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Nicolette - No Government - 31-Jul-09 12:44 AM
The remastering of the original is done very carelessly: in the middle of the tune you hear the Microsoft Windows error sound from another application which must have been running during recording, which spoils the whole tune. If you want to play out the original mix of "No Government", you will have to look for the original pressing.
The remixes arent able to hold a candle to the original, but this is probably a matter of taste.

Lion Of Judah - Emperor Selassie '99 / Revolution - 21-Mar-05 03:20 AM
Absolutely head-banging remix of an inoffensive filler tune from the “Tribute to Haile Selassie” LP. The original features an MC singing about “You dis Rastaman, we rip you up like lion” but the comparison that springs to mind is not lion, it is Hans Moleman, the wizened bespectacled defeatist old geezer from The Simpsons. I guess they were going through a bit of a rough patch and decided to rehash some of their old studio tapes, but whatever, the result is truly astonishingly tough. It starts off with the horns from the original together with a break that sounds like someone’s practising martial arts on a giant spring, then at the drop there’s a sample from a documentary about Rastafarianism, with the interviewee declaiming on the “Power of the Holy Trinity”. Then there’s just the loudest amen/bassline combination imaginable, together with a bit of the singing from the original.

The flip side is indeed rolling, and as with the other side the breaks and bass used seem to have hob-nailed boots on. There is weird intro of cartoony funk music, then a fairly simple and extremely loud drum pattern over which a variety of flatulent basslines display their wares.

Freestyles - Play The Game / Learn From The Mistakes Of The Past - 07-Feb-05 12:41 AM
Zinc’s side starts with the eerie trumpet intro off “Funkin’ for Jamaica” by Tom Brown, I guess you have to plunder from anywhere to be a successful drum ‘n’ bass producer, although actually it works really well and sets the track up nicely. There’s a sample of alcoholic chess enthusiast Samuel L Jackson saying “Some say he was the greatest player ever to play the game… play the game… play the game…” and a simple one-two beat comes in, which is then joined by quite a forceful bassline. For some producers this would be enough, but this is just an intro, and in the fullness of time the tune drops with the addition of more breaks and a nice wobbly bass sound. And then some chopped and filtered amen comes in, then a new bassline… it definitely offers value for money.

DJ Hype’s offering on the flip (the longest title in drum ‘n’ bass ever? The first and last attempt at offering lifestyle advice by a drum and bass DJ?) has loads of hip hop and kung fu samples, not particularly coherent but it is quite entertaining.

Swoosh - Ya Rockin - 07-Feb-05 12:41 AM
Big tune from 1997 that samples the slap bass hook from “Money” by the O’Jays. The end result comes somewhere between Peshay and Urban Takeover and has loads of bassline changes to boot. There’s also some tuff amen drums during the last third, which is quite different to the rest of the tune and comes on a bit like “Night Flight”. The nice thing is how interesting the rest of the tune is after the initial hook, it’s not one of those tunes where the hook drops out and there isn’t much else going on. If you were going to d’n’b nights at the time this came out (or for quite some time afterwards) you will have heard it, it got played LOADS. Unfortunately I can’t really say the same about the B-side, frankly it’s pants.

DJ Rap - Propa Classics Volume 4 - 07-Feb-05 12:41 AM
Both tunes feature MCs. “Lick Shot” starts out with an ambient-sounding intro with breathy female vocals, it all threatens to turn into something off Logical Progression for a while but then the proper tune drops which is a bit like “Fire”, with an aggressive amen drum pattern and quite a lengthy bit of MCing. I can’t really hear what he’s going on about but I’m pretty sure he says “arse” at one point. Then it all goes back to ambient, then fierce again, etc. etc.

The B-side is classic ragga jungle and it’s also fast enough to play out next to current stuff. Top Cat (he off “Champion DJ” on Congo Natty records) puts it down over a very dancehall-esque bassline, a bit like “Under Me Sleng Teng” (or “Way In My Brain” by SL2 if you’re young). Rather than being a full studio recording the track loops up a short bit of MC’ing, something about being “The ruffest gun ark from outta South Park”, although perhaps I mishear slightly. The end result is really simple but effective and if you like “Fire”, “Champion DJ” etc. you’ll probably want this. The sleeve of this record also features a collage of old skool rave flyers that will either make you laugh, feel nauseous or get misty eyed, depending on what you were up to in 1994.

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