Search results: Odyssey

Review: Jay Kay's powerhouse of crossover Brit funk maestros never stayed in one lane, but progressed from album to album without missing a beat. On 2001's A Funk Odyssey, they folded some explicitly floor-focused house and disco ingredients into their soul stew and came up trumps, smashing the hits out while staying true to the elevated musicianship they marked themselves out with in the beginning. There are monster hits like 'Little L' and cheeky bangers aplenty dotted throughout this pearler of an album, and despite how long ago it came out, it hasn't aged a bit.

Review: The Now series is legendary for any one of us over a certain age. Back during our early childhood years, they were the first and last word of what was hot when it came to popular music of the day. Every few months, a new numbered collection would drop and give you access to all the hits you knew as well as some you didn't. In later years they branched out into specialist genres from funk to soul to dance. This bumper four CD collection brings together the very best 12"s of 1981 and despite the small remit, there is plenty to go at, as the easy-to-love tracklist shows.

Review: The legendary Now series was a gateway into so much new music for people of a certain generation, way before the internet came along and opened up the entire history of recorded music to everyone. It's great that it is still going, and this first outing for the New Year is a vast, unmixed and four-CD collection of some of the 80s' most cherished pop hits. This part focuses specifically on 12"s from 1982 and includes all the names you know and love from Gary Numan to Tears For Fears, Daryl Hall & John Oates to Siouxsie & The Banshees - a complete collection and then some.

Review: Whether or not the legendary NOW series is as old as time itself is uncertain, but what is for sure is that the compilations it puts together have always been great collections of the music of the moment. This one harks all the way back to 1978, a golden era for glam rock, pop on TV and artful suns that gave way to more sentimental fare in the following decade. This triple vinyl pack comes on pink wax and has a checklist of all the acts you would imagine covering disco, punk, pop, alt-rock and soul. There isn't a dud on it so it's a great one to have for any occasion.

Review: Given that the concept of the 12" version was born during the mid-to-late 1970s, it seems fitting that this four-disc trawl through extended mixes of the era leans heavily on classic disco cuts. Of course, there are some genuine must-haves among the DJ-friendly disco extensions on offer, not least Elton John's Philly Soul anthem 'Are You Ready For Love', Cerrone's 'Supernature', Dan Hartman's 'Relight My Fire' and Diana Ross's epic 'Love Hangover'. Throw in a smattering of post-punk and new wave gems, plus arguably the greatest end-of-night anthem of all, Wings' 'Goodnight Tonight' (the extended version of which gets brilliantly dubbed-out in the middle and is far superior to the seven-inch mix) and you have a rock-solid collection of club-ready '70s sing-alongs.