REVIEW: Various, Tommy Boy's Greatest Beats (Tommy Boy)
- Bob Gajarsky
Sometimes, writing reviews can be a chore. Sometimes, reviews are not only easy to write, but truly enjoyable. When the discs from the Tommy Boy Greatest Beats came this way, the latter feeling of happiness truly came to the forefront.
While DJing back in the mid 1980s, Tommy Boy was quickly known to me - and those dancing to the music - as a label which would always venture slightly ahead of the pack to produce superior music and artists with their ears firmly in the clubs.
Of course, the super-influential and all-time top-selling 12" single from Afrika Bambaattaa & Soul Sonic Force "Planet Rock" is the leadoff track here. And what better song can signify the length to which Tommy Boy's influence would reach? Where Kraftwerk had their core audience, "Planet Rock" married rap with the robotic sounds of the enigmatic European group and singlehandedly inspired Miami Bass, and touched the hearts of those who would start dancing to techno and jungle in a later year.
But one song does not a career make, nor a label. The psychedelic hip-hop eye-opening experience of the Daisy Agers, De La Soul, freestyling via TKA, and rappers such as Queen Latifah all were under the Tommy Boy umbrella. Samples were also in vogue on Naughty By Nature's reworking of the Jackson 5's "ABC" into the more youthfully-respected "OPP"; the Stevie Wonder updating for Coolio's "Gangster Paradise" If it was danceable and hip, odds are, it was on Tommy Boy.
Always open to new sounds, Tommy Boy didn't solely strive for the urban beats; Information Society opened up the doors for a new generation of synthpop and Trekkies raced out and picked up "What's On Your Mind" for the sampling of Spock's 'Pure Energy'. Lisa Stansfield first became known in the States with Coldcut's hit "People Hold On", and 808 State's brief American moment in the raving sun is captured on "Pacific". House of Pain commanded you to "Jump Around", and the crossdressing Rupaul proclaimed his/her/hir (sic) world on "Supermodel". But by marrying the sounds which were heard on the corners of New York City's streets - yet weren't considered mainstream, acceptable, or enough of a risk for the major label's bottom line - Tommy Boy helped define the dance scene for the 80s and 90s, without ever losing their street credibility.
Those willing to plunk down their bucks for the entire 4 disc box set will find themselves rewarded with an additional bonus fifth disc of classic tunes remixed from some of today's cutting-edge DJs. Check out that list - including Dimitri from Paris, Dee Jay Punk Roc, Grooverider, and Jason Nevins - and save up the pennies to buy the whole box. Absolutely essential.
