Best Italy Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Best Italy continues to do a wonderful job of unearthing much-sought after gems and giving them the re-press they deserve. Lily Ann was a quintessential one hit wonder of Italo disco perfection that surfaced in 1984, and "Going Crazy" captures the mood of early 80s dance music perfectly. Adding value to the release beyond the fresh mastering job and high-end modern pressing, as well as the previously released vocal and instrumental we also get treated to a dub mix of "Going Crazy" to give you even more options for dropping this impeccable slice of Italian dance music history.

Review: Blue Feather were a truly blue-eyed funk outfit from the Netherlands who had a prolific run in the 80s with two albums and a string of club singles to their name. "Let's Funk Tonight" was surely one of their bigger hits, and it sounds resplendent with a fresh master and the full extended version spread out across the A side here. Offering something new for the modern market, Best call upon Faze Action to flesh out this reissue with a killer dub of the track that treads softly but funks deep, just like a good dub should.

Review: Best Records present another deep cover jam Balearic diggers will rejoice at being able to lay their hands on. Blue Night was the brainchild of Peter Miconi, who created "Turn Me Loose" in 1983. All the elements are present here, from the aching blue-eyed soul vocals to rich guitar solos and an irrepressible funk bedded down in the groove, here stretching out for a full 14 minutes of pure sunkissed bliss. On the flip, SIRS takes a careful run at the original that simply reframes the elements with a more pronounced rhythm section - this is someone who knows exactly what the track needs and declines to change anything for the sake of it. Classy stuff, as you would expect from a reissue on Best Records.

Review: Best dig out a bona fide gem from the early days of Italian house music - a one-shot hit from the masterful minds of Alex Neri and Marco Baroni that originally surfaced in 1992 on Adriatic Club. This sunkissed classic has everything a deep house cut should - smooth piano, a splash of diva vocals, and feel-good vibes oozing from every pore. For our money the "Deep Jungle Mix" is the one - a smouldering swinger that will draw you in and keep you warm at night, but whichever twist on the '90s styles you prefer this record has got you covered.

Review: First released on the obscure Derby label way back in 1982, Dr Togo's debut single "Be Free" has long been an in-demand Italo-disco rarity. It was co-produced by Louis Figino, who had previously produced Kano's legendary single "I'm Ready", and featured that band's lead vocalist, Glenn White, as the headline-grabbing Dr Togo. This much-needed reissue boasts both versions from the original 12: the deep disco warmth of the A-side vocal version, in which White's invitation to come dance rides rich chords, rubbery slap-bass and spacey synthesizers, and the dub style flipside "Instrumental" mix. In keeping with the style of the time it was recorded, this includes additional layered percussion and selected snippets of the original's female backing vocals.

Review: Silvana Noris was tragically overlooked back in her mid 80s heyday, laying down just three singles before drifting onto pastures new. Best Italy have dug out her shimmering Din-Don single and given it the new lease of life it so richly deserves, helped a little by DJ Harvey testing the cut out on his turntable travels. Noris' vocal is a curious wonder to behold, hitting a low register and imparting a gravelly tone that sits atop the punchy boogie production. Another slice of disco manna makes its way back into the limelight thanks to Best.

Review: Fabrizio Fattori has been a deep cover hero in Italian dance music since the mid 80s, and while he may have shifted his attention to tribal house music in the 90s, this collection zeroes in on his earlier afro disco funk work, which drips with Balearic groove appeal. Collecting sought after records and other archival gems, this lengthy EP is a joyous, synthy excursion through sunny climes, from the MIDI brass and plastic slap bass of "Leg Pulling" to the intricate percussion and live sax of "Bara-Hum-Ba." This is a quintessential Best reissue - beautifully packaged, and putting super rare music back in the hands of the fans.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Best Italy turn their impeccable reissue powers towards a surefire burner from 1984 given the stamp of approval by the likes of David Mancuso, Larry Levan and Ron Hardy back in the day. "Come Back Lover" was actually mixed down by another legendary DJ - Tony Humphries - and it shows. Even the original mix plays out with an extended, floor-focused flow that captures the creative energy at work at this epochal time for DJ culture. As ever with Best reissues, there's a plethora of alternative and dub mixes to suit any spinner's specific requirements, with the groove front and centre every time.

Review: Best turn their attention to that sweet mid 80s spot when the petri dish of party music was shaken up between disco, boogie, Italo and the emergent house sound from Chicago. Claudio Simonetti was a titan of the Italian groove, but his monster jam as Kasso, "One More Round", reached the stratosphere when Windy City godfather Frankie Knuckles gave the track his Midas touch. No more justification is needed for this pressing, but don't overlook the flip which finds 80s remix supremo Brett Wilcots taking on "Walkman" and whipping up a boogie frenzy of the highest order.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: This is a reissue that will have all Italo hunters rejoicing - Topo's "Ba Ba Go, Go" is the kind of holy grail jam that gets bootlegged and still commands high prices. It's not hard to see why - it's a masterclass of otherworldly electronic disco with a prog rock bent and an insanely catchy, oddball vocal hook. With its minimal synth lines and subtly spooky futurist mood, it's every inch the curveball classic. It's shocking it's taken this long for an official remastered version of this track to surface, but don't sleep because it might not be around for long.