D'Livin's "Why" is an old skool classic. The tune is structured in a very basic fashion, with no massive breakdown to be seen, just rolling breaks the whole way through. The class comes in the form of cleverly placed vocal samples, and a beautifully rolling bassline. This track is a true stepper.
The tempo is slightly slower than most '93 hardcore tunes, so fits more with an old skool hardcore set than an early jungle set.
Buy on sight if you can track it down.

This 12" is one of the classic era Formation releases when Formation was at the very pinnacle of the hardcore/jungle scene. All 3 tracks are high quality, and fairly representative of what was happening at the time, produced under one of DJ SS's many aliases.
Dark Exploration is a typical darkside jungle roller. Positive Reaction is a fairly bouncy tune, a good example of how the scene had still not fully split into jungle and happy hardcore, with elements of both in the track.
The pick of the EP is In Love... an absolute dark hardcore anthem in the typical SS style. Huge breaks, massive bass, and a haunting vocal. Heavy!!

To me, this is one of the best Bad Company 12"s you can own. "Flashback" is a tearing anthem in the classic BC mode, an ideal combination of tramens and reese bass that holds up against any of BC's more well known tunes like "Torpedos", "Nitrous", or "Planet Dust". I recall an Ed Rush and Optical set I went to where they played this, completely unmixed as their final tune, such was its impact.

On the flip is the under-rated "Spacewalk", a dark neuro tech stepper that was typical of the sound BC were pushing at the time. Sadly, the quality of this release was not continued in the album it acted as the sampler for, "Digital Nation", in my opinion.

"Flashback" was remixed as "Miami Flashback" on BC's "Book of the Bad Vol 3", but for my ears the original is the preferred mix. The remix adds instrumentation (including a big intro), but lacks the punch of the original.

This is essential BC at their best. Heavy release!

This, the third album from Ed Rush and Optical after the seminal "Wormhole" and "The Creeps", is much more experimental than either of the two previous albums. Perhaps not as unified in vibe as either of the them, "Dr Shade" still benefits from some interesting departures from the normal neuro-tech of early Virus.

"Get Ill" is my favourite, with vocals from Ryme Tyme and some great scratching from Scratch Perverts it makes for a storming intro tune. Other tracks, like "Puerto Rico", "Why", and "Heads Will Roll" approach a more commercial sound than is usual for the Virus label. Still, those wanting teeth-grinding dancefloor smashers can look to "Hammerhead" and "Hacksaw" for business as usual.

Due to the distinct lack of ultra-dark material, I'm not sure this album had nearly the same impact as "Wormhole", but at the time there were so many other producers aping that style it was good to see Ed Rush and Optical moving in a different direction.