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You’ll recall there was the version of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ followed by the album A Hundred Days In One and the latest single, ‘Oh Jah’. Acclaim has been widespread so just to turn it up a little higher, Deadstock is a massive party mix tape to showcase his DJ skills. Crammed onto one little CD are 28 tunes, a few sound clips (where did he find that Mr. Magoo?) and a load of jazzin’ soulful hip hop funk party music.

Kicking off with Don Thompson’s ‘Please Don’t Make Yourself At Home’ he comes back with ‘Hang Loose’ followed by the People Under The Stairs’ version. And in-between ‘Listen To The Man’ is breaks at its best. Like Betty Lavette’s ‘Soul Tambourine’ followed by ‘Everybody’ (Roy Ayers) and ‘Keep Her Happy (Phillip Wright); old skool funky soul.

You can’t analyse this, you got to get up and dance. And it keeps coming with the Latin jazz section ‘A Vida Em Seus Metodos Diz Clama’ and ‘Homengem A Mongo’.

The Black Grass gets the J-Star remix of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’, ‘Oh Jah’, A mash of The Supremes’ ‘My World Is Empty Without You’ (acapella) and the instrumental of ‘Down & Dirty’ (brilliant stuff this one) and a Black Grass remix of ‘Back Up’ by Boozoo Bajou with OH NO (why didn’t this get on the ‘Juke Joint’ EP?)

Going for the climax with another mash (Janet Jackson ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ instrumental with Lords Of The Underground acapella of ‘Psycho’), Courtney Buchanan’s ‘R U Conscious?’ and a lovely bit of reggae and dub to finish (The Crows — ‘Beefy Dub’ and Carl Malcolm — ‘Miss Wire Waist)

Whether it be Black Grass the producer or the DJ, it’s going to be a wide-ranging experience. In total, nearly an hour of great tunes and some more crate diggin’ homework to get onto at a later date. To ‘borrow’ DJ’s description of A Hundred Days In One, as it’s just as apt here, “One of the most eclectic yet satisfying albums of the year”. Hectic and eclectic, just my type of brilliant boogie; certainly ain’t deadstock. But it just leaves two questions really, “Have you heard about the dance?” and “Is there an Al Coholic in here?” Oh Jah!

Dates:
Fri 27th October Supercharged @ Concorde 2, BRIGHTON, U.K
Tues 31st October The Old Queens Head, LONDON, U.K
Thurs 2nd November Dogma, NOTTINGHAM, U.K
Fri 15th December The Magnet, LIVERPOOL, U.K
Thu 21st December Bagman, BRISTOL, U.K

Reviewed: Black Grass — Deadstock 2006 (Catskills Records) Release date: October 2006 : Mixed by Mex on the Pioneer DJM-909

Links:
www.black-grass.com
www.myspace.com/blackgrassmusic
www.catskillrecords.com
www.bestival.net