SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – GOING OUT OF MY HEAD: ADVENTURES ON THE INDIE DANCEFLOOR 1995-1999

VARIOUS ARTISTS
GOING OUT OF MY HEAD: ADVENTURES ON THE INDIE DANCEFLOOR 1995-1999
CHERRY RED RECORDS

Each decade has several dominating genres that flood a dance floor, and it was no different in the 1990s. The difference in the late 1990s was that as music changed, so did the way in which people listened to it and accessed it. Radio stations became much more streamlined, and genres became more distinct. In the U.K., those boundaries blurred somewhat and as a result there was a great deal of variety of music being played. Vinyl had given way to cassettes, which gave way to CDs. Soon, downloads and streaming would dominate and everything was different. So, it is very interesting to listen to this four-CD set, especially for someone who is over 50, who remembers the decade, not as nostalgia, but as if it was yesterday.

CDs meant longer mixes and technology allowed remixes to be very different from the 1970s and 1980s. Going Out Of My Head – Adventures On The Indie Dancefloor 1995-1999 is not about pop hits on the radio, but rather the music one would have heard in the second of the 1990s in clubs in Europe and the U.K. The club scene was always (and still is) vibrant in the U.K., and this set goes a long way to explaining why. It is all here: Britpop, Big Beat, Trip Hop, Drum N Bass, Techno, Dub, Electro, Dub Electro and of course, remixes.

There is a lot of music on the four CDs. The Chemical Brothers’ remixes are represented with a couple of classic songs, The Charlatans “Nine Acre Dust” and Bomb The Bass & Justin Warfield’s “Bug Powder Dust”. Other remixers are present, such as Jaxx, Norman Cook, Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook again), and Perfecto, to name just a few. Paul Weller even gets the remix treatment with his classic “Kosmos (Lynch Mob Bonus Beats Full Version/Lynchmob Beats Mix)”. This remix just leaps out of the speakers and turns the song into a dance floor hit.

Blur’s “On Your Own (Crouch End Broadway Mix)” is still Britpop, high powered, but still Britpop. Although here Blur does sound a little like Underworld at times. Radiohead’s “Planet Telex (Karma Sunra Mix)” taps into a middle eastern vibe, not unlike early Blancmange. But again, at the end of the day, it is still Britpop.  James maintains their hard driving rock sound with “Waltzing Along (Havin’ It Rock Opera Mix)”. It is a stellar remix.

Elsewhere, Dubstar’s “Stars (Motiv8 Radio Mix)” is classic dance pop and sounds custom made for late 1990s radio. It is nice to hear the epic electro sound of Super Furry Animals “Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)” which is creative and shows how they did stand apart from other bands at the time.

Cherry Red continues with their excellent compilation albums. Going Out Of My Head – Adventures On The Indie Dancefloor 1995-1999 is an excellent sampler of the late 1990s. Sure there are some glaring omissions (Oasis, Underworld, Ono, Pet Shop Boys) but the songs make up for the missing artists/tracks. And this is very much U.K. based, but the music is international and holds up. Sure, the music is a little bit dated, but who cares, this is a great set full of fantastic, energetic dance songs. It is the perfect soundtrack for those summer blowout parties, just be mindful of the neighbours.

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