For me this label was a let down. The potential was there, the quantity was there but the quality wasnt. I mean what are the truly memorable classic releases?? CLS maybe, a few other decent releases but nothing ground breaking which is poor when you consider how big their catalog is / was. I mean look at the size of it. It dwarfs nearly all independents

If the A & R had severly tighten up and pushed artists into producing their best rather than rushing out 'just another release', which inevitably was sub standard poldy noise, things could have been very different

Still you cant have it both ways and at least they paid there artists and ran a reputable business!

My issue with Strictly Rhythm records is that for every great song they put out, you'll find 20 other pieces of crap they also released. Of course they've given us outstanding classics, too many to list here, but I feel they didn't use enough discretion and released too many records, a lot of them completely worthless. I dig through the used section in record stores in New York City all the time. I always come across tons of Strictly Rhythm records and most of the time it is utterly disapointing. Look at how many releases they have. Too many in my oppinion if a lot sound like garbage.

Huge House label that just got re-activated from the UK (their website is now back online). You just couldn't avoid Strictly Rhythm in the 90's. It was a very important label that turned many people into electronic music. As for the musical taste, it's every man for itself. The majority of the S.R. catalog is not very well known and was not entirely available to the general public due to the format. But everyone seems to agree on the best stuff: Erick Morillo, Armand Van Helden, MAW, Barbara Tucker, Todd Terry, Josh Wink... I agree that the end was nothing like the beginning. Projects like Soul Du Jour, or even that Crystal Waters single sampling "The Price Is Right" were not typical from the label in my opinion. But, if you search their catalog extensively, you will most definitely find something that fits your tastes. I personally enjoyed the works from Roger Sanchez, Endangered Species, TNT Experience, some of DJ Pierre and George Morel. I hope future releases will not disappoint us. Remixes of "Higher State Of Consciousness" are coming soon, as well as that new Todd Terry single. We can dream on again!

Strictly Rhythm was a glorious label and the best times in my opinion was from 1990 to 1994. Strictly are credited for beeing the first label for pushing forward the US Garage sound. Both Pizzaro and Finklestein were skilled in their buisness by creating a large network with producers. Everyone released a track on this label. I believe at their most productive era they released like 4-5 records a week. They kept a steady pace with good releases uptil '98-'99 but then the Ibiza went commercial and Strictly put a foot into that area... Bad Idea. And by then it was over for my part. Alot of cheese were released and the sound they were known to push was slowly decaying. Not just the Label itself but the garage sound took a slow downfall all over the world.
Many people are scared to really dig into this label because Strictly didn't just release good tracks. With an output of 4 releases a week you would be sure there was some crap comming out with the good ones as well. If you really want to buy records from their massive back catalouge you ought to do some research to filter out the poor releases. But stick to the early ninetees and you will find bombs a-plenty.
Today i don't hear much talk about Strictly which i think is A shame. They released tons of classics like the Hardrive EP, 'Beautiful People', 'Luv Dancin' & loads more. Many of Masters At Work's tracks released here are in my opinion their finest. They raised stars like Roger Sanchez, Barbara Tucker and Armand Van Helden. And i think the label was the biggest responsibility of really making the Garage sound widespread all around the world.
The biggest label in New York that excisted still lives with me. Respect and RIP!!

Hmmm, no comment on Strictly Rhythm, they must have been deleted accidentally i guess ;)
To summarize, this label is the epitome of the New-York house sound in the 1990s. Deep, garage, freaky, dark, dubby, latino, wild pitch...any quality house artist coming out of NYC at that period has releases on Strictly.
Let's not mention the international smash hits : Ultra Nate 'Free', Wink 'Higher State Of Consciousness', Reel To Real 'I Like To Move It'...and the many underground all-time classix like 'Break Night' (Mole People), 'The Warning' (Logic), 'Deep Inside' (Hardrive), 'Witch Doktor' (Van Helden), 'Luv Dancin' (Roger S), 'Follow Me' (Aly-Us), 'Needs (Not Wants)' (Mood Life), 'Love&Happiness' (Rivr Ocean), 'Bass Tone' (Sole Fusion) etc etc
Very probably the most important label in the New-York house music history.