There are altogether too many various artist compilations currently outin the market that presume to document a particular musical scene or,worse, claim to serve as a kind of audio history lesson. All of thesereleases seem to be suggesting that they are the "final word" on aparticular genre or scene. Most fall far short of this goal. Recently,Rough Trade released a "post punk" primer, which included a few greatrarities from the original era like Liquid Liquid and World DominationEnterprises, together with a bunch of head-scratchingly inappropriateinclusions from newer artists. Very little thought seems to be given totrack sequencing in most cases, making for an uneven listen that ismore annoying that it is educational. Many of these compilations alsorecycle the same tracks that have appeared on numerous other releases.I can count on one hand the number of compilations that I have found tobe valuable, and among them is Soul Jazz's In The Beginning, There Was Rhythmfrom 2001. True, some of the tracks included were widely available onCD already, but the selection and sequencing of tracks was trulyinspired. So, I had high hopes for the newest Soul Jazz "music history"comp, New York Noise: Dance Music From the New York Underground1978-1982. The compilers have attempted to marry the disparate genresof post-punk dance, underground disco, no-wave and hip-hop under onebig NYC banner. With a few exceptions, they succeed. Liquid Liquid's"Optimo" is a great starting point, combining African rhythms and punkurgency into a tense, funky groove. Filling out the "mutant disco"quotient are rare selections from Konk, The Dance and The Bloods. BillLaswell's Material are included, with a dialogue-sampling disco-housemeltdown that sounds way ahead of its time. NYC underground avant-discoprodigy Arthur Russell is here under his Dinosaur L guise, with thetypically brilliant "Clean on Your Bean #1". It's nice to hear thiscrisply remastered song without having to shell out $700 for theoriginal 12" on Sleeping Bag. ESG and The Bush Tetras represent for theladies with a couple estrogen-fueled funk tracks. Defunkt's "Defunkt"seems a little out of place; it's nice, but a rather typical late-70'sdisco-funk number. Rahmelzee vs. K. Rob's long-winded "Beat Bop" standsalong with Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines" as a masterpiece of thefirst era of NYC hip-hop. I'm not sure what the compilers were thinkingby the inclusion of DNA, MARS and The Contortions. Sure, these bandswere included on the epochal 1978 No New York LP which defined theno-wave aesthetic, but does this qualify as dance music? Only anepileptic on ecstasy would try to dance to these noisy, herky-jerkyrhythms. Ditto Glenn Branca's eight-minute, multiple-guitar fantasia"Lesson No.1." These tracks are all quite good, but they stick out likea sore thumb on a so-called "dance music" compilation. These are minorquibbles, however, as the music is brilliant, and MARS' "HelenFordsdale" has always been my favorite track from the No New Yorkcompilation. Words are insufficient to describe the drama and intensityof this two-and-a-half minute explosion of rock n' roll chaos. All inall, New York Noise is a valuable compilation for those of us who don'tmind pedantic compilers giving us a lesson in musical history.- Liquid Liquid - Optimo
- Dinosaur L - Clean on Your Bean #1
- MARS - Helen Fordsdale
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