There’s two types of edit guys. The hit and run plunder cats; ones who get their hands on an old tune and tweak it, extending the best bits, losing segments that aren’t of interest for a quick dancefloor fix. And then the real producers, who have the stems and put in a proper shift with taking a track in a lavish new direction.
We’ve got nothing against the former, it’s where we squarely put ourselves in all honesty and theres few things as gleefully brilliant as a rough and ready quick fix done properly. But boy do we love it when someone really excels at the latter, and there’s no denying that The Reflex squarely falls into that category. This is a guy whose grooves always make as much sense at home as they do on the dancefloor, and once more he’s resoundingly delivered with his Valentines Revisions.
Don’t be put off by the timing, although this is an ensemble of sounds clearly inspired by amour it’s chocker full of grooves that make sense well beyond the bedroom. Roberta Flack’s ‘Feel like Makin’ Love’ gets tweaked into lounge jazz heaven, there’s a nagging funk underneath love walrus Barry White’s ‘I’m gonna love you just a little more’ and Marvin Gaye’s epic ‘You can leave…’ is turned out into a sprawling near eleven minute opus, allowing even more space for Marvin’s Dylan-esque bile to float effortlessly atop of all the loveliness.
The two proper pearlers though come in the shape of reworks of two absolute perennial favourites of ours, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Wilson and the Isley Brothers. The former’s ‘Superman Lover’ is reworked into a much more strung out affair, taking the swagger of the original and rolling it out over eight minutes, accentuating the organ, brass and guitar flourishes which make it such a classic. Turning to the Isley’s oft-forgotten ‘Groove with you’ is an even better move, an edit so sumptuous we’re already delirious thinking about it as a perfect break when the sun creeps up or a set closer during the most perfect boat party. It stacks up for another ensemble of absolute studio genius from one of the very best in the game; invest as a priority.
5/5
Autocycle
