Manchester 90's Street Soul Mix #2

Apologies for the delay, folks.

Here's the second mix from Soul vendor's own DJ Manik. It may be Mancunian street soul flavas but I'm feeling the hell out of this way down South in London.

Please leave the man some love for his skill and generosity. I'll get those compilation albums posted ASAP.

Peace & luvizm one and all (normal service resumed tomorrow).

Tracklist

1. Danny Madden - The Facts Of Life (Acapella) (1990)
2. Shades Of Black - Blurton Road (A Chance In Life) (1991)
3. Funhill - Me My Turn (1991)
4. Michael Tarone - I Can Tell By The Look In Your Eye (Broadway Rude Boy Mix) (1991)
5. SWV - Right Here (Funkyman 12" Mix) (1993)
6. Jade - Don't Walk Away (Acapella Walk) (1992)
7. The Sindecut - Tell Me, Why? (1990)
8. The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven (Soul II Soul Acapella Version) (1990)
9. Janet Jackson - Because Of Love (Muggs 7" W/Bass Intro) (1994)
10. Kiss The Sky - Living For You (1992)
11. Samuelle - So You Like What You See (1990)
12. N-Zone - Genie (1995)
13. 52nd Street - Tell Me (How It Feels) (1985)
14. Blue Zöne - Big Thing (Extended Version) (1988)
15. Intelligent Hoodlum - Back To Reality (Ragamuffin Mix) (1990)
16. Soul II Soul ‎- Fairplay (Ethnic Boys Mix) (1993)
17. Simplē E - Play My Funk (Shaded Gold Remix) (1993)
18. Sybil - Make It Easy On Me (The Drumming Remix) (1991)
19. Joanna Law - First Time Ever (Acapella) (1990)
20. Variety Feat. Suzann - Free (1996)
21. G. Simone - Music For The 90's (Husband Remix) (1994)
22. China Black - Searching (1992)
23. Lorraine Cato - How Can You Tell Me It's Over? (1992)
24. Gold In The Shade - I Really Love You So (Vip Remix) (1990)
25. Son Of Bazerk - J Dubs Theme (1991)
26. Chanté Moore - Love's Taken Over (1992)
27. Sarah Winton - Aint Got The Business But Still Got The Rhythm (1992)
28. Bô'vel - Check 4 U (Rare B-Line Version) (1996)
29. Elisha La'verne - I Like What You Do (Brother Grant Remix) (1994)
30. Fresh Cut Featuring Ann Cain - Don't Rush (1993)
31. Pure Soul - I Want You Back (Breakbeat Mix) (1995)
32. Maxine Braham  Ray Simpson - Seasons (Street Mix For 96)
33. SWV - You're The One (1996)
34. LL Cool J - Back Seat (1993)
35. Monica - Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days) (Acapella) (1995)
36. Erykah Badu - On & On (You've Got The Props Remix)(1996)

Manchester 90's Street Soul Mix #1

Something a little different for you today folks. 

DJ Manik reached out to me after my request for folks to help out on the blog and offered up a treasure trove of urban UK & US music including the Movin' On and Inside! series'.

I'll make posts of these and get them on here to share the love.

Along with these, Manik also linked me to two of his mixes of Urban 90's flava. I thought I'd quickly check them out but found once on, I couldn't skip or switch off.

Serious business, peeps.

Here's part one of two. Enjoy this man's talent and let him take you back to a time when the music was just so much better.

Show some love in the comments either on here or on Youtube.

Tracklist

1. Soul Family Sensation - I Could Read All The Letters - The Karen Carpenter Late Night Mix (1990)
2. Love & Laughter - I Surrender (1990)
3. L.D. Jam With Sylvia Tella - Special Way (1993)
4. Loose Ends ‎– Hangin' On A String (Contemplating) (1985)
5. Jay Mondi & The Livin' Bass - All Night Long (Club Mix) (1990)
6. Leniece - Give My Love To You (1990)
7. J.T. And The Big Family - Moments In Soul (1990)
8. Wreckx-N-Effect - Rump Shaker (Back 2 UK life Remix) (1992)
9. Mary J Blige - Real Love (Fairplay Mix) (1992)
10. David Grant ‎– Life (Fairplay Mix) (1989)
11. Tammy Payne - Free Freedom Mix (BW Sound) (1990)
12. Nomad Soul - Candy Mountain (DJ Intellectual Mix) (1991)
13. D.N.A. Featuring Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner (1992)
14. FR Mystery - I Just Wanna Be (1991)
15. Maxeen - Better Love (Retouch) (1992)
16. Ariya - Just A Touch (Biznizz Hip Hop Mix) (1993)
17. Soul II Soul - Love Enuff (4 Wheel Drive Mix) (1995)
18. Bô'vel - Check 4 You (1996)
19. Gold In The Shade - Over You (Mix 1) (1991)
20. Fresh 4 (Children Of The Ghetto) Featuring Lizz. E - Wishing On A Star (No J.B.Beats) (1989)
21. Aretha Daye - No More (Making Love) (1991)
22. Special Touch Featuring Duval - Your So Good (Retouch) (1990)
23. Beats International - Invasion Of The Estate Agents (Unavailable on Lp) (1990)
24. Smith & Mighty - Anyone... (1988)
25. Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack (1996 acapella)
26. Maxi Priest - Close To You (Juice & Gin Mix) (1990)
27. Movement 98 Featuring Carroll Thompson - Joy And Heartbreak (The Future Remix) (1990)
28. Bassline Feat Lorraine Chambers - You've Gone Back To Bass-Ics (1989)
29. Freddie McGregor - Push Come To Shove (Street Soul Mix) (1991)
30. Nu Colours - Greater Love (Ethnic Boyz Remix) (1993)
31. Sade - Cherish The Day (Spinbad cutz intro) (1993)
32. Lalah Hathaway - Baby Don't Cry (BW sound) (1990)
33. Brandy - I Wanna Be Down (Don't Cry Mix) (1994)
34. A La Mode - 1 Only Lover (1991)
35. Pinky - Looking For A Love (Retouch) (1991)
36. Gold In The Shade - Shining Through (1990)

Danny Madden ‎– The Facts Of Life - UKCDS - (1991)

Eternal ‎– YZ576CD, Eternal ‎– YZ 576 CD, Eternal ‎– 9031-74339-2

With huge thanks to Soul Vendor's very own StreetSoul who has very kindly upgraded our trusty lower bit rate 12" rip with a shiny new High quality version. Caring is sharing. Thank you, Street! :)

Please note that I didn't have access to the artwork, so I have used what's on Discogs and run it through an AI image upscaler, with a little Photoshop to finish it off. Not perfect but probably as good as we're gonna get given the circumstances!

Mickey P did a great write up when he posted the 12" so check the link below for his write up. 

Produced with style by Carl McIntosh from the always classy Loose Ends with Danny Madden, and featured on the New Jack City OST, The facts of Life sounds wicked to this day. It's an awesome song from an awesome soundtrack album to an awesome film. That album is packed with so many quality tracks it's a big testament to this one when I say it was one of the better cuts.

Personally, I am not so into the Dancin' Danny D mixes, and prefer the vibe of the original. The Touchdown Mix, however, is another matter entirely and is the highlight here if you already own the original.

Tracklist

1. The Facts Of Life (7")
2. The Facts Of Life (Touchdown Mix)
3. The Facts Of Life (Dancin' Danny D's Edit)
4. The Facts Of Life (Dancin' Danny D's Mix)

Discogs page | Our original 12" Rip 

Download: DM-FOLCDS.7z | Filesize: 39.9MB

Jodeci - Let's Go Through The Motions - (1993)

Uptown/MCA Records, UPTDM-54636

Jodeci were the heirs apparent to the New Jack throne vacated by the disbanding of Guy. A little tougher, perhaps. A little more street, definitely. A little more gospel tinged, too. They'd already enjoyed good success with their 1991 debut album, Forever My Lady, which more or less passed me by thanks to the awesomeness of Guy's The Future, released the same year, which stole all the limelight, as far as I was concerned... but that's another story (and another selection of posts).

However, forward on two years to '93 and Guy had gone their separate ways. Good timing then for Jodeci to drop their much harder, more "gangsta" 2nd album Diary Of A Mad Band, which (deservedly) blew up in a huge way. There were no filler tracks, save for Jodecidal Hotline, which was a skit anyway, and only three ballads, and then, a gradual slide into dirtier, and funkier territory with each track after that. It was a real tour de force.

Really though - this album was a straight banga.

The album served as a launching platform for such greats as Timbaland (who was an understudy of Devante), Missy Elliott (heard rapping on two of the tracks) and Ginuwine - they were all members of DeVante's Swing Mob team at this point.

It was a huge hit... and what do you know? Before the year was out, from H-Town to Kreuz, every R&B band and their dog were sounding like Jodeci.

That same year, Jodeci contributed an upbeat party jam to the excellent Who's The Man soundtrack album (I've still never seen that film, but I always loved Ed Lover and Dr Dre on "Yo! MTV Raps") called Let's Go Through the Motions. It wasn't one of their bigger hits, but remains a club smasher. It was a new track, not culled from Diary..., although later editions of that album would include Let's Go Through The Motions, and their cover of the Stevie Wonder classic Lately as extra tracks. The track itself features funky fresh hip hop production feels and just bangs. Utterly essential.

I love this track, hope you do too.

Enjoy!

- Kymba :)

Tracklist

1. Let's Go Through the Motions (radio)
2. Let's Go Through the Motions (instrumental)
3. Let's Go Through the Motions (intro radio)

1. Bonus - Let's Go Through the Motions (album version)

Download :  J-LGTTM.7z | File size: 40.7 MB

PS - I've also included the original full-length track from the Who's The Man album, in addition to the three tracks on this CD single.

Christopher Wiliams - Every Little thing U Do (1994)

Uptown Records ‎– UPTDM-54613

Troy Christopher Williams (born August 22, 1967) is an American singer–songwriter and actor. Williams scored several R&B hit singles, notably "Talk to Myself" (1989), "I'm Dreamin'" (1991) and this release, "Every Little Thing U Do" (1993) during the New Jack Swing period. And this one is my favourite.

If you've seen New Jack City (if not, why not? It's a great film) then you'll recognize him as Kareem Ackbar, the banker dude in Nino Brown's cartel. He also supplied a great little track for the New Jack City soundtrack album in "I'm Dreamin'" which I believe got to number 1 in the US (Actually, that whole New Jack City album is a classic and deserving of a post in and of itself... but I'm digressing).

The album version is a great mid tempo NJS banga and I love it but the Dawghouse Mix is my weapon of choice, borrowing some Hip Hop staples such as the oh so dope Gang Starr featuring Nice & Smooth DWYCK bassline (which in turn comes from Lawrence Wheeler & The Enforcers) as well as drums courtesy of Melvin Bliss's Synthetic Substitution - a break I waxed lyrical about loving on the Romeo And post I did recently.

Built on the rock solid foundations of the original It's better than any of the other tracks on the CD. Or maybe that's my predilection for 90s East Coast Hip Hop showing themselves??

Tracklist

1. Every Little Thing U Do (Album Version)
2. Every Little Thing U Do (Dawghouse Mix)
3. Every Little Thing U Do (Radio Mix)
4. Every Little Thing U Do (Clark And Tim Flip Da Bass)

Download: CW-ELTUD.7z | Filesize: 41.4MB

En Vogue - Hold On (1990)

Atlantic – A 7908 CD, WEA International – 7567-86178-2-LO, 1990

Another re-up in 320kbps!

I throw the word 'classic' around a lot in my write-ups, but I'm sure you will agree that this track is the very definition of the word.

I'm also quite sure you know all about En vogue already, but, if not, here's a bitesize guide: They're a Grammy-nominated R&B girl-band Assembled in Oakland, California, USA in July 1989 by producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, formerly of Club Nouveau (Mick has already given us the lowdown on Foster & McElroy and Club Nouveau here.). En Vogue launched with original members Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson (who left in 1997 & went on to form Lucy Pearl with Raphael Saadiq & ATCQ's Ali Shaheed Muhammed) and Terry Ellis. They sold over 28 million albums and singles worldwide, and have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other all female group in MTV history, a total of 7 VMAs. The group was named the second most successful girl group of the 90's and the 18th most successful act overall of the 90's according to Billboard magazine.

Hold On starts strong with the girls giving us a wicked rendition of The Jackson 5's Who's Lovin' You, showcasing each girls soaring vocals and the beautiful harmonising of the group as a whole. It gets better when the beat drops and suddenly we have an absolutely banging tune built on a loop from James Brown's beyond dope The Payback, over which the girls can strut their stuff and dispense beautifully sung knowledge and advice on keeping your man.

You know this tune, and you sure don't need me to tell you about it. There are three mixes on the CDS, not really a lot to pick from between them, but the extended version is worth the entry fee alone, as, unlike the other two versions, it hasn't featured on a million and one R&B compilation albums.

Last bit of trivia about this particular release: The inlay card was misprinted with details of a release called Nationwide Television by a Tony Baez (see above). Weird.

Tracklist

1. Hold On (7" Edit) 
2. Hold On (Extended Version) 
3. Hold On (Radio Version With Intro) 

Download: EV-HO.7z Filesize: 43.2MB