Reviews (page 6 of 8)
I wanna dance to me! I wanna dance to A. G.!! I don't wanna dance to Soul II Soul!!!
Incredibly boring and repetitive. Aside from the one smash hit it just goes on and on
Eeehhhh
pretty enjoyable stuff. jazzie b is from hornsey btw
Lekker houseplaatje hoor. Had hier precies ff zin in gister, daarom 4/5
bangers na bangers, dit wil je
Lekker weer hoor, goeie albums laatste tijd
helt fin når det var den kvindelige sanger, manden var lidt træls :/ club classics vol. one er en ret sjov titel af give et album, særligt et debutalbum
Synes beatsene var ret kedelige, og vokalerne var ret træls (specielt når det basically var spoken word). Jeg er sikker på at det er indflydelsesrigt men det gør bare ikke noget for mig
Rimelig lang, men ret groovy det meste af tiden
Disco Dancefloor .... 1001???
Meh Rating: 2.5
2.75 It got better as it went on, but it never got good enough for me to want to listen to it again
Divertido, bastante pivotal me imagino.
This doesn't go as hard as "club classics" by Charli XCX off her new record. It's not bad to listen to but it's pretty bland feeling. Maybe it really is "classics" because they were foundational to the creation of club music but I'd have to do more research cause to me, it's just a lot of standard beats and forgettable melodies on them. Actually Back to Life is pretty awesome. I feel like that is referenced in some song. Which is weird cause this song is referencing Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" it seems. Everything sampling
Nicely nostalgic, I've had some fun dancing to some of these over the years, but the quality isn't high enough for me to want too much more.
This seems like an influential R&B/dance record. Easy enough to listen to, but far from my favorite type of music.
Not my jam
Wow shit
Starts on a high. Then drops. Not sure it's aged well but I remember it being pretty radical at the time.
However do you want me? However do you need me? - questions that define a generation. I can’t believe I had to wade through 13 mostly forgettable songs to get to the real Back to Life version which totally holds up. I also like the horns in Jazzies’s groove, sounded like a prime De La beat.
2.6
ugh, maybe i’m just sick of this list
One key to having an album included in this book is to be British. That's the first barrier to entry, and then if you are British, then your album may be considered one of the best in that genre. I mean, this is fine music. I don't know why I would ever come back to it or what is so important, other than it had two popular singles. Does anyone say, "Oh yeah, the first Soul II Soul album changed my life." I am guessing not, unless there is a practical joke being played. Whitney Houston should have been British and maybe she could be considered as great as this band who had an album with similar beats, a song called "Feel Free," and a song called "Feeling Free" (did they forget to include "Free Feeling?) and two hits on it. This is late 80's club music and I don't see anything special here.
Effortlessly souflul and elegantly groovy. One digs also the positivity and the calling for love, equality, racial harmony, etc. etc. "Keep On Movin'" has lost absoultely not one iota of its utter and total hookiness and vibesiness. And several of the instrumental tracks are nearly as good. Like a lot of dance music albums, it falters here and there and can't really sustain its peaks (something that seems baked in to the genre). But actually S2S make this weakness into a strength, by modulating the mood and energy throughout. Back in the day, this record made one think one might actually be a dancer or could become a club kid – a testament to its unique attractions perhaps, though it couldn't do the impossible. Still, it remains great and a very enjoyable and satisfying listen straight through. Too bad they couldn't continue.
I remember never being a club person, dance music. I remember individual songs, fun songs, happy songs. As a whole album, not fun. Monotonous.
I feel like this could be a piece of seamless background music, which has its purpose. That is until you get the spiritual pompous MC-style babling on top.
Class up the club With that slinky black dress on til champagnes gone
112/1001 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑
This shit is why record stores have the $1 bin.
In my 1-5 star rating system I use 2 stars for music that is not bad, but just not my thing. Therefore 2/5
Once you've heard 'Back to life', you've heard all you ever need to hear. It has wormed its way into the national psyche via adverts and TV. It's very good for what it is, but it's not for me, thanks.
2.5
My kind of music 3*
Well this took me back...
I enjoyed a lot
Except for 2-3 songs... Boring
Now this is the kind of music I want to jam to ironically in the aisles of TJ Maxx
This is so late 80’s that I’m having flashbacks of Mikhail Gorbachev’s birthmark. But even if you give up early on this one, at least listen to the first minute or so of “Dance”, just to hear the delivery of this line: “Modern people tend to dahnce With this music, I’ll put you in a trahnce HA HA HA…now dahnce”
After second thought, I think there's too many albums form the 80s on this list. Exhibit One:
This is fun. I’ve spun it a couple times now, and I like it. My wife was familiar, but I was ignorant. No surprise, my loss.
"Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" will always be a summer banger. I enjoyed returning to this album more than thirty years after I first heard it. Refined, carefree, synth-driven proto-electronica and R&B. Many people got their start here, namely Nelle Hooper and Massive Attack. However, like with many formative 90s R&B and soul albums, when I listen to them now, they are slower than I remember. This probably says more about my harried glichty experience of time in the present rather than earlier times where people were more thoughtful, reflective, or at least people had the time to process and the chance to be more of those things. A bit slow, but still good times throughout. 3.4 stars rounded down.
Yeah, I'm good. I'll take these instead: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Tvw2YNOLrcxATPGnFVTzz?si=09RUTmDTSBGLdNG_qxTyYQ
As a dancer, this stuff ages so poorly. There is way better versions of this out there.
Not an Album, but a compilation... For background music.
Steady, are you ready? If you haven't heard Back To Life at least randomly once in life you might not be getting out enough. That track haunts a person like a ghost in a supermarket, mini-mall, dance hall, wedding and high school dance. Listening to this record took me places, but not all of them are destinations I'm looking to stay in.
Enjoyable listen
Okay
This is a good record. I’d never seek it out, but I enjoy it.
Gets a bonus point for pure nostalgia.
3/5
Let me know which club these classics are played in as I need to ensure I never go. 1.5*
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.
Honnêtement de la misère à voir l'attrait de celui-là. De ce que j'ai pu comprendre une des chansons est supposément connue donc peut-être c'est l'effet one hit wonder qui l'amène ici. Gnéréalement très fade. 5/10
good 3/5
This is enjoyable, but not my genre of choice. As a result, it didn’t leave much of an impression on me.
meh. 80s beats. nothing too remarkable.
ganz chillig aber wird bissi boring
Keep On Movin’ // Back To Life // 2.5/5
Ugh. I expected something with more groove from “Club Classics.” Most songs seemed to take forever before they even took off, then still only had a few bars of anything worth listening to, if anything.
Groovy!!
What a nice album. Literally. The lyrics all seem positive and inspirational, just a good hearted bunch of tracks. Holdin On doesn't have crazy vocal range, but you can tell from the tone the simple honesty it has. I also like the wholesomeness of titling a track as 'live from a studio". Now that could be a weird British venue name, but it fits the vibe. Then we got Rockin flute solos, I don't see how anyone can dislike this album. It's not the greatest, but it's fun and objectively unobjectionable. Favorite track"Holdin On" 4/5
From the moment the beat hits on the first track, you know exactly what you’re in for over the next hour. Soul II Soul epitomize the 90s London R&B dance sound, and this album sets the standard. Maybe it comes off as corny, but I really enjoy the positive, funky, danceable sound of songs like “Feel Free” and “Keep On Movin’”. I even like the completely ridiculous vocals from Jazzie B on “Holdin’ On” and “Dance”. It just makes me want to move.
I’m not really sure what makes this album essential. It felt like a very mid dance-rap album of the 90’s, and I just don’t really get it. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. It’s got nice lyrics, but fairly boring music. I doubt I’ll be rushing back to listen to this one.
I believe that the history of recorded music can be written without referencing this one
A few of the opener songs had a strong rhythm and we're fun to listen to, but the vocals were weak. The songs with the guy singing were less than stellar. Back to Life was a great song, but it seems like it was recorded by a different band at a different time. Big departure from the rest of this album.
1989 was an incredible year for music but I wouldn’t have associated this album with that time. Back to Life was a popular radio jam but the rest of the album was boring.
I definitely underestimated this album. I made the mistake of looking at some of the reviews on here before listening, and found that, in general, folks didn’t like it much. I get why, but I really don’t think it was that bad. Was it the most amazing album I’ve ever heard in my life? No. Was it even one of the best club music albums I’ve ever heard in my life? Not that I’ve heard many, but no. But there’s some great grooves on here and the flute work is great on “African Dance.” The lyrics do leave something to be desired in a lot of places and some tracks do sound like Muzak for sure. But there’s enough to like here that I’m happy to have listened. 3 stars. Standout tracks: Holdin’ On, Feeling Free, African Dance, Feel Free
Hyvät bileet tällä saa aikaan. Mukavan monipuolinen, funk ja sopivan ysäri-house.
Hyödyntää kaikenlaista kivan tuttua ja toimii - siis taustalla.
Late 80’s club music. Meh!
I like the blend of hip hop and R&B, the African instrumentals keep it interesting, and the flute stuff in “African dance” is just amazing.
a few memorable songs and oddly has more character when the guy sings even if he is not as skilled. But despite being a key album of the era it is not something I would actively think about listening to again from start to finish.
I listen to a lot of electronic/dance stuff and this is a snooze, though it was probably more impactful in the 80s or early 90s. There's nothing terrible about most of these, just boring as an album. On the plus side I got to find out where some prominent Girl Talk samples came from.
Cool and funky R&B record. I was not aware that this album was the origin of the track, "Back to Life". Fun listen.
african dance!
does not belong here. not absolute garbage but its bad.
Just not my thing
Mid electronic shit
Not bad but pretty generic. The grooves here are solid for the most part. The issue is a lack of excitement and repetitiveness in the music that give it an easy-listening vibe. Back To Life is a classic banger but I don't think it's strong enough to lift this album to the status of something I need to listen to before I die.
While I could see this as a somewhat fun album in very specific scenarios, it mostly comes off as repetitive, aged, and almost a parody of itself. It uses the exact same drums for the back-beat on multiple tracks, or at least so similar that its hard to discern, and none of the songs leave a lasting impression due to their stripped back production and just general "old school" vibe. I'm 100% sure in 1989 this felt like the birth of a new era, because this album sounds like the 90s, but thirty-five years later it feels goofy and hardly as soulful as the R7B acts of the prior decades, nor as dance-able as the house acts of the following. It's just kind of sitting there now, perhaps influential at one time, but now only remembered as a product of its era. The dude's voice also reminds me of Jermaine Clement, and I cannot decide if that's a positive or a negative, but it certainly doesn't help my "parody of itself" mindset.
This sound was so exciting as a kid in the early 90s. This album doesn't have many deep cuts but the singles are amazing.
This is a solid R&B record, and an easy listen. Just not a lot of variation here, as genre limitations dictate. Boring eventually
Mildly interesting but not much of a draw. I think I have heard some of the songs before.
# Playlist track - Keep On Moving # Notes - Very repetitive. A bit bland and uninteresting. - Not annoying or anything like that. But just OK. - Enjoyable.
It’s fine, it doesn’t offend (except for Dance, which has some terrible lyrics). But it’s also pretty unremarkable. I’ll give it 2 stars for Back to Life
Mostly percussion grooves
Was a 2 then back to life came on and gave it a extra point
couldn't connect enough with it to really enjoy it
If you are not bothered by repetition, this is an easy 4-star or better album. The beats and 90s hip-hop vibes are immaculate. The big name songs (Keep On Movin' and Back To Life) are so cool in concept, but so freaking repetitive. It's funky fresh, if you can dig it. Sadly, I cannot. Fav tracks: Feeling Free, African Dance, Jazzie's Groove
I was somewhat liking the first song, but the more I listened I really did not like this album.
Absolute classic
Börjar starkt med Keep on Movin', Holdin On och Back to Life (som är en stark 5a) många bra låtar. Det är riktigt bra. Älskar den här skivan. Visar sig att jag kan texterna till alla låtar fortfarande. Antagligen denna skiva jag kommer rappa på demensboende. När jag lever i det förgångna. Stark 4.
Fy fan. Är det här musik? Har det verkshöjd? Riktigt skit. Var tvungen att lyssna på annat flera gånger för att återfå hopp om mänskligheten.
Inte min genre det här och tycker inte att det har åldrats särskilt väl heller.
Interesting. Cool beats. The female voices are great. The "toasting" guy is... off-key. Who's going to tell all the british men that they can't sing?
Truly awful
Overall, not anything special. They do touch Greatness on Back to Life (However do you want me), but other than that forgettable
Somewhere there is an Old Navy store with no music playing because someone stole this album out of the Cd player to put it on this list. Who listens to this kind of shit besides retail workers at Old Navy or The Gap? Shit really triggers my PTSD of going back-to- school shopping with my mom.
Am I watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for 1 hour again? Damn, very nice show!
I just could not.
Having an album called "Club Classics Vol. One" waiting for me fills me with dread. Club, as in: bland late 80s/early 90s Dance music?!? Will it contain Hip Hop? And is there, god forbid, a Volume Two?!? Turns out the answer to all of these questions is a resounding 'YES'. 1.5/5
I liked a lot of the more hip hop centric tracks here, but like many dance records at the time, it loses its luster pretty quickly. Could’ve sworn that was Del rapping for a bit.
Smooth, real smooth…maybe TOO smooth but smoooooth.
Soul II Soul made positive, post-disco dance music. Late 80s London club music relied heavily on a mechanized back beat, and vocals in a disco/R&B style. Soul II Soul had a rotation of lead vocalists, which gave the band a range of sounds. Some of their most successful track featured Caron Wheeler, like "Keep on Moving." This is a strong collection of the dance tracks of the era.
Boring
Nice. A calm groovy vibe throughout. Singer change up on track three came outta left field. But enjoyabke
Enjoyed it! Some nice grooves.
listenable, but not my favorite. A little too 80s.
One-trick pony.
Takes me back to when this came out and Jazzy B changed everything
Struggle listen. Just kinda dated and goofy. Sorry folks.
Pretty good.
I'm staying with my sister, explained the generator and asked to put this on the speakers as we'd be out all day. The whole family voted to turn it off about halfway
Местами есть четенькие песни, но в целом это то, что на радио 80-х затерялось
Absolutely outstanding 11/10. Every song was so unique and incredible to listen to.
This album is very of its time. The mix of African music into a soul and dance format was clever and had occasional moments that really stood out. However, most of the album was fairly bland. I enjoyed it a lot more than other British dance music of the time though.
3/28/24. Fun album, a lot of danceable tracks. Flows like a mixtape in a way, would be good for exercising or practice your dance moves.
Definitely not impressed with this one. The woman singing was pleasant enough, but then the guy comes in after a few songs and kills the vibe - he just doesn’t have an impressive or interesting voice. The grooves are ok, but nothing that truly gets me moving. The songs don’t build, progress, or generate excitement. Not sure what is significant about it overall. Wouldn’t care if I never heard this again, just not really digging it and find it boring.
Really nice but didn't leave a lasting impact I might go back to it Fave tracks: Feel free
Head bobbing, beat driven, driving music.
Liked some songs - not others.
Balancing out the one because they had one really sick song
Technically solid, but extremely forgettable. I accidentally turned shuffle on halfway through the album and never realized that songs were repeating.
Pretty bloody good actually
Favourite tracks: jazzy's groove; back to life
El sonido de las primeras canciones de éste disco me recuerda a Sade. A las canciones más chill de Faith No More como Evidence. Trabajo discreto, con algunos temás más up y otros que mantienen el mood.
Smooth R&B, nothing groundbreaking other than Back to Life. 3.5
not for me
I liked one or two songs but otherwise don't remember others. I think this album could grow on me more.
Musak
😎
Love, love it.
2.8/5 Best Track: Keep on Movin'
Hated everything about this except African Dance. This did not age well. That extra star is for the one banger on the album.
Not my jam
A bit inconsistent. Some beats are dope. Some are flat. Back To Life is a total banger. Bonus points for a nice nostalgia trip.
It was a very dinamic, fun and creative use of Jazz and soul music, so enjoyable. 7/10.
Groovy
Fun to listen to!!
an interesting album for background music, although i really can’t see myself listening to this again.
I remember listening to this album when it was released and I thought to myself “Welp, the 90s have definitely started”. It was just different, ya know? Still feels that way. Comfy. Groovy.
Nothing too exciting
Boring, generic album. If this band wasn't UK based they'd never get on this list.
Some bangers
Who's ever heard of them? OK, I've heard one of their songs.
This is like KAYTRANADA before KAYTRANADA existed. "Back to Life" will always be a banger. The whole album is seamless.
1 for one recognizable song
Not devoid of charms, but mostly bland. Really shows its age. Could only be from 92-95.
I started this album while I was on my way to the dmv, so my morale was very low. This album made my morning so much better despite the other thigns going on. Very influential too. Its almost a 5 star album but for me its not that replayable unless im in the mood for it, which doesnt seem like it would be often.
pretty boring for an album called CLUB classics
Some good tracks.
So 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 good as other classic dance albums from the same time period such as paradise from inner city. It’s worth a listen to, but I’ll probably never go back to it like I do with other albums from the past.
Very unoffensive, middle of the road, adult contemporary dance music.
Not really my favourite kind of music
3 stars
Not in the slightest something I want to listen to. This is a mix of hip/hop and soul, some jazz... Among other like genres. I just don't care for this shit. This album sounds disjointed and more of a compilation of songs than an actual album. Which, maybe I'm wrong with the idea of this 1001 thing... But various artists/compilations don't belong on a list of albums that I need to listen to. Even if they're good. They're good as songs. Not albums. Next.
Certified classic
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
Average Club Sound.
The music fairly dull though tolerable at times, but most of vocals... are really bad. Like they wouldn't get through auditions for a middle school talent show bad.
Inte superbra och då ska detta ändå vara topp hits 😬
Helt okej!
Really liked!
"Club Classics Vol. One" is the debut album by British musical collective Soul II Soul. R&B is the generic listed genre. Bandmember Jazzie B described the music as "an amalgamation of good dance music." The album was produced by Jazzie B and bandmember Nellee Hooper. The rest of the band which would change from album to album included Caron Wheeler, Simon Law, Do'reen Waddell, Rose Windross, Daddae, Aitch B and Jazzie Z. The album produced two hit singles and, commercially, hit #1 in the UK, #14 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums. "Keep on Movin'" gets the party started. A dance beat. Soulful vocals by Caron Wheeler. A piano melody with a synth background. Smooth backing vocals. This is a really good song. A song of hope...keep moving on when things get bad. "Holdin' On (Bambelela)" has a quicker beat and a great groove. This time a soaring synth melody with piano in the back. Jazzie B singing with background female vocals. Hold on to that dream you have. "Back to Life" is sung accapella by Caron Wheeler. Very soulful including the background singers. About two-thirds of the way through handclaps and a drumbeat are added. She has to know, however, do you want me, however, do you need me. The song transitions right into the closer "Jazzie's Groove." Jazzie B's deep vocals talkin the lyrics. Female backing vocals. Horns and a bass are added and fade out the song. This is really good album and reminds me of mid-to-late 70's R&B but also modern with the beats and jazz elements. It's smooth, soulful and very dance-oriented. The themes and music is optimistic. There are periods of mostly instrumental music but nothing drags. A recommendation from me.
Good stuff, plenty of variety and oomph but still SIIS.
Ironic that Soul II Soul created an album with absolutely no soul in it. This was hollow. Was it an easy listen? Yeah. Was it good? No. It was empty. I felt bored and waiting for it to end. I do not think this was an album I needed to hear before I died.
I can see how this would have been influential in the 80's / 90's R&B scene. It's not a genre I dig very much but I wasn't opposed to this collection of tunes. A soft 3 from me.
Wasn't a fan when it came out and still feel the same.
Not the worst, not the best. 2/5.
Class 90s soul/dance/club music
Lame
Pleasant
NICE
Just good vibes. Nothing more, nothing less Favourite tracks: Keep on Movin’, Fairplay, Dance, Happiness, Back to Life
Songs were good at the end
Sexy time.
Jazz flute, ok! Enjoyed the rap tracks on this the most.
Definitely some classics here. All sounds very Streets of Rage soundtrack too, which is 100% a bonus. I'm sure Sega ripped off Soul II Soul. Favourite tracks: Keep On Movin', African Dance.
fave track: jazzie's groove final thoughts: LOVED it, very nostalgic tunes in here
Fun dance album! Back to Life is a classic but I'm not sure if this is a cover or sample, or the real thing. Either way, this was a nice album to kick off the week.
Not bad. Recognized the name, but wasn't sure with this group. Some low-key dance vibes, skirting the hip hop/R&B line with this one. Nothing with punch or bite, but a few explorations. Then "Back to Life" hit and I remembered why I was aware of this group. That's a genuine banger. I can't say I loved the album, but that hit put things in context. It's a decent album but not quite enough life to justify the inclusion if you ask me. Would probably be on the chopping block if not for "Back to Life." Favorite tracks: Back to Life, Feeling Free, African Dance. Album art: Just a guy vibing, gold background, thin little font and logo for the text. Really nothing special at all to me. 3/5
This was better than I was expecting. I'm not much for "club" music, but it turned out to be an engaging listen, some good beats and groovy rhythms. I wasn't expecting to listen to it all, but I did and I might again...
Excellent positive hip-hop vibe. Love it.
-1 for putting a crap version of back to life on the album
not the worst, surprisingly similar to dance that was popular 15ish years later, really drags in the middle music: hated. (⌐■_■)
For a 1995 British album called Club Classics Vol One, this wasn’t what I expected (in a good way).
A couple good tracks but otherwise just background music
The back to life we know and love is an acapella without that line. Fine for what it is
Sehr gutes Soul/Funk Album. Toll aufgenommen.
Good, smooth R&B album. Nice vocals, subtle beat, and no bad language.
Masterpiece
Reminds me of buying funky waistcoats in River Island
"Back to Life" is a classic from my childhood, but this is very much a product of its time and most of the album has really aged. Musically fairly decent but not of huge interest.
Yawn. Totally fine and non distracting as background music. African Dance and Back to Life caught my attention and prompted a closer listen. Otherwise this album is a bit of a snoozefest. Not terrible, I didn't not like it, just, you know, fine.
Didn’t click 2/5
maybe if i were drunk in a dance club
Generic as generic comes. Basic bitch of 89
r&B
Absolute vibe to put on, on a Saturday in the summer afternoon with a few beers 🍻🌞
Nice beats
Another in the first column for me outside of the hits. Loved it. Smooth af
Sounds of late 80s early 90s. I expected something different, but it's ok.
soul, r&b, hiphop/rap, club sound, 1989 -> 2
This is very dull. Back to Life is such a major bop, it feels almost out of place or a weird fluke compared to the rest of this lame and forgettable album.
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.
Holy nostalgia! First song came on the radio all the time in my childhood. Great singing and you can tell this is the middle age of synthesizers. Not great but not bad. Back To Life has been sampled so many times.
A fan of this era of music, very nostalgic. But something makes me feel there's a reason I don't listen as much to this era of music anymore and just like to revisit it from time to time.
Pleasant neo-soul that incorporates elements of EDM and hip-hop, but not that groundbreaking. Massive Attack would do it so much better.
This just isn't for me. It's fine, has some nice grooves. It just isn't really doing much.
I didn't like it very much
Cool, soulful, and hooky.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this to the house heads among us. Disco forever! Yeah, anyway, not perfect by a stretch, but I can dig it.
Liked it more than I thought I would, but nothing special. Can understand how this was influential though.
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.
My.word this has not aged well. And his voice is awful. No club classics here
Soul music with no soul
Good music for when you’re barfing or being killed by someone who’s barfing
Not my kind of techno. It kinda tends to drag on for a little bit. Feels less like house music and more like music you'd hear in a new age spa, or in an elevator at the mall. 2/5
Breskt níundatugar sálar hiphop, einn smellur sem maður man eftir að hafa heyrt. Restin er ekki merkileg við fyrstu hlustun, og ég nenni ekki aftur.
Points for the ballsiness of the title of the album. Great marketing ploy but the album wise was meh and forgettable.
This is a little too good at being background music. It never really did anything to grab my attention. First listen was fine but the second listen honestly earned it negative points. Only favorite was Feeling Free
No false advertising here, I does indeed contain some Club Classics.
Are there 2 songs here or only one?
Too repetitive-
A few jams in the mix. 5/10
Fine background music. Nothing special.
4/5
This album's biggest sin was being boring, I'm sure it was influential at the time but now it kind of puts me to sleep. Best song: Jazzie's Groove - Piano Version Worst song: I like back to life but by the 3rd time i was dreading it
lounge music for normies
Fun hearing the whole album. Found a few more songs that I like. Not everything is great. That Do’reen sings like a goat. But overall, this is a good album.
I've never heard this album. I didn't care much for the first 2 tracks. After that I thought it was pretty groovy. I rarely understand many of the lyrics on this so I like the accent on the raps.
This is very dated. And the male vocals were a struggle. Back To Life is annoyingly catchy though, and redeems it slightly.
You got "Keep On Movin'" and "Back to Life" and a shit ton of absolute surplus filler, a classic example of when an LP should definitely be an EP...
felt lengthy. Keep on movin with 6mins was smooth and very good. Made it feel much shorter than 6mins but african dance felt way longer than 6mins. few good or mid songs but i expected more tbh
забавно но не мой стиль
I remember listening to this, but not by much. I do remember enjoying it.
Weinig te beleven hier.
Niet alles is even memorabel, maar die twee hits (Keep on movin' en Back to Life) zijn echt kneiters.
Mozeskriebel, wat was dat saaaaaaaai 🥱
Felt little repetitive but pretty good overall. Also love a good jazz flute - 7/10
I listened to this twice while traveling and feel asleep both times. Wasn't a bad sounding album though. I was pleasantly surprised to recognize that Feeling Free was sampled on a song that I listen to sometimes.
Conflicted ab how to rate this bc I tried listening this morning when I was driving and it wasnt stimulating enough of noise so I stopped listening and thought I wasn’t gonna listen to the album but then later I played it when I was looking at Christmas lights w my friend and it was good background music and was able to talk over it comfortably. So like I think it’s 8/10 for background music but like 4/10 for listening experience. Thought the instrumental stuff was so boring and there were a few songs I didnt love even as background music… gonna avg to a 6/10 but don’t think numbers do a good job describing how I feel ab this album
6/10 Didn’t like it at the beginning because the chord progressions were boring. It kinda grew on my though. I listened while wrapping gifts. I really liked Happiness - Dub. My mom walked in singing along to Back To Life. I feel like once I put myself in the mindset of a 90s clerb enjoyer, I liked it better. Should I have to change my mindset and expectations to enjoy an album, or should it meet me where I am? 🤔
7/10 - I was grooving through most of the songs especially keep on moving and african dance
Didn’t hate any songs but didn’t like any either, was ok background music though 5.5/10
This is pretty interesting. The production is really good, and honestly id probably rate this album much higher if it were just instrumentals, but the singing is hot ass on pretty much every song. I dunno, maybe I just don’t like house music. 4/10 because the cover is dope
The Hits are timeless. The stuff in between is mid at best (for me).
Good beats for chillin but none of the songs stuck with me
Soul and funk album w/a funky beat. Has a bit of rap flair to it. 3
Not my bag.
This album certainly brought me back to life!
Emblematic of the 'don't really need to hear before you die'-ness of this list.
I'm sure it is a classic, but club music has continued to innovate and improve, IMO
I just can't get past Jazzie B's voice - he just sounds bored. There are a couple of good tunes on here (the singles) but if fond this sounded dated in general. I understand their place in the evolution of UK dance music, I just didn't find this a particularly engaging listen.
Groundbreaking. I love the 'Go forth and achieve your ambitions' instructions from Jazzy. It unleashed an army of London soul brothers and sisters. There's nothing radically new here, yet it all still sounds so fresh. The sound of late 80's Ldn going global.
soul ii soul's club classics vol. one was a refreshing listen. i found myself intrigued as the album went on; it began as very smooth r&b, but including african music into their album was a good change of pace. i do think that their desire to touch multiple genres hurt them in the end, because the album wasn't very cohesive. regardless, 3 for creativity.
This was okay! There was a very diverse amount of music on here, in many different genres that are often explored by Black artists, such as R&B, soul, hip hop, and African. It was interesting to hear a lot of that blended into one album. I will say the album started to drag after a bit, and I feel like by not picking one genre to be centered around, Soul II Soul kind of made themselves generic across all of these genres. I would put this at a high enough 2 that I'm going round it up!
Back to Life – the single version, not the album version – is fantastic, and I’m not surprised it was a huge UK hit. Keen on Movin’ is also a great track, and Holdin’ On and African Dance aren’t half bad either. The female vocals in every track that includes them are gorgeous, to the point where the carelessly-spoken male vocal is “immersion-breaking” and obstructs the otherwise very cool, hip-hoppy flow of the album. The percussion is pretty boring, predicting the upcoming decade of similarly unremarkable percussion being (somehow) a hit with the crowds. Other instruments are cool but repetitive, such as the fun horn licks decorating some of the later tracks.
A good album, I liked Keep On Movin' and Back to Life the most.
Monotonous and dated. Only enjoyable in certain contexts and IM NOT IN THE MOOD
# 125 : Can listen but its, not real good, it hasn't aged well, pretty average for what it is. Like some one else said, Sounds like what you would here in a hotel lobby. Nothing of note on this.
not my style ma ben fatto
Oh, Back to Life just blew me away. Couldn´t stop listening to that one. Overall, the vibe of this album was incredible and I enjoyed it. This R&B /soul album was awesome.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Holdin’ on, African dance, Dance, Back to life
This does nothing for me. Bland, tasteless, fluff. The white bread of music.
I bought this a long while back and had the same experience then than now when listening to it. A lazy, half hearted album with one of the best songs rendered acapella and lots of beats with random talking over. A great shame because when they made songs they really sounded great.
i don't really like soul :D
Smooth
me aburrió, honestamente
I think it was ok, I can barely rememeber
Not for me.
An album devoid of anything musically worthwhile. Soul-less.
Not bad for R&B.
I got really excited by this album for the first like 10 seconds but after that I was a bit let down. It was fine overall but there was nothing that's really making it stick in my mind. There's cool production stuff here and there but other than that I doubt I'll remember this in like 2 days. It sounded like my jam on the surface as a mashup of soul and club music but it just didn't fully work for me. I feel like I’ve been in a 2-3 star rut album enjoyment wise
Hasn't aged well, but gets an extra star for being such a trailblazer and trendsetter. More important than it is actually good.
nah. not my style.
Pretty big album when it came out. Still holds up well. Standouts: Back to Life, Keep on Movin', Jazzie's Groove 3.5
It’s ok. May have been a ground breaker but it wasn’t a ground shaker for me.
Bad singing, bad rapping
Jaja
Some good hits (Keep on Moving, Back To life) in general solid R&B album
When an album is called “Club Classics” I would expect to know more than one song. I wasn’t the biggest dance club patron, so I could be totally off on this take. That doesn’t mean this was a bad album. It did have a nice groove to it, but did not start thumpin’ until the rap, which was an unofficial introduction to the remixes. This is where the beat gets heavier, but still not where other songs played at the club would be. I’d put the first hapf on at a wine & cheese party and use the second have as a pre-gamer. Not a heavy beat, but enough to get you excited for the night. Low 3
This felt very 90s, in a good way.
Que álbum sensacional! Vontade de ouvir o dia todo ahahaha
4.9
ekki minn tebolla en vel gert breskt rogb popp með sterkum næntíssvip.
Cool
This brings me way back to the early 90s. While I was listening to Nirvana, this stuff also existed. It’s fine. It all blends together. Feeling Free (Rap) is the best song because it’s Rap and not dance but that’s about it
Another alright background album. Not what I'm looking for though. Will I listen to again: 0%
[PLEASE WAIT... THIS REVIEW IS CURRENTLY LOADING] [TIP: Did you know that you can cast the "Shitting Spell" by pressing A+Select?]
Transported immediately back to late 80s/early 90s. This is a certified banger for anyone who loves jazz, dance, and Living Single.
Legit
i dont know man that sounds kinda lame, not a big fan of hip hop beats. this sounds like marvin gaye's what's going with bad musicians, mainly the rythm session. i get why people would like this, just not really my thing.
I liked Keep on Moving, it was a strong start, but quickly the album fell apart into bad vocals and repetitive tracks. Not for me.
Good beats and vocals. Solid album, nothing wrong.
Really fun album with great vibes
Listened to this after being up for 24 hours on a train from the airport in Japan. It weirdly hit me in a groove. I have no idea why this album exists or what the story of it is and I don't think it's that incredible but I had fun listening to it. There was one song where the handholds were swinging to the beat and it felt like the right thing to be listening to.
Back to Life is a banger.
Fun and fun it beats. This was enjoyable.