Shake the Foundations is a compact outgrowth of earlier Cherry Red boxed sets such as To the Outside of Everything and Optimism/Reject. Across three discs, it emphasizes the post-punk bands who, in the spirit of having a go, investigated funk, disco, reggae, and other forms that could be reshaped for the sake of moving bodies. The tracks were selected and annotated by DJ/author Bill Brewster, one of the best in the business, so its no surprise that the set appeals to curious listeners as well as those who have cherished compilations such as Mutant Disco, Disco Not Disco, Nine OClock Drop, Metal Dance, Science Fiction Dancehall Classics, and Fac. Dance -- some of which overlap a little and/or involved Brewsters handiwork. A few of the first names that come to mind with this sort of thing arent here. Whether due to familiarity, licensing restrictions, budgeting, or taste, the exclusions are of no consequence given the depth and range of whats on offer. Public Image Ltd. dont make an appearance, but the bands Jah Wobble is responsible for an Eastern disco dub highlight. Rip Rig + Panics Youre My Kind of Climate would have been an ideal inclusion. Instead, theres something from root band the Pop Group, whose insurgent racket is no mere consolation, and besides, Maximum Joys Stretch is just as energizing and obliquely funky. In addition to picks from funk loyalists such as A Certain Ratio, 23 Skidoo, and Ian Dury, some of the material is from unexpected sources. Take the Stranglers, who slapped a crawling instrumental with sounds of tennis play on the B-side of Golden Brown, or Haircut 100, makers of a funk-deficient if beatific instrumental with a hint of Fleetwood Macs Albatross. A fair quantity of the tracks havent previously appeared on compact disc. Among the worthiest are Perfect Zebras slinking What Dance Is This?, akin to an extroverted Japan, and the 012s Asbestos Lead Asbestos, an anti-carcinogen rant that rumbles, screeches, and startles like nothing else, including the covers by World Domination Enterprises and Meat Beat Manifesto. Also, somewhere in the realm of A Certain Ratio, Palais Schaumburg, and the also-present John Cooper Clarke, theres Group Therapys Arty-Fact, featuring Brewster himself. ~ Andy Kellman

Rovi