Various - San Francisco Project 2 - Tribute To James Brown / The Scratch - The Bass

Where can I begin on this mix?? It is the classic of all classic Breaks DJ Mixes!
Nothing about this mix could be better:

The blending is flawless. Dan switches records quickly, yet blends them perfectly. And some of these records are hard to beat match, being old, full of imperfect samples, changing rhythms and tempos. Not one mix is off at all. And to top it off DJ Dan cuts back and forth between tracks in all the right moments, throwing in bits of the next or previous record. This trick, annoying and mastubatory in the hands of some DJ's, fits perfectly when done here.

The track selection is a potpourri of brilliant, intelligent, funky early 90's (and some late 80's) breaks. The best is here. Not a single track on this mix is a clunker.

The mix starts as a real tribute to James Brown, showcasing some amazing modern interpretations of his music as well as one of his actual songs. Then other gems are thrown in, showing us that this music is just as fun and playful and funky as James Brown's music it pays tribute to. Both of Think Tank's excellent tracks are here ("A knife and a fork, a bottle and a cork, that's the way you spell New York!") and the Black Machine tracks introduce some Breaks with massive Jazz influence.

Another huge influence heard here is early hip-hop. The mix is just as much a tribute to the early pioneers of hip-hop who sampled Jamnes Brown as it is an actual tribute to James himself. And the result is a lovely blend of rap samples, scratching, James Brown funk, and about 1000 other things thrown in for good measure.

Listening to this mix is a history lesson. Some of the samples heard include:
-Nirvana
-Peter & The Wolf (The Musical)
-Public Enemy
-Eric B. & Rakim
-Rob Base
-Kool & The Gang
-oh yeah, um James Brown too, about 380 times.

The flawless presentation continues on Side B. About halfway through this side the mood switches to more electro/freestyle oriented breaks and the change is seamless. The energy builds and the scratcing intensifies (scratching both in the records and also performed by Dan himself) and by the end of the tape one may feel like applauding.

This tape was played to pieces by me and all my friends starting back in 93, now I see it as an amazing time capsule of early 90's and late 80's breaks.

Currently (Jan. 2008) this mix can be found for free download at ezeskankin dot com and I recomend you check it out and pass it on!!