New - Various Artists : 'Dance Mania - Hardcore Traxx'

I tell you what folks I've been struggling a bit this month - couldn't move for killer new stuff at the start of the year and now it seems things are levelling themselves out a bit. That's no bad thing for a nerdtastic music obsessive such as myself as it frees up a bit of time to shop around more adventurously and blow my E-Music credits on some kinkier choices, the most attractive of which is this stunning Chicago House retrospective from Dance Mania records that came out in February. If like me you felt global serotonin levels drop with the sad news that Frankie Knuckles had passed away recently then this is the perfect pick me up - he doesn't feature but there's plenty of floor filling platinum from many of his Chicago peers to fill out this 24 track overview of the city's hugely influential club scene. I was familiar with a handful of names on here prior to listening and could probably hum only one of the tracks present - Housemaster Boyz' slightly token 'House Nation' which was one of the genre's earliest crossover hits back in the 80s - but digging beneath the surface unearths some real gems from the various corners of House's attic ranging from primitive mid 80s trigger tunes to subtler takes on the genre's many different faces. The early stuff is OK for historical context but the track listing doesn't get bogged down in nostalgia, the clunky Hi-NRG odes to Housing and Jacking serving simply as an introduction to an infinitely more fascinating voyage through various hypnotising sub-galaxies taking in smooth Deep House throb, euphoric piano runs and proto-Europop bounce with each masterful stroke. You don't have to be a devout student of electronic music to spot the tricks perfected here that have been imitated or lifted wholesale by lesser artists at various points throughout the ages, effervescent shimmers that run through House's most sublime moments, hi-hat tremors that have lifted energy levels through the roof and muscular baselines designed to move butts the world over. Picking favourites is tough but I'm rather partial to Club Style's 'Crazy Wild' for its pounding rhythms and nimble piano loop (along with a baseline that sounds suspiciously likes the Roses' 'Fools Gold' despite probably predating it), the soulful good vibeathon of Da Posse's 'Don't Try To Fight It' and the gratuitous proto-rave of Top Cat's looptabulous 'Work Out' but sticking this on random will guarantee sensual thrills and spills galore wherever the needle points. I regularly bitch about today's Oxbridge honkies co-opting House and Techno as their own pet media project but there's little point getting caught up in the flaws in their little hipster scene when you can simply bypass it and go straight to the source - I've been in the market for a House retrospective that covers all bases for some time now and this is the closest I've come to quenching that particular thirst. If you don't already have it then bag the original 'Chicago Trax' comp from back in the day to appreciate the foundations of what became a worldwide phenomenon but this flawless frolic through the ages is a more fulfilling experience of House's formative period and the legacy it left behind.

Check out : Club Style's 'Crazy Wild'. Makes that morning commute run so much smoother.