Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You

Funniest thing I know about this particular edition of the record , seeing as it was the very first pressing - A French guy called Sebastian, drove thousands of copies over to London from France, the minute they were released from the pressing plant. He managed to be the first person to arrive with them, and sold them (I think for cash) to the likes of eagerly awaiting distributors as Amato / Prime etc.
With the proceeds, he treated himself to a spanking new Range Rover.
The next day, presumably after his long into the night victory celebrations, he was pulled over for drink driving, and later lost his license. At some considerable loss, the car had to be sold.
And the moral of this story? None, it just makes me laugh when I think about it! Maybe, it was "Fate" at work, just like the sample.

Hat's off to Braxe, Diamond, Bangalter, Chaka's producer Arif Mardin, and the original uncredited star of the show - guitar player / sample creator Hiram Bullock.
In the cumbersome days of frantic first-to-the-post vinyl distribution, only a handful of dance tracks ever created such a universal buzz as this, and for many dj's, it still guarantees business on dancefloors worldwide. Stardust Indeed!

For what its worth, I recall hearing this for the first time on a BBC Radio One Essential Mix live from Ibiza, when Danny Rampling dropped it in the middle of the mix, and I have to say that I could not shut up about it for days afterwards. An amazing track that gave me rushes unfelt since my early clubbing forays during the hiatus of Italo/Piano/E-tunes of the early '90's. However, this record has stood the test of time far better than those tracks, and will continue to do so. It was my stand out track of 1998 and almost ten (my god has it been that long) years on brings back very happy memories from a Summer I had convinced myself would never end! In fact I'm going to put in on the decks now. Stardust thank you!

What can i say that hasn't already been said? It really is an amazing tune. Definitely one that people of my generation will listen to in our 50's and reminisce over such delights as "Ibiza Uncovered", "TUNE!" signs, Ministry Of Sound compilations, and Human Traffic...the late 90's basically.

The tune is so simple, but thats possibly why its so good. Bangalter never used this alias again as he felt he could not do it justice and follow this track up. Very sensible. There were a slew of bootlegs, i actually liked the Stuntamsterz "Holiday" mash up as well. A modern classic for sure. Respect to this track.

You're at a party.

Then this track comes.

You've just had the time to hear the eternal guitar gimmick, but it's already done: you became insane.

Then Mr. Diamond starts to sing like he's possessed by Tom Jones, and you cry. You kiss your neighbours, you dance like it's your last day on Earth, you scream, you raise arms.

This happens every time. And it always will.


The magic contained in that track remains a mystery, as it is ridiculously simple: a loop, some words, period. And that is exactly what makes this a work of genius, the type of genius that animated formerly the chicagoan house music makers: the Groove (with a capital G, like God). Loops repeated for hours, like a modern tribal dance. But "Music sounds better with you" took the Groove further, it took it to a worldwide appeal.

Don't just consider this track like a one-day top charts hit. "Music sounds better with you" is a milestone. This is an unbeatable monster of a song, everybody's anthem. Auditive cocaine, hypnosis for masses. Moistness and sex. Love and hope.


This is THE song.

An interesting point about this track is that the vocal "ooh baby, music sounds better with you" will loop perfectly, so that you cant determin any cut at all. The 'ooh' at the start follows on perfectly with the end of the sentence 'you'. Its a great 4 bar loop in its own right.

After Bob Sinclar made "GYM TONIC" further releases of the song included the Anthem From Paris Remix Instead of Bob Sinclar's remix, this one, made by Dimitri from Paris and Bibi, is in my opinion the best remix for the song altough nothing can beat the original 12" version.

Interesting affair: After the legendary "Gym Tonic" incident happened between Thomas Bangalter and Bob Sinclar, the path of these two successful DJ's separated. In between, Sinclar had remixed "Music Sounds Better With You" and some editions of the Stardust single includes his version. It was just a matter of time before Dimitri from Paris & Bibi got asked to replace the Bob Sinclar mix in the tracklisting with their sweet "Anthem From Paris", which became one of the most popular version to be played, alongside the original.

word up to all the people who have dropped respect on this track! all i can add, or rather reiterate(!), is that this IS the offical best house track of all time; it has not even been closely rivalled by any production since. the beat behind the track is quite simply slamming - really deep and weighty and clean and crisp as fuck, and the main loop just works and works, with Banglatar/Braxe/Diamond manipulating it as the track progresses. so fresh and so clean. one i'll be playing my grandkids in 60 years!!!peace to all the househeads out there, keep the vibes positive and keep the floors smiling. KF

After the insane buzz following this record, the import copy on Roule alone managed to get into the top 75 in the UK chart. Chain stores like HMV were sending couriers to Dover to pick up copies straight from the ferry from France to meet demand. A bidding war between various record companies began, Virgin eventually won but Thomas Bangalter being the canny businessman he is, he managed to retain the vinyl rights to Roule, and the single-sided record was the only place DJs could get the tune. Not that it did any good as 'Music sounds...' was bootlegged to death in the subsequent months.
It might be daytime playlist fodder now, but this tune is, was and ever shall be a sublime piece of fragile musical beauty which has yet to be surpassed.

Beaten to number 1 in the UK by Boyzone,teenagers decided to buy a track by a forgettable boy band rather than a timeless slice of french house.