The Bees Present The Sound Selection
Review by Jack Foley
THE mark of any really good compilation CD is how many new songs it can open your ears to. Forget the Now collections, which lift from the here and now of chart success, and stick to the off-mainstream collections, or soundtracks to US TV shows. They can and often offer a veritable goldmine of lost gems or new and undiscovered artists.
A classic case in point is The Bees Present The Sound Selection, a wonderful mix tape that’s worthy of addition to pretty much anyone’s record collection. It’s basically a road map of the band’s musical influences, but the trip is a real joyride spanning artists such as the Staples Singers to De La Soul via Muddy Waters and Donovan. Eclectic is not the word; genius damn-near almost is.
The Sound Selection is the latest in Tirk Records’ series of compilations curated by some of the finest artists and DJs in contemporary music. For Tirk, The Bees were an obvious choice, while for Aaron Fletcher himself it was a perfect opportunity to realise a long-held ambition.
The result is a terrific listen where the highlights flying thick and fast, featuring some absolute classics.
Bees’ fans will delight in the exclusive unreleased alternate version of Left Foot Step Down from their third album Octopus, as well as the all-new exclusive Papa Echo, which cuts as funky a strut as ever for them.
But their other selections are just as thrilling. De La Soul’s Ego Trippin’ Part 2 is just an old-skool hip hop classic, complete with a Motown horn shuffle and a kick-ass back beat, while Muddy Waters’ hits some fine blues guitar notes with the sexy I Just Want To Make Love To You. It’s just so down and dirty.
The Staple Sisters, meanwhile, exhilarate with a real gospel classic in Step Aside, which drips with Deep South American qualities, while there’s a sunshine reggae vibe over Matumbi’s Chain Gang that provides a really nice buzz.
Samba gets a look in with Elis’ Roda, there’s some thrilling guitars and bongos on Dungen’s Plagor Jamna, and the early traces of Bees’ classics like Chicken Payback are evident in the likes of Fatty Flx’s Original Ghosts and Cryil LaBonne’s loopy Alouda Limonade.
Worth checking out, too, are Donovan’s ’70s trip There Is A Mountain, the Motown stomp of Little Ann’s Going Down A One Way Street and Clarence Reid’s Nobody But You Babe, which brings the compilation to a funk-strewn close.
It’s a blend of styles you really cannot afford to miss out on owning. It’ll brighten up your life.
Download picks: Step Aside, Ego Trippin Part 2, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Noboby But You Babe, Papa Echo, There Is A Mountain, Original Ghosts, Roda
Track listing: