Masters At Work - Housemasters

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  • At their best Masters At Work were simply unbeatable. They set so many standards that it's almost impossible to imagine how dance music would sound without them. They made some of the greatest house records of all time, and entire sub-genres sprang out of their ideas. This four-disc collection is a potent reminder of their best work and, if you believe what they said in their RA Exchange, a precursor to new music in 2015. Any compilation with "Voices In My Mind" is sure to be worthy of your attention. This one neatly encapsulates what Masters At Work did best: a smoky house beat, joyous vocal performance and instantly emotive chords meld to create something totally irresistible. It's a simple combination, but one these guys did better than anyone else. Many of their most loved records—"Backfired" and "I Can't Get No Sleep" to name another two—built these seemingly simple elements into something infinitely more than the sum of their parts. Arguably Masters At Work's biggest contribution to dance music was their evolution of the remix. The way they could transform passé pop records into dance floor gold was at once remarkable and revolutionary. In their hands, Mick Hucknall could become a house diva—thus their enduring remix of Simply Red's "Thrill Me." Masters At Work made their name as sonic alchemists, flipping the shittiest pop records into underground anthems. That so much of their work was for major labels goes someway to explain why so much is missing from House Masters: much of it simply may have been too expensive to license. The dub of Trey Lorenz's "Photograph Of Mary," an NYC anthem and building block of UK garage, is not included. Nor is the dub of Debbie Gibson's "One Step Ahead," MAW's first major label remix and one that marked a pivotal moment in their career. Of course it would have been impossible to include everything—Louie Vega and Kenny Gonzalez made over 1,500 records together—but these dubs are arguably the Masters At Work tracks that feel most relevant today. Still, there's enough on House Masters to keep you happy. Bebe Winans "Thank You," Saint Etienne's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and Lood "Shout-N-Out" are about as good as soulful house music can get. If you don't already own these records, you need this compilation.
  • Tracklist
      CD1 01. Bebe Winans - Thank You (MAW Mix) 02. The Braxtons - The Boss (MAW Remix) 03. MAW feat. James Ingram - Lean On Me (MAW Mix) 04. Masters At Work feat. India - Backfired (Album Version) 05. Voices - Voices In My Mind (MAW Mix) 06. Afro Celt Sound System - Release (Masters At Work Main Mix) 07. Incognito - Nights Over Egypt (Masters At Work Main Mix) 08. Nuyorican Soul feat. India - Runaway (Original Flava 12-inch) 09. Urbanized feat. Slivano - Helpless (I Don't Know What To Do Without You) (The Kenlou Remix) 10. Gus Gus - VIP (Masters At Work Vocal Mix) CD2 01. Masters At Work - I Can't Get No Sleep feat. India (Ken Lou 12-inch Mix) 02. Masters At Work - When You Touch Me feat. India (M.A.W. Remix) 03. Funky People - Funky People feat. Cassio Ware (Masters At Work Main Mix) 04. Ruffneck - Everybody Be Somebody feat. Yavahn (MAW Style Mix) 05. Simply Red - Thrill Me (Masters At Work House Mix) 06. Black Masses - Wonderful Person (MAW Vocal Mix) 07. George Benson - Song for My Brother (Kenlou 12-inch Mix) 08. Masters At Work - Work (MAW Mix) 09. River Ocean - Love & Happiness feat. India (Yemeya Y Ochun) (MAW Original Remix Extended) 10. Maw - Pienso En Ti feat. Luis Salinas (I Think Of You) (House Mix) CD3 01. Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Masters At Work Dub) 02. Lood - Shout-N-Out feat. Donell Rush (The DJ Dub) 03. Nuyorican Soul - The Nervous Track (Ballsy Mix) 04. Chris Cuevas - Hip Hop (Masters At Work Dub) 05. Atmosfear - Dancing In Outer Space (Lunar Mix Part 1) 06. D'Influence - Hypnotize (M.A.W. Piano Dub Mix) 07. The Neville Brothers - Fly Like An Eagle (Slippin Dub) 08. Debbie Gibson - Losin' Myself (12-inch Masters At Work Version) 09. Uncanny Alliance - I Got My Education (Master At Work Dub) 10. Masters At Work - Our Mute Horn (Ken Lou Mix) CD4 01. Masters At Work - The Ha Dance (Ken / Lou Mixx) 02. Los Amigos Invisibles - Ease Your Mind (Masters At Work Dub Edit) 03. House Of Gypsies - Sume Sigh Sey (MAW Remix) 04. Kathy Brown - Can't Play Around (M.A.W Dub) 05. Ce Ce Peniston - Crazy Love (Krazy Dub) 06. Baaba Maal - Gorel (Piano Dub) 07. Jody Watley - Off The Hook (MAW Dub) 08. Ultra Naté - Show Me (Masters At Work Wild Dub) 09. The Brand New Heavies - Close To You (Masters At Work Remix) 10. B.O.P - Zabalaza (MAW Original Mix)
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