Diggin' In The BGP Vaults

As the BGP label has specialized in reissues of rare soul, funk, and soul-jazz, at a glance you might mistake this 24-track compilation for more of the same. It's not quite a straightforward anthology of mid-'60s to mid-'70s sides, however, but a "mix" CD put together by DJ Andy Smith. What that means is that these aren't quite the two-dozen tracks in their original versions. Instead, there are some modern remixing/embellishments in the form of scratching, editing, stuttering rapid-fire repeats of snippets, and crossfading between cuts. As such things go in the remix world, the treatment here is fairly mild, the main devices being those crossfades and elimination of gaps between the songs, facilitating the kind of nonstop music valued by many club patrons. Certainly Smith exerted good taste in the selection of vintage tracks administered by BGP, with Booker T. & the MG's, the Blackbyrds, Dyke & the Blazers, and Rufus Thomas being the only really big names here. The cuts (or, perhaps more accurately, source material) are pretty good-to-excellent stuff that generally hybridizes dance-oriented soul and funk, with the Generation's "I'm a Good Woman" (with future Cold Blood vocalist Lydia Pense) the standout among these obscurities. Purist collectors should note, though, that this is not the way to experience these cuts in their pure 100-percent unadulterated form, or even at their complete length, since bits are cut out of the original versions to facilitate the mix flow. Its true purpose is to serve as an approximately hour-long grouping of vintage soul-funk tailored toward the dance/club scene, or for those who find this sort of material easier to digest when dressed up with more modern production effects/touches. ~ Richie Unterberger