Product Review

Every project pretty much started out as a remix on spec or a simple collaboration or production request. All of these tunes were beginning to get a lot of notice everywhere I was playing and before I knew it I had enough material to make an album. I had so many strong songs in my arsenal we decided this compilation should reflect exactly where I am at musically right now and pull all these productions together in one place. - Frankie Knuckles Now a household name in music, Frankie Knuckles is the man who is famously credited as being the Godfather of House Music. It was at his Chicago nightclub in the late 70s - The Warehouse - where he would take the ultimately danceable beats of disco and subtly evolve them into what we now know as house. This stroke of genius was fundamental in cultivating a genre that has continued to influence youth culture and spread around the world to this day. His achievements are formidable. A recipient of the first Grammy for Remixer Of The Year, he has worked on just about every important soulful vocalist in the past 20 years - Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton and Whitney Houston to name but a few. Recent achievements have included his celebrated remixes of Hercules and Love Affairs Blind, Depeche Modes Wrong and Whitney Houstons Million Dollar Bill. It is this association with a multitude of impeccable artists that has let him to put together this aptly titled new album Tales From Beyond The Tone Arm - a kind of concept compilation album that takes us through Frankies most recent productions, collaborations and musical experiences. This new compilation album is split into two moods. The Classic Side (CD1) is full of tracks that are reminiscent of the halcyon days of house music back in the early '90s, including Frankie s own celebrated re-work of The Whistle Song under his Directors Cut moniker along with long time production partner and house stalwart Eric Kupper. Here you will also find a plethora of genre defining tracks like Fable (Lil Louis) and Worthy (Richard Earnshaw feat. Jocelyn Brown). The Soultronic Side (CD 2) brings it all forward, fusing soulful sounds from Inaya Day & Robin S. ( Right Now ) with newcomers such as Colton Ford ( Let Me Live Again ) and young producers and remixers like Rober Gaez and Belocca & Soneec. Finally, let's not forget the legendary ONO (Yoko Ono) who plays her part in the story with I'm Movin' On . The album also includes an impressive array of exclusives cuts from the likes of Sybil ( Let Yourself Go ), Kenny Summit and Yasmeen ( Loving You ), Inaya Day and Robin S. ( Right Now ) and Director s Cut new remix on The Shapeshifters & C-Dock ( Nothing But Love For You ) Frankie Knuckles is an inimitable character and one of house music s greatest authorities to this day. This compilation provides a snapshot of exactly where he is at musically today.