I read somewhere that Strings Of Life is about the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. gave to the world. Perhaps in the Detroit of 1987 that dream seemed to have died with King but listening to this song, I know that cannot be true. There is an energy in this song, a sense of movement, that I have never heard in another techno song. Somehow the string stabs chafe against the piano line and the drums in a unique way that electrifies my body. Judging by the response I have seen to to this song in clubs, other people have the same reaction. You cannot stay still when the song kicks off after the short introduction, and if there is more than one person listening, something special will happen between the two of you.

Sometimes I feel sad when I look at Derrick May's catalogue and see that he stopped giving us music after only a few magical years near the end of the 20th century, but when I listen through, I find it full of emotional explosions like this one. They are focused and cut like a scalpel to the heart. Maybe he got sick of the pressure, maybe he is lazy (doubtful), or maybe he just burned out after producing a dozen odd songs like this one. I want him to produce more music, but I also feel satisfied with what he has made so far.

An interesting thing about 'Strings Of Life' is that Derrick May didn't name the song, but Frankie Knuckles did. Derrick took the song to Frankie, so he could play it at the Power Plant. The song was played seven times in a row in a night and the people who came to dance loved it. But there was still no name for the song, but everybody called it 'The String Song'. Then Frankie came up with the idea to call it 'Strings Of Life'.

Even though the Soul Central version for "Strings of Life" turned to be a massive hit kinda instantly, the original version from master Derrick May should get the credits for it, 'cause it holds the essence. It may be a bit slower and have a different mood from the more recent tracks, but it definitely has the spirit of a Detroit Techno classic.

Strings is simply the greatest track ever. I can remember the first time I ever heard it, it changed my life. I just had to have one. From the moment the piano starts the song just oozes emotion. Then the synth stabs enter and all hell breaks loose. By the time the drums are added you cannot help yourself. You simply have to go wild.

Derrick's best work in my opinion, still to be bettered.

Check out the release on Buzz for a truly epic no beats version. Strings of Life is a must have for everyone!

I've got the 92 re-press of this with the quote from Don Juan... "The universe is an infinite agglomeration of energy fields resemlbing strings of light. These energy fields, call emanations, radiate from a source of inconceivable proportions metaphorically called THE SOURCE. Human beings are also composed of an incalculable number of the same stringlike energy fields. These emanations form an encased agglomeration that manifast itself as a vall of light the size of the humans body in the shape of a luminous egg".
As near as I know these pressings marked the reactivation of the Transmat label.