V2 Anthology Producer

It would've made sense to review vol 1 first but since I own most of those tracks already, it wouldn't make sense to review a CD I don't have. But if you don't own any of the songs on the first volume to Leroy's anthology, by all means get it.

In any case, I found vol 2 to be an excellent anthology of this underrated muti talented artist. Out of all of the r&b/ disco artist, Leroy burgess music is the most down to earth. His music was more aimed towards feel good times in the hood more than the posh atmosphere of a discotecque . It also helps that he was artist more influenced by soul music than pure dance thus foreshadowing the house music movement by several years. But of course if you're a dedicated Leroy fan, you know that already!

If you don't buy this anthology for anything else, buy it for Black Ivory's "Mainline". This forgotten gem has all of the elements that a classic disco/house songs should have; warm strings, soulful vocals,and a chunky drum beat holdin' it all together. And the climax of the song-"nothing is the same, every since you became my baby" ends the track perfectly. The classic one two punch by Convertion is here " Let's do it" and "Sweet thing". One of the more interesting track is Class Action's remix of the Phreek's "Weekend". Their version sounds just as good as the original and stands as one of Larry Levan's best remix moments. He strips the original of all of its disco gloss and gives it a funkier hip hop edge. Suprisingly, it works well and the synths at the break adds a stuttering type of effect that would've impressed any break dancer from the Bronx. Much respect due to Christine Wiltshire for being able to bring back the same magic that made the orginal a instant classic (and added some more in the process). Even when dives deep into the 80's He's still able to keep a ton of soul in his recordings. Check for "100%", "You can do it" and "Fly Girl" to catch 80's r&b music without the watered down excess that defined it during the pre new jack swing era.

While there's no weak tracks on here some of the tracks could've used improvement. Black Ivory's "Hustlin" is the laziest track on here as they sound burned out after "Mainline" (it's a coincidence how Hustlin track comes after that highly energetic song). "You dazzle Me" could've used a Tom Moulton or Larry Levan remix as the original sounds a bit flat and hides the beauty of the song. With "Summertime", Leroy's slow and awkward delivery keeps it from being the standout track it could've been.

Those flaws aside, Leroy Burgess "Vol. 2 : The Producer" more than shows why he's one of the most highly regarded producers of his time in underground dance music. The quality of the music more than compensate for the few detours. The import may be a little pricey but for beats this phat, the satisfaction is no less than "100%".

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review  4.0 out of 5 stars