Various

Ubiquity’s series of reworked versions of popular and obscure records is keeping a finger on the pulse of new and emerging artists who are on the verge of well-deserved, greater recognition and this edition proves to continue that trend. No group probably exemplifies this more than production troupe Sa-Ra, who have blazed a sonic trail over the past few months that has them positioned nicely to drop their much talked about cosmic slop on the masses later this year. Here, their version of Sly Stone’s "Just Like A Baby” retains the organised confusion of their approach while hewing a little too close to the original. Yam Who? are another mysterious production team from London whose remix CD-Rs were causing quite a buzz, but their re-rub on Heatwave’s luminous "Star Of The Story” never really takes off. With everyone from Joni Mitchell and Cameo getting the treatment and appearances ranging from the inimitable Sharon Jones and soul stalwart Lee Fields here, the compilation’s curiosity factor ranks high, but there are a couple of performances that will withstand the initial novelty factor. Nostalgia 77’s version of the White Stripes’ "Seven Nation Army” gets an impassioned bluesy performance from Alice Russell, and the Rebirth, featuring members of Bay Area stalwarts Breakestra, throw down a downright irresistible version of the Mighty Ryders’ rare groove classic "Evil Vibrations” that will make you love it even if you don’t know it, which in the end is the strongest asset of these ongoing releases.