Cannibals on the untouchable beat of Tired Of Getting Pushed Around. And then the uniquely funky jam called Stomp by ’70s outfit Master Plan. The party ends with a bang, the ultracool Black Pyramid Mix of Samantha Fox’s Love House. “The dance floor is no longer the preserve of the few, the new wave of night clubber are a cosmopolitan crowd who have come to expect the best. Rappin’ Up The House brings the diversity and excitement of today’s dance scene right into your living room. TURN IT UP!”

Favourite tracks
Coldcut featuring Junior Reid – Stop This Crazy Thing

Pierre’s Pfantasy Club – Dreamgirl (Ralphi Rosario Mix)

James Brown – The Payback Mix

Lest we forget
Intolerator III – Harry’s House (Full Blast Club Mix)