Norman Jay – Good Times 3 (React)
November 25th, 2003 by susanna
Roll up, roll up – it’s time for another slice of the Good Times. The Good Times 3 compilation is instantly identifiable as a Jay production – a bit of funk, a bit of soul, a bit of reggae, dub, ska, some gospel house, and even the Jackson 5. Although it’s varied, it’s all classic Norm and Joey Jay – after all, this is the third compilation album, and by now the Good Times sound is well rehearsed; tried and tested on a dozen or more sultry Monday afternoons at the Notting Hill Carnival- as well as the famous afterparties. It’s Red Stripe music – stuff to groove to on a sunny day, preferably with the smell of jerk chicken wafting by and your eye on that cute girl/guy dancing on the wall next to the Good Times bus. The whole album is like summer in a box -in case of winter emergency, open here….
With 30 tracks, it’s hard to know what to pick out – quality control is very high. The Jackson 5′s ‘It’s Great To Be Here’ is a fantastic, uplifting gem, just made to finish summer sets with – Danny Krivit obviously agrees, as he recently remixed the track into a longer, more dance-friendly number. The Mondo Grosso Acoustic Mix of Jamiroquai’s ‘Love Foolosophy’ is a great surprise – it brings out a mellow, warm edge to the song just made for lazy summer afternoons.
The Pound Boys bootleg rerub of Angie Stone’s ‘Wish I Didn’t Miss You’ brings back happy memories of last summer, though I kind of wish the remix was funkier, warmer, At full volume outdoors on a summer day though, it sounds fantastic – the bassline makes me smile every time.
Other standout tracks are Honey Cone’s ‘Sunday Morning People’ – proper quality funk/soul, and Freda Payne’s ‘Unhooked Generation’ has a wicked and familiar horn riff to start and funky guitar licks, and is made to bust inadvisable moves to on the dancefloor. As is Johnny Guitar Watson’s sassy, bluesy ‘I Need It’, while The Ethiopian’s ‘Train to Skaville’ has a bassline made for grooving and a lovely original sound.
Gwen McRae’s husky vocals sound great against a crisp drum and bass pattern and sweet strings on Virtual Suspects’ ‘Got To Have Your Love’ – if Norm and Joey have more drum n bass that sounds this funky, it’s a shame they didn’t put more of it on this album. Skipworth and Turner’s slightly 80s-flavoured ‘Thinking About Your Love’ has a wicked low piano riff and an irresistible groove, and Main Source’s ‘Looking At The Front Door’ is modern, slinky, Soul II Soul style smoothness with some nice scratching and hip hop stylings. The one exclusive to the album – King Britt vs Michelle Shaprow ‘If I Lost You’ (Scuba Mix) is worth having – Shaprow’s silky, knowing vocals: ‘As I recall I’d never fall for you…’ shimmer against a faintly electro background and snappy, skippy beats.
There are some stinkers though – Carleen Anderson’s distinctive velvet tones are wasted on the insipid ‘Stories’ by Full Flava, while Jennifer Holliday’s ‘Love Stories’ belongs in a lift somewhere in a Midwest mall in the 80s. Sinnamon’s ‘I Need You Now’ is dated house-by-numbers with a weak vocal, and Chaka Khan on ‘Live In Me’ sounds like someone is repeatedly standing on her foot. Marvin Gaye’s voice sounds as great as ever with TammiTerrell on ‘California Soul’, but it’s not a patch on the heartstopping, spirit-lifting rush that is Marlena Shaw’s version.
Overall, though, as you’d expect, it’s a fine, solid compilation. If you’re a fan of Norman and Joey and their summer vibes, then you’ll love this. There’s nothing on here that’ll thrill sulky fashionistas scared to ruin their hair, but it’ll sure as hell make you smile and dance.
Kit
Norman Jay’s Good Times 3 is out now on React Music. Good Times 1 & 2 will be re-issued early 2004
