Groove Corporation

I'm sure these remixes were fine as a series of twelve-inch singles. Treated one by one, these are funky up-tempo reworking of reggae classics and a few other choices. When collected, we can see that the blueprint is the same for each one: tempos are within a few bpms of each other and grooves build up and break down in the same ways every time. Almost every track features filtered and echoed voices, which surely will be a '90s/'00s cliché. In fairness, these same criticisms could be applied to classic dub: a singles medium using the tech/efx du jour to reinterpret unlikely sources. The difference is in the level of experimentation within the rhythms and the willingness to push the technology into new directions; on that score this comp is zero for two. Dillinger's "Cocaine" is given a hard-hitting breakbeat workout as a fitting start to the album, but the next three tracks are closely related to the opener's style. There are some clunkers also, with treatments of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" and Bobby Womack's "Across 110th St." paving over the chord changes of both, stripping away their hooky and distinctive qualities. The remixes haven't furthered 30-year-old dub techniques and the whole thing has the feel of generic breakbeats. These songs are good DJ tools but don't hold up to repeated listening, except as a background music in some swanky bar. Dub's sonics demand more attention; they make you want to groove. This is music to nod your head to for 15 minutes before moving on to something else.