This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Club Classics Vol. One

Soul II Soul

1989

Club Classics Vol. One

Album Summary

Club Classics Vol. One (USA title: Keep On Movin') is the debut album by the British group Soul II Soul. Released in 1989, the album featured the group's hit singles "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", the latter of which was a UK number-one hit and the fifth best-selling single in the UK that year. The album also reached number one and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 900,000 copies.In the United States, the album reached the Top 20. The single "Back to Life" was also a Top 10 hit in the US and was certified Platinum. It found stronger success with R&B music listeners in the US, as the album went to No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, and the title track and "Back to Life" were number-one R&B hit singles.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.81

Votes

14875

Genres

  • Soul
  • Hip Hop
  • Electronica

Reviews

Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!
Sort by: Top Date
Oct 20 2020
View Author
2

Sounds like what I would hear in a hotel lobby

👍
Oct 20 2021
View Author
1

"Club Classics Vol. 1" is the Fruity Pebbles of music. It's technically breakfast but is utterly devoid of nutritional value. It's just bright colors and empty calories. Soul II Soul managed to put out an album that's technically music but utterly devoid of musical value. It's just bright colors and empty lyrics.

👍
Nov 10 2021
View Author
1

I thought clubs in the 80s were going to be way more exciting with how much Cocaine they were doing. Apparently I was wrong, they listened to slow elevator music. I guess the only way they could dance to this was with stimulants.

👍
Apr 05 2021
View Author
3

Like the female vocals. When the dude starts singing on the third track I had the urge to skip but held on. The general sound is fairly nostalgic for me. Goes down easy but not my favorite.

👍
Oct 07 2022
View Author
4

The best part of doing this is dicovering artists from my younger days that I woud never have given a chance then are actually worthy of my time. This is just such an example. Some great, funky soul here along with some seeds of trip hop. I am reminded often of Massive Attack (is the female singer the same as on Safe From Harm or other MA classics?) A really enjoyable listen this album was. I was only familiar with one song but found the whole album quite engaging. 4 stars

👍
Jan 22 2021
View Author
4

so far it's pretty good. I can see this is an influential album. There are several songs I recognized and several beats that I can tell have been sampled by some of my favorite artists years down the line. This is a cool record.

👍
Oct 26 2020
View Author
4

Production is very clean and sounds like it could have been produced today. Tends to blend together pleasantly, and the vocals are really beautiful! "Back to Life" was a huge hit for a reason - it's hypnotizing, catchy, and very well produced. Overall early house music isn't much to my taste, but I understand why it was so popular and innovative for its time. 4/5.

👍
Jun 18 2021
View Author
2

I’m a little upset by this album. I have very few 1 star albums, and almost this whole work was so dreadfully boring that I thought I’d finally found another super-dud. But then Back to Life just had to go and be a bop, so this album earns its second star.

👍
Nov 20 2024
View Author
5

This is great. Its a super conditional rating but I am just vibing to the easy loops. There isn't anything too crazy happening in the sample work, just locked in grooves that make your body move.

👍
Dec 15 2023
View Author
5

This album certainly brought me back to life!

👍
Jul 28 2021
View Author
5

Memories of being in the dance clubs come flooding back!

👍
Apr 16 2021
View Author
1

1*. Hated it. Smug, lazy raps, all about themselves. Really weak production. Getting drunk uncles to sing is not a vibe. Bad. 'Back to Life' is a belter though.

👍
Apr 16 2021
View Author
1

It's dreadful and I hate it. Without the singles, it's a 1. Some songs sound like sung by drunk uncle, self-congratulatory throughout. Lame beats. Awful lyrics. Bad.

👍
Feb 26 2025
View Author
5

FUN FACT: apparently I'm distantly related to the lead singer Jazzie B so that's cool No fucking way my uncle (?) was responsible for making back to life wtf. Im related to a legend The rapping is kind of terrible but i gotta support the family so I LOVE THIS ALBUM JAZZIE B IS THE GOAT RAHHHHHHG

👍
Feb 15 2024
View Author
5

First off, Nellee Hooper is a cheat code of a producer. Everything I've listened to that he had his hands on sounds absolutely gorgeous. Second off this is the most appropriate album title I've ever seen. Every song is a club classic, the Back to Life into Jazzie's Groove alone makes this 5 stars, and that's probably the weakest part of the album. It's that good

👍
Jan 11 2024
View Author
5

Absolutely incredible. Groovy, funky, endlessly sampleable. Love the interplay between the vocals and breaks, the tension created in "Back to Life" is immense, but fully satisfied by the drums when they come in. I was surprised how album-ey it was despite the title suggesting it was a compilation. The production / mastering is consistent throughout, and the songs flow perfectly into each other (they even avoided those common mp3 tails to preserve the beat). I only wish the additional tracks at the end were included in a separate release. But that would have been a waste back when this was released, and more expensive vs today with streaming. Gonna come back to this one for sure.

👍
Nov 22 2021
View Author
4

A record that I own, but don't spin nearly as much as I should. Smooth, funky, and beautifully orchestrated. Caron Wheeler's vocals (unsurprisingly on the big singles) are a real stand out. String arrangements are lush and sophisticated. This really is a precursor of Massive Attack a few years later, although perhaps with a little less grit and less depressive/gloomy. I really enjoyed listening to this. If this had been made even two years later, it would have been based on grainy loops rather than drum machines, but this really is an album a few years ahead of its time.

👍
Mar 01 2024
View Author
2

Not devoid of charms, but mostly bland. Really shows its age. Could only be from 92-95.

👍
Nov 02 2023
View Author
5

Transported immediately back to late 80s/early 90s. This is a certified banger for anyone who loves jazz, dance, and Living Single.

👍
Oct 29 2023
View Author
5

Maybe I should recuse myself, since I have many fond memories of my co-judge and I arriving in Toronto in ’89, going to restaurants, clubs, bars and record stores and hearing this all the time. It was the sort of thing I would have never listened to a couple of years earlier. It’s a very urban sound, smoove soul with hints of reggae and African rhythms. Caron Wheeler is dynamite and Jazzy B is a great songwriter and producer, but I’m not as smitten when he grabs the microphone. Between a 4 and a 5 for me.

👍
Mar 15 2023
View Author
5

Okay I kind of loved this more than I thought I would?! Super fun!

👍
Feb 08 2023
View Author
5

Title says the truth, classics are here

👍
Sep 09 2022
View Author
5

Actually a very approachable album.

👍
Jul 01 2021
View Author
5

very groovy and very nice sounding!

👍
Aug 09 2023
View Author
4

Late 80s R&B is a place I really haven't spent any time; I'll do my best to keep an open mind. Album opens with Keep On Movin', which is R&B on the groovier side of the spectrum. Complete with sterilized electronic drum beat and simple bass line. Instrumental is flourished with some piano meandering and sweeping strings ebbing and flowing behind the vocals. Sounds like something I would hear in a hair salon if I had hair to warrant the experience. Fairplay is a substantially more interesting song. The backing bassline walks throughout, referencing the same progression but modulating to keep things interesting. It along with a tight drum beat propel the track with some soulful vocals. Favorite song so far. Three songs in, three very different sounds. I'm into the variety. Holdin' On is driven by a more classic drum and bass high-hat beat with some disco-like elements. Not a great song, but its not bad either. Feeling Free finds Soul II Soul in hip-hop territory with an instrumental of drums and scratching with backing horns. Surprisingly effective, like proto-ATCQ jazz-rap. African Dance is an instrumental dance track putting the yazz-flute front and center. Great energy with an improv feel. Particularly enjoy the mixing effects thrown in around the 3 minute mark that send the backing rhythm through an inverter of sorts. Dance gives over to the exact same backing rhythm sans flute soloing. In place of the flute we instead find spoken-word vocals. Unsure why they decided to do this. Surely 6 minutes of jazzy instrumental dance were good enough that we did not need 4 additional? Feel Free jams right out of the gate with a sick double-bass drum line and some tight string accompaniment. Song also features a damned fat bassline, which I'm admittedly a sucker for. Second favorite song thus far. Happiness is a fine enough jam that I found myself bobbing along to. I could easily see this embedded in a DJ set to keep the crowd moving in transition. I've only heard the remix of Back To Life. The A Capella arrangement that forms the first 3 minutes of the song are damned impressive on a technical front -- credit where it is due. Hands over to a hip-hop beat that then bleeds seamlessly into the original album closer Jazzie's Groove. And what a groove it is. Stopping my review here because it is where the original album ends. I will say that I am thoroughly surprised by this album. It jams front to back and is filled to the brim with different styles, textures, and personnel. Standouts from my memory are Fairplay, Feel Free, African Dance, and Jazzie's Groove. I also do love the remix of Back To Life that is included in the 10th anniversary edition; classic jam. This is nearing a 5 IMO, but is held back by a few questionable choices. Strong 4 / 5.

👍
Aug 11 2021
View Author
4

I have not listened to these guys in ages. Great combo of simple beats and electric vocals. The lyrics are simple and unspectacular, but the solos and harmonies are infectious. Well, at least when the women (Caron, Rose, Do'Reen) are the focal point (less enamored when the men are front and center). Both the band and album are so appropriately named - funky soul and you could fill up a night at a club playing these tracks. Everybody knows Keep on Movin and Back to Life (a definite classic) but spend some time with Feel Free, Fairplay, Happiness or African Dance.

👍
May 18 2021
View Author
4

Seminal dance music album that melded soul and R&B with house and reggae. It's legacy and influence is such that it still sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday.

👍
May 03 2021
View Author
4

Some bloat but a really great album. Jazzie B acting as the master of ceremonies conducting his hip-hop, jazz, soul leaning in whichever way he sees fit.

👍
Aug 29 2021
View Author
3

Pretty average. The man's voice kept sounding like Monster Mash which threw me

👍
Oct 18 2024
View Author
2

This album was disappointing, it starts off with some good potential but quickly devolves into 80s dance cliches. I recommend you replace "Back to Life" with the single version of the song (subtitled "(However Do You Want Me)") as it fits better and is also probably the best song on the album.

👍
Jun 20 2024
View Author
2

ugh, maybe i’m just sick of this list

👍
Jan 18 2024
View Author
2

Hard to give an album a high score when so many of the songs are remixes of each other. Otherwise, not my favorite club hits from the 90s but some of the tracks are classic and full of nostalgia.

👍
May 25 2022
View Author
2

more like "90s dance tutorial background music" classics

👍
Sep 29 2021
View Author
2

Another album strengthening my argument that this list is way to Anglocentric. That being said, while this album is incredibly dated, it has a certain simple charm as an early 90s dance/r&b hybrid sort of thing. Generally inoffensive and fairly pleasant but it gets old fast.

👍
May 27 2021
View Author
2

Pretty much sounded like a typical 80s/90s club album to me. Nothing special.

👍
Jun 24 2021
View Author
2

Some good songs, Back to Life and Jazzie's Groove were bangers. Other tracks were filler to me. Rapping with a heavy London accent has always seemed a little off to my American ears; nothing wrong with it, just not what I'm used to. Decent album, but definitely a product of its time and it hasn't aged well in my opinion. 2.5/5.

👍
Jun 06 2025
View Author
5

I like the confidence of titling this “club classics” because this album certainly delivers on that. It’s all killer and no filler and plain and simply banger after banger. The rapping is excellent, the singing performances are excellent, and so are the lyrics in general, I like what they talk about especially on the track “feeling free”, real stuff. Also I have to mention the production is fantastic as well I can definitely picture this in a club setting. No problems with this album from me at all. Rating: Masterpiece Favorite Tracks: Fairplay and Feeling Free (2 Best), Keep On Moving, Back To Life, Feel Free, and Dance.

👍
Jun 01 2025
View Author
5

This sounded like nothing else when it came out as far as I was concerned. Fresh, modern and distinctly London. Still makes me proud to be British and of what multiculturalism really means.

👍
May 09 2025
View Author
5

It seems almost like a parody of the 90s, but I love it!

👍
Apr 25 2025
View Author
5

My Rating: 4.6/5 Silky Grooves of Self-Worth This is grown-folk music for people with taste, but also mild baggage and great shoes. Put this on and you are 30% cooler instantly.

👍
Apr 23 2025
View Author
5

What a classic album with some 90’s bangers! Always enjoy me some Soul II Soul, and this album features “Back To Life”, which was an essential track to our generation growing up. Wild how low the rating for this album is on the challenge site, but then again some of the folks rating this low have Bob Dylan as their favorite artists. So I can tell those folks find Ketchup to be the height of spicy.

👍
Apr 18 2025
View Author
5

Original, groovy, serious, English - a lot of my favourite things - captures the late 80's to mid 90s era well, crystillises the US hip hop and soul influence with a bit of UK urban dance that acts as a backdrop to this broadly quite dim country. Deserves a 5 star, hits each spot perfectly

👍
Feb 12 2025
View Author
5

baaack to life, baack to RIALITIIIIII

👍
Dec 25 2024
View Author
5

Some remarkably great bits and some remarkably dull bits - the singles great, and overall enjoyed the energy it was giving, but dance music maybe you have to be in the right space

👍
Dec 13 2024
View Author
5

soul 2 soul 2 my ears 2 my head 2 my feet de ganzi tag soul 2 soul und denn namal chli meh absolute mood, super inegstartet und immer meh entdeckt vom album bi jedem relisten – Back to Live into Jazzie's Groove mitere smoothe erklärig was soul 2 soul isch, was willmer meh und das ganze wird abgrundet mitemem Keep on Movin' Bonustrack wos grad ih verschideni playlists gschafft hett! sehr glücklich hani da mals ganze album chöne lose ih de reihefolg da wäri also ganz truurig gsi hetti das verpasst, zum glück hani hüt chli ih de schuel umeghange und scho am morge mit de meiste lüt im study room eh yap-session gha da segi nume: vijf punten voor de ziel

👍
Dec 05 2024
View Author
5

Yes, I'd liek to listen thjis a lot more. butnif its too slow for you, ...skip to track #9 - "back to life, back to reality" a track to a put a smile on everyones face, make you dance, and evoke youthful euphoria - clubland circa 1992 I think.. Ah, a joy to be reminded. ... classy stylish sound.

👍
Oct 23 2024
View Author
5

Thoroughly enjoyed. A good find. Some heard before, some worth discovering. 4 stars plus bonus 1 for rediscovery credits.

👍
Aug 09 2024
View Author
5

This appearance of this one excited me. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought that I would, but it was a great feel of college times for me. So, it gets credit for that.

👍
Aug 09 2024
View Author
5

A solid late 80s hip-hop groove. Loved it.

👍
May 20 2024
View Author
5

Aka Keep on Movin here in the colonies. I wore this thing out during college. Haven’t listened to it in many years, until now, and it is still a near perfect album.

👍
Mar 29 2024
View Author
5

Absolutely outstanding 11/10. Every song was so unique and incredible to listen to.

👍
Mar 22 2024
View Author
5

Balancing out the one because they had one really sick song

👍
Mar 06 2024
View Author
5

This is like KAYTRANADA before KAYTRANADA existed. "Back to Life" will always be a banger. The whole album is seamless.

👍
Nov 05 2023
View Author
5

Que álbum sensacional! Vontade de ouvir o dia todo ahahaha

👍
Jul 06 2023
View Author
5

Soul muy animado. Un megahit. Vinilo.

👍
Sep 23 2020
View Author
5

Very groovy, reminds me of GTA SA for some reason.

👍
Jun 08 2025
View Author
4

Classic of its time and still sounds relevant today. Cuts some mean grooves

👍
Jun 04 2025
View Author
4

Det høres ut som r&b fra nittenåttini. Det e hverken en fornærmelse eller en kompliment, og det e cirka det æ tenke om musikken også. Helt ok selskap på bussen fra Varangerbotn til Høybuktmoen, men usannsynlig at æ noensinne høre på det igjen.

👍
May 30 2025
View Author
4

I liked it when released and I liked it yesterday. Smooth groove.

👍
May 26 2025
View Author
4

Had a lot of fun listening to this one! Fun/5

👍
May 26 2025
View Author
4

hey, this was fun and awesome... thanks!

👍
May 21 2025
View Author
4

For a few years the S2S beat was inescapable in the charts. this is a great album, but has to be docked a star for only including the short accapella version of Back To Life, with Keep on Movin (also here) their two truly great tracks. It is bitty and piecey, but the bits are pretty good.

👍
May 15 2025
View Author
4

I like club music. Don't love it, but like it. But I really like (almost love) this record. I don't know if t's because it's just cool, or because I have listened to it at 2 am, time at which lounge music sounds better. But yes, four stars from me!

👍
May 08 2025
View Author
4

Enjoyed this a lot! But I always like me some club classics.

👍
May 08 2025
View Author
4

Some absolutely jammin' club tunes.

👍
May 08 2025
View Author
4

Started as a 3 for me but quickly became a 4 on an appropriate sound system. So funky and I will definitely be dancing to this while cleaning the house or cooking in the future. I love the sampling.

👍
May 01 2025
View Author
4

This was a pretty good classic dance album. It’s definitely a good combination of soul, jazz, R&B, and house music, but I think it probably stood on higher ground back when it first came out. I can’t say it stands the test of time as well as other classic dance albums from the same period, such as "Paradise" by Inner City. It’s worth a listen, but I’ll probably never go back to it like I do with other albums from the past.

👍
Apr 30 2025
View Author
4

Steady beats overlaid with a cool variety of instruments and voices. Enjoyed this a lot. Favorite song is "Dance".

👍
Apr 30 2025
View Author
4

Never heard this before, and I loved it. Great listen that caught me by surprise.

👍
Apr 23 2025
View Author
4

Yet another British entry to the list, was expecting to be disappointed. However, although it probably doesn't deserve to be on this list, it is a fun listen. Keep On Movin', Back to Life (Original and Popular Mix), Jazzie's Groove (Piano Version) all great. Good vibes overall. A low 4*, enjoyable but not groundbreaking.

👍
Apr 14 2025
View Author
4

Good easy listening. Some of it felt a bit repetitive, with some rough vocal work, but it was still enjoyable overall. 'Dance' was my fave.

👍
Apr 13 2025
View Author
4

Very enjoyable, great grooves and female vocals. I can imagine this being a huge success in clubs around this time. The raps on certain songs are definitely very bad, but are at least very funny. Back to life is an incredible song

👍
Apr 10 2025
View Author
4

Really danceable and enjoyable music. 4 stars

👍
Load more reviews