- If you're in any doubt as to the value of reissuing four old System 7 records then give 'Sinbad' a try. This cut from the '777' album shows that Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy know how to make a crowd dance, and '777' is a record that sticks to these principles and has stood up well as a result. 'Quest' and '7:7 Expansion' are also solidly rocking grooves, whereas 'A Cool Dry Place' is an expertly crafted soundscape in collaboration with The Orb.
Whereas '777' had its feet firmly on the dancefloor, the 'Point 3: Fire and Water' records strayed more towards experimental sounds, often in an Eastern musical language, and became more rambling and less coherent. Forming a link as they do with Hillage's groundbreaking 1979 album 'Rainbow Dome Musick' they could easily come across as laden with pretension. That said, there are a few memorable moments, for 'Sirenes' still sounds great, as do the Derrick May collaborations.
1997s 'The Golden Section' meanwhile is a very fine piece of work. 'The Rite Of Spring', its title betraying a classical influence on Hillage and Giraudy, has a great melody that could easily market a cheesy car ad. 'Ring Of Fire' rocks a treat (dodgy title though!) and 'Y2K' is a spacey breakbeat groove providing further evidence of System 7's soundtrack potential.
To sum up then at least 2 of these records are worth having, with an (8) each for 'The Golden Section' and '777', a (6) for 'Fire' and a (5) for 'Water'. If you're planning an 'intelligent' (or bonkers!) techno sesh you could do far worse than get the whole lot! Listening to these reminds you, however, of the surprising weight and influence that System 7 hold within dance music.