DJ Milo - The Wild Bunch (Story Of A Sound System) (2002)

This probably shouldn't work as well as it does. Members of this sound system went on to form the likes of Massive Attack. What listeners have here isn't their early music or a collection of outtakes. Instead, this is a party mix of the stuff they were listening to at the time, compiled by DJ Milo. You wouldn't think a compilation of other people's work could be someone else's art. You'd be wrong. Just like Warhol said something definitive about America and his time with a picture of a soup can, so this says something about a scene and a music that nothing else could say as well. This is an eclectic mix of funk, disco, and electronica club rap. It flows, it bumps -- pick your adjective and shake yo ass. The hints of what would come are here if you listen hard, as those in attendance at these parties certainly did; you'll hear the strident club reggae of Massive Attack and the gloomy thumping march of Portishead bubbling just below the surface. This is a foundation document just like any Folkways recording, and these men are the Lomaxes of their scene. There are things everyone regrets -- girls who were never kissed, chances that were never taken. You'll regret that you didn't go to this party. Sounds like a thumper.