A Scooby Doo episode in which Fred, Velma and Daphne follow a trail of day-glo, pheremones and good beats, only to find it's led them to each other and their coming of age in the post-disco era. They then Scooby Screw each other with reckless abandon and dance their way through the emotions they don't yet understand, gabbing on the way home about the power of love and the groove in their hearts. Zoo-zoo-wah, indeed!
This turned from 4 to 5 stars when the "I'd probably put it on again" criteria I use for a 4 rating turned into "I actually put it on again more than once later in the week." It's jam. It's a vibe. And I'm into it.
World Clique grew on me in a shocking way - shocking because it didn't break 90's-dance-album form. Instead, it revealed itself as a better and better project over the runtime. My only theoretical explanation is how well sound-designed the tunes are. The samples move through space in a way that most produced pop does not. This is extra-impressive since the songs are house-minimal. And beyond the theoretical I can only say that I bounced more and more as I listened.
En ce mardi matin de defaite footballistique, mon humeur etait des plus deplorables. Néammoins, le generateur me fasait une belle promesse en me servant sur un plateau le groupe Deee-Light, aux lettres non sans rappeler les plus belles heures de la voix de nez. Quelle ne fut pas ma deception à l'écoute de cet album, ou les principes fondamentaux de la voix de nez ne sont absolument pas respectés. Deee-Light fait honte a toute une frange de l'industrie musicale, choisissant volontairement un nom de scène faisant référence à l'univers de la nasalité, sans pour autant proposer une performance en adéquation avec les attentes. La quantité d'air insuflée entre les parois nasales de la chanteuse principale est grandement insuffisante, Dee-Light n'est tout simplement pas digne de son nom.
Groove Is in the Heart obviously a hit. Had no idea who it was by or that Q-Tip had a feature. Lots of bouncy beats here, just makes me want to dance. Familiar piano riff on Good Beat... is that sampled in some other song? Same thing in Try Me On... I'm Very You.
Production: 16/20 Songwriting: 13/20 Innovation: 15/20 Bangers: 15/20 Emotional response: 17/20 =76 Cracking album!
Hilarious album cover and groovy beats. A full album got to be a bit much and some of the music is painfully 90s but that doesn't stop this from being a jam.
A fun fun album that I had never listened to completely before. Groove is in the heart is great but there are a number of tracks worthy of praise as well. I'm going 4 stars
Fun and warm. Captures that New York dance club feeling really well. Groove is in the heart is a standout in many ways. Like the heavy infusion of soulful elements throughout.
Part late 80s/early 90s New York House and garage, part funk and part hip-hop, ‘World Clique’ is a clever, fun and accomplished debut record. Featuring serious star power in Q-Tip, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker (amongst others) making unexpected but great contributions, it’s the little record that could and the ultimate New York party record of its era.
Gostei. Mistureba bacana, gostei principalmente das músicas com uma pegada House. De fato soa como um álbum de uma época específica. 7/10
A dance party that still sounds just as crazy and futuristic today. Fun, with quite an impressive guest list for a group making their debut. At times a little cheesy. Something that only really could have come out in the early 90s and gained traction. Favorite tracks: "Deee-Lite Theme", "Groove Is In the Heart"
Super fun album! I put it on for a party after hearing and it really makes a lively environment. Disco vibes. One of the songs I recognized from a Fergie song that was sampled.
Not a genre of music I generally listen to (unless I'm out dancing), but this had some good funky grooves. Definitely found myself moving to the beat. 3 stars.
Groove is in the heart slaps. Everything else is solid, but seems like typical 90's hip-hop to the ears of this listener who, granted, is not well-versed in the genre.
listened next day due to super bowl. interesting old hip hop. gets better as it goes on
This was so fun! Definitely would dance to it. The beginning gets a 4+, maybe 3.5 overall.
Sounds pretty dated and i can't say i love just sitting down and listening to a whole album of dance music. these tracks are all pretty goofy, but i can tell that a lot of them would be really fun to dance to. last song with the animal noises is pretty annoying.
These guys were fun to watch on MTV back in the day. They had a cool black-light vibe, that stood out from the rest of the new wave pop at that time. Solid beat music, with the one stand out track “Groove is in the Heart”. Good background music or club tunes. Solid 3.
There is a reason Groove is in the Heart has 110 million more streams than any other song on the album. Def caught lightning in the bottle there. The single song is enough to get it onto the list but not to get it higher than a 3
Fun, but I eventually got bored of the repetitive rhythms and was waiting for the album to end. Would go back to this for a bit of energising. Liked it more than I thought I would.
It was alright. Some songs were good, some weren't. Groove Is In The Heart is a classic though. 3/5 stars.
I knew Groove is in the Heart but that’s it. The rest is early 90s dance in a nutshell. It’s ok.
A few of these I liked, mostly not my thing though. I sure they worked well in a 90's club. The first half of the album was boring to me. The first song that caught my attention was "What is Love." "Groove is in the Heart" has nostolgic value for me, but also I feel like it's genuinely a standout song. I also liked "Who Was That" and "Build the Bridge."
Lots of samples used from this album. Crazy to see how far back house music stretches. Not bad, but nothing to write home about either.
I quite enjoyed this actually, although besides 'Groove is in the heart' there aren't really (m)any other memorable songs.
Bit out of tune, but the first few songs are quite fun. Then some tracks like smile on, ESP are a bit boring. Groove is in the heart is a classic of course!
Solid. Decent memories of early 90s rave stuff. The most famous track (Groove is in the Heart) probs my least favourite interestingly.
Ok, so interesting music besides the “one hit wonder “. I’m going to add some to some of my party playlists. It feels different, it feels like so much fun. The lyrics aren’t thought provoking but the sound is fun to have every once in a while.
Ah the early 90s house sound: drum and bass that sound like they came through a telephone, the same 3 chord piano riff in every song, some cheap keyboard stabs, over the top singing and vocalizations. The formula became a joke, but these guys at least got out in front. Groove is in the Heart is by far the best track, but it's also hard to go wrong when you have Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Qtip together on a song.
World Clique redefined techno music as futuristic kitsch, a genre for the masses with a sense of humour. "Groove Is in the Heart” is on World Clique, and notably features funk n’ roll godfather, Bootsy Collins on bass and spoken word. That’s it. (6/10) FT: Groove Is in the Heart, What is Love
I love dance pop from the era. Takes after disco and the rising house movement. The over-the-top production and punk-like vocals appeals to fans of B-52's Cosmic Thing or Madonna's Like a Virgin / Erotica. I wish it lasted a bit longer but the grunge movement shortly after killed the bright dance mood of these types of albums. I don't particularly think any of them are worldbending other than "Groove is in the Heart" (which is one of my favorite songs of 1990), but I really enjoy them all, and will continue coming back to this album. It's silly and fun and has great beats.
Mezcla de pop y música de baile. Muy de estilo de los 90. Mucho sintetizador y efectos de todo tipo
Good house music with some late 80s hip hop influence. This album is optimistic and bouncy. However, it just doesn’t do much for me. I did enjoy it though, it’s just not something I would choose to listen to.
I rather enjoyed this. Groove is in the Heart is highly irritating because it is over familiar. There was a period between late summer and early autumn in 1990 where you couldn't escape this song. The rest of the album surprised me in a good way. The house tracks and pumping piano actually got my dancing around my MacBook. There's more depth to the album than I was expecting. I had no idea Bootsy Collins was involved.
Fine, but not great. A few of the songs are pretty cool and innovative with samples or unique instruments brought in for the beats, but many are also just funk/synth wallpaper filler. I think the airy, spacey vocals don't help with this as they don't drive the songs much and kind of just melt into the sound of the beats, which are sometime bland. 5/10
'World Clique' is an LP featuring music primarily of women, by women, and for women. And men, if you’re down with feminism, you’re welcome to join in the dance party, too. ‘I can’t read your mind,’ Lady Miss Kier implores on ‘Try Me On… I’m Very You,’ ‘So you got to let me know all the time how it feels for it to be real.’ If that’s not feminine to the core, I don’t know what is! One of the things I like about this recording was the positive energy it promoted. The titles are filled with words like 'good' and 'smile' and 'love.' Oh, and don’t forget 'groove'; but, we’ll get to that in a moment. On the second to the last song, ‘Who Was That,’ someone broke into Kier’s house, took a bath, ate some food out of the fridge, just generally helped themselves to a B&E hotel for the night. And, had this happened to, say, the gangsta rap group Cypress Hill, they would have hunted that motherfucker down and given him a dirt bath. Kier’s reaction? Not even a hint of anger or retribution. Rather, radical 'hospitality', a word not found in any of the song titles, but could be. Positivity aside, the lyrics only play a supporting role to the lead, the real star of 'World Clique': the groove. If you’re feet aren’t tapping in the first 30 seconds, then you’re either deaf or dead. Subtle, but prominent use of piano and horns, steady drumming and heavy on the bongos (in a good way). Lots of electronica. And with the legendary bassist (for both James Brown and later Parliament Funkadelic) Bootsy Collins joining in the fun on several tracks, the groove is most definitely in and at the heart of this whole LP. The title track, 'World Clique,' celebrates both individuality and our global communion. Hence, the ‘world is our clique.’ And the members of Deee-Lite even incarnates that vision with two DJs- one from Russia, the other, Japan- and Kier, a multi-talented artist from Ohio. No doubt they draw from the other five continents for roadie assistance and sound engineers and promoters and such. My best friend, who turned me on to this whole '1001 LPs' exercise in the first place (& for which I am truly thankful), recently posted a review of a group he criticized as unrelentingly repetitious. And while my response to him is that I often like that- given the right genre- I must confess that 'World Clique' was, for me, a little too repetitious All of these songs are just too long to listen to, but none of them are long enough to dance to. I did not listen to the bonus track (not on the original LP), ‘Build the Bridge,’ but my suggestion for Deee-Lite is that their good electronica dance music could greatly benefit with a few well-placed musical bridges here and there. Then again, what do I know? I dance like a hippie at Woodstock. And Santana’s ‘Soul Sacrifice’ still grooves the shit outta me.
Fun if dated sounding house album. Not sure how much I would listen to it but I enjoyed it.
When I bought this album as a 26 year old I was more than half convinced that guitar based pop was all but dead. The charts were filled (aside from the usual dross) with thinly-disguised, floor-filling paeans to hedonism and disco biscuits and any references to "love" we're usually code for getting twatted with a load of gurning strangers in a field just outside the M25. It didn't really work out that way, I suppose, which is probably for the best. Anyway, it's an absolute age since I've played this record and I'm surprised at how housey it is. Sure enough, as well as locating precisely where groove is, it also defines "love" as a neo-hippyish shared, no doubt chemically-induced, experience. I'd have had no problem with that back in the day but I find it slightly irritating and dated these days. I know, I know... I'm getting old. To be fair, I enjoyed it a lot more than I've let on so far. Aside from the housey piano riffs and hedonistic pseudo-philosophising, there's also plenty of playful and inventive use of break beats and samples and Lady Miss Kier radiates star quality - it's just that I'm not 26 any more and I don't care about this sort of music half as much as I used to.
Grove is in the Heart is a great song. I had no idea it was by this group or that it would be on this album. Without that song the album would be a 2. Overall the album is just there and generally is unremarlable besides Grove Is In The Heart.
No wonder they are one hit wonders. Uninspired, repetitive funk album with only Groove is in the Heart holding it up. And even that song is repetitive.
Never listened to their record, beyond just their biggest hit. Fun house grooves, but I don't think this is that important :shrug:
Groove Is in the Heart is amazing indeed, but rest of the record is just generic house pop, nothing special...
Most of this sounds like all the club trash from the mid-90s, but then it was released in 1990. I'm afraid being an innovator doesn't help when that trash got played to death for years. Groove Is In The Heart is always fun to hear though, and there are some cool samples throughout.
those are some outfits xd songs sound alright i guess nothing im super into though. done with the third song and im kinda done with this album already lol. wait i recognize What is love, or at least the beginning reminds me of "she's homeless". Groove in the heart is the hit! It feels so much more like a fully realized song than anything else so far. But I still dont love it or anything lol.
Funky. Most every song has a good beat that catches you. The album really shines with 'Groove is in the Heart', and the rest unfortunately suffers a bit because of the strength of the one song. Nothing really has the same complexity and vibrancy as that one song.
The question foremost in my mind going into this album was “Is there more to it than ‘Groove Is in the Heart’?” And the answer is a resounding no. That track is the sole bright spot on this album - a funky throwback that sounds like nothing else on this record and was a huge hit around the globe (the fact that it had an eye popping, candy colored music video probably didn’t hurt). The rest of the album unfortunately sounds like bog standard late 80’s/early 90’s electronic/dance music with the occasional strangeness (“Who Was That?” being a prime example of the latter) thrown in. I am someone who tries to find the silver lining in things however - and I’ve got to hand it to “1,001 Albums You Must Listen to Before You Die” for this - the preponderance of electronic/dance albums I’ve gotten so far has moved me from someone who thought it wasn’t a genre for them to someone who knows that it isn’t a genre for them.
What you want: more imaginative, witty and hip-hop/funk influenced dance tracks like Groove is in the Heart. What you get: pedestrian, dull and unimaginative house music (albeit with a great vocalist in Lady Miss Kier).
I don't want to be all "It's nice but I wouldn't want it on my bedroom wall about this" but that's how I'm feeling. It's not particularly unpleasant, I just can't think of any circumstance where I'd want to listen to this and I certainly do not want it on my bedroom wall. There's no progression or movement aside from the endless jogging on the spot feeling it gives you.
Welcome to the 90s my dudes! Wow! If any album I've ever heard said 90s it's this one. Dancey beats. Synth keyboards, random horns this album is a slap in your face telling you "HEY!!! THE 80S ARE DONE, IT'S THE 90S NOW MFERS!!" lots of "HEEEEYYYYYYYSSS" lots of "OHHHHHHHHHHHSSS" The cover even says "this is the 90s biatches!!!!" Anyways cool nostalgia for me and I could see how this would be influential at the time but I don't find vibe resonates with me know. Would probably give a 2.5 for the cool horns and the wahs plus the nostalgia factor. Probably wouldn't listen to it again
Hipster in 1990. The three members look like the worst kind of douches you'd want to meet. Bad retro funk dance. Best Tracks: Try Me On ... I'm Very You; Smile On; Groove Is In The Heart
Groove is in the Heart is great, but the rest seemed like generic dance music to me. The music is fine, but I'm downgrading my rating because it's basically a one-hit wonder.
This is exactly the style of 90s pop dance music I remember from listening to GWR FM in my Dad's car and watching the Chart Show on a Saturday morning in the early 90s. It's a nostalgic and not entirely unpleasant sound, but also quite dated and not very interesting. 2/5
Sounds like Americans trying to do Madchester. Not a bad facsimile, but still not the same.
Never had much use for this sort of thing at the time, don't have much use for it now, and this album didn't change my mind.
90's American dance music... well it is OK...ish. some nice bass lines and some interesting vocals from "The Lady Miss Keir Kirby. Liked "Groove Is In The Heart" "Power Of Love" but really don't see this in my top 1001 Albums.
Nice drum break on first track Not keen on 4/4 beats and singing with piano Don't like the singing over dance music Slower tracks better I could do without listening to Groove Is In The Heart ever again
This album was the most 90s thing I’ve ever heard and it was not enjoyable at except for the one-hit wonder groove in the heart. Every song is both boring and annoying with lame production and okay singing until you reach groove is in the heart and there’s finally a catchy baseline. Without that one song this album would be completely irredeemable. Fav song: groove is in the heart
Well, now I absolutely know why Deee-Lite is a one-hit-wonder... I did not get anything out of this album at all. It sounded pretty generic throughout, and the repetitive lyrics and vocal style really got irritating as I went through it. Ironically, this is the first album I have listened to on my nice headphones (I’m home for Thanksgiving break); however, it did not enhance or save the experience. This is the first entry I’ve gotten where I didn’t want to finish it, but I am determined and have decided to listen to every album fully. The only bright spot for me was their hit, Groove is in the Heart, but only for one reason: I had never heard the Q-Tip rap verse before which is awesome as always (huge fan of verses from “the Abstract”). Outside of that moment, it was overall the strongest song on the record, but the repetitiveness also ended up bringing it down a notch for me. 1.5/5. The weakest album I have heard so far on this list.