All blog posts tagged with masters at work

Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Posted June 19, 2011

Track: Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Artist: Saint Etienne

Year: 1990

Label: Heavenly

For reasons unknown, British alternative dance band Saint Etienne never saw much success in the US, so millions on this side of the pond aren't familiar with their phenomenal portfolio of hits from the past 20+ years.  One of my favorite St. Etienne tracks is Only Love Can Break Your Heart, a cover of Neil Young's 1970 tune.

Writing for The Independent in 1993, music journalist Ben Thompson described the metamorphosis from Neil Young's slow-paced classic to the 4/4 beat Saint Etienne track:

They took the whole thing out of waltz time, changed the chords slightly to make them more melancholic, and added a big shuffling mystery drum sample, a clanking keyboard off-beat, a resonantly thin female vocal and something that certainly sounds like Augustus Pablo's melodica, even if it isn't. 'What I liked about the original,' Stanley says, 'was that it's very cyclical, repetitive - almost mantra-like.' These were the qualities Saint Etienne emphasised, but the spirit of the original was still in place, and if anything almost intensified - even if the words did seem to have been changed from 'down that he's found' to 'gown that he's found'.

I love the infectious Italo-house piano riff in the Saint Etienne version and the fact that Moira Lambert's delicate vocals tease the chords to timeless effect.  Killer lyrics too, but I guess credit Neil Young for those...

St. Etienne's version:

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/St-Etienne-Only-Love-Can-Break-Your-Heart/master/22652

In terms of mixes, there's a couple great ones.  I'm especially fond of the Masters at Work Dub, released on Warner Brothers in '91.  MAW's dub mix samples Nikita Warren's I Need You (1991) and probably qualifies as a Top 10 or 15 MAW track (out of the hundreds of mixes they've done):

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/St-Etienne-Only-Love-Can-Break-Your-Heart/release/54090

And then you have Andrew Weatherall's superb A Mix Of Two Halves - considered to be one of the best remixes in house music history.  It's very much a mix of two halves, but I won't spoil it - do yourself a favor and listen to the whole thing all the way through.  The DJ eases a spliff, from his lyrical lips, and smilingly orders....CEASE!

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Saint-Etienne-Only-Love-Can-Break-Your-Heart-Remix/release/8474

Posted in General
Tagged as 1990, saint etienne, st. etienne, uk, masters at work, maw, kenny gonzalez, louie vega, deep house, progressive house, moira lambert, bob stanley, pete wiggs, and andrew weatherall

I Can't Get No Sleep

Posted November 22, 2010

Track: I Can't Get No Sleep

Artist: Masters at Work (ft. India)

Year: 1993

Label: Cutting Records

Where to start with this one?  So far, I've been selecting just my favorite mix for each post, but that won't work for this jam - there's too many good mixes that it would feel wrong showcasing just one.  First, for those new to house music, Masters at Work (MAW) consists of the NY duo of Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez and "Little" Louie Vega.  They've been mega producers and remixers forever and have compiled a discography longer than the Mississippi River.  Sometimes their mixes are issued under the alias KenLou, a syllabic abbreviation of their first names.  India, also known as La India, is a Nuyorican vocalist who became a teen star in the 80s with freestyle music and has since had a very accomplished career in salsa and house.   She's put on some weight over the years, but in her day, she was slammin' hot.  India has an amazing voice with impressive range - after Barbara Tucker, she's probably considered the best voice in house music.  Anyway, this song features an infectious beat and an all-time great horn sample and layered drums that shift the intensity from a lounge to club vibe.  Most noteworthy are India's soulful vocals - she really pours her heart into this song and compliments the varied flow with the versatility of her singing.

Here's the Ken/Lou 12" Mix which is like the radio version except longer:

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Masters-At-Work-I-Cant-Get-No-Sleep/master/135859

The MK Mix, produced by the legendary Marc "MK" Kinchen, is one of the better remixes:

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Masters-At-Work-Featuring-India-I-Cant-Get-No-Sleep-All-That/release/77091

1995 saw a slew of official remixes for this track, but none better than No Sleep In '95 Mix:

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Masters-At-Work-I-Cant-Get-No-Sleep-95-Mixes-Part-1/release/36345

Masters At Work

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Posted in General
Tagged as 1993, masters at work, marc kinchen, india, garage house, and deep house

Deep Inside (Masters At Work Mix)

Posted October 31, 2010

Track: Deep Inside (Masters At Work Mix)

Artist: Hardrive

Year: 1995 (original release was 1993)

Label: Sound of Ministry

This is one of those stop-drop-and listen tracks that freezes conversations in mid-sentence and bring the focus back to the music when it you hear it in a club.  It should come with a label - WARNING:  May cause hands in the air and involuntary head bobbing.  Barbara Tucker has an amazing set of pipes and she's not afraid to use them against the backdrop of this garage house MAW masterpiece.  Play loud to fully appreciate!

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Hardrive-Deep-Inside-Remixes/release/1778854

And check out the Crazy Bell Mix if you want some more.

FYI: Drum elements lifted from Cloud 9 - Do You Want Me (1993).  YouTube * Discogs

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Posted in General
Tagged as deep house, 1995, barbara tucker, masters at work, louie vega, hardrive, maw, 1993, and garage house
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This site profiles my favorite classic house tracks. Most selections are from the 80s and 90s with a strong - but not exclusive - deep house, progressive and old school Chicago influence. I could never fully warm up to acid house, overly ambient tracks, or anything that bumps >135bpm. Since many have asked, there's no single definition of classic house music, but Ishkur has an excellent guide to electronica music that can serve as a primer for anyone interested.  I know some of the videos get pulled due to copyright issues - just search on YouTube since most stuff gets re-upped anyway. 

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