The strange, sometimes unfathomable (and hotly contested) world of Northern Soul may seem like a galaxy away from electronic dance music (which of course it is) but the way the highlights of genre have stood the test of time surely says all that’s needed. Casino Classics was a club label created in 1978 by the venue’s founding All-Nighter DJ Russ Winstanley and Casino manager Mike Walker with this collection paying tribute to the music released via the imprint. Now re-released by Soul Time you could say the story carries on from where the more recent Films on the resurgent subject left off, but you could also well ask why the obsession with the music of the past, rather than the present or even future – which is where of course House Music comes in! However, back to a time of talented songs, singers and musical instruments with records happening in under four minutes no less, which is all part of the charm and intrigue, providing the answers decades after the event. Besides which, Tobi Legend’s ‘Time Will Pass You By’ has always been timeless. As are a number of other classics here: Tainted Love, Wade In The Water, and interestingly the Funkier, Disco templates of The Carstairs ‘It Really Hurts Me Girl’ and The Show Stoppers ‘Ain’t Nothing But A House Party’.
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Greg Fenton
