Top 40 Dance Anthems Ever (10 to 1)

Concluding my run down of the 40 greatest ever pieces of dance music ( see here for numbers 40 to 31 from Friday , numbers 30 to 21 from Saturday and numbers 20 to 11 from yesterday ) here is today's final list from 10 to 1:-

10. D-Mob feat. Gary Haisman – We Call it Acieed

As far as anthems go for Acid House they do not get as uncompromising as this one. If one was to ferment all the ingredients and flavours of Acid House into a bottle and then leave it to distil the result would taste a little like this. Controversial because it was successful, We Call it Acieed could have other been a token underground track. Gary Haisman’s manic shouts of “acieeed!!!” just add to the flavour. Both for the times and of the times, D-Mob produced a startling snapshot of a moment in the history of late 20^th century British culture life.

9. Lil Louis and the World – French Kiss

Yet more controversy. If sex was translated into electronic beats and synthesised rhythms then French Kiss would be the happy product of that act of union. In saying this I am ignoring the slightly embarrassing female orgasm that occurs during this record. That moment of ecstasy aside, the actual tune of French Kiss bumps and grinds and gets jiggy with itself too.  If rock and roll took its name from the fact that its basic musical structure sounded similar to the noises associated with the birds and the bees then with this song Lil Louis and the World have created a whole new genre waiting for a similar term.  Is the song just an updated version of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s Je t’aime...moi non Plus? The video is frankly disturbing when you think about it too.

8. Inner City – Big Fun

Big Fun is perhaps the best example of Detroit House and given that Detroit House eventually evolved and became better known as Techno then Inner City have produced an incredibly influential and important record here. The follow up single Good Life was even more successful yet Big Fun still has that unpolished harder edge to it. The commercial sheen on Techno is not totally shining yet, making Big Fun feel underground even though it has gone overground.

7. The Prodigy – Out of Space

If Kraftwerk are the Beatles of dance then Out of Space solidifies in my mind the Prodigy’s reputation as the Sex Pistols of rave.  Out of Space is a veritable Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen rolled into one. The song is a hedonistic piece of youthful abandonment.  The Prodigy would become musically more adept and commercially more popular but there is a naïve innocence on this record which is hard to find in their later career. The blending of cod reggae samples and blistering beats fed easily into generation x’s appetite for their own version of punk.

6. Black Box – Ride on Time

Ride on Time is probably the most successful highest placed entry on this list. In fact it was the biggest selling single of 1989 in the UK. It remains the filling in the sandwich between two slices of Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers.  Italian House has been mentioned in passing so far yet Black Box crystallise all the best elements of this genre.  The song is based around a basic piano chord structural melody, strong black female vocal dynamics as well as a pulsating yet nonintrusive beat.  For me the best bit is the little yelps from the singer following her larger, soaring wails which remind me that I am still listening to something electronic and mechanical.

5. Steve Silk Hurley – Jack Your Body

To the wider music buying public Jack Your Body could seem like a fairly silly attempt at novelty. This is to take the track totally out of context however.  Steve Silk Hurley’s masterpiece, and that is what it is, truly belongs in its natural environment, the Chicago House nightclubs and venues.  Presumably Steve Silk Hurley agreed that Jack Your Body had no place in the charts as he refused to promote it and the 12” exceeded the required time duration to be considered in the charts. This did not deter the great music buying public because it got to number one anyway. A landmark moment in the history of dance for a truly special record.

4. Colourbox – The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme

Some may think it is rather odd to place a piece of music designed, and rejected, for a sports TV programme so highly in a list of best dance anthems ever.  The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme has a life totally outside of the context it was developed in however. It became a mainstay anthem of clubs such as the Hacienda in Manchester at the end of the 80s and remains one of the most powerful and dramatic pieces of electronica ever produced.

3. Robin S – Show Me Love

In part you can see the very early stirrings of Handbag House in Show Me Love by Robin S.  This in itself is not necessarily a good thing. What makes Show Me Love great when so many similar pieces of dance fail then?  There are two answers to that question, firstly the use of the Korg M1 Percussion Organ Preset throughout the riff and its balance with the rest of the subtle instrumentation and secondly the way Robin S’s vocal swings in and out of the melody in a most heartfelt and bittersweet way.

2. 808 State – Pacific State

Possibly one of the greatest, if not the greatest pieces of music ever made. The only reason that it is not number one is that dance music itself is such a broad genre, as I hope this list of 40 greatest hits testifies, meaning there are elements contained in the number one record which are not contained here. In other words, it would be difficult to argue that Pacific State defines a genre due to elements of dance it does not touch upon. One such absence is vocals, but the instrumental melody is so expressive it is easy to forget that Pacific State has no vocals on it at all. Perfection, true and pure perfection.

1.       Frankie Knuckles – Your Love

So here is the tune that defines the dance genre and is the greatest ambassador for this kind of music. The track that has it all.  It is probably best to let the music do the talking, but to summarise all the drama, emotion and life affirming energy one can hope to get out of a piece of dance music is here. From the beginning with the manic driving repetitive arpeggio, to when that sly knowing bass line first comes in.  The bass then takes you on a journey through gradiose synths, stuttered, jerking beats and then to a surprisingly melancholic yet soulful vocal.  All playing their part to produce a whole. Nothing is wasted, everything is there for a reason. A bit like life as a whole, Your Love is both sad and joyful at the same time. Also like life, one is kept in total suspense, never quite knowing what may come next.  Your Love makes the listener both excited and grateful to be alive.

Top 40 Dance Anthems Ever (20 to 11)

Continuing my run down of the 40 greatest ever pieces of dance music ( see here for numbers 40 to 31 from Friday and numbers 30 to 21 from yesterday ) here is today's list from 20 to 11:-

20. Bomb the Bass – Don’t Make Me Wait

Following the success of sample heavy Beat Dis, Bomb the Bass followed up this success with a more conventional dance pop song, Don’t Make Me Wait.  Lorraine McIntosh’s sensual and compassionate vocals sit well with Tim Simeon’s jagged dance electronica.

19. Oceanic – Insanity

Somewhat of a one hit wonder of dance, Insanity is very much a British interpretation of various successful strands of dance in recent years.  From the plinky plonky Italian House style keyboards, a strong driving Acid House vocal and the techno rave style speed of the RPM beats.  This all combines to produce a euphoric and essentially danceable tune.

18. Urban Hype – Trip to Trumpton

There was a craze in the commercial rave days for tracks to use children’s TV themes as their basis.  This went well with the happy, clappy innocence of a lot of the E generation. Shaft’s Roobarb and Custard, Smart-E’s Sesame’s Treat and the Prodigy’s Charly fall into this camp. It is hard not to feel that a lot of this was just novelty however. Another is Urban Hype’s Trip to Trumpton which appears out of the blue like a group of ravers who have just got lost on the M25 and have stumbled across a gathering in a field. Not particularly deep or intelligent, but this piece of fun could only happen with rave and it should be celebrated that a genre could throw up material like this.

17. LaTour – People are still having Sex

This is possibly the strangest track amongst the entire 40 on this list. I was always confused as to whether this was a pro or anti chastity message in the face of fears of a possible AIDS epidemic.  If anything it is probably indifferent, merely remarking that people were still having sex whether it is good for them or not. People are still having Sex is the early 90s equivalent of Paul Hardcastle’s 19.

16. N-Trance – Set You Free

Set You Free is another female vocal driven dance track.  Rereleased time and time again, it is surprising that it took such a long time for a song with such an instant appeal to become a hit. The song is like a rollercoaster, speeding up and slowing down.  Set You Free is exhilarating and eventful throughout.

15. Altern-8 – Activ 8 (Come with Me)

Chart rave. Altern-8 were quite a terrifying image to middle-England. Were they the original hoddies? Those yellow face masks that Altern-8 wore were pretty frightening also! Beyond the frankly scary imagery however Altern-8 produced incredibly fast and heavy bass infused loud rave anthems.  There is genuine creativity in the music that Altern-8 produced, Activ 8 (Come with Me) being the best example of that.

14. Future Sound of London – Papua New Guinea

Atmosphere is everything in music.  The ability to create vivid visions of worlds and take the listener to places they have never been is to succeed with this art form.  Papua New Guinea was a popular club anthem which would sound equally at home on a television advert for British Airways.  Although Future Sound of London would get more ambient on subsequent recordings, the harmonics of the Lisa Gerrard sampled vocals combined with driving melodic synths produce a majestic aural delight. 

13. Orbital – Chime

One of the downsides of dance music is that it proved to be a genre where many talented people failed to sustain a long career.  Orbital are one of the exceptions yet more humble beginnings are highlighted by the fact that the Hartnoll brothers allegedly recorded Chime on their fathers tape deck.  Far from sounding amateur, Chime feels like it is pointing the way.  Confident and self-assured, Chime heralds the end of the 80s and the coming 1990’s.

12. A Guy Called Gerald – Voodoo Ray

Voodoo Ray is the sound of a city, and one city in particular.  The wet, damp city of Manchester is the perfect antidote to the sunny Mediterranean dance meccas of the 1990s.  It is a testament to Manchester’s brash swagger that, London aside, it can be seen as Britain’s most important dance city.  Sampling Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and featuring Nicola Collier’s effective mantra, A Guy Called Gerald produced a piece of work that is as important to dance music as anything coming out of more sunnier climes.

11. Felix – Don’t You Want Me

Don’t You Want Me is another mysterious entry into this list.  On the singles release Felix was a man of mystery. No one really knew who he was. Rumour had it that he was a schoolboy experimenting with some sequencers in his bedroom.  A musical Banksy if you like.  What is clear is that in Don’t You Want Me, Felix produced a piece of dance power.  The key to the success of the song is the repetition of the Jomanda vocal sample, then the pause before the sample comes back again and all hell breaks loose. An understanding of musical dynamics of such maturity whether Felix was a schoolboy or not.

Tomorrow the number 1 dance anthem ever will be revealed as number 10 to 1 is counted down.

Top 40 Dance Anthems Ever (30 to 21)

Continuing my run down of the 40 greatest ever pieces of dance music ( see here for numbers 40 to 31 yesterday ) here is today's list from 30 to 21:-

30. USURA  – Open Your Mind

By picking two icons of the 1980’s in Arnold Schwarzenegger and Simple Minds, USURA produced a definitive dance. Updating New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) as a musical template interspersed with samples from the film Total Recall, Open Your Mind is an empowering epic of the early 1990’s dance floor.

29. Starlight – Numero Uno

Like USURA, yet more Italian disco.  Despite its title, Numero Uno feels less chic and continental than other such tracks though. In fact, it typifies happy days on a wet Norfolk seaside holiday rather than larger it on the Balearics. Hitman and Her sort of stuff!

28. The Shamen – Move Any Mountain

Whereas the Shamen are most well-known for Ebeneezer Goode, Move Any Mountain is a better example of the group’s blend of experimental electronic techno.  The essence of the track is simple - that anything is possible, you are brilliant and you can do anything.  An inspiring message whether you are on drugs or not.

27. 808 State – In Yer Face

By 1991 Madchester was effectively on its last legs. 808 State were the one exception from the city still producing noteworthy material however. In Yer Face shows a group that have moved on from Acid House/rave and discovered a harder edge techno which would become the most commercially popular form of the art of dance over the next decade.  Like all good dance anthems, it still sounds like the future despite being over 20 years old. As the intro says “there are new forces in the world, a conflict between generations, a powerful feeling that the American system is failing to deal with the real threats to life”. This is a bold statement coming immediately after the fall of communism.  The quotation is particularly relevant today as the western world as we know it appears to be falling apart.

26. KLF – 3am Eternal

The first single by any artist I ever bought.  Subversion is what the KLF are most remembered for yet it should not be overlooked just how good the material they produced was. Combining soul, rap, techno and Acid House 3am Eternal was rightfully a number one single. The KLF’s chart debut asked what time is love, their answer was 3am Eternal.

25. MARRS – Pump up the Volume

To my mind, Pump up the Volume is one of the most important number one records in the history of the charts.  By getting to number one, Pump up the Volume emphasised that sampling and dance culture was now very much part of the mainstream.  A product of the great indie label 4AD and utilising part of their roster talent like Colourbox and AR Kane, Pump up the Volume was an experiment that paid off.  It managed to irritate and inspire in equal measure, the charts have never been quite the same since MARRS got to number one.

24. Underworld – Born Slippy

The early 90s were noted for being a period of indie-dance crossovers, yet it was only by the mid-90s that dance music appeared to be totally accepted by followers of alternative music.  Born Slippy played a significant part in getting indie kids to accept dance, largely due to the Underworld track featuring heavily on the sound track to the film Trainspotting, sitting alongside such Britpop luminaries as Pulp, Sleeper and Damon Albarn.

23. Utah Saints – Something Good

I would somehow describe Utah Saints as stadium dance. Big epic sounds which would easily fill an arena.  If dance was ever (and some would argue that in acts such as the Orb it has) evolve into something like prog, then it could be traced back to tracks like Something Good.  The fact that they sample Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting reinforces Something Good’s otherworldliness.  On a list of dance anthems, it is without doubt one of the most anthemic.

22. Josh Wink – Higher State of Consciousness

It is the buzzing melody line, if that is what you can call it, which makes Higher State of Consciousness so special.  The way that it builds up, grows, falls back again, before speeding up and changing pitch.  Bleeping away and always there pounding in your head. The climax comes eventually, and you know when you are there, by that point it is all over the place and you fail to care about just how measured and controlled the melody was at the beginning.

21. The Prodigy – No Good (Start the Dance)

Music for the Jilted Generation period Prodigy is the most artistically interesting period of their career. The rave template of Experience has been replaced by a more mature sound, yet it is still dance music at its core and without the pantomime dance rock of what was to become.  This is clearly an updated version of Hithouse’s Jack to the Sound of the Underground, yet the Prodigy’s approach is fresh and they produce something harder edged and unique for the 90s.

Tomorrow numbers 20 to 11 on the top 40 dance ever countdown.

Top 40 Dance Anthems Ever (40 to 31)

Over the next four days I will be celebrating the genre known as dance music.  Dance music is sometimes dismissed as a disposable art form and criticised for lacking the depth of other musical genres.

I believe such a characterisation is unfair. For me, dance music is the last truly innovative and ground breaking period of popular music that we have experienced.

The mid to late 80s and early 90s period of dance music is on a par with the late 60s and post-punk periods for its creativity and ability to constantly push boundaries.

Those who feel dance music lacks substance couldn’t be more wrong.  The emotional intensity and euphoria of dance music is an incredibly life affirming experience which should not be overlooked.

I will therefore run down my top 40 songs, tracks, choons (call them what you like) which I feel best demonstrate what dance music is capable of and underline its diversity, innovation and depth.

40. Soul II Soul – Back to Life

A UK number one at the beginning of the so-called second summer of love in 1989, Back to Life stands out as a fusion of two musical genres.  Musically the piece is a tight and stripped down dance break beat track, yet this is contrasted with one of the most subtle soulful vocal arrangements.  It is a trick dance music would attempt many times again in the future, yet never quite as well on Back to Life.

39. Edelweiss – Bring me Edelweiss

Novelty has always played a part within popular music and dance music is no exception. In fact, a lot of dance detractors would probably highlight an overabundance of novelty as a reason to give the genre less credit. It will be impossible to be high minded and try and avoid novelty on this list however.  Edelweiss appears here as a testament to the DIY ethos of the genre, the “anyone can have a hit” value.  All the best genres reach out to their audience and encourage them to have a go. By following the blueprint set by the KLF in their “The Manual” this Austrian group succeeded in producing an acceptably fun piece of novelty.

38. Stock Aitken and Waterman – Roadblock

This next track is the other side of the coin to Edelweiss.  Whereas Bring Me Edelweiss summed up the amateur spirit of dance, Roadblock was produced by the number one producers of the late 80s.  Whereas the hit factory was most well-known for producing the likes of Kylie and Jason, Sonia and Rick Astley, Roadblock demonstrated that Stock, Aitken and Waterman were for once happy to let the music do the talking and not rely on fresh faced teeny boppers. The result is this funky little ditty which gets rid of the synthesised sheen of hi-NRG and replaces it with strong sax and bass.

37. Opus III – It’s a Fine Day

In the early 90’s there was a sense of the new age. Environmental concerns had a greater following and green issues were getting higher up the political agenda. The soft vocals of Kirsty Hawkshaw and slight synth arrangement of Opus III on this cover of an early 80s indie hit by Jane, It’s a Fine Day is a classic example of dance music embracing this new environmentalism.  World, body and spirit all come together as one, underlining the post-acid house generation.  See also, Sunshine on a Rainy Day by Zoe.

36. Culture Beat – Mr Vain

Eurodance is one of the more maligned sub-genres of dance music.  Whereas artists like Dr Alban, Snap and 2 Unlimited typified some of the worst elements of the mid-90s, Culture Beat’s Mr Vain is one of the more successful European pop dance crossovers.  The decadent fairy tale of its music video places Mr Vain firmly within the heart of baroque nihilism.

35. Technotronic feat. Felly – Pump up the Jam

Sex is a reoccurring theme in dance music, as will be proven elsewhere on this list. Few tracks of the late 80s quite get the love juices flowing like Pump up the Jam.  The track is essentially a collision of two stands of dance – Belgian House (electronic body music and new beat) and Hip-House.  

34. Baby D – Let me be your Fantasy

  

The underground virtues of dance music come alive with Let me be your Fantasy.  For years this playful piece of uk hardcore house was a hit on the uk rave scene yet failed to trouble the masses.  It was eventually picked up by London Records and became a national number one smash. Uniquely British - knowing, reserved and creative. Baby D at the same time looks to the past and points the way to the future.

33. S-Express – Theme from S-Express

Sampling now and the first listed track which really explores the potential of meshing together and synthesizing strands in a Dadaist fashion.  As much an influence on Primal Screams Loaded, Stone Roses Fools Gold and any other piece of indie-dance crossover you can care to mention.  Is this possibly the only true piece of acid house to get to number one?

32.  Atlantic Ocean – Waterfall

This is Dutch Ambient trance from Atlantic Ocean.  Words are not always necessary to convey feeling.  It is hard to believe that Waterfall is almost 20 years old now.  It still sounds like the future and has not dated one iota.

31. Adamski – Killer

We go back in time to the summer of 1990 now.  Those unmistakable first few bars when Killer fades up in the mix as if it is a perpetual drill getting closer and closer.  Buzzing along, breathing for life, waking, drowning, dying?  The spectre of AIDS and the dangers of E, they are far more on our minds then than today. The mortality of the young and their carefree attitude questioned by the lifestyle choices they make.  Adamski’s Killer is a My Generation for the 90s.

Tomorrow numbers 30 to 21 on the top 40 dance ever countdown.