Reviews (page 3 of 7)
Enjoyed this album more than I thought I would after listening to the first song.
Unfortunately a little boring, despite some nice ideas. Still, has its moments. I was hesitant between 2 and 3 stars but this kinda seems like an album for cool people, so I'll go with the latter.
뭐라 쓰지
Besides the overplayed Back to Life and the lesser played Keep on Moving, I was unfamiliar with all of this. But there isn’t much to the rest of it. Just a bunch of half-baked ideas that meander nowhere in particular. It has an undeniable summer feel, but while the pre-programmed drum machines provide the spine to each song, Jazzie B’s preachy rapping, and the jazzy flute (that suffers from too much jazz noodling), are irritating. So I know this is a reputed classic, but I just didn’t get why.
has not aged well...
Smooth, poppy, funky, and very very danceable. Caron Wheeler's vocals are fantastic, although the drop in quality is a bit jarring when Jazzie B steps in to sing. Not my genre as a rule, but it's good stuff if you need to move your body.
very easy to listen to, very bright and vibey. lot's of musical genre influences. but once it's done you're thinking "that's it?" and kinda wish it was a bit more powerful
Going into this, I had only ever heard "Back to Life", which is a song I love. This album didn't necessarily hit the level of the song, but I wasn't really surprised by the sounds of the other songs. This was alright to listen to, but nothing special to me.
(4/7) good music for a pool party
Background grooves with some nice instrumental bits. Could do without the guy singing, but the female vocals are good.
RATING: 7/10 HIGHLIGHT: Holdin’ On LOWLIGHT: Feel Free
This is a funky, groovy, and melodic album that’s perfect for chilling or moving. While listening I felt relaxed and happy — some tracks make you want to dance, others just pull you into a nice laid-back groove. The singers are great, the basslines are thick and addictive, and the production is warm and polished. It’s an easy album to listen to from start to finish, full of that classic late-80s/early-90s soulful British club energy. The whole record has a smooth, summery vibe that feels joyful and effortless. It’s not trying to be overly complicated — it just delivers good music that makes you feel good. A proper chill summer groove album that still sounds fresh today.
Just kinda boring
Some good vibes here but idk, overall wasn't what I was looking for. Back To Life is still a banger tho
Este álbum la verdad es bastante mid. No tiene nada de malo, es bastante entretenido para ambientar. Pero no me parece sobresaliente en nada, no me genera nada del otro mundo. Igual sí es bastante funky groovy, es divertido para escuchar un poco pero no te cambia la vida. 6/10
I bought this when it came out and loved it. Excited to revisit it.
Effortlessly cool. Super smooth album. Just so evocative of its time. 3.5 for me.
This was pretty fun and chill actually. The grooves were nice.
This didn't catch me when it came out originally (if it didn't lead with guitars I wasn't very interested at that point) but glad to have had a chance to relisten now.
Good listen
Pas mal en background en soirée
This was a cool album, can definitely see how it would just have been banger after banger in the clubs in the 90's. With that said, not my style. 5/27/26
That was an album and I listened to it and am not dead yet… so I guess? Not terrible but not remarkable either. “Back to Life” is a great song, “Keep On Movin’” is a good song. About half the album is good. The other half just kind of is. I wanted to like this more than I do.
Not bad. But I found it a bit Hard II Care.
When I go to the club I want to hear those club classics. Club Classics Vol. One by Soul II Soul. The dance version of Back to Life isn’t even on this album so I was a bit disappointed at the end
2.5 rounded up
Great!
Chill utan att vara tråkigt.
cant tell if its a roland drumbeat but its definitely electronic. very soul. the vocals are super warm. love the latin piano this was definitely made around the time sampling got big and you can tell. kind of lotus juice (SORRY) im pretty impressed at the diversity of sound and genre in this album ohhh! its beatnik that makes sense highlights: dance, jazzies groove
Alright, well this album really fuels my nostalgia. I had a choir teacher in middle school that was obsessed with this album and would play it on repeat between albums. We also sang the (remixed) version of Back to Life and that is a core memory with my best friend. With all that saccharine nostalgia, how could I hate this album? Is it my favorite; no, certainly not. But it has a solid and constant groove the whole way through and I can totally see this put on at a party for cooler people than me. I really enjoyed the listen through, but I don't think I'll be putting on much other than Back to Life - club music just doesn't capture me as someone who is a dedicated introvert. That being said, I can hear a lot of influences that have come after this album and appreciate the groove that is just infectious. Playlist Pick: Back to Life (However Do You Want Me). I know it's the remix and not on the og but I love it.
This gon’ be fire, just wait. It's gon be... it's... okay so it's just okay. The first two songs start us off REAL strong with some bangers that really give you some relaxation, but also some dancey vibes. And then this guy Jazzie starts talking... and rapping... and he just has no flow. No flow and no charisma. He's just TALKING! That is NOT what you want in an album that's flowing well! I don't dislike much of it but Caron's vocals are frankly subpar, the beats get repetitive, and most importantly, it's not really designed to be scored or evaluated critically. These are "CLUB CLASSICS." You're not supposed to really listen in. It's mid for sure, but only as a focused album experience. It's great as a collection of dance songs. 6.3/10
I just realized I listened to volume 2 for some reason??? Gonna go listen to volume one now
pleasant first listen. makes you dance
Feel Free to Keep On Movin’ listening to this album. Just Dance
Apart from the very well known singles, this was new to me and after a few songs I feared I wouldn’t find much enjoyment here but it did pick up, particularly with Feeling Free and African Dance. Still, I can’t see when I’d return here in all honesty.
One good song with several different versions. Outside of this, a good but average 90's dance album.
As advertised, sounds like a club in the 80's. I could get down to this.
A pleasant surprise. Needs red wine and wintery Sunday.
A fun trip down memory lane!
I knew one song. It’s a good song. Thank hod there’s like 4 versions of that one song in this album ….
This has some fun beats, and I found myself bobbing along throughout. But none of the tracks really stick, everything kind of blends together. It ends up feeling like fairly bland ’90s dance music overall.
I like the way this flowed, like an actual DJ set with the tracks mixing and callbacks to songs within songs. Far less pop/commercial than I expected, given like most people I only knew “back to life”.
It was alright 😐. It makes good background music 🎵, but other than that, it was meh. Overall, I would give it a 3.4/5!
Honestly? I jammed out. Some solid background noise
decent
It’s just a 3. I like R&B. I like house music. I like both when it’s done well together, like Janet Jackson’s “Together Again”, Robin S’s “Show Me Love”, practically anything from the cheesy as hell Sonic R soundtrack, & this album’s very own “Back to Life” (the non-acapella version). This album, sadly, does not do them very well together. This is titled “Club Classics Vol. One”, and I would make the argument that there are perhaps 2 classics at most. Realistically, this album is “Club Classic” & then a bunch of other tracks that occasionally feel better than others, but for the most part, just kinda disappointingly fizzle out after strong starts. The other classic in contention here is “Keep on Movin’”, which lines up given Caron Wheeler’s involvement. She’s got a great voice. You know who doesn’t? Jazzie B, whose spoken word approach on the majority of his tracks has absolutely no tonal match to the instrumental energy at hand here. He’s out of place, and while something like “Holdin’ On” is a bit endearing for the first time you hear him, but after that, the lack of melody & flow in his approach just wears out its welcome. He becomes a hindrance to a lot of strong beats, and his presence feels like a net negative by the end. You know who’s got a decent voice that feels out of place on this album? Do’reen, who sounds like she’s doing the Alanis Morissette vibrato at the end of every single line she does. Alanis got away with it on “Jagged Little Pill” because she used it sparingly & it felt like it was viscerally coming out of her. Do’reen… well, “Feel Free” is probably the most boring track here, so if you want an example, just go listen to that. You’ll hear what I mean. Not worth typing out anything about it. She’s a little better on “Happiness”, at least. This album would be at more of a 3.5 (albeit still getting bumped down to a 3) if the instrumentals had a little more spice / progression behind them, but this album’s fatal flaw as an attempt to blend R&B & house music together is that it finds its peak of each track way, way, way too early, and just settles into that for most of the track. It speedruns the layering & progression that house music is supposed to have that keeps a listener engaged, and as such, a lot of these tracks just flatten out. The persistency of instrumentation that feels like it’s not moving is a constant throughout this album, and it makes those 45 minutes really drag on far longer than they should, especially with longer tracks here. The vocals (save for Caron Wheeler’s) don’t have enough behind them to save it, and the lyricism flattens out just as quickly as the instrumentals usually do. It’s a recipe for… not disaster, since this album never hits any kind of egregiously bad point, but it feels like going to a restaurant where the food peaks at the first bite every single time. It’s just not savory / satisfying enough to really justify itself, despite being a decent meal. “African Dance” does rip though. Maybe this album just needed more instrumentals, I dunno. Hence, a flat 3, and that’s probably where the ceiling lies here for me. If someone wants to go for a 5, I wouldn’t side-eye it that much, but they’d clearly have more of a palate for this album than I did. It’s not bad at all, and on a good day, these tracks could click way more nicely (or perhaps in a club), but I still don’t think the entire package would ever go higher than a 3 for me. I can’t say you NEED to listen to it before you die. At the very least, “Back to Life” (non-acapella) will do the trick.
Some bops
I had a feeling this artist sounded familiar. I knew I knew a song of theirs, "Back To Life"
Had a ton of fun classics if a few too many remixes I was particularly thrilled to wade through.
alright
Not bad, really. I enjoyed most of the instrumentals but the vocals weren't exactly my favorite in most songs—and some felt too extended despite my love for long listening. Favorite tracks were Keep on Movin' and Back To Life (However Do You Want Me).
Just okay
This was a pretty fun album that exist somewhere in the intersection between dance music, hip-hop, and R&B, slightly leaning towards dance. As such, I think this was intended for listening to live and dancing at a club or something, so it's a bit harder to rate as an album being streamed from home. That being said, I liked the production, there were many cool drum samples, many funky bass lines that I liked, and I liked a lot of the female vocal accompaniment and harmonies. Considering that repetition is the nature of this kind of music, I would prefer to listen to this album than many others in the space, because it combined elements from several African-American musical traditions
Like De La Soul's '3 Feet High and Rising,' this album came out in early 1989, and I bought it not too long after that. But I don't think it has aged as well (or was ever as good as '3 Feet' - so I don't think you'll be asking why I didn't play this for you more (but who knows?). (The answer to that question will probably always be: there's sooo much music! and I own too much of it!) It might be hard to imagine (but maybe not), but this album (before I bought it -- from maybe having heard 1 song?) seemed like the cutting edge of cool. And I'm pretty sure if you heard it in a London club in 1989, you'd have thought so, and so would I. But, although I do still have the album, I do also (vaguely) recall being (vaguely) disappointed in the album. Didn't hate it (not at all); just didn't love it as much as I'd hoped I might. I was pre-disposed to like it, I guess you could say. Curious to know what you guys think (as always!). I'll give this one 3 stars, and might sell the record -- unless 1 of you would like to have it, lol. ;)
Club classics if you want to chill instead of actually going to the club
Not sure this was meant to be listened to as an album rather than as a set of dj tools and some songs. Fun nonetheless.
This album was ahead of its time at the time and people could sense the 80's sound fading and a 90's sound was forming. As a former college DJ working at a bar with a dancefloor this was a must have CD in 1989. "Keep On Movin'" and "Back To Life" had that beat for moving the body and were both radio hits. Caron Wheeler had a smooth voice that just worked on these late 80's classics. The rest of the album, maybe because I rarely played those tracks, just doesn't have the same polish and smoothness as the two hit songs. Rose Windross ("Fairplay"), Do'Reen ("Feel Free") and Daddae Harvey/Jazzy B male combo ("Holdin' On", "Feeling Free", "Dance") just aren't the same caliber of singer that Wheeler is. Honestly, it's like the knew they had two great songs and the rest is filler (see "African Dance", "Jazzie's Groove" & "Happiness") to round out the album. 3 stars because they absolutely nailed it on the two hits.
Meh
It's easy to listen to and the songs feel cool. You can listen to this on any day.
Thought it was gonna be shite, turned out to be not all that bad. 3/5
Mmmm tasty grooves good. Not really life-changing tho.
Pretty awesome album. Love this late 80s disco electronica. The slower and glitchier the better. The groovy shit is even better. My big beef with this album is the remixes at the end are better than the originals. Such a shame when that happens.
It was fine. Not really my cup, but I get the appeal
The remixes at the end were a bit tiresome, but the rest of the album was decent enough.
Love the beat. Love the low-key approach to the vocal. A cool vibe.
I used to listen to this a lot back in the day. I still hroove along to Back to Life. But it’s not as great as I wanted to remember it.
I listened to this cassette on my Walkman a lot when it first came out.
Oh I totally dug this. Great vibe.
Pretty decent listen 3 star
When I go to the club I do NOT want to hear these Club Classics
Interesting production, but not really my style
Love a couple of the jams on here. The rest? It’s ok.
Definitely not my usual genre to listen to but this was a decent listen, quite relaxing to listen to while working but probably wouldn’t seek it out again, a solid 3 star album.
smooth, bunch of classics - enjoyed.
I need to stretch my ear to fully appreciate electronic music. It’s hard for me to feel the nuances within many electronic tracks. Wanted more, and I will have to relisten to see if I can get more. Faves: Dance, Back To Life
Despite thinking when I first saw this that I'd never heard of this album, I realized while listening that I knew a bunch of it. It was a nice surprise.
Not too bad. Not what I expected, and pleasanty surprised.
Interesting peek into the late 80's early 90's club music scene. "Back to Life" was the jam back in the day. This album must have heavily influenced hip hop and electronic music. I think Disclosure's sound is from this era.
Nice enough, but a little unexciting to my ears. I like that they titled their debut album "Club Classics Vol. One"!
This was good in places. I really didn't care for the guy's voice or rapping, but the music itself is enjoyable. 2.5/5.0: Mixed
It is very dated but it still has some decent tracks. Keep on moving’ is a strong opener and, even though it is an a cappella version, back to life is a bit of a classic. The rest passed by pleasantly enough but were not melodically strong enough to transcend the dated production.
Saved? ✅ Would listen again? ✅ Would recommend to anyone? 🤔 Would buy on Vinyl? ✅
No strong feelings
Bit dull
Great to start a relaxed Saturday morning :-)
1989, l’année où tout semble basculer dans une sorte de flottement bizarre. Le mur de Berlin s'effondre, Thatcher commence enfin à perdre de sa superbe et, dans les clubs de Londres, une nouvelle aristocratie du cool décide que la sueur rock et les larsens de garage, c’est définitivement ringard. On entre dans l’ère de la « stately house » et du mouvement « Funki Dred » et Soul II Soul débarque avec ce Club Classics Vol. One et, autant le dire d’emblée, c’est une véritable gifle de sophistication clinique. On est en plein dans le cœur du projet « 1001 Albums » et je me retrouve face à un disque qui brille d’un éclat presque indécent. C’est propre, c’est poli, c’est produit avec une maniaquerie qui frise l’obsession pathologique. On a l’impression d’entrer dans une carrosserie de Mercedes neuve, l’odeur du cuir en prime, le tout éclairé par les néons blafards mais savamment disposés d’un parking souterrain pour VIP. Jazzie B et Nellee Hooper n’ont pas simplement fait un disque ; ils ont rédigé le manuel de survie de la coolitude absolue pour une décennie qui ne savait pas encore qu’elle allait devenir le terrain de jeu du trip-hop. Le problème, c’est que cette perfection m’angoisse profondément. Quand tout est aussi léché, j’ai une envie irrépressible de sortir mes clés et de rayer la peinture pour voir ce qu’il y a en dessous. Ce Club Classics Vol. One, c’est le paroxysme de la musique de « connaisseur » qui finit inévitablement par tourner en boucle dans les salons de coiffure branchés ou les bars à cocktails où l'on te juge sur la marque de tes chaussures. Je lui colle donc un 3 sur 5, et je ne vais pas m'excuser car c’est un disque de producteurs avant d'être un disque d'émotion pure. Nellee Hooper et Jazzie B sont des génies du potard, c’est indéniable, et ils ont inventé un son qui allait devenir la matrice de tout ce que Bristol produirait de meilleur quelques années plus tard. Mais là où un groupe comme Massive Attack allait plus tard injecter de la paranoïa, de la crasse et une véritable noirceur urbaine dans ces mêmes rythmiques, Soul II Soul reste coincé dans une sorte d'optimisme chic qui finit par me donner des boutons. « A Happy Face, A Thumpin' Bass, For A Loving Race »… C’est leur slogan, et c’est peut-être un peu trop « monde merveilleux » pour mes oreilles qui cherchent la friction et le déséquilibre. J'ai cette impression persistante d'écouter la bande-son d'une pub pour un parfum de luxe : c'est beau, c'est bien foutu, mais ça manque cruellement de tripes. Si l’on s’attarde sur les piliers de l’album, on ne peut que saluer la performance de Caron Wheeler. Sur des titres comme « Keep On Movin' », elle déploie une voix qui pourrait réveiller un régiment de morts, une soie vocale d’une souplesse incroyable. Les cordes sont arrangées avec un goût exquis, loin des synthétiseurs criards qui polluaient la pop de l’époque. C’est de la haute couture sonore, rien de moins. Mais après la millième écoute, qu’est-ce qu’il reste vraiment ? Un groove automatique qui finit par tourner à vide dans mon cerveau. C’est là que le titre de l’album est d'une honnêteté brutale : ce sont des Club Classics. Et le club, pour moi, c’est souvent l’antichambre de l’écoute fonctionnelle. On est là pour bouger les hanches, pour accompagner la drague de fin de soirée, pour faire joli dans le décor. Dans le cadre d’un projet comme les « 1001 Albums », j’attends quelque chose qui me bouscule, qui me déchire ou qui m’élève. Ici, on est dans le confort absolu. C’est un disque qui refuse la friction, où tout est fluide, tout est harmonieux. C’est de la soul en costume trois pièces, et j’ai toujours détesté les mecs qui ne transpirent jamais dans leur costume. Pourtant, il faut reconnaître l’exploit sociologique. Jazzie B a réussi à imposer une esthétique urbaine noire britannique sur l'échiquier mondial avec une autorité naturelle assez bluffante. Il a prouvé que Londres pouvait rivaliser avec Détroit ou New York en termes de soul, mais avec une touche de retenue toute britannique, presque froide. C’est un album qui a incroyablement bien vieilli sur le plan technique, ce qui est rare pour cette période. Contrairement à beaucoup de productions de 1989 qui sonnent aujourd'hui comme un vieux jeu vidéo sur Atari, Soul II Soul a un son organique, chaud et profond. Mais c’est une profondeur de surface car on ne descend jamais vraiment dans les soutes, on reste sur le pont supérieur à siroter un cocktail tiède en attendant que ça se passe. Même les incursions vers le reggae-dub sont passées au filtre de la sophistication londonienne, perdant au passage cette urgence de la rue pour devenir un produit de consommation haut de gamme. On sent que le succès était l'objectif, et il a été atteint au-delà de toutes les espérances commerciales. En résumé, ce disque est un monument, mais c’est un monument de glace. « Back to Life » reste un standard absolu, une leçon de construction rythmique avec son introduction a cappella et son entrée de basse monumentale. C’est brillant, c’est iconique, mais c’est aussi terriblement agaçant de perfection. Je cherche la faille, l'erreur humaine, le moment où les machines déraillent ou le chanteur déchante, mais en vain. Tout est sous contrôle, tout est rangé, tout est « Classique », c’est l’album idéal pour ceux qui aiment que la musique ne dépasse jamais du cadre. Pour moi, c’est une étape indispensable de l’histoire de la musique électronique et de la pop moderne, un passage obligé pour comprendre d’où vient une partie du son des années 90. Mais c’est un disque qui me laisse irrémédiablement sur le pas de la porte. Il change l’ambiance de la soirée, mais il ne change pas la vie. C’est agréable comme un massage à l’huile essentielle : ça fait du bien sur le moment, mais l’effet s’évapore dès qu’on remet le pied dans la réalité crasseuse. On garde les deux ou trois tubes pour la nostalgie chic et on laisse le reste au placard pour les collectionneurs de sons lisses.
A mostly consistent album that’s rhythmically delightful, with layers of instrumentation and grooves that lean heavily into R&B. While it’s enjoyable for the most part, it begins to lose some momentum after the halfway mark, and a few songs struggle to fully hold attention. The highlights for me were the opening track "Keep On Movin'" and the excellent midpoint cut "African Dance".
= the Beatles
Serviceable dance album that is really good at what it does. The two singles, "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life" are really good. The rest is OK but very repetitive. Liked the infusion of a world music vibe at times.
New to me. Some pretty good dance music, I like the funky flute a lot on African Dance, also liked Holdin On. Some of it is a little generic and boring, but maybe thats like the Seinfeld effect, where things seem less interesting because it was one of the first of its kind and has been so replicated over the years. Idk, has some fun moments.
Way too long. Easy listen and a decent record.
I’m really torn on this album. On one hand half the album is uninteresting dance music… but then there’s songs like “Dance” and “Back to Life” and it’s remix, which are all pretty groovy jams. The original Back to Life that’s mostly just vocals sounds so god damn good. I think there’s more duds than hits on this album so it just washes out to a 3. But I didn’t hate it nearly as much as I was expecting
Easy listening. Too mellow for the club if you ask me. 3*
Interesting. I'm afraid I listened on my phone and didn't give it enough attention, busy morning. I was surprised by the odd spoken word stuff on it.
fire
Not my thing but fine enough
This is dance music I could get into. Better than the EDM my friend James likes.
Хороший приятный альбом с музыкой на фон, что-то большее про него сложно сказать
Great album with excellent beats. It seems very 90's to me and listening to it was definitely a flash back. Would be good for a party where you want a little up beat without being overbearing. The hit song is a classic but there is plenty more on the album that makes it a worth while listen.
Keep on moving and other classics…
This was disappointing for me. Based on the name of the album I was expecting late 80s/ early 90s house music, which is one of my favorite genres. I mean the album did have a bit of those elements in it here and there, it just wasn't what I thought it would sound like so it was a bit of a let down. It wasn't bad by any means, but I just couldn't get into it.
This is def music used for dancing (which makes sense). Not bad, but I would not find myself listening to this again. I did think there were bangers and the instrumentals/samples used were good. I liked the song Happiness and I did recognize the song Back to Life.
It's fine I guess? It's cool?
Unst unst unst
Fine. Mall music
its just ok. Ironically, lacking soul
Chill and positive vibes. Nice flute track.
The a cappella was an unexpected improvement
I quite enjoyed this. I can imagine it would be much better listening to it at a club, as intended. Reminded me of early massive attack and tricky albums. 3 stars. Fave track - keep on moving.
The women in the album had nice vocals and the beat were good, but other than that other special
one of the most interesting ones so far!!
Random thoughts: * I was pumped to hear this one come on. I had a total hit of nostalgia listening to the first track. And then Back to Life came on and I was swept away. * This late 80s era dance/club music is kind of overlooked in my opinion but it really has a great sound. Maybe just because I listened to this during my formative years. * Hearing all the remixes and different versions must have been a bit of the club/re-mix pioneering. It is so common now to have so many versions of songs but I'm not sure it was done before this. * Not sure this is a must album and definitely not a classic but it was a fun listen!
keep on movin'--this is a vibe fairplay--loving this. her vocals are fantastic. "cause. it's all. about. expression." holdin' on--oh this club beat is strong. the spoken word is strong, unique style feeling free live--ok that's not my style but again strong spoken word african dance--killer flute solo. kinda wild how long or short a song feels can change completely by song. Like this is 6 minutes and is streeeeetching long, but jimi hendrix pulled off a 15? minute song effortlessly dance--not the biggest fan of soul ii soul's own vocals--looks like the first two songs had another vocalist on the song this album has a very strong beat. kinda headache inducing? feel free--good. balancing the beat and vocals better. nice electric guitar in there too jazzie's groove--ope yep londoners ambition (rap)--good soft rap. british ok verdict is....honestly maybe 3/5? good album, not great, but i just wasn't with the driving club beat nonstop for half the album and the spoken word wasn't my favorite
a lil funky, carino
I expected to be more bored with this one, but I did enjoy listening to it. It wasn’t anything very distinct, but it beats a lot of the other albums on this list that come from the same vein of club music.
It was okay
good stuff 3.5/5
Keep On Movin' - 4/5 Fairplay - 4/5 Holdin' On (Bambelela) - 2/5 Feeling Free (Live Rap) - 2/5 African Dance - 3/5 Dance - 3/5 Feel Free - 3/5 Happiness (Dub) - 3/5 Back to Life (A Cappella) - 3/5 Jazzie's Groove - 3/5 Average score: 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ decent house music, though it's not a genre i'm most excited to listen to anyway. most of the tracks with female vocalists are quite lovely. i'm really not a fan of any of the ones featuring the male vocalist/DJ however, but i could stomach listening to them at least once
Back To Life goes hard. 3/5 x
Back to life is the core of this album and a very good song the rest I’m not fussed about but it’s not bad either
i mean it’s very lift music-esque but quite good, if you leave it in in the background ?
defo good and vibey but not smth I'd listen to for fun ig?
90s soul ( 2 soul ). Nice to listen to ,even with the dodgy rap . Back to life is an absolute banger and keep moving is not far behind . Rest of the album is okay.
Maybe one of these on its own would be fun but a whole album is tiring
Not bad, a bit M,eh for me
Awww, so fun! It's funny I'm familiar with many of these sounds, but only because they were sampled by artists who came later (hello Digable Planets). If I was a little bit older and perhaps had raved as a teenager, this might be super nostalgic for me. As my party days started close to 20 years later, this is just great--not magic.
Some classics in this, and it's enjoyable!
Pleasant. I recognized one hit! Not for me
I got some distance from it and it's not bad - Occasionally boring ... But good overall
Solid enough dance album. A few great tracks but a bit meh overall
Alors, c'est vraiment pas mon truc, mais il faut avouer que cet album était franchement fun, y'a pas mal de moments qui ont retenu mon intérêt. C'est simplement que c'est pas trop mon genre de musique.
Smooth RnB, propulsive drum machine tracks, boom bap beats, a jazzy feel, vocalists toasting and rapping and singing - this album combines pop, soul, disco, hip hop, reggae/dub and house in various permutations, but always upbeat, dancefloor filling, and joyful. Very dated sounds, but in a fun nostalgic way.
22/12/2025 I have no real feelings towards this. It's okay. Spotify listeners: 1.5 million
211225 10:20 3
A 90's British time capsule. It's a bit up and down, with some strong grooves and classics mixed with a few less exciting tracks. Likely these fresh beats were influential to later club music. Back to Life undoubtedly was. These days I'm more likely to listen to this whilst cleaning the kitchen, rather than in the nightclub.
Definitely a rhythm and blues album which could easily be found in most dance clubs has each song had a definite and repetitive drum beat. Best song: "Back To Live" and worst song: "Jazzie's Grove".
Good album, not my thing
Soul, too much soul. I just really dislike the sounds of soul so this is another unfair review.
Ok album. Nothing special.
Strong open. Kind of loses it way a bit after that. And I prefer the single version of Back 2 Life.
Ya it's pretty chill music but not my vibe.
It's fine.
had some good vibes.
Well-produced, some great playing, but just one of those albums I find a bit dull.
the reviews here are worse than it actually is. certainly it is not interesting but it's not that horrible, it sounds nice, vocals are enjoyable and works well as a background music. 3 out of 5
The dance rhythms were so smooth and pleasing
Fun listen but not extraordinary, good to move in the morning
впринципе вайбово, но мне не зашло... (без негативчика) упд: добавляю балл за брейки в последней песне.
Really enjoyed the vibes here 3.5/5
146/1001 Soul II Soul - Club Classics Vol. I Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❓ Not gonna lie, when I saw I had this today, I thought I was going to hate it. Whilst it's not going to be a firm favourite, I could see myself potentially returning to this. Given the title, this is a surprisingly mellow album. There's a couple of tracks I know and one I particularly love - Back To Life. Overall, a really solid listen.
Feels more important for what it represents (the flame of the British soul tradition being kept alive and transmitted into hands of original pigmentation, plus a launching-off point for Massive Attack et al. a few years later) than what it actually is (varied, perfectly serviceable, well-produced late-Eighties R&B that more than anything reminds me how much I like Blue Lines and that one Lisa Stansfield album). I suppose it's possible I'm not familiar enough with where the genre was before this to see this as particularly revolutionary, but at least it's energetic.
This was a nice blend of trip hop and soul that I thought was put together quite well. The beats on the whole were good but nothing spectacular - sometimes it felt like a lesser Massive Attack. The women vocals were gorgeous, but that bloke singing/rapping/waffling was not it. He picked it up somewhat with a couple of the later songs, but to begin with he was atrocious. A high 3, and the opening track was my standout.
This was sort of everything I expected it to be, but then a little worse. Christ, the matey's vocals are not entirely desirable!? Back to Life saved it but only just
Buena mezcla de géneros para 1989, me gusta que salgan este tipo de álbumes. A priori, la fórmula r&b meets house meets funk soul debería encantarme. Y sí, tiene highs muy highs pero también lows muy lows. Hay canciones muy originales y super bien pensadas y otras que se me hacen muy pesadas y reiterativas. Aún así, insisto, álbum que no conocía e interesante de escuchar, bancamos a tope que metan cosas así. Favs: Keep on Movin', Fairplay, Back to Life (A Capella), Jazzie's Groove
Such a vibe!!!
Great percussion and beats but lyrics are missing the mark much of the time.
African Dance is pretty good and pulls this up to a 3. The vocals and lyrics were quite annoying, so I’d say stick to instrumentals
Worked in the gym. Simpsons: No
The title gives it away and proves to be right. The music is flawless, though a bit repetitive. The female vocals are exceptional, but Jazzie B should stick to rapping; his singing is awful.
Kinda liked it. Groovy. Listenable.
2 Stand out hits, one surprisingly good unheard song. Mostly 90s club beats and repetitive r&b vocals.
Was ok, piano went dummy
This was a really fun listen, and definitely one of those dance music classics. Lots of great hits. I really liked the African Dance/Dance combo It is a culturally significant album and you can really tell while listening to it. That being said, I didn’t hit in ways I thought it would
I can't help think of women in their fifties straightening their hair and going out to celebrate Karen's recent divorce while dancing to this.
J'ai bien aimé la vibe, mais ça m'a jamais fait faire un ptit move de tête ou un «Oumphf» de la face (j'me comprends), donc un 3 honnête semble approprié
that was fun! i don’t really get a lot out of listening to this kind of music while sitting alone in my room but this was wayyy more dynamic and textured than a lot of the electronic/dance music that we’ve listened to for this list and therefore it felt like a more worthwhile endeavor.
No tenía ni idea de esta banda pero a la primera escucha me pareció que este album tenía un buen ritmo y además que la voz de la chica contrasta muy bien con el beat
I enjoyed this album! It was fun and creative. I can see myself dancing to this.
It's okay
I wanted to like this more than I did.
Such strong feelings of nostalgia with this one, but with my now-well-honed ear, it's musically just decent pop music.
Very 80’s feel
With this one, it is almost impossible for me to hear what people heard in 1989, because it is a style of music that just never held up. And while I can acknowledge that it may have felt fresh at the time, like disco, I don't think something should be that well rewarded for a sound so transient. That being said, there are some things to like about the music and some of the singing in this album and how they do blend several influences together. I think an instrumental version of the album would be much better in the 2020's.
Alright wee Sunday background
This was better than I expected, some bops
Not the most compelling listen, but it’s plain that this record influenced a lot of 90s pop.
Not bad, funky soul feel. Just wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it
Some good moments, very solid production.
Some nice vibes but I struggled to really get into it.
The single is a banger, but levels more complex than the rest of the material. The a capella version was a really nice surprise.
It's not bad. Honestly, you could throw this on in the background while doing stuff and have a great time.
The bass at the beginning of that first track sounded like Enigma. This was pretty good. Has kind of a DeeLite type vibe.
Enjoyed this just fine, while driving around on errands…nothing special, though. 3 stars.
Never fully gets going but groovy. Liked the more house influenced tracks in middle.
Sympa sans plus, oubliable
Sympa. Un peu trop calme… pour moi, c’est de la musique avec une tension sexuelle donc à ne pas écouter n’importe quand haha
The one banger back to life back to reality, some of the other tea ks were plain bad
Not bad- but everything here is secondhand in comparison to the big single "Back 2 Life"
Alright. Some nice beats and a really distinctive clean hifi production style that I never quite noticed in this kind of 80s/90s house/hip hop. I'm not a fan of the style with the female vocals quite so much. But definitely more to like than I first thought.
While bookended by standout tracks, the album gets pretty generic.
Nice background dance music. Didn’t like Back to Life as much as its popularity would suggest. African Dance was groovy
Not bad, enjoyed it though it sounded monotonous at times to me due to the dance rhythms.
back to liife back to realitee
Pretty smooth R&B joint. I was aware of the big singles going in ("Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life") and I'd argue that both are R&B classics (especially the "Back to Life" remix). The rest of the album fill was pretty interesting in comparison. There were some instrumental tracks more suited for ambient music you'd hear in a public space or an elevator. I was a little disappointed in the lack of depth to be honest. Side note: I feel like "Club Classics Vol. One" is an odd choice for an album title. Gives off the wrong idea and makes people think that this is some sort of compilation album part of a larger series. Or perhaps that was the intention?
Not bad. I remember it well...
nice, not my normal listen but enjoyable
90's vibes but pretty meh..
3 stars
Salad beats and a fun album overall. Not particularly memorable with a couple of exceptions.
Although some of the productions on this album sounds a bit dated today, ("Holding on", "African Dance") it certainly has it charms as one of the first electronic/dance albums. Furthermore the vocals on this album are sublime, and the classics "Keep on Movin" and of course the cracker "Back to life" made this album a very enjoyable listen. Caron Wheeler's vocals really are the star here - her voice gives the electronic elements real warmth and humanity. And Jazzie B's vision of combining club culture with soul tradition was genuinely innovative for 1989. 3/5
Interesting to listen and hear the influences on later stuff
So groovy
Pretty good. Probably a 3.5-3.75. Most tracks were great, especially the ones with female vocalists. His vocals are good too, kinda sounded like Wesley Willis in a way. A couple tracks that drag a bit, which holds it back a tad
Back to Life 's a banger and so is Keep on Movin (all be it slightly lesser) - rest of album is very pleasant 80's house - but fairly unremarkable except when Jazzy B starts rapping and it goes a bit wrong.
Mostly not my thing, but did my find myself jamming to a couple songs. "Dance" and "Jazzie's Groove" in particular
Very soulful fancy album, just not my taste
Was not really into this to start but it did grow on me as the album progressed. When Back To Life came on I was like, hey I’ve heard this. Was going to give it a 2 but, despite probably never listening to it again, I think it deserves a 3.
Enjoying this more than I expected. Really like Do'Reen's voice
On paper, this is music I assume I would hate. Upon listening, I'm surprised to be enjoying it some. Sure it's dance music, but there are little snippets of jazz peppered in all over the place that bring a level of interest I didn't expect.
not super memorable but easy listening
That's not my taste in music - But ok
Solid background music with some great vocal guests here and there. But pretty much exactly what I expected out of an album like this - it certainly sets a pleasant mood. I'll say I like this album cover and the song 'Holdin' On' quite a bit.
Really good vibes, a chill fun album. Best song: Ambition Notable(s): Back To Life, Feeling Free
Some groovy tracks, however album doesn't flow too well with multiple versions of the same track scattered throughout
Nice
Enjoyed it!
Caught myself grooving to multiple tracks, not bad
Ab album that was pretty much exactly what I expected and was fine/good
Keep on moving and Jazzie’s groove are fun. The vibrato on Feel Free was super annoying. Didn’t realize Little Mix had sampled from Back to Life for Bounce Back. Overall, a fun time but probably won’t be going back to
Fun listen, not sure I'll come back to it
Honestly Kinda Hot!!!!
Look at me, I'm walking straight out of 1989 in silk pants! You can hear the seeds of '90s dance and R&B coming to form here. It sounds a little vintage now, but not in a bad way. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Keep On Movin' - Back To Life - Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)
Throwback
I found this to be a pretty boring listen. Maybe these are great dance club songs, but listening as an album it just didn’t do anything for me.
Some grooves in here
The singles are fine; the rest is tedious.
Estuvo interesante pero no termino de convencerme
Baile Funky de defensa personal
Aikansa tuote mutta yllättävän hyvä kokonaisuus 3/5
This is a bit dated but still quite enjoyable, particularly the tracks with female vocalists.
les deux premières musiques sont très bien, après j’ai l’impression que ça reste pas mal la même chose, sauf quand les feats reprennent (en fait les musiques sont mieux quand c’est des autres personnes qui chantent mdr), y’a aussi beaucoup de moments de vide
This was cutting edge stuff back in the day, and influential on 90s dance pop. Sure it has some dated elements, but still uplifting.
Kind of interesting, but feels a bit too long for the substance.
Inoffensive
Kult men den a kapella versjonen var litt meget
The album opener and track 9 are sweet reminders of a simpler time. The album’s sound is consistent and the production is immaculate. I really enjoyed the layering of the multiple instruments on each song. I would’ve preferred more singing by the female leads. Some of the beats and melodies felt a bit wasted with subpar singing or rapping and mediocre lyrics. Definitely a certain vibe throughout though and would be a fine album to chill with.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Better than Coldplay
Nice, but the beat is too dominant.
This album wasn't crazy interesting to me. Just meh, got nothin else to say really.
Nothing really exceptional here, at least to my ear. It's fine, just not something that at any point makes me think "wow, never heard something like that before." Side note, the falsetto garbage she keeps doing on "Feel Free" just pisses me off.
More chill than I anticipated. Not bad, but nothing here to bring me back.
Tbh they all sound a bit dated. More deep house than anything. Has a similar rhythm to 80s hip hop. Not too bad overall.
Funky and groovy leaning into early hip hop and lite club mixes. Shades of J-Dilla. Sunny afternoon at Parrotdog vibes.
Club classics, club club classics. This was pretty good in the background. Another high 3.
Liked this more than I expected to. Good rhythms and beats for dancing and strong vocals.
Enough British electronica. I'd like to put a total and complete freeze on these albums being on the list until we can figure out what the hell is going on. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.
2.5, rounding up to 3. The album name “club classics” threw me for a loop. I thought this was going to be umph umph clubby dance music the 80s is known for but alas it was not. I did come away liking two songs but will likely never listen to the rest.
Nothing extraordinary, but super groovy and fun. A lot of sampling coming from this stuff.
Keep On Moving
Couldn't be less for me, but fun
Netter R&B aber nicht spektakulär.
I’m pretty sure my sister had this on tape. Pretty nostalgic
5.5/10
It's fine
"Holding On" is surprisingly fun, in its unabashedly epic earnestness and sweeping instrumentals. Otherwise, this is at best a "blurs into the background" album for me.
This album lives up to its name. I was very, very tempted to give this a 4 - there's a lot here that I think is phenomenal, and I can mayyyybe see myself returning to it in the future, but it's just not quite there. I hope to see more like this on this list in the future.
Now I'm a sucker for soul and disco, so I was very easy to please with this album. Some of the sounds are pretty dated by today's standards, and from a critical listening standpoint, a lot of the songs overstayed their welcome by 1-2 minutes. None of this stopped me from 🕺 BOOGYING 🕺 though. The 6-minute pan flute track hit me by pure surprise, and was ironically one of the few songs that never got old/repetitive - banger the whole way through. Highlights: Holdin' On, Feeling Free, African Dance
Good overall album. Not a huge dance music fan but this had some great beats and some good vocals whether singing or rapping. Favorites are “African Dance”, “Feel Free”, and “Back To Life”.
I remember when this one first came out. Didn't listen to the whole thing back then, but always liked "Back to Life." Nice to hear the whole thing. Not a flawless album, but an enjoyable one. Favorites: "Back To Life", "Feel Free" (Do'Reen has a powerful voice)
Not much is really grabbing me, but "Back to Life" is enjoyable in its familiarity.
Relatively low-key, however this is club music before the genre really even existed, surprisingly good stuff.
This was fun, it didn't blow my mind, it quickly became background music with fairly similar hip hop beats. I did really like the jazz flute and favorites one song.
I think this was very interesting in the year it was released but in 2025 it sounds a bit outdated. I would say that there are better electronic music albums from that year.
3-
80 luvun rottien mielestä tämä oli päheintä paskaa mitä koskaan kuullut...soft generation.. onneksi ollaan siitä lähtien kovennettu. hars times greate soft men, soft men create hard times. man stay soft. ihmisluonto pysyy. narkomaanikot ja psykopaatit yhtälailla mumisee kaduilla ja joulupukki tuo joka vuosi lahjat. kuoleman lahjan. kylmän ja kavalan. turvallisuutta ei maankamaralla ole taattua. selviytyä pitää pystyä jaksamaan jos hengittämään halajaa. kaikilla ei taidot ole hallussa, ja siitähän sen ongelman juuret periytyvät sukupolvesta toiseen.. kun suuri sentineeli pysyy, mutta ihmiset hautautuu ja maatuu.. korkealta katsotaan ja pohditaan. - tom waits african dance
Day474 - pretty good head boppin songs
Pretty groovin', though there are a few songs where I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals.
Decent listen, but didn’t grab me. Worth it for the acapella version of Back To Life though!
Interesting to hear a mix of R&B, dance, and reggae. It shouldn't work as well as it does. I could see this doing really well at a club. It's not quite my thing for home listening but it was still pleasant to listen to.
eh. it’s alright. the acapella version of “back to life” is superior imo
2.5... late 80s early 90s sound, not timeless, some beats and synthesizers sounds... Dates (repetitive electro beats)... Hip hop, soul, rnb (good). However, 3 stars because the melody/harmonics of the songs sang by the ladies/women are actually impressive. Human voice can not be topped. Do not know if I'll listen again, but good artifact of the late 80s.
3,5
Good, not great
Loved it when it came out but dance music has moved on since then and so have I. I don’t seem to listen to many albums that were once indispensable to me.
I probably wouldn’t listen to this by choice but I enjoyed parts of it at least.
Dig the some of African influenced inspired tracks, better than I was excepting but nothing mind blowing.
Not really my type of music, but nothing here that was annoying. It was fine.
Niet helemaal afgeluisterd helaas maar genoot van wat ik hoorde. Niet echt een goede mening kunnen vormen maar ik geef het toch een rating lekker puh
nice 90's club vibes, recognized some of the songs even if i don't hit the club all too often. cool stuff, needs a dj over it thoooooooo
I'm surprised by the different music influences on this album for being a club classic album. Mostly, a vibe however that Back to Life song ruined the flow. I'd be hitting the clubs if they played this type of music.
I had a bad feeling from the get-go with the digital drums and soaked R&B production. But as the album progressed I got more and more lulled into this danceable record and the various tweaks and influences spread across the runtime. 'Holdin' On' stood out in particular.
It was alright
benvinguts a la biblioteca de sintonies per la ràdio moltes gràcies igualment
i really thought that one guy was from New Zealand but I'm assuming they're Jamaican or something
It's alright but can't say it was particularly exciting
Groovy baby
Takes me back to daytime radio in my teenage years.
It was okay. Notably, recognized a lot of musical themes or sounds that have been used/reused elsewhere.
The title sounds like a compilation album, and the music sounds like a compilation too. Some great, some good, some terrible.
It's a great album to listen to as a background for some other activity. I already knew "Keep On Movin" but I confess that club-house music is not really my thing.
Sounds like streets of rage II
decent
Ce que j'ai aimé le plus était les prestations des chanteurs, chanteuses et MCs
Back to life, back to reality: this album is decent.
3+ ⭐️Music is good, just not that into it.
I shouldn't read other peoples reviews before I jot my own. But I saw a lot of the word 'dated'. Of course it's dated!! If you listen to Sex Pistols it's clearly late 70's. Beatles sounds very 1960's, New Romantic synth stuff take you straight back to the 80's. And this is clearly early 90's so of course it's 'dated', knobheads. This album is what it says on the tin, a collection of club tunes. Great party tracks for chilled dancing to all night without being crippled next day. And for the record (and the reviews that had a pop at the rapping), I liked it. Understandable, clear, non-offensive. You can keep your illegible, chip-on-shoulder Outkast shit I'll take this any day.
some head bops here and there, an easy listen. a solid 3.5
Not a fan of how dance felt like monster mash or something for a second there. But maybe that’s just me. Other than that very very disappointing moment it was chill. There were times I was really into it and prob a little more time where I just didn’t care. I liked the last three tracks the most, and by far back to life was my favorite.
It seems some are enjoying the electronic drum machine and synthesizer they got for Christmas.