The Staple Singers / Bill Summers & Summers Heat - Club Classics 24 12"
Well-curated compilation records are worth their weight, and this excerpt from the Club Classics series by German powerhouse ZYX Music is a whopper. For the early 00s – an era many refer to as “the dark times” – the pressing is seriously good, which is a relief because 12"s like this are the working DJ's bread and butter.
Side A has two solid ’70s Soul cuts from The Staple Singers: the #1 hit I’ll Take You There and the socially significant anthem Respect Yourself (yes, the same song Bruce Willis covered in 1987 – and no, I'm not linking it). Things ramp up on side B with a pair of Disco-Funk bangers from Headhunters percussionist Bill Summers and his troupe, Summers Heat. Both joints are swell, but MVP goes to their cover of Eddy Grant's Walking On Sunshine for its prototypical synth work and killer breakdown.
I found one forthright review questioning ZYX’s liberal use of the term “club classic” across the series. Fair enough – one side probably belongs closer to a club sandwich than a dancefloor – but the flip? I’ll die on that hill without hesitation.
