- Something a bit different for the Back to Mine series – when you go round to the Death In Vegas house there’s not much in the way of raw dance music, but plenty in terms of entertainment and the novelty value of some of the songs. Songs like Nina Simone’s cover of ‘My Sweet Lord’, which omits all the Krishna references, or the relatively unknown ‘Soul’ from Songs:Ohio – you’d be hard pushed to find a more passionate, heartfelt vocal around.
The dub style gets a look in, the peerless Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters opening up with ‘Cloak & Dagger’. The early days of rave get a reference at the other end of the CD, with MMM’s ‘Donna’, a bleeping electro monster. In between the styles of music vary wildly. Psychedelia is an expected inclusion, thanks to Sam Gupal and Piero Piccioni. The former starts out in subdued manner but throws off the shackles emphatically, while the latter has some weird and wonderful organ sounds. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band give a full-on hoedown with the riotous ‘Nashville Blues’, one to charge round the room too, and at the other end of the emotional scale come Joy Division and the magisterial ‘Decades’. Proof if ever it was needed that synthesizers can evoke feelings too.
A good selection then, and an insight into the components making up the Death In Vegas style. It certainly opened my eyes to some new music, always a good thing!