In January 2010, Demon Music Group [UK] ancillary label Harmless dropped the first ten albums in its new Backbeats series. From the press release:
Culled from the wealth of the Demon Music Group controlled catalogues, the Backbeats repertoire comes from the best collection of independent labels in the world including Hi, Cream, Philadelphia International, Sleeping Bag, Fresh, Streetwise, Idlers, Warlock, Easy Street, Sam, Chi-Sound, Trax, Philly Groove, Jewel, Paula, Ronn, Ace, Tribe, Invictus, Hot Wax, Music Merchant, Amazon and numerous other catalogues which have shaped the history of Black Music and Dance Culture over the years.
Covering house, disco, soul and all the boogie in between, HERC is pleased as punch to shine the flashlight (neon light) on the entire Backbeats series, one super groovy disc after another. But first, one last blast from the past press release:
Backbeats will also utilise the talents of a wide range of compilers across different genres of Black/Dance music throughout future volumes. We will only use the full original 12" or album versions from the original artists, plus, with over 75 minutes of music on each Backbeats album, you can be assured of getting maximum musical value for relatively minimal outlay.
The first thing you'll notice about each disc in the series is the cool, well-worn vinyl album-looking artwork on both the front and back. Opening the first disc, you're greeted with the following greeting:
To kick things off today, HERC featured a Spotify playlist at the top of the post featuring six of the eight songs from the ultra-rare Backbeats sampler issued ahead of the first ten issues. One of those songs is taken from the first volume in the series, Livin' The Night Life - 80s New York Garage Classics, a collection of songs from 1980-1988.
Serious collectors likely have most of what's here, but newcomers will be knocked out by just about everything. - Andy Kellman, allmusic
Enjoy HERC's M!X of the album below. And look for more volumes in the Backbeats series coming soon here on HERC's Hideaway.
Crikey! What a gold mine. Just searched out a few of these gems on line and was pleasantly surprised at the low price. Will buy a few soul compilations I'm pretty sure I'll like and wait for your reviews of the others.
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